Telling your story

Over the last year, I’ve been saying YES to all the speaker opportunities I’ve been offered. It’s a fantastic way to market your business and share skills. This year, I have  spoken on PR and social media to over 1000 people across the NW England, and I’d like to share some of the top tips I’ve learnt along the way.

1. Get to the venue early so you can check the a/v facilities
2. Send through a synopsis on what you’re talking about – so the organisers can promote the event effectively
3. Explain to the host how you will wrap up your talk.  And make sure you signal it clearly to the audience too.
4. Practise, practise your presentation, so you can do it without notes.
5. Stand like you’re confident yet relaxed. Your brain will believe it
6. Ask questions of the audience, which will create engagement. If you ask “who here has ever found that…?’ type questions, put your hand up too (so the audience understand what is required of them)
7. Vary the pace and tone of your voice – I’ve got a quiet voice, and if I was monotone, it would be soporific!
8. Make sure the relevant software is loaded up and working BEFORE you start to speak
9. Always have a backup plan in case the technology fails
10. Get professional speaker training – there’s nothing worse than sitting in the audience watching someone fail… and it’d be pretty dreadful being the presenter in that situation too
11. And finally, don’t be too hard on yourself – just as people are critical of how they look on photos, or how their recorded voice sounds, we’re all tough on our presentation skills too. The chances are, to everyone else, you’ll look, sound and present just fine.

What are your presentation tips?