When asked to give a presentation, consider using the four P's of presentation steps to help you with your delivery. The four P's are: Plan, Prepare, Practice, and Perform. This article will address steps three and four, which are related to practicing and performing the presentation.
During the Practice step, you will rehearse multiple times to get your timing and topic perfected. While giving the presentation out loud to yourself, you may think of details you may want to add for your specific audience and other items your wish to drop for sake of time.
First, rehearse the presentation out loud and time yourself giving it to make sure you can get your main points across in the time allotted and that it flows well. If not, revise your presentation. This also gives you the opportunity to determine where to add speech emphasis, use hand gestures, or add in a pause for effect. Then, practice more with someone observing and timing. Ask the observer to give you honest feedback to improve your presentation. Finally and if possible, plan time to practice in the actual setting for the presentation. This allows you to find potential problems and find a work-around before the presentation.
When you Perform you will be confident and should be able to avoid too many um's and uh's, grasping the podium, or putting hands in your pockets when speaking. You are ready to go and at the location where you will be giving the presentation. However, below is a short list of do's and don'ts to remember before, during, and after the presentation performance.
Do be sure you have an introduction prepared to give to the person introducing you. If you are not introduced, you can give your own name and credentials from the introduction you prepared. Don't read directly off your visuals or try to memorize the entire presentation. Know your subject well and let it flow naturally. Do show your passion and enthusiasm for subject when talking, but don't overdo it or the emotion gets the attention instead of the topic. Don't forget to thank the audience for their time or make some statement that lets them know you are closing. Do plan to have a question and answer period. Think of questions you may be asked and come up with a quick answer for each.
With the Practice and Perform steps, you now understand what is required to give a good presentation. To review the first two steps in preparing a presentation, see article on " Creating Presentations ".
Copyright 2007 Shirley Fine Lee. All Rights Reserved.