Delivery

Most of what your so-called listeners hear is not your words but your tone and your body language. No matter how good your information is, if you don’t communicate well with your voice and body, you’ll fail to engage your audience.

Vocal and Breathing Techniques

1. vary the pitch of your voice, speak in a free and relaxed manner.

2. Your chest should not heave when you breathe. Place a hand on your stomach just below your rib cage and make sure that you’re breathing from your diaphragm. Ask for feedback from others.

3. volume: on a scale of 1 to 10, try for 6 or 7.

4. Avoid up-talking (raising the pitch of your voice at the end of a sentence), up-talking implies a question when you’re really making a statement, which diminishes your authority and weakens your point.

Animation

1. Make sure you have points in your presentation that excite you.

2. show your excitement with your voice, your face, your hands, your posture, and your movement.

Eye Contact

1. Start with one person in the front—someone who supports you or from whom you’re getting positive feedback. Then move on to someone next to that person. Then to the next person, slowly move around the room, letting your eyes rest on each person for 2-3 seconds before moving on. Delivering one thought per person is a simple rule to try.

2. Avoid: staring down, looking at visual aids too much, racing around the room with your eyes, looking over people. If you lose your train of thought, take a breath, turn to your initial supporter, recompose, and resume.

Word Selection

1. Do you often say “urn,” “uh,” “like,” “kind of,” or “Do you know what I mean?” If yes, slow down. Practice speaking without these words. Have someone listen to you and tell you when you are using them, or, listen to a recording of yourself.

2. use active, exciting, “power” or “command” words to constantly engage your audience.

3. Address the audience as “you” in the second person, and try to avoid “I” or “me” unless you are making a personal point.

Body Language

1. Stand up: Even for an audience of only one person.

2. Use good posture: It improves your breathing, projection, and appearance.

3. Never underdress: Present the best version of yourself for the occasion.

4. Stance: Keep your feet shoulder-width apart and balance equally on both feet.

5. Hands: Don’t put them in your pockets, behind your back, in a steeple, or crossed in front of you. Let them hang at your sides, relaxed. It may feel uncomfortable, but it looks the most relaxed and allows for easy movement. Point with an open hand at people or visual materials. Don’t use fingers or a pointing device unless you need that precision.

6. Avoid extraneous gesturing.

7. Move and gesture with a purpose: For instance, step forward toward the audience to connect on important or emotional points.

Pace Yourself

1. Pace yourself to speak as if you’re having a regular conversation.

2. Use your slides to help pace yourself.

3. Take pauses between main points.

4. Take natural pauses, give the audience time to process.

Practice

1. Record your voice.

2. videotape yourself doing a mock presentation.

3. Experiment with different styles.

4. Practice in front of someone.

5. Practice again and again.

6. watch what a good speaker does and copy it.

Types of Delivery

1. Extemporaneous: No notes. Rely on preparation, practice, organization, visuals, and audio materials for a natural feel. As a rule, this is the most effective type of presentation.

2. Impromptu: If you’re called upon to give a speech on the spot, take a short pause to plan a mini organization and a couple of main points, write them down and have them handy to stay on topic.

3. Memorized:This is the hardest method of speaking. It burdens you with the added anxiety of forgetting your lines and having to start over. Not recommended.

4. Script-in-hand: use only when the wording of your speech is extremely sensitive and precision is absolutely necessary (e.g., if you’re a general, a CEO, or a foreign ambassador). Expect to be stiff, boring, and flat unless you’re a gifted public reader or have practiced a million times.