Good Presentations Matter to Rock an Audience

Over the course of the last couple of years I have developed that habit of watching the recordings of the presentations that I give myself at public speaking events. Not because of having such a huge ego that I would want to see what I looked like or whatever else, but more than anything else, because, apparently, it’s a tremendously powerful learning tool to improve your own body language when you are delivering your next dissertation. And although, I must admit, at the beginning, it was quite a bit tough to watch oneself, once you shake off that awkward feeling of seeing yourself in front of an audience making  some weird moves, it’s a rather reassuring experience of how you could improve your public speaking skills for that next time. 

Another interesting way though of improving your own public speaking skills is to, every now and then, hunt down articles, blog posts, hints and tips, and whatever other tricks from other folks (One of my favourites at the moment is this article on “Storytelling tips from the experts at Pixar” which, through an infographic, describes, quite nicely, how to get the most out of sharing stories and / or telling good stories. Of course, it’s Pixar, right? ;-)) who are very well versed on the topic of public speaking and learn from the masters. So much so that when you go through such learning curve you just can’t stop jumping from one ah-ha! moment to another thinking “Ohh, nice one! I could use that one next time around!” or something of the sort. So I thought I would drop by over here today and share with you, folks, two of my favourite resources that I have bumped into just recently as being fully packed with good practices, lessons learned, and plenty of know-how on what it is like being a successful public speaker. Plus a bonus tip…

The first one is coming from Ned Potter, who, a couple of weeks earlier, put together this absolutely stunning presentation under the suggestive heading of “Good Presentations Matter“, packed up with plenty of incredibly helpful hints and tips, tricks and lots of good practices on how to fine tune your upcoming presentation and where he includes plenty of insights on how to get visuals right! Something that for someone, like myself, who has now become rather PowerPoint averse, I have found them very relevant and resourceful to the point that perhaps on my upcoming public speaking events in September and October I may be using some of them eventually. Ned shared the materials over at Slideshare, so I thought I would share the embedded code over here, so that you would have an opportunity to hit Play and go through them. I can certainly recommend having a look. Specially, the super-advanced MEGA tips: 

Another really helpful resource on public speaking tips is that one that Tara Hunt (a.k.a. @missrogue) shared as well over at Slideshare not long ago and which seems to have been making the rounds, lately, quite a bit and rather understandably, since it’s just a brilliant source on the practicalities of working your way around the stage and how to overcome all of those potential fears we all have experienced at some point, along with plenty of tips on what to focus on when putting together your presentation and your speech. Another worth while looking into resource, for sure: 

And, finally, to complete this round of, hopefully, relevant resources that have helped me tremendously in improving my public speaking skills, I thought I would finish off this blog entry with the bonus tip, with the one and only, Ze Frank, author of the stunning and always witty A Show, who a couple of days ago put together this 5 minute video clip that’s just pure genius. So packed up with helpful tips that you would probably have to watch it twice, or thrice!, just to be capable of absorbing it all. Yes, I know, that good. And if not, judge for yourselves: 

So, there you have it. People keep saying that public speaking is an art, an art that takes years and lots and lots of iterations to get it right and master. It’s a continuous learning experience that helps you grow intellectually as well as emotionally, but one thing for sure is that we can all help accelerate those years by sharing across and learning from those who have already mastered those skills and who have, gracefully, shared their best hints and tips, tricks, know-how and extensive experience without asking much in return. Something to always be rather grateful for, don’t you think? 

Thanks ever much, Ned, Tara and Ze for showing and demonstrating how good presentations to rock an audience with a touch of humor and wit do matter after all.

Time to get ready for the next one …