Public Speaking — Some guidelines
Public speaking. Whilst something that I personally enjoy, it strikes fear into the hearts of others. It is true that not everyone feels comfortable in front of a crowd, but sometimes it is necessary and that is where some guidelines will come in handy.
In public speaking, as in many other activities, there is no one set of rules to rule them all, but there are some guidelines that can be followed depending on the context and personal opinion of the presenter.
Throughout this text I’ll offer you my point of view and some of the guidelines I like to follow.
The Setup!
The dreadful day starts closing in and you start to doubt if you can make it. How many people will show up? Will they find what I’ve got to say interesting? Will they so much as pay attention?
Worry, do not! As Yoda would say. If you prepare yourself there will be no cause for concern, everything will be fine.
You should choose your topic wisely, if you’ve got the chance you should choose something you would feel comfortable talking about, that’s something that will get you half way to the brink of comfort!
But don’t think that you won’t need to do some research. Always be well informed about your topic, that way you won’t feel threatened by someone on the audience that might know more about it! And even if that happens there are some classy and not self-demeaning ways to dismiss those questions, something along the lines of:
That is actually a good question, but not exactly on point with the context of this presentation. I’d be glad to discuss this further if you stick around afterwards.
Another good thing to do in the setup is to carry some notes. The presentation view offered by most editors is a good help for that, but I’m a fan of one written page with some major guidelines that will remind me of what I want to say, this way I can place them somewhere that doesn’t need me to be near the computer, and I can roam a little more around the room.
The slides!
Have you ever seen those presentations with awful fonts, a lot of text and colors that don’t make any sense to anyone? That’s right! I have too!
With that in mind, let me tell you what I like to do with my slides. I usually start off by choosing the color scheme and font.
Below is an example slide of how I like to design my presentations. As you can see, the color scheme is sober and tries to leave the least amount of openings for distractions from the audience.
The content should be well arranged, after all, if you have some text on one side of the slide and other parts on the opposite you’re risking general confusion amongst your audience.
Where did that come from? What does it mean? What comes next? — These might be some of the thoughts going through the minds of your audience.
I also advise against animations on slides, at least against those that are extravagant. I like to only animate the changing of the bullet point I’m introducing, for example, in the image above I would be talking about Colors.
One guideline I like to follow while filling in the slide is the 7x7 rule. It states that a slide that contains bullet points should have at most 7 bullet points, with at most 7 words each. I always try to follow this rule on the presentation but there are others that can be applied.
Tip: Another good option might be to have one or two images on the slide, and use them to explain what you’re talking about.
Go ahead, speak!
Now for the part that everyone dreads, the one where you have to talk and make it look natural. It is certain that for some people it will be easier, this is a soft skill that not everyone has. But practice makes perfect, or at least close to it, we hope!
You want to give the impression you’re at your most comfortable in front of an audience, loosen up, you’re not on trial (only a little bit)!
Talk with your hands, but do it wisely. You don’t want to be flailing your arms around like an inflatable tube man, right?
You want to keep it casual and on par with your voice and tone variations. Like this kind of hand movements:
Some people like to hold something in their hands, and that might help with knowing what to do with those two body parts, but be careful not to start fidgeting with whatever you’re holding. This fidgeting may be a distraction for your audience and poof, you’ve lost them!
Another thing that might help you be more comfortable is finding one or two friendly faces in the crowd, preferably seated in the middle of the audience, and from time to time talk directly at them. You might feel more at ease and at the same time the audience members will feel like you’re looking at each of them.
Tip: Another trick that might also help with this last tip, look at the back corners of the room, and at the middle side-walls if any. It will give the appearance of looking directly at audience members, without having to actually do so.
The big finale! 🎉
Remember that this is where you go out with a bang! This is the part you want them to remember! The climax of your talk!
You can end the slides in different ways. I like to have a quote on the slide where we’re going to summarise everything, where we have our conclusion, our piecing the information together!
Now, if you go with a quote make sure of three things:
- It is a real quote. We don’t want those fake internet quotes that can be challenged by someone on the crowd.
- It is a small and quick to read quote. If you choose a long quote, the audience will try to read it and won’t listen to anything you’re saying, keep them with you.
- It is related to your topic. You don’t want a football quote on a presentation about technology, do you?
Now for the final slide! I would advise against a ‘Thank you’ slide, or a ‘Questions?’ slide. The first one because it is smug to assume that people liked your presentation and are prepared to applaud. The latter because there might be no questions whatsoever, and in that way it would make it awkward.
My advice is to have the last slide equal to the first one, with your professional/personal contacts so that people can take note and talk to you at a later time.
Also, you should thank your audience vocally (as opposed to a slide), and ask them to address you any questions that the presentation might have left. Do all of this with your final slide in the background.
With that in mind, let me thank you for taking the time to read this post, and if you have any questions please let me know!
Do you like to speak publicly, or do you share the feelings of most of the population and are terrified by it? Do you feel prepared to present? Are there any other guidelines you like to use yourself? We’d love to hear from you! Comment below with your experiences!
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