Elements of a Powerful Presentation
Master the elements that work together to
make you a powerful presenter
by Quentin Steele
Posture
- Practice the Open Position
-
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, with
your weight on the balls of your feet
-
Hold your head erect
-
Keep your shoulders back
-
Relax your hands at your sides
- Postures to Avoid
-
The stern father position (arms
folded,
shoulders tense)
-
The fig leaf position (hands clasped in
front
-
The military "at ease" position
(feet spread, hands joined behind back)
-
The rocking horse position (constantly
rocking, either forward and backward, or left and right)
-
The pacing professor (incessantly pacing
back and forth)
-
The bathing beauty position (one knee
bent; hand on hip)
Movement
- Movement should be confident and
purposeful
- Avoid distracting body movement like
rocking and pacing
- Anchor yourself and speak from one vantage
point; then move to a new anchor spot and speak from there
Gestures
- Gesture from your shoulders, not just from
your elbows: use your whole arm
- First get comfortable with little gestures
like "big", "little", "fast", "increasing"
- Then try gestures for abstract ideas, like
"worried", "angry", "love", "lonely"
- Observe and imitate the gestures of
speakers and comedians
Language
- Use short crisp words instead of long,
intellectual words whenever possible
- Avoid profanity or excessive slang
- Analyze your use of "uh-words"
to determine where in a presentation you use them (e.g. during transitions, mid-sentence,
etc.)
- Practice breathing and pausing whenever
you are tempted to use an "uh-word"
Facial Expression
- Relax your face and smile
- Avoid reacting with your face or eyes when
you are nervous or have made a mistake
Eye Contact
- Make eye contact with each person for 5-6
seconds, or for one sentence
- Move your eyes to another person in
another part of the room
- Cover all sections of the room,
maintaining eye contact with individuals, instead of with "the crowd"
- Eye contact with a person in the back
transfers to others sitting in the front of that person
- "Read" the audience through eye
contact. Are they interested, confused, or ready for a break?
- Avoid looking at the ceiling when you are
searching for your next thought; instead, pause, glance at your notes, and then resume eye
contact when you begin talking again
Voice
- Discover your "natural pitch"
and practice it until it really is natural
- Breathe deeply by fully exhaling, and then
filling your lungs with air
- Project your voice to reach the back row,
and to compete with "white noise" in the room
- Practice speaking with a microphone, so
you get used to handling one when necessary
- Vary your voice speed (fast and slow),
volume (loud and soft), and pitch (high and low)
- Vary your voice emotion to match your
presentation content
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