Rehearsing is key for a confident presentation.
Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse many people (me included) implore when it comes to the topic of giving presentations.
It can make a huge difference to the quality of what you deliver and can even help calm the nerves – because you know exactly what you are going to be doing.
There can be enough surprises with questions from the audience and cantankerous technology without being surprised by what comes out of your own mouth!
A run through your presentation helps you clarify how you will say what you want to say and let you identify any changes that you want to make. Sometimes what sounds good in your head can make you quite tongue-tied when you say it out loud!
A rehearsal will also help you work out how you will present – where to stand, where you’ll put your notes, your options for moving around the room and how the technology works.
In an ideal world we would all do a full ‘dress’ rehearsal every time we present. But in this world everyone is busy and trying to do too much (or is that just me?) – and rehearsing a presentation is often the thing that gets left undone.
“I’ll just wing it” I’ve heard many people say (I confess I have done this in the distant past too. You?) but presentations are crucial moments for your credibility and ultimately your career – they shouldn’t be left to chance.
So here are 5 Quick Tips of the absolute must-do’s for rehearsing a presentation:
1. Read your presentation to yourself
At least once – out loud. You’ll be surprised when you do this that you might stumble in some places – sometimes the transitions between topics aren’t as smooth as you thought they would be or something is a bit wordy. Better to stumble over some words on your own than in front of an audience.
You’ll also get a much better idea of timings and how long the presentation will take. A rehearsal will help you know if you need to add some more content, have the time to slow it down, or the more likely scenario – have way too much content and need to take some out.
2. Prepare your notes
Write out or highlight the keywords, quotes, statistics – whatever you are going to need to refer to (or at least have on hand) in a way that you can easily refer to them when you are speaking.
If you do want to read something word for word – that’s fine. You can transition from speaking to reading by saying something like, “Now I just want to make sure I get this quote / statistic / point absolutely correct…” as you pick up your papers. No one will fault you for wanting to be accurate.
3. Test the technology
It’s essential to make sure you know how the technology works, plugs in or, at the very least, which buttons to press. Seamless integration of technology as you are presenting makes you look professional and avoids the loss of both time and credibility when something doesn’t work when you are using it.
Hint – use screen shots rather than live web demonstrations if you can – it might not be “live” but there is a much lower risk of things going wrong whilst you have the full attention of people you want to impress or convince.
4. Know the venue
If your presentation is at a team meeting think about which position at the table to sit so that you will be in the best position to make eye contact with the audience. Or where you can easily stand up from without tripping over wires, bags or the other debris associated with meeting rooms.
If you’re presenting to a larger audience find out if there is a lectern, where it’s positioned on the stage, how you will access the stage and where you will put your support materials (including a glass of water) whilst you are speaking.
5. Have a break
Between your last rehearsal (even if it’s your first and only rehearsal) and the actual presentation. Taking time to clear your head before you do it for real will help you pace your breathing and delivery and put you in control of the presentation.
Be confident, enjoy knowing that you have done your preparation and then you will be good to go…get out there and slay them!
Career Tip To Go: Rehearse your presentations!
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Karen Adamedes is an experienced executive, author and career-tipster. In her most recent book ‘Professional in Pajamas: 101 Tips for Working from Home’ Karen shares many of the insights she has gained during a decade of working from home, where she has negotiated multi-million dollar deals, led national teams and delivered major projects. She does admit to sometimes working in her pajamas.