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Hello and thank you for stopping by our video leadership blog today. Today I want to share
with you five things that I reckon, if you implement, can help you deliver an outstanding
presentation.
Now I ask myself the question before I speak - "What do I need to do today to deliver a
great presentation?"
When I ask myself I realise that these are the five things that I probably need to do
every time to get a great presentation out.
Number one is: have a very clear introduction. Have a very clear introduction.
Now, what I mean by that is every time I speak I've got to explain to my audience who have
never, maybe, heard of me before, never seen my before, or only heard little about me exactly
why I am here, what I am talking about and why I'm the person that should be speaking
about this particular topic.
So I will say for example: "Hi, My name is Errol Lawson. I'm a leadership coach, an author,
a minister, and today I am speaking to you on the topic of leadership. What we do in
our company id go around the world speaking to different young people, at different times
in their school career, or leaders in companies, helping them to develop their leadership skills
and be the best that they possibly be. We're passionate about it. And we are here today
because we believe in your potential and your ability to do great things!"
For example, as clear as that perhaps: who I am, why I'm here and the reason why I am
the person speaking to them.
The second thing is this: to speak clearly. Now I got told all the time as an emerging
speaker, if you like, 'slow down Errol, you're speaking too quickly. You're slurring your
words, slow down. You sound great but slow down!' And it took me a long time to do that.
My advice to you is develop the habit of speaking clearly. So how do you do that?
Well, you might for example speak into your phone, record yourself speaking and time yourself
how many words you are speaking per minute; and as you do that you will find you can track
your progress and your speaking speed. If you're as crazy and as out there as I am,
you can do things like breathing exercises. Like 'lip-trills' we call them, where you
do your... *BBBRRRRR*
And in doing so, warming your mouth up, your mouth muscles, your vocal cords.
The other one is...*MMMMMMMmmmmm*
I do it all the time, I know it's crazy but I do it anyway. It works for me!
Oh, one more. Get your tongue and just rotate your tongue around your mouth as though you're
chewing something...*mmmm* Tastes great, right?
As you do that, you're loosening up your jaw muscles and making it easier for you to speak
clearly. It really works!!
The third point is this: when you're given a presentation, remember that every single
slide has to have a point to it. I tell myself 'remember, my slides are guiding me, they're
giving me direction and structure in my talk.' But there's no point in showing a slide that
has no purpose behind it or no reason to it. Remember that every singe slide you show up
has to have a specific point and it anchors you. But do not have pointless slides in your
presentation!
Number four is: be passionate!
No one wants a wet fish standing in front of them sharing their ideas, or their dreams,
or their visions.when you are speaking to your audience, speak passionately. Speak enthusiastically.
Engage with them by sharing your heart - being vulnerable even... But you've got to be passionate!
People want to hear someone who is passionate about their topic or about their subject.
Be passionate!!
The final point is: remember its not about you!
Oh, we all can get scared or fearful sometimes about speaking to our audience but, I've found
that when I remember, actually, this isn't about me, this is about my audience, about
helping them, inspiring them, empowering them, educating or informing them and actually,
the fear disappears.
Remind yourself before your talk and in fact craft your talk in such a way that the content
is not about you, it's about your audience.
Now, I hope that's been helpful for you. Maybe you're watching this saying 'you know what,
that's great Errol but I could do with a bit more than that'. Well, coming up in Birmingham
at Birmingham Central Library on the 22nd of March, Saturday 22nd of March, we are running
a Public Speaking and Communications Workshop for those of you out there who want to grow
that little bit more. If you are interested in that workshop, it's £125 + VAT, that's
all it is!
It's a intense workshop - only 15 spaces are available on this workshop.
Saturday, 22nd of March 2014 at Birmingham Central Library. You can find out more information
on our website which is www.errollawson.com
We'd love to see you there. You can also call us for more information our office number
is 07852-397-747
And remember: you speak more, you'll speak better.
Thanks for listening, we hope to see you at our event on the 22nd of March.
Bye for now.