Dr. Antonia Johnson
Cool Tips for How to Prepare for Your Presentation
Cool Tips for How to Prepare for Your Presentation
1. Should you write out your talk? Some say absolutely no. Others say that with the computer, this is easy and helps us think. People are surprised to hear that is what I do. Many other ESL people have told me that is what they do.
2. What’s next? Read it over and over again. Read it in front of a mirror while trying to maintain eye contact with yourself as you read.
3. Next, do the same talk without the script. Make notes. Use them while you rehearse. Take the notes with you to be used in an emergency or for last minute review.
This ends the second tip for things to do when you prepare and speak. Our tip next week will be about some of the don’ts.
This is a rerun from 2013.
Stand Up and Speak as Well as You Think!
Stand Up and Speak as Well as You Think!
1.Winston Churchill said it took him six to seven hours to prepare a forty-five minute speech. If you want to be confident, you must know that your message is worthy of the audience, worthy of the occasion, and worthy of you. The time and work are worth it. Your sense of triumph at the end of your talk will come from knowing you worked hard for this moment.
2. First step in gaining confidence is to know your subject. Yes, a good part of Winston Churchill’s six to seven hours was getting to know his subject like an expert. You get to be an expert through study and experience.
3. Speak to your audience. Don’t speak to who you wish you had in your audience, but who you actually do have in your audience. Aim to give something to everyone. If you have people ignorant of your topic and experts, make sure you give something to each.
This is a rerun from 2013.
Where Should Your Hands Be?
Where Should Your Hands Be?
1. Where should your hands be? When you begin, they should hang naturally by your body. Then they should describe and emphasize what you are saying.
2. Ideally, you should gesture with one hand at a time. When you move both you waste energy without getting any extra effect.
3. When you use one hand at a time, your hand and arm movements can be descriptive and emphatic. Use the right hand, then left, then right! Strange but true– it looks great and gets people’s attention.
This is a rerun from 2013.
