One of the most important things to do to deliver a good presentation is to rehearse. Rehearse it until you are perfectly confident of what you are saying, how you are saying it and when to switch to the next slide. Don’t you just hate those presentations in which the speaker keeps saying: “ummmmm”, “eeehhhh”? Or when they don’t know when to change to a new slide? So they either repeat themselves or say: “oh, I forgot!” That’s what we are trying to avoid by rehearsing.

Rule number one is that you have to rehearse out loud; it’s not good enough to do it in your head. In our heads we either go slower or faster than we do when we actually speak the words. This is very important if we are dealing with time constraints in our presentations. It is also very important that you practice with your slides so that when you are giving the presentation you don’t skip any or get ahead of yourself. This can also be avoided by using the Presenter View function in your presentation software, of course, but by rehearsing with your visual aids you can avoid those “ummms” and “ehhhhs” that we all dread so much.

Another good piece of advice is to rehearse in front of other people, your colleagues, family, husbands or wives, even the pizza delivery guy! It’s not only important that you perfectly control what you are saying, but also how you are saying it. Your gestures and facial expressions are a big part of the message you are trying to convey, and those don’t come out naturally when you are by yourself, you need a test audience. Also, it is very good to receive any type of criticism before your presentation so you can fine-tune any final details.

Good rehearsal is crucial if you are presenting in a second language; you have to be perfectly sure that what you are saying makes sense and is grammatically correct. When you rehearse the wording you are going to use you avoid making mistakes and confusing your audience.

After you have rehearsed your presentation enough times to know it better than you know the script from your favorite movie, you are ready to perform it. You can let go of those pieces of paper you hold to remember what comes next and concentrate on what you are saying and how you are saying it. Combine this with the Notes View option from your presentation software and a remote for presentations and you will be ready to give your most engaging presentation yet.

Until next time,

Byron Stanford for Project Presentation.

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