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BOOK EXCERPT
📖 20 Speaker Success Tactics For Better Presentations
Excerpted and adapted from 99+ Speaker Success Tips book by Bart Smith
Reprinted by Permission
A strong presentation is not just good information.
It is a combination of preparation, structure, stories, audience engagement, timing, presence, visuals, confidence and a clear next step.
Whether you are speaking on a stage, leading a workshop, presenting on Zoom, hosting a webinar or training a company team, these 20 tactics can help you deliver a better presentation:
1. Open strong.
Your first few sentences set the tone. Start with energy, a question, a bold statement, a story, a statistic or another hook that earns attention quickly.
2. Tell the audience what they will learn.
Set expectations early. Explain what the audience will walk away knowing, doing or understanding and how the presentation will flow.
3. Connect the topic to something the audience already cares about.
Use a problem, trend, story, frustration or goal they recognize. The faster they think, 'This applies to me,' the faster they engage.
4. Limit the number of major points.
More information is not always more value. Keep the talk focused around the strongest few ideas so people can remember and use them.
5. Use stories and examples.
Stories make ideas easier to understand and remember. Use real examples, case studies and experiences to bring your teaching points to life.
6. Use visuals that support the talk.
Slides should support your message, not replace it. Use photos, diagrams, video clips and clean visual cues instead of walls of text.
7. Rehearse out loud.
Do not practice only in your head. Say the presentation from start to finish so you can hear where the pacing, stories or transitions need work.
8. Time your presentation.
Know how long your opening, main points, exercises, Q&A and close will take. Rehearse enough that you can adjust if your time is shortened or extended.
9. Memorize your first and last lines.
Your opening gets people listening. Your closing tells them what the presentation meant and what to do next. Know both cold.
10. Engage the audience early.
Ask for a show of hands, invite a quick response, use chat, run a poll or have people write something down. Participation creates attention.
11. Use exercises that make people apply the idea.
Have the audience rate themselves, answer a question, complete a worksheet, choose a next step or discuss something with a partner.
12. Ask what they have learned so far.
Pause during the presentation and ask what stood out. This reinforces value and lets you see what people are actually taking away.
13. Use humor naturally.
You do not need to become a comedian. A little warmth, personality and appropriate humor can relax the room and make your message more memorable.
14. Perform while you teach.
Do not merely recite information. Use your face, voice, gestures, movement, stories, emotion and energy. Make the presentation feel alive.
15. Look at the audience more than your notes.
Use notes as a guide, but keep your eyes on the people. In virtual presentations, look into the camera often enough that viewers feel you are speaking to them.
16. Slow down and pause.
Give important ideas room to land. Pauses allow people to think, write, laugh, absorb and react. Confidence does not require constant talking.
17. Make real eye contact.
Include the whole room rather than staring at one person or looking over everyone's heads. Eye contact helps people feel seen and included.
18. Check that everyone can hear and see you.
Do not assume the microphone, slides or screen share are working perfectly. Confirm early and fix problems before they damage the presentation.
19. Handle Q&A without losing control of the talk.
Pause for questions at logical points. Answer what helps the group, and move highly detailed issues to a post-event conversation when needed.
20. Close strong and create a next step.
Recap the key message, reinforce the main takeaway and tell people what to do next. A strong close gives the presentation a sense of completion and action.
FINAL THOUGHT
The audience does not remember every sentence you say. They remember how clearly you taught, how well you connected and whether the presentation gave them something useful to do.
Prepare the message. Engage the room. Deliver it with personality. Finish with impact.
(THIS CONTINUES IN THE BOOK)
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