How do you make a successful presentation?

Many people experience feelings of anxiety and fear when the idea of speaking or making a presentation in front of an audience comes to their mind, so they retreat from that opportunity and deprive themselves of trying it under the pretext of fear of speaking or presenting in front of others, and thus they miss this opportunity that may not be available to others. They may not be available again.

Fear of public speaking is natural, as it is one of the things that sits on the list of the most common fears among people, and some even fear public speaking more than death, but there are several skills that, if mastered, can help increase the speaker’s self-confidence and give the recipient a positive indication of the extent of the speaker’s self-confidence and knowledge of the subject he is talking about.

Since giving presentations involves standing in front of an audience and speaking to them, you need some tips to help you increase your confidence and thus deliver your presentation successfully. These tips fall into three main sections:

First: tips for preparing for the content of the presentation

Good preparation leads to good results. Adhere to the following tips during the preparation stage of your presentation:

the address
Make sure your topic title is interesting. The more interesting your topic title, the greater your chances of drawing the audience’s attention to the topic you want to talk about. Get creative and come up with a catchy headline that will make your reader curious and excited to learn more. And stay away from popular and consumer titles.

The idea
Make sure your topic idea is clear and specific, not general. The more general the idea, the more time you need to talk about it and cover all its aspects. Rather than giving each side its due, which may not allow you the time allotted to present your offer,

The general view

• The presentation is a means of assistance and support for the speaker and not a source of information. Remember that the primary source of information is only the speaker, in other words, “you.” Therefore, limit yourself to writing key phrases that help you remember the points to be discussed in order during the explanation.
• As much as possible, try to write short, simple sentences and choose easy-to-pronounce words. Avoid words that you think you might find difficult to pronounce, and also avoid cluttering the slides with lots of compound sentences, as this can confuse the audience.
• When writing the content of your presentation slides, avoid using too many colors that may hinder the audience’s attention and make their eyes tired when looking at them. Instead, focus on just one or two obvious colors.
• Make sure that the font used is understandable in terms of shape and size. It should not be too small to be difficult for the audience to read, nor too large to make your presentation look messy.

Diction
Be sure to practice pitching the content to your family or friends, as this helps you anticipate the time you need during the presentation. Whereas, the more you practice speaking, the less time you need to finish the presentation. It also helps you increase familiarity with the content, which reduces fear and awe when speaking.
Not only that, but good practice and training will help you discover and strengthen your strengths as well as your weaknesses, and thus work to address them.

Second: tips when starting and during the presentation.

If you have adhered to the previous tips during the preparation and presentation stages, you will undoubtedly do well, and the following tips will help you achieve this as well:

Get in the hall early!
Be sure to be there early at the place where you will make the presentation and check all the tools and the computer. You can also display the content until the appointed time comes, because this helps you save time for the speaker, especially if the time for the presentation is specific.
Not only that, in this way, you will ensure that any potential faults are troubleshooted early, before the show begins and the audience is present.

Smile and start with an appropriate introduction.
Start speaking with a light smile on your face and stand erect, because a smile gives a hint of positivity and helps get rid of confusion and fear. In addition to that, you will win the hearts of the recipients and thus help break down the barriers between you and them. As for standing erect, it also gives an impression of your self-confidence and contributes to improving your performance.

After smiling and greeting, start your speech with a brief introduction about yourself and the importance of the topic you want to talk about, because this gives the impression that you are familiar with the topic and have prior experience with and information about it.

Pay attention to your body language.

• Make sure to stand in the center of the room in front of all the audience, and avoid explaining with one of the audience members sitting behind you, as this will give them the impression that you are ignoring them.
• Pay attention to the distribution of looks and do not focus your gaze on one person only, as if you were explaining to him alone, because that will confuse him and the rest of the audience will feel that their presence is of no importance.
• Avoid standing in one place during the explanation and presentation. Instead, move regularly inside the hall, but do not exaggerate, as moving quickly and a lot in the hall will be counterproductive and lead to the dispersal of the audience.
• There are several poses to avoid during a presentation, such as clasping your hands or putting them in your pants pocket… These poses suggest closing off from the audience and placing a barrier between you and them.
• Avoid holding a pen in your hand unless necessary, and if you wear a watch or any kind of accessory in your hand, it is better to take it off, especially if you use your hands a lot while explaining and these accessories make a sound that may disturb your audience and distract their focus.
• Do not give your back to the audience during the explanation unless you receive answers from them and it is necessary to write some information on the board.

Be prepared for everything.
Prepare well for the unexpected! For example, keep a small piece of paper in front of you on the computer table so that if something malfunctions in the device and the presentation stops or malfunctions, you will have the main points that help you complete the presentation as if nothing had happened, and that gives the impression that you are familiar with the topic and not dependent not only on the presentation but also on the information you possess.

Avoid the verbal syndrome.
which means mentioning certain words over and over again during the presentation, such as the word “means” or “permission”…
Instead, use other words that give the same meaning. Also avoid stuttering during speech, which often suggests that the speaker relies on memorizing and recalling information in his explanation. You can overcome the problem of verbal syndrome through good rehearsal and training before the presentation.

Control the showroom

• If a circumstance occurred during the performance, for example, someone who was late entered the hall and worked to distract the audience, then he acted immediately and tried to manage the hall as much as possible without waiting for an initiative from one of the attendees to do so.
• If one of the attendees tries to negatively influence his colleagues inside the hall and work to distract them, ask him, for example, to volunteer to read the written content or assign him any other task that stops him from distracting his colleagues in the hall.
• Some of the attendees may feel bored during the presentation. If you notice this, take the initiative to ask your audience some questions, provided that they are related to the topic of the presentation. In this way, you will restore their focus and contribute to enriching the discussion and exchanging ideas during the presentation, but avoid asking controversial questions or giving the audience an open space for discussion.
• Diversity in presentation methods increases the audience’s focus and is an effective way to fully control the exhibition hall, so be sure to use different presentation methods, such as films, pictures, or telling a related short story.

Third: Tips for completing the presentation

• End the presentation with a gentle smile, as it began, and open the way for the audience to ask questions, if any, so that the presentation is complete.
• If you receive a question that you do not know the answer to, do not be confused or tense; rather, turn that question into a group question directed to the audience. In this way, you will contribute to the exchange of ideas and enrich the discussion between them.
• If the audience is unable to answer this question, assign it to them as a task to search for it, and the next day the answers are discussed, but do not run away from the questions or ignore them because this gives a negative impression of your lack of good knowledge of the subject.
• You can also apologize and explain that you do not have a suitable answer at the present time, and then confirm that you will search for a satisfactory answer and tell them about it.
• As you can see, public speaking and giving presentations are only skills that are based on other fundamental skills in a variety of areas, such as:
  • How to write content, prepare for it, and select the idea of the topic
    body language.
  • How to manage the hall during the presentation and deal with all attendees.
  • If you are keen on developing and refining these skills individually, speaking in front of an audience or giving

presentations will not be a daunting challenge anymore, and little by little you will master this matter to be able to stand confidently in front of an audience, whether small or large, and communicate your idea without the slightest fear or stress.

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