3 Key Elements of Powerful Presenting and Public Speaking

Microphone

Powerful presenting is a skill that many people aspire to developing.

There is a plethora of information on powerful presenting available on the internet and in book stores.

Some good and some not so good

Imagine if everything we’ve learned over the last 2000 years about powerful presenting could be handed to you gift wrapped, in 3 words

1. Focus

The mindful presenter knows that the success of any presentation or speech regardless of content begins and ends with focus.

That means pinpointing with clarity:

– Who your audience really are

– What they need from you

– How you can make a meaningful difference to their personal or professional lives

If you’d like to focus  on powerful presenting, concentrate on 7 things: 

– Getting and keeping your audience’s attention 

– Ensuring that everything you say is totally relevant to your audience

– Sharing a message which is clear, compelling  

– Making certain your audience don’t have to work hard to understand you

– Bringing your words to life with clear and colourful examples

– What do you want them to do the moment you finish speaking

– How you want your audience to feel

2. Feelings 

Presentations fraught with facts at the expense of making an emotional connection with an audience are extremely dull.

When it comes to making decisions our minds struggle with the noise of logic versus emotion.

The emotional and intuitive part of our mind is extremely powerful. Even though we may not be aware, it’s often the emotional part that overrides logic when we are making decisions.  Powerful presenting involves framing the facts in  a way that makes your audience feel something about them. 

Here are a few features which may help you: 

Stories

– Metaphors and anecdotes

– Thought provoking questions

– Suspense

– Shock 

– Humour 

– Surprise 

The greatest gift a presenter can give their audience is to help them feel something.

3. Future 

You’ve crafted a presentation which is content rich, supported with compelling facts and data. You are ready to help your audience to connect with you emotionally. 

Now what? 

They need to see the future

Every presentation has to help the audience see the big picture.

It’s incumbent on the speaker to take their audience on a journey from the problems and challenges of today, to the possibilities of tomorrow.

Having invested 20 minutes of their lives listening to you they want to know exactly where you are taking them. What their brand new world will look like?

The pleasure-pain principle expressed originally by Sigmund Freud suggests that human beings only ever act to either, move towards some form of pleasure, or to avoid the perception of pain.

What’s the pleasure and promise of listening to your message and acting on it?

What’s the pain associated with not doing so?

The mindful presenter know that powerful presenting starts with

– What you focus on and help your audience to focus on

– How you make them feel

– What the future looks like 

If you would like tolearn more about powerful presenting:

– Book yourself onto a powerful public speaking course.

– Invest in some really good one to one public speaking coaching.

– Get yourself some excellent presentation training

Image Courtesy of: Flickr.com

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