PRESENTATION MOMENT
A presentation that is well-prepared in terms of visuals and content will be successful to the extent that it can be conveyed to the audience. In this regard, your tone of voice and communication with the audience are crucial during the presentation. In this section, you can find suggestions that you can benefit from while conveying your message during the presentation.
When constructing your speech, you should keep the audience's interest alive.
Audience engagement tends to decline rapidly after 10 minutes. If your presentation exceeds 10 minutes, structure it to rekindle interest at points where it wanes. The most effective way to capture interest is by creating an "emotional impact." Emotional impact activates dopamine release, which is crucial for memory and information processing functions in the brain. You can achieve emotional impact by making the audience laugh, encouraging them to use their imagination, providing striking comparisons, sharing interesting anecdotes, and expressing your enjoyment of the presentation.
Maintain constant eye contact with the audience.
Be present during the presentation focus on the audience, not on yourself or how you look. Establish eye contact with the audience, and avoid constantly looking at your notes, computer screen, or slides. When you feel your attention is wandering, choose a listener and focus on them until they smile or nod in approval (for about 5-6 seconds).
Don't overlook the importance of body language and tone of voice
While your words make up only 10% of message transmission, your body language constitutes 55%, and your tone of voice 35%. To use your tone effectively, speak naturally, at your usual pace, loud enough, and articulate. Excitement often causes our voices to tremble and become less clear than usual. To calm your excitement, you can do pre-presentation breathing exercises (diaphragmatic breathing) or calm yourself by thinking about someone you love. Be mindful of closed body postures such as crossing arms in front or behind, putting hands in pockets, or locking wrists, as they indicate insecurity and a reluctance to communicate. Open body postures, such as spreading hands to the sides, indicate relaxation and openness to communication. For example, holding hands in a roof shape in front or placing hands on the hips signifies dominance and control over the subject and the audience.
Be yourself.
You may not have an impressive tone of voice or body language, but authenticity is more important than natural abilities. Therefore, do not try to imitate a good speaker. Establish your natural communication style, be yourself, and remember that "being natural" is appreciated and accepted.The position on stage is important.
Stand in a place on stage where the audience can easily see you, and you can also see the audience comfortably. Do not hide behind the lectern or in the corners of the stage. When you are about to say something important, approach a part of the audience a few steps; when changing the topic or during moments of silence, take a few steps back.
Prepare for the Q&A session
Think about possible questions and your answers before the presentation. When a question is asked, do not go on the defensive, and make sure you understand the question first. When a question is asked, think about the question, not your answer. For questions you do not know the answer to, politely admit that you do not know instead of attempting evasive answers. For unanswered questions, get the contact information of the listener after the presentation and provide the answer later. The most suitable time to take questions is at the end of the presentation, so your attention is not diverted during the presentation, and you can more easily adjust yourself to the flow and duration of the presentation.
