Sunday, March 8, 2009

Presentation Preparation

When I deliver a speech, I want it to be informative, entertaining, and something people will continue to think about for days. Right now, I'm preparing for an upcoming presentation so I'm revisiting my material to see if it's still relevant. Lately, I've been adding a lot more elements about dealing with unexpected change. Our economy has provided a lot of it in the past year and I know it's produced a lot of anxiety. While I'm not an economist, I am an expert at taking a negative and turning it into a positive and I think audiences will appreciate my experience.

Next, I need to figure out the best way to convey the information. If all you talk about are facts and figures, you'll likely lose your audience very quickly. Facts are good but you need to mix them in with stories, quotes, and audience engagement exercises. It's all about creating a connection with the crowd, making sure they know that you've got something important to tell them.

And while a good speech appears effortless, a lot of practice goes into it before you say your first word to your audience. Here's a short video of my practicing just ten seconds of my hour long talk:

(If you can't see the clip, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGG3CyxWbqM)

These ten seconds come about a minute into my talk and I want them to catch the audience's attention. I want them to know that my speech won't be like all of the others they've seen before.

When it comes together, a moment like this may seem spontaneous but actually is the product of hours of rehearsal. And it's worth every minute.

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