Helpful Tips For Giving A Presentation

We all get a little anxious when speaking in front of a class or group, but there are many things you can do to make it a less worrisome and stressful experience. Please consider these helpful tips the next time you have to present a project, pitch an idea or participate in a public speaking engagement.

1. Practice, practice, practice! Literally, do it like 17 times. Know all of your slides and main points by heart. Whenever you move on to a new slide or screen, you should know exactly what you want to say. Practicing includes identifying points you want to discuss and point out, but also helps you consider tone, speed and time limits.

2. Be prepared. You cannot practice until you have all of your materials prepared and information is logically organized. For the proper preparation, make sure your presentation is done a few days in advance to ensure ample time to practice and make adjustments as necessary. Another great thing to do to put you at ease and help remember important tidbits, would be to create note cards. I suggest that you try not to use them during a presentation, but the are professionally acceptable and are helpful if you really feel like you might choke up in particular areas.

3. Pick out your outfit and styling the night before. This is an important tip because the better you feel and look while presenting or speaking, the more comfortable you will be. Wearing one of your best outfits or doing your hair and makeup better than usual will make you feel confident in front of a crowd. Look your best and you'll feel your best!

4. Take your time. Do not rush through your information. You are presenting or speaking for a reason - to inform or persuade your audience about a topic, proposal or issue. They need to comprehend and understand your presentation. Make sure to take short pauses between each slide or thought so people can retain your ideas.

5. Deep breaths.  Take a deep breath before you begin. It will help put you at ease. You should also remind yourself that even if something does not go as you planned, you missed something or got noticeably nervous, tomorrow is a new day and life goes on. Do the best you can, take deep breaths and take things one at a time.

6. Use language that everyone can understand. Use vocabulary that everyone can understand and is familiar with. You don't want to confuse your audience with big words. Only use technical terms if you know the audience is familiar with these terms.

7. If you're nervous, look above the peoples' heads and pretend you are alone. You should have practiced this so many times that you don't get nervous, but in the case that you do seriously pretend to be alone and don't look directly at peoples' faces. Find a focus point in the back of the room slightly above someone's head and look there. It is much better to look beyond the crowd than to not look at the crowd at all or look down.

There you have it! Hopefully these tips will be helpful to you when preparing for your next presentation. If you have any other suggestions please comment below!