Giving presentations and speeches is one of the most important things you can do to advance your career and life. However, it is one of the biggest challenges professionals experience in their careers. 75% of the people say they are fearful of public speaking.

One of the biggest roadblocks preventing senior professionals from rising to leadership positions is their fear of public speaking and inability to give valuable presentations.

In this article, I will be sharing the benefits of being able to speak well in public well and how to do it like a pro.

Benefits of public speaking

During my research, I discovered quite a number of benefits associated with mastering public speaking skills:

• Enhanced Confidence: Regular public speaking helps in building self-confidence. Presenting in front of others can be daunting, but with practice, it becomes easier.
• Improved Communication Skills: Public speaking is an effective way to improve verbal and nonverbal communication skills. It teaches you how to convey your message clearly and persuasively.
• Career Advancement and Income: Effective public speaking skills can be a significant asset in your career. It can lead to more opportunities for leadership and professional growth, as it demonstrates your ability to convey ideas and influence others and, therefore, the opportunity to earn more income.
• Enhanced Personal Network: Public speaking opportunities often put you in front of people who can be valuable additions to your personal or professional network.

Many of the best speakers were afraid to speak on their feet. As Brian Tracy once said, “You cannot become the top 10% without being the bottom 10%”. A willingness to learn, follow a system, adapt, and practice is key to developing valuable skills in any field, including public speaking.

Here is a 6-step system I’ve developed for us to master public speaking and give remarkable presentations:

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1. Research and write down topics

The best place to begin preparing for your speech or presentation is to start working on the content.

The first step to giving a presentation is to have a deep understanding of the material you will be presenting. Spend the time to research your points. Use articles, videos, books, courses, AI services for your research.

In the first step, your job is to identify a working title and topics for the presentation. Give a title that you think would be best. You can always modify the titles and topics over time.

You don’t need to come up with all the topics right away. Let the ideas come to you naturally. Write them down when they do. Massage and refine your slide deck with more research and time.

Pro-tip: I noticed that the more I read, the more I can write. The more I can write, the more I can speak. Experiment to see if it improves your public speaking skills.

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2. Create your presentation slides

Now, it's time to create your presentation slides.

First, separate your presentation into three key sections: intro, body, and close. This will make it easier to work on your slides.

Intro

Intro is used to introduce yourself and discuss the reason why you are giving the presentation.

There are many ways to start your presentation, but I am going to give you a simple one that can be repeated anytime.

Hello everybody, thank you for coming to the name of the presentation.

Hello everyone! My name is Dulik Kohomange; I am a business coach entrepreneur with over a decade of experience. I created this presentation because I want to share with you my {solution} to the [challenge] and [desired outcome].

Discuss more about the problem and how it affects the audience. Discuss the benefits of solving the problem in your introduction.

Body

This is the most important part of your presentation. For this section, come up with 3-6 topics you want to discuss for the body. The number of topics for the body depends on the duration of the presentation. These are the main points that you want to discuss.

Example:

• Create your slide deck or presentation material
• Create a clear intro, body, and close
• Practice, practice, practice
• Write down things that could go wrong and come up with a plan
• Engage the audience through questions & activities
• Create your presentation checklist

Create 3-6 subpoints for each of your topics. Add the most critical points for each topic. Remember to avoid overcrowding your slides

Example:

• Create your slide deck or presentation material
  • Start building out presentation material well in advance
  • First, identify key topics you want to present
  • Add the most critical points for each topic
  • Add visuals and images to illustration points (gifs work well)

Spend the time to do proper research on topics and points.

Use visuals, diagrams, examples, and statistics to make your points stand out. Diagrams, infographics, gifs, and videos work well to illustrate your points.

Add visuals and images to illustrate your points. Diagrams, infographics, gifs, and videos work well. Use Canva to get presentation templates and build diagrams and infographics.

Sleep on it, review it, catch any errors, and make modifications.
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One of the key things that helped me create and give great presentations is that I would start on them well in advance and make slight modifications to make them better and better. I recommend you follow the same practice to make yours amazing.

Close

Finally comes the close. There are two main things I recommend you include for the close.

1. A bulleted summary of points you discussed as takeaways
2. Give them a Call To Action indicating what action they should take next.

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3. Practice, practice, and practice

The ultimate solution to mastering public speaking is practice and repetition. Practice and repetition are the most important things you can do to improve public speaking skills and give world-class presentations.

Practice 6-7 times before the presentation. Begin with practicing for 15-20 minutes at a time, topic by topic, until the presentation content flows to you naturally. In the early years of my career, I would practice giving my presentations 10-15 times to ensure proficiency and flow in my presentations.

Make sure the presentation stays within the set time duration. Remember that the actual presentation tends to be longer than the practiced durations. Keep this in mind when practicing.

Ideally, it would be best to record yourself and review to see where you can get better. Don't worry if you are making mistakes. We all need to get better in this area. The more you can face your mistakes, the better you will be at correcting and overcoming them.
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4. Create a Presentation Backup Plan

Creating a Presentation Backup Plan will help prevent and avoid any challenges we come across during presentations. One of the main things that make us fearful of presentations is the uncertainty of events that can occur during the presentation.

To resolve this, make a complete list of things that could go wrong before or during your presentation.

Next, come up with steps to resolve them in advance.

Examples:

• Delays arriving at the venue
  • Plan to come to the venue 1-2 hours earlier
• Going over the allotted time
  • Practice in advance and ensure it's below the allotted time
• Visuals are not loading
  • Load and check the slides and material before the presentation
• Audio/visual equipment not working
  • Get in touch with the tech team prior
  • Bring your own equipment

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5. Engage the audience through stories & activities

Presentations are not about what you say but how you make them feel.

Engaging your audience is key to delivering a winning presentation. Plan in advance how you will engage your audience.

Here are a few ways to engage your audience:

• Bring out stories from your life.
• Ask “Raise your hand if you’ve ever…" questions.
• Provide the audience with the slides to interact.
• Ask questions from your audience as you go along.
• Use your hands to point at the board.
• Use props and physical items.
• Don't put your hands in your pockets or behind your back.

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6. Create your Presentation Success Checklist

Pilots use checklists all the time to make sure that we are safe during flights. Surgeons use checklists to make sure they perform operations correctly.

Identify all necessary activities to deliver a great presentation in advance. Create your checklist to ensure you take all of the key actions.

Example Presentation Delivery Checklist:

• Create the slide deck
• Create intro, body, and conclusion
• Practice 6-7 times
• Confirm audio and video equipment is working
• Pack necessary equipment and tools
• Successfully travel to the location
• Load up slides and check audio equipment
• Greet people as they arrive
• Start a presentation on time
• Start the intro and/or icebreaker
• Discuss the key topics and points
• Engage the audience with questions
• Provide your close
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Action steps:

1. Create your slide deck or presentation material

2. Create a clear intro, body, and close

3. Practice, practice, and practice

4. Create a Presentation backup plan

5. Engage the audience through stories and activities

6. Create your presentation checklist

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Hope you enjoyed that! See you next week!

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