I just read Nick Finck’s Top Five Articles for Presenters on Digital Web and I thoroughly enjoyed each article. I have never really presented in proper conferences but I have been teaching Scuba Diving for the past eight years. My presentations are usually in front of my class that consists between one to 20 people on average and at the most I stood up and talked in front of 70 odd people. This is a lot smaller than a conference room but can still be quite intimidating.

The first presentation I had to give was during my Divemaster course and it was a five-minute presentation about compass navigation in front of six people one of whom was my instructor evaluating my performance. And it was a shocker. I made so many mistakes in that short presentation and in the few that followed. Here is a summary of what I learnt since.

Speak Slow, Loud(er) and Clear

I am the shy type—I speak very quietly and do not usually say much till I feel comfortable in my surrounding. Presenting does not make me feel comfortable. It makes me nervous. My heart starts beating faster and I tend to speak faster. This point has been said before but it is so important. Speak slllloooooowww. Make sure you are loud and clear enough for every one to hear all the important things you are saying. Listen to your voice. Do not talk in a monotonous tone. Vary your speech and your tone to reflect your subject.

Do Not Say OK, Pause Instead

Do not say OK or em or yes or… (fill in your favourite word) in the end of every sentence. If I am nervous, I tend to say OK in the end of my sentences because it gives me a couple of seconds to think of what to say next. Talk slower and pause instead. This will allow you to think about what to say next and it will allow your audience to absorb your ideas. I try and listen to myself while I talk and if I notice I have been saying OK too frequently, I consciously make myself stop.

Make Eye Contact

This is probably easier when your audience is small but even so, do not just look at one person only because she instils you with confidence. Furthermore, do not look at an empty space to try and gather your thoughts. You are not alone talking into void. You are conversing with the people in front of you. Make a note to look at each person for a few seconds as if you are talking to them as individuals. If this is not possible, still move your eyes across the room.

Body Composition

I know standing up their in front of all those people that are looking at you can make one feel very conscious about oneself: how I look, walk, talk…Try to relax (hard to say when all those eyes are on me). You can move around but as before pace slowly. If you use a board, do not talk while your back is to your audience—they will not hear what you are saying. Keep your hands out of your pockets. I was always told to put down the white-board marker once I am done with it but I personally find it easier to hold on to my marker. It gives me something to do with my hands. But I do not play with it to avoid distracting my audience.

Start Strong, be confident

Again, this has been said before but the point can use some reinforcement. I usually introduce myself and the subject of my talk—basically why we are here. Then I like to start with either a question or a story. I try to use a personal story that relates to the subject if possible. Stories help to get your ideas across and your audience will remember your stories.

Use Real Life Examples

Use real life examples to illustrate your ideas, preferably an example people are familiar with from day-to-day life and one they can relate to that uses the same principles as your idea. This will help your audience to understand your ideas more easily. For example, when I teach about pressure underwater, I ask: “Have you ever flown before?” The answer is almost always “Yes”. And then I ask: “Did you feel pressure in your ears as the plane started descending?” And the answer is off course: “Yes”. “Well, it’s exactly the same underwater. The deeper you go, the more pressure is around you and therefore you will need to equalise your ears.”

Keep Notes to a Minimum

For my first few presentations, I was so nervous I wrote down each and every word and sentence I was about to say during my presentation and included side notes in tiny print. I can tell you now it just does not work. My best advice is: prepare. Research thoroughly. Know your stuff back to front that if someone wakes you up in the middle of the night before your presentation and asks you a question and you haven’t had your coffee yet, you can still provide them with a clear and to the point answer. Your notes should be as short as possible (preferably one word) to act as reminders not text to read from. They should be in as big type as you can so you will not need your glasses and you could glance over from a distance and still clearly read them. And they should never be more than one page long.

Presentation Structure

Your presentation structure should be summarised into outlines and divided into three sections: introduction, body and conclusion. For example your notes can include:

Introduction

Write down your question here

Purpose: why are we here listening to my voice? What will we achieve in the end?

Body

Any support material goes here and preferably in single words (e.g. benefits, or features or…). If you must, you can also include a bullet list but try to keep it short.

Conclusion

Basically repeat your introduction and state your main objective again but keep it short and sweet.

Is Your Audience Bored?

Check on your audience. Are they looking at you or at their PDA, cell, iPod…? Concentration span can be very short and they can get distracted easily. You can try to change your tactics. I usually try and get them out interacting with something but this is not possible in a conference room. You can introduce something new. Or say: “Let’s have a look at…” and change direction. It is all about a two-way communication between you and your audience.

Ask Questions

Get your audience to interact. This also checks if they are still listening and if your points are getting across. You can try to tell a joke. This, off course, is easier when you relax but it will also get your audience more engaged and comfortable.

Experience and Variations

This is a tough one. The more you know your stuff, the more you feel at ease. The more presentations you do, the more comfortable you feel and the better your presentation will become. It will become second nature to get up and talk. The hardest bit is the start. After the first few minutes when I stand there and talk, I think to myself: “Hey, this is not as bad. I can do this” and as I think it I start to relax.

But, if this is a presentation that you have given a few times before, it can become boring to you and it will reflect in your presentation. So change it, vary it, try and present it differently every time. Keep it fresh. If you find the subject interesting, so will your audience.