What Business Speakers Say They Must Practice

When I conduct presentation skills training sessions for businesses and organizations, I always ask the attendees to share with me key points that they will work on after the session. I’m only with them for a short period. My sessions range from half-day training to four-day sessions spread over several months. So when I’m gone, they need to make sure they put into practice what they have learned about standing up in front of a group and making an effective presentation. Here are some of the things that they have told me:
1. Enjoy the process and look the part.
2. Speak more loudly.
3. Make the visuals much larger.
4. Breathe abdominally to relax.
5. Make better eye contact.
6. Use more stories and analogies.
7. Drink lots of water.
8. Don’t be afraid to be creative.
9. Get out from behind the lectern.

I’ll go into more depth on these issues in future blogs.