Present Like a Pro: Strategies for Commanding the Room

0:00 nervous about your next presentation 0:02 whether you're presenting to a small 0:04 virtual group or a packed conference 0:06 room there are steps you can take to 0:08 become more comfortable with public 0:10 speaking preparation after all is the 0:13 best fear remover hi I'm Professor 0:15 Richard Bowman a faculty member at the 0:18 University of Phoenix I have delivered 0:20 hundreds of presentations to 0:21 organizations in Industries ranging from 0:24 education telecommunications insurance 0:26 and everything in between let's dive 0:28 into how you can prepare to deliver 0:30 presentations that will knock the socks 0:33 off your audience let's get started 0:37 preparation starts with knowing what you 0:40 are trying to accomplish too often 0:42 people focus entirely on the audience 0:44 when the objective should be the 0:46 priority consider whether you're trying 0:49 to inform or convince your audience 0:51 about a certain topic write down your 0:53 objective and use it as a metric to 0:56 determine what should be in your 0:57 presentation everything in your 1:00 presentation should work toward this 1:02 objective if it doesn't remove it 1:06 now that we're objective driven we can 1:08 focus on the audience if you don't know 1:10 who you're talking to you're going to 1:12 have trouble making the connections you 1:14 need to achieve your objective ask 1:16 yourself these questions how old is my 1:20 audience where are they from what kind 1:23 of experiences might be familiar to them 1:25 what might not be answering these 1:28 questions can help you figure out the 1:30 best language and examples to connect 1:32 with your specific audience having 1:34 different examples to make the same 1:36 points can allow you some flexibility to 1:39 address your audience on their terms 1:43 when you're giving a presentation you've 1:45 got to know what you're walking into 1:48 when presenting virtually demo the 1:50 presentation practice speaking into the 1:52 camera and work out any technical issues 1:55 in a controlled environment that level 1:57 of preparation is extra important when 1:59 you're presenting in person get in touch 2:02 with the venue ahead of time and ask 2:04 them what you'll need to bring 2:06 arrive early and try out everything from 2:10 the microphone to the clicker that 2:12 advances your slides position your 2:14 handouts and visual aids so that you 2:16 have easy access to them during the 2:18 presentation when you do this work ahead 2:20 of time you can spend less time focusing 2:22 on the technical aspects and more on 2:25 making connection with your audience 2:27 that's really where the magic happens 2:31 now let's talk about delivery this is 2:34 the make or break point of your 2:35 presentation and then where confidence 2:37 is key nervous speakers tend to speak 2:40 quickly and oftentimes don't even know 2:43 it take a breath and speak calmly the 2:46 audience wants you to succeed as much as 2:48 you do don't let the moment get the best 2:50 of you remember that idea of demoing 2:53 your virtual presentation record it and 2:57 listen back do you sound like the kind 2:59 of person you want to listen to 3:03 this tip has helped me countless times 3:05 to be confident in my presentation 3:08 memorize the first seven words these 3:12 first seven words can be an outrageous 3:14 statement or a joke or a question but it 3:17 must hook your audience memorizing those 3:20 few words will do wonders for your 3:22 confidence and engage your audience 3:24 here's an example I use to capture the 3:27 attention of a crowd at a management 3:28 conference want to be in business next 3:32 year 3:33 these first seven words spoke to my 3:36 audience's unique needs and interests 3:38 and it grabbed their attention 3:40 Beyond these first words you should know 3:42 enough of your presentation to speak to 3:44 it from memory but don't stress if you 3:47 have to check your notes it's better to 3:49 check your notes and deliver a great 3:50 presentation then try to memorize it all 3:53 and forget 3:55 all right let's wrap this up at the end 3:58 of your presentation don't ask if there 4:01 are any questions 4:02 instead ask what are your questions and 4:07 wait once you have the first question 4:09 more will follow alternatively if your 4:12 presentation is in a virtual setting you 4:15 can find moments in your presentation 4:17 for audience members to submit questions 4:19 through the chat 4:21 a successful presentation will often 4:23 include repetition to drive the point 4:27 home so let's recap what we've learned 4:29 how do you prepare and deliver a 4:31 presentation that will lock the socks 4:33 off your audience 4:35 preparation is the best fear remover 4:37 know what you want to accomplish 4:40 know who you're speaking to grab the 4:43 attention of the audience 4:45 conclude with 4:46 what are your questions okay what are 4:50 your questions feel free to ask them in 4:52 the comments below and make sure to 4:54 subscribe for more videos like this 4:57 thanks for watching