As a speaker you need Time as your friend (Presentation Basicz)

When you first meet Time as a speaker, Time is often not your friend. So one of your challenges to be the best speaker you can be is to make Time your friend ... or you may find yourself the unwilling victim of Times grumpy moods

(1) Keep your eye on the time

Time can be like the sea which means you need to respect time so don’t turn your back on it: always keep some of your attention on it while you present

Side note: as a presenter before you go on stage to speak you should have a checklist you go through to maximize your chances of success and one of the key items on that checklist is: can you see how much time you have left for your presentation

(2) Focus on what you can control - You

There is a limitation to what you can predict and control about delivering a specific presentation to a specific audience

No matter how much you practice the unpredictable almost always happens

- You may pause for longer than you usually do on a specific point

- you may lose your place in your presentation briefly

- you may choose to handle a question from the audience

- most importantly you cannot predict when and for how long the audience will laugh during your presentation

What you can control here is how much content you deliver - and you can choose which sections to leave out to make sure you deliver the time (the audience probably will not be aware of this)

(3) Don't leave the best part out !

Don’t leave the best part out, the part of your presentation that we came to hear: your punch line (your conclusion)

An easy way to do this as a speaker is using traffic light (or cards) to guide you. Try using three as a start with different colors: green, orange and red

When you see the red stop.

To use this system

- make sure you know how long you need to take to deliver your conclusion .. with ease ... with aplomb .. so the audience can savor and enjoy it (for example one minute) (add a margin of error ?)

- know when you need a prepare to deliver the conclusion (based on the total time you have been allowed for your presentation) ... so that you have time to finish delivering your current point (which may need one or two minutes ?) (and that would be when you want the orange card / light so you can prepare to complete your current point)

So in a fifteen-minute presentation, you may arrange for

- green on 9 or 10 minutes

- orange on 12 minutes 30

- red on 14 minutes 30 seconds

(adjust times to suit your needs / your style / the venue / your presentation/ the audience / your energy levels on the day)

When you get to the orange take immediate action

- wrap up your current point

- deliver your conclusion so your audience can enjoy it

- and be done comfortably within your time limit (the MC will enjoy this .... and this will increase the chances of the organizers inviting you back to present again and or recommending you)

The audience is giving their most valuable resource to you (their time) and they expect you to spend it wisely

Key point: if you learn to work with Time then Time will work for you and the audience will enjoy your presentation so much more

#HighImpactPublicSpeakingPJ