Public Speaking, Presentation & Leadership Skills

  A technical presentation can be a daunting task, especially when you have to explain complex concepts or ideas to your audience. While well-crafted slides and a confident delivery are essential, the use of props can elevate your presentation to the next level. Props provide visual aids that enhance understanding and engage your audience on a deeper level. In this blog post, we will discuss the art of selecting suitable props that can make your technical presentation more impactful and memorable.   Understand Your Message and Audience Before you start searching for props, it's crucial to have a clear understanding of your message and your audience. Consider the purpose of your presentation and the key points you want to convey. Identify the core concepts or ideas that might benefit from visual representation. Additionally, analyse your audience demographics, their knowledge level, and any potential cultural or language barriers. This understanding will guide you in sele...

In today's fast-paced world, effective communication is vital for success, particularly when it comes to delivering technical presentations. Engaging a larger audience requires a thoughtful approach that combines technical expertise with powerful presentation skills. In this blog post, we will explore valuable tips and techniques to help you deliver captivating technical presentations that resonate with a bigger audience. From structuring your content to utilizing visual aids and fostering interaction, we will cover essential strategies that can elevate your presentation skills and leave a lasting impact on your listeners.   Know Your Audience: Understanding your audience is fundamental to delivering an engaging technical presentation. Before crafting your content, take time to research the demographics, interests, and knowledge levels of your target audience. This information will enable you to tailor your presentation to their specific needs, ensuring that your message reso...

Public speaking is said to be the biggest fear reported by many adults, topping flying, financial ruin, sickness, and even death. Your breath speeds up, your pulse races. Your throat tightens as your palms sweat. You feel sick to your stomach, and when you speak, your hands and knees shake along with your voice.  These are common  symptoms of stage fright , also known as performance anxiety. Millions of people experience the involuntary response when they’re faced with delivering a presentation or performing in front of others. This assumption of being judged arises from the  spotlight effect  -- the belief that people are paying more attention (especially negative attention) to you than they truly are. It’s an evolutionary holdover of the “fight or flight” response. In this case, your body perceives actual danger from becoming the focus of others' attention. Stage fright is normal, but that certainly doesn’t mean that it’s no...

How many times have you gone into a presentation and within couple of minutes have said “Oh no! Not another of those boring Power Point presentations….!!!!!!!!!!!” The truth is, bad Power Point happens to even good communicator and quite often the person giving the presentation is just as much a victim as the poor audience. Here are few tips which help you to add a bit more spice to your presentation and make it interesting. By all means this is not a comprehensive tips but a start feel free to share your tips also. The Skeleton It has been a common phenomenon for presenters to make their presentations first and then work on the speech. They align their speech according to the slides. But honestly it should be other way round. The slides are the tools to aid in your presentations.  Unless you are an expert in improvising, make sure you write out the script of your presentation even before thinking about the slides. Your script should follow good storytelling...

slides – is it important? Do you always pull out slides or projector when you are having an important conversation with your friend or relative in a restaurant. Rather that will be the odd thing to do. We look into their eyes and give them the proper / full attention along with the words. They feel important and start taking your words seriously. This, I know will raise a question: then why do we use slides? If you look at the maximum of the best speeches of all time, you will not find any use of slides. Though there are question: would these speeches have been better if they were narrated over slides? In many cases, no. You’d have to listen carefully to figure out when ideas would be better presented visually rather than with words alone, which is the secret for thinking about your own presentations: when do you truly need a visual image to express an idea? And when would it be better simply letting your voices tell the story? Most of the time we speak with sl...

Every Saturday I take my son to his music teacher, the different ways of practice that his teacher teaches him is equally applicable to public speaking. Whenever he made a mistake, she got him to start from a few notes before the mistake and carry on a few notes after the mistake, rather than going back to the start each time. This meant that the part of song that needed the most practice got it, rather than becoming excellent at the first part of the piece and then gradually getting worse as it went on. She also made him practice in various styles and speed. This kept him interested and also started making him versatile. It is good idea to aim to memorise your speech and have notes or cue cards to refer when needed. But as you get confident you should aim to become less reliant on your notes and to leave the script behind at times and just go with the flow. You may find yourself with a different audience to what you prepared for and they may appreciate a different angle on yo...