5 slightly obscure presentation tips
Below are our top 5 presentation skills tips — albeit slightly obscure ones — to help you before and during your presentation…
1. Water, water but never milk! Never drink milk before a presentation as it coats your vocal chords and impedes your vocal impact. Sipping water allows there to be silence in the room; pausing is one of the most powerful tools when presenting. It allows your audience to digest what you have just said and it also gives you a chance to think what you will say next.
2. Get that chin parallel. If you keep your chin parallel to the ground it ensures you are not tilting your head downwards and projecting your voice to the floor. It also ensures that you do not tilt your chin upwards which can give the impression you are looking down your nose at your audience.
3. Clench your buttocks. Yes, that was not a misprint, clench your buttocks. This is a great exercise to do when you feel nervous – immediately your focus is taken from your nerves to the clenched area. It also brings a little smile to your face because you know you are doing it but your audience do not. Unless you decide to tell them …. which is not necessarily recommended!
4. Record your presentation on your phone. Then you can listen to it as you travel to work, eat your lunch or even while you sleep! Okay, listening while you sleep might not be recommended as it could cause nightmares or other undesirable effects.
5. Never use 2 words where 1 word will do. Maybe this is not an obscure tip, but it is my favourite tip of all time so I have sneaked it in again! Listen to ads on the radio, virtually all radio ads are 30 seconds or less. Imagine that, like a radio ad, you are paying for each word – choose them carefully.
If you want to further enhance your presentation skills or want help when speaking in public, click here for details of our next Full Day Presentation Skills Masterclass.
