What are some tips for giving a good presentation?

Answer 1

I have given many presentations in the corporate setting, and found this approach to be successful. This also works in school and other situations like conferences.

The most important step is to organize the presentation around what your key audience wants hear. In a school environment, the professor will sometimes provide this. In a corporate setting, if you’re not sure, ask your boss; they may know better what makes the VP tick. This is sound advice for any presentation, by the way. Know your audience, and tailor the message to what they want to hear and how they best can hear it. We do this when we talk to children or explain something to our moms. Why not for key audiences at work?

What do senior leaders want? Put yourself in their shoes. They are called into many meetings and are expected to address many issues and problems, one after another. Imagine doing that for eight hours a day. Make sure you are organized, clear on your message, clear on what you’re doing, rehearsed. Depending on the context, their thought process could be something like this.

First question: what is the purpose of this meeting? Why are you here? Is there a decision needed, is this an update, an advertisement?

Second: Who are you? Have you presented to me on this before, so this is an update, or is this new to me? If it’s an update, summarize what you told me before. Don’t assume I remembered.

Third: In one sentence, what’s the problem and your solution or conclusion. If you’re looking for a decision, lay that out and give me your suggestion. Tell me why this is an important topic.

Fourth: Ask me if I want more background, to elaborate on something, and then stop talking so I can think and respond. Leave some open air in the room!

This isn’t a formula, but perhaps a starting framework when you’re called in to present to the VP. Depending on the context there may be a different order of questions that they have.

Answer 2

1. Space out your preparation time 
2. Most people benefit from having their preparation time spaced out over even amounts of time, with it being slightly heavier as you near the date of your speech. 
3. Try not to wait until the day of or a few days before to do all of your preparation at once. A good night sleep between preparing chunks of your speech can help you to tackle your speech with a fresh perspective.
4. An ounce of passion sheds pounds of nervousness
5. Speak on a topic you are passionate about. Or if your topic has been assigned to you, find a portion of the speech that you can be passionate and excited about.
6. For school speeches, review the rubric your teacher gave you throughout your preparation.
7. Most teachers have very specific things they are looking for in each student’s speech. They will go through a checklist of if you include these things. By reviewing the rubric your teacher gave you while preparing your speech, you can make sure you don’t skip over key points that your teacher will be grading you on.
8. Be interesting
9. It doesn’t take much to make your speech interesting. Any topic can be interesting if presented the right way. How you say it, is as important as what you say. Including a personal antidote, being willing to make bold statements, using visual aids, being animated, being passionate, and more, can all help your speech be interesting. 
10. You won’t get a horrible grade for being boring. In the corporate world you probably won’t get let go for being boring, but it could cost you a promotion. You’ll never stand out from the crowd if you’re boring and you won’t be memorable.
11. Be willing to use analogies and examples from outside your direct field and class topic. Just because you have to give a speech in your science class, doesn’t mean you can’t use exciting illustrations from history, movies, pop culture, or other topics that your audience can relate to.
12. Don’t overload Powerpoints
13. Powerpoints and Google slides have become a standard aid in many speeches. You don’t want your slides to feel crowded. There should be enough information on them to remind you of your key points. Graphs and other visual aids can be used to communicate a lot of information quickly. However, there should not be so much information on them that your audience can ignore you and just read your slides.
14. Consider the order of your points
15. Most speeches have a natural flow in which the main points should be presented. First comes A, then B, then C, etcetera. If this order gets mixed up it can be more difficult for your audience to follow you, as well as causing a myriad of other problems. Make sure the points in your speech are being presented in the optimal order. Be willing to adjust the order in which you present your points to make a greater impact.
16. Last but not least → Practice, practice, practice
17. Practicing will get you comfortable giving your speech. Today one can record themselves and review their own speech. Try to listen to your speech during your free time. Some people will replay their speech in their headphones while getting ready in the morning, at the gym, or during other everyday activities. This helps you to get a good idea of how you sound. Often new ideas spark in your mind on adjustments you can make to continue improving your speech.

These are a few tips on how to make your speech sizzle, on how to give a good speech. You can give a good speech. You can be confident when it’s time to present. With a little coaching, we will get you putting your best foot forward.