Public Speaking Presentation Tips

By: Copie Harris & Carla ávila

Presenting your authentic self: Top 10 tips for giving a memorable presentation.

Magicticity is the combination of the words magic and authenticity. We strive to attain Magicticity when presenting and we’ve been sharing with you what we believe can help YOU achieve it as well. We share via webcasts, podcasts and articles with proven research, experience derived from helping others attain success, and vivid examples for you to visualize what we mean. At this point, we have come to the end of Magicticity season one. To celebrate this milestone, we would like to share with you a compilation of our top 10 tips, which we hope will bring you closer to achieving your Magicticity.

Tip #1: Posture is more important than most people realize

The ideal posture that makes you most impactful and attentive is for you to sit, literally, on the edge of your seat. You know the expression, “I was so interested/excited that I was on the edge of my seat?” That’s you. You’re so passionate about what you’re saying that you have to be on the edge of your seat to tell people. You’re also so interested in what THEY’RE saying when your audience contributes, that you’re on the edge of your seat. Your hands are resting on the table or at your sides if you are standing.

At first, you may feel less comfortable in the posture that we’re recommending, because it’s different from what you’re used to. Many people confuse comfort and effectiveness, assuming that when they feel comfortable, they’re also being the most effective they can be. Actually, just the opposite is often true. Sometimes you need to go through a period of temporary discomfort to increase your effectiveness. 

Tip #2: Gestures are crucial to look “normal” and to feel confident

The University of Chicago does extensive research into non-verbal communication. Their research has shown that gestures are a crucial part of natural expression. However, when we stand or sit in front of an audience, we tend to shut down and to hold our arms in unnatural poses. Gestures are natural and normal, but they don’t feel that way when we’re standing in front of an audience–or even when we’re sitting in front of that one important client.  

Here’s how to launch natural gestures when standing (see tip #1 for how to launch your natural gestures when seated): stand with your weight evenly balanced with your feet hip width apart, and with your hands hanging loosely at your sides. But don’t leave your hands there; USE them! Bring them up, above your waist, and make bigger gestures than you’re comfortable with. Keep your hands open and relaxed–avoid closing your hands into fists. Then when you’re done gesturing, simply drop your hands to your sides to rest them for a moment. NOW you’re gesturing naturally!  

Tip #3: Pausing is important for both you and your audience

Pause between sentences. Pause when looking at your slides. Pause when looking at your notes. Look at your notes or your slides as frequently as you want, but don’t speak while reading. Instead, take your time and actually absorb what you’re looking at. Pausing gives you time to breathe and to think. It also gives you time to see how your audience is responding. Most importantly, pausing gives your audience time to think, too. Pausing builds anticipation. You’ll have your listeners hanging on your every word, eager to hear what comes next.  

Tip #4: Where you look and for how long is something we call “linkage.” Use Linkage when you speak

Where and for how long you look at people is crucial. Linkage can help you feel more grounded and in synchrony with the people with whom you are creating a dialogue. 

Linkage is the skill of looking eye to eye with each person in the room as you complete a thought, while pausing in between Linkages. That means NOT speaking when you’re looking away from your audience’s eyes. Use Linkage when speaking, even when on the phone (accomplish this by having pictures of people you like in front of you when you’re alone in your office). When scan your audience, you risk both subjective (internal to you) and external (impacting your audience) negative effects. 

Tip #5: State your message immediately

You should state your message within the first minute of your talk.  

Many people confuse a message with evidence or with a statement of intent. Here’s how to decide what your message is: if your audience were to leave your presentation remembering only one thing, what would you want them to remember? That’s your message.  

A statement of intent, on the other hand, is usually stated in the future tense, such as, “What I will discuss today is ___________.”   

Use a verbal signpost and state your message within the first minute of your talk. Then tell your story using simple language and gesturing. Make your story come alive with evidence such as examples and analogies. 

Tip #6: Preparation is key

Preparation is the theme that runs through all aspects of a successful presentation. Prepare yourself mentally by saying “I’m excited about this presentation” in advance. Prepare yourself by breathing consciously. Prepare yourself by doing your research and by practicing out loud.

Preparation makes you feel more comfortable and makes you more effective. In advance of your presentation, find out as much as you can about your audience and become familiar with them. On the day of your talk, arrive early to become familiar with the room and the set up. Before giving your talk, speak with people in the breakout rooms, to find out what’s been happening in the conference thus far. 

This will also let you decide which audience members you might choose with whom to begin using Linkage. And finally, to manage your nerves and to help remember what you want to say, practice standing up and actually speaking your talk. Research shows that if you stand to practice your talk out loud, using gestures, as we discussed, you actually improve your ability to remember your key points.. And don’t worry, you can have some notes to help you….

Tip #7: Use as many graphs and pictures as possible in your presentation

Most of us create word visuals when we’re speaking, even though most of us prefer graphs and pictures when we’re in the audience. Let your first pass at your presentation be words, and then go back through it and decide where a graph or a picture might fit. Let your visuals support you and intrigue your audience. The bullet point rule is 4 by 4: no more than four bullets per page or screen and no more than four words per bullet. Now, we know that this is almost impossible to achieve, and don’t worry if you stray from this guideline. But we’ve found over the years that if you keep this rule at the back of your head, your word visuals will become less wordy.

Tip #8: Avoid memorizing a script; use bulleted notes instead

Use bullet point notes to jog your memory, rather than memorizing a script. Be confident in your own knowledge, while using your brief notes to capture what you must say.  

Research has shown that you use a different part of your brain when you memorize, and memorization sets you up for failure. When you forget exactly what you planned on saying, you begin to beat yourself up unnecessarily, and the mental energy that you expend doing that keeps you out of the moment.  

Tip #9: When you’re the panel moderator, communicate in advance with your panel to increase the chance of success

As with everything to do with being confident and relaxed when presenting, preparation is the key. Hold at least two pre-panel phone conversations (and as many emails as needed) and make sure to meet your panelists face to face the night before or the morning of your panel. Remember that you’re the moderator, so it’s up to you to make sure that all your panelists shine and that everyone gets an equal opportunity to speak. Remember too that panels are conversations that we in the audience are overhearing, and leave enough time for the audience to get involved.

Tip #10: Practice conscious breathing before and during your talk

Though breathing is usually an unconscious act, breathing consciously before and during your presentation has many benefits. Practice conscious breathing to relax, focus, center yourself and to help raise your volume. You’ll reap long-term health benefits as well!

Practice breathing from your diaphragm or use the Andrew Weil breathing approach. Both will help you to project your voice without strain.

What better way to create that Magicticity?

To reach out to us and give us your feedback, to learn more or to work with us, please email us at [email protected]. 

We look forward to sharing with you season two and engaging with you on LinkedIn, Twitter, iTunes, Spotify, and Facebook. If you find our articles and media useful, we encourage you to write a comment and share with others who might also find them useful.

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And don’t forget to listen to our weekly podcast

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