A major portion of this piece was first published in 2011. It's importance remains and it is worth repeating.
Extemporaneous delivery is probably worth as much time as you can afford
to spend on the project. By extemporaneous we mean you know what you
are going to say and you have the content well in mind. You have
organized the data appropriately for your listeners and when the time
comes for you to speak, you choose your words while you are speaking.
Aristotle
thought that between content and delivery, delivery was not nearly as
important. Demosthenes on the other hand felt that delivery is
critical. Personally I think that excellent content excellently
delivered should be the goal. In life, you will most often be asked to
speak on things about which you are well informed. Your biggest problem
will be matching the audience to you and your topic. That will guide
you in what to include, while you are narrowing your topic. Then the
order in which you have been most successful talking to others about the
topic.
Task: establish a
central idea and type it across a blank page in your word processor,
and save it to your desktop. Whenever you think of something that
should be included in your presentation, open the document and add it.
As potential main ideas occur to you, add them. As supportive material
occurs to you, add them under the appropriate main idea. Out of this
will grow your fairly detailed outline.
Practice:
examine your materials, adjust them to fit you, your audience and the
occasion. Let the rough outline sit for a time and then go over your
materials and set a final version of the outline. Use that outline to
build the visual materials (PowerPoint, Keynote, Prezi, etc.) you will need to
clearly make your points. Remember, the more ways you can
simultaneously say a thing the easier it will be for your audience to
understand and retain what you are saying. Remember, in the "real" world
you will be asked to say to a large group, things you have already been
saying to individuals and small groups. You have practiced/rehearsed your speech.
More practice won't hurt and will help.
Delivery:
get to your location early, setup and test everything. Once you stand
up and begin, realize that there is nothing more you can do to prepare.
Your only concern now is that the audience will understand and be able
to recall and use what you are saying. It isn't important that you be
perfect in appearance or delivery. . .only that the audience
understands, can recall and use your content. You are at this point
more like a missionary than anything else: only concerned about the
audience.
Afterwards:
what kinds of questions are asked? What might you have done to make
clearer what you were trying to say. Make notes and then make repairs,
because it is likely that you'll be asked to do this again fairly soon.
Don't forget
to make available leave behinds. Don't pass them out before or during
your presentation. Be certain that your contact information is clearly
part of the leave behind.
At this point,
your contact information becomes the shortest route to getting that
raise you so richly deserve. Remember, you wouldn't have been asked to
make the presentation had you not been a recognizable expert in the
area. If during and after the presentation there are those who would
like to have you working with/for them, the contact information will be
needed by them to reach you. You are not under any obligation to change
employers, but should it be desirable from your point of view you may
be given the opportunity.
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