GUARANTEED WAYS TO RUIN YOUR PRESENTATION AS A PUBLIC SPEAKER

A few months ago, I was invited to speak at the #HERday conference held in Calabar on the topic #HerVocation. It was a TEDx standard delivery, and I committed time to ensure that my presentation slides were ready. In addition to that was a 2×8 inch-sized manuscript in my palm for reference.

When it was my turn to show up on stage, the moderator called my name while I listened to my impressive bio being read to the audience. There I dressed beautifully with confidence and grace ready to express myself and impress everyone.

Once I was on stage, I looked at the speakers greeted them with a smile then focused on the audience and saw my mentor smiling back at me. I positioned the mic to my lips as I began my presentation, all heard was echoes from my voice in the room, all effort to get the mic to work proved abortive.

I beamed the audience a smile and returned backstage to switch the mic. Due to some technical difficulties, my presentation slides could not be displayed.

For a moment my heart stopped beating, my mind was blank, I felt uneasy and could not hear a noise in the room. I didn't prepare for this shock! It was a 10-minute presentation, and the time was fast ticking.

I took a deep breath, tried to smile, and began my presentation with the aid of the manuscript in my palm that highlighted the ideas within each slide. In the end, I was super excited about managing the situation with grace and my time management was just so perfect.

This taught me one of the Life lessons in public speaking which are, " Finding Your Voice". When preparation meets opportunities and you're trying to filter the message from the echoes surrounding you, you will realize that what is new is your voice!

If you draw on your own experience, insight, and stories, then not only will your message be a new version of what may be an old truth, but no one will be able to say it just the way you can.

Guaranteed Ways to Ruin Your Presentation

1. Failing to practice and prepare while recognizing unplanned circumstances that may take place. Good communication is never perfect, and nobody expects you to be perfect. However, putting in the requisite time to prepare will help you deliver a better speech. You may not be able to shake your nerves entirely, but you can learn to minimize them.
2. Not becoming characters in your story.
3. Failure to uncover humor in your story.
4. Mistake of speaking to everybody instead of speaking to one and looking to all. For example, they say, “How many of you knew exactly what you want to do immediately after you leave college?” instead of saying, “Raise your hand if you’ve been here before” You should sound like you’re speaking to one person (grammatically) rather than speaking to hundreds.

However, when you are speaking directly to your audience, it should be conversational. Just thinking about public speaking can make your palm sweat but there are many ways to tackle this anxiety. Human voices, when realized, are unique. Your real job is finding your unique voice. Don’t quote someone else, say it the way only you can. Practice! Practice! and Practice!

My presentation can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwSh3eQo562/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

THANK YOU FOR READING THIS ARTICLE AND I HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT.

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