4 Presentation Tools and Techniques I Learned from Jayne Latz — Keynote Speaker, Speaking Coach, and Trainer.

I recently had the opportunity to host Jayne Latz, a top speaking coach, trainer and author, on one of our live webinars.

(You can watch the full webinar here)

Jayne began her career as a speech-language pathologist and certified accent reduction specialist, before founding Corporate Speech Solutions in 2006.

Jayne has worked with thousands of professionals to improve their corporate communication, voice and pronunciation, and public speaking/presentation skills, so we asked her to present some of her best tips for improving as a public speaker.

Here are four key lessons Jayne shared:

1. Practice fear reduction techniques

Experiencing fear before giving a talk is very real for most presenters. Thankfully, there are ways to overcome “speech anxiety” with fear reduction techniques.

According to Latz, “Breathing can be your best friend to avoid nerves before a presentation or speech. It can help you feel a little more relaxed. Inhale through your nose for the count of three, and then slowly exhale for the count of five."

To remember to inhale and exhale, take advantage of apps that offer breathing reminders. Latz uses her Apple watch that actually walks her through short mindful breathing sessions.

“Simply practice inhaling and exhaling two to four times before going into an important meeting or presentation. It helps you face your fear,” says Latz.

Along with conscious breathing, avoid negative self-talk, such as “I can’t do this” and “I’m not good enough” or “I don’t like my voice.” “Avoid this type of thinking,” Latz says. Instead, practice telling yourself: “There is no one better than me to do it.”

Finally, practice and prepare. This tip really is key to overcoming fear. “My clients ask me all the time, how much do you practice? And I always say as much as I can fit in,” says Latz. Practicing and preparing as much as possible helps to calm nerves.

2. Establish eye contact — in person and virtually

We’ve all been taught to establish eye contact during in-person presentations, but according to Latz, eye contact is just as critical virtually.

If you’re on a Zoom call, that means looking at the camera and not fixating on slides or attendees on the screen. It takes practice, as our natural tendency is to want to look at the eyes of other attendees. But depending on your video set-up, it may appear that you’re looking down — or up.

When conducting in-person presentations, Latz also makes eye contact with her audience.

“Whether it’s one, three, five, or even 25 people. I always ask myself, “Is there anyone that I have not looked at during this presentation?,” she says.

While you don’t want to stare, make eye contact with everyone. Engage with your audience. Eye contact is all about connecting with others and people do business with people they trust. Meeting someone’s eyes is how we develop a trusting relationship, Latz explains.

3. Be aware of your posture

Body posture is an important form of non-verbal communication — even on a video screen. In fact, your body language is 55% of your communication. 38% is your voice and only 7% of communication is your words.

You can visit Latz’s YouTube channel here.

As an example of poor body posture, Latz shared the story of a high-level executive for a national sports team who rolled around a water bottle — and had no idea he was doing it.

According to Latz, people don’t realize that they often go for the nearest paperclip or pen as a way to fidget when they’re nervous and uncomfortable. “These habits do not exude confidence or presence,” she says.

To ensure you have an executive presence when presenting, Latz has a few tips. First of all, sit up straight. If you’re on a virtual platform, position yourself so that you take up the middle or third of your screen.

Make sure that your hands are planted. Keep away from pens and paper clips. And if you tend to clasp your hands, put one hand on one side of the chair and the other on the other side.

4. Think carefully about how you say something

When preparing for a talk, we spend most of our time preparing what we’re going to say, but often overlook how we’re going to say it. Yet, according to Latz, how you say something matters twice as much as what you are actually saying.

Latz has done the research on the importance of clarity. “I give groups of CEOs five different communication behaviors; someone who speaks too quickly, someone who mumbles, someone who has a soft voice, someone who has a strong accent, and someone who rambles.”

According to Latz, groups always respond that rambling is the communication behavior that interferes most with business success.

“Be sure to be concise,” she says. “When speaking, a great little acronym to remember is CPR: concise, precise, and relevant.”

Closing advice…

As you’re giving a speech, Latz also recommends not getting hung up on certain words as word finding is a common problem in public speaking. Communicate what you’re trying to say in different ways.

“Let’s say I cannot think of the word for this item in my hand. And I wanted to talk about it in my presentation,” Latz says. “If I say, “I need something to write with,” everyone will know what I need. I need a pen, pencil, or a magic marker. Don’t be so focused on just one word. Try to describe it in another way. Your meaning and intention will be recognized.”

As a final question, I asked Latz if it is better to have everything perfectly scripted or not.

“No, presentations should not be perfectly scripted. Bullet points are okay, but I don’t recommend a script. We’re human, after all. Be authentic and natural,” Latz explains.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —— — —— — —

Check out the webinar with Jayne Latz here to discover more public speaking tips.

You can also connect with Jayne on LinkedIn here.

Interested in past/future webinars? Click here to view our entire library of past webinar recordings and to sign up to receive email notifications about future webinars.