How to prepare a good public speech? A few steps to a successful presentation

How to prepare a public speech?

The first step is substantive preparation. Regardless of whether you are an expert in a given field or have only been selected to present a report or the results of the entire team, it will be crucial to obtain valuable and verified information. If you have such an opportunity, refer to trusted research and sources. Citing scientific sources, referring to experts in your industry will help you build an image of an expert as well as increase your credibility. You can search for scientific research on dedicated websites for medics, psychologists, architects, etc. If you do not have access to such platforms, you can, for example, use the Google Scholar search engine, which is generally available and free. Sometimes reprints of the most important research findings can be found in industry articles.

How to create a good presentation?

There are several approaches to building the structure and content of a speech. One of them is a form of a quasi-essay. Think back to your high school essays that included an introduction, body and a conclusion. This is a very simple plan, but it’ll get you started. Why this form? Because it is arranged in a logical manner and it will be easy for the listeners to follow what we are talking about.

Another diagram is the ancient Greek triad: ethos-logos-pathos. Each of these elements is responsible for a different, important aspect of the presentation.

Pathos is part of the speech that is responsible for the emotions that we should evoke in the audience. We can rely on six basic emotions that were distinguished by Paul Ekman on the basis of universal facial expression. They include: joy, sadness, fear, anger, disgust and surprise. In various lists, you can also find an extended list of pride, shame, acceptance, boredom or embarrassment. Pathos can be obtained using words, storytelling and tone of voice.

Ethos is the part responsible for communication and persuasion. The speaker justifies his presence on stage and builds his credibility. It is about showing that we are experts in our field and know what we are talking about.

Logos is an element that provides the audience with logical facts and arguments to support the thesis. In this section, we refer to data, statistics, authority, facts, history and evidence.

The perfect triad encapsulates all three elements:)

How to give a lecture, a motivational speech or a presentation at a conference?

There are a few essential elements in this section that, if you practice well, will make you a professional speaker.

Gesticulation and body language

From my experience, this is one of the biggest concerns of people appearing in public. At the beginning, one of the biggest challenges can be to maintain a good posture or natural gestures, instead of keeping your hands in your pockets or stiffly against the body. See tips with photos on how to gesturiculate.

Tone of the voice

Do you want to sound like an actor transitioning smoothly from one way of speaking to another or sound like an answering machine?

Working with a microphone

Everyone knows how to hold a microphone and it should seem simple, but getting to know the specifics of various types of microphones – dynamic, condenser, microport – gives comfort to both the speaker and the audience.

Contact with the audience

Eye contact, engaging the audience and making one’s speech memorable are one of the most important skills of a speaker. After all, that’s the point of a presentation, to present yourself to people, not to yourself in front of a mirror. Unless someone likes it like that, then I won’t get into it;)

Verbal communication

What words are we using? Do we use colloquial language or jargon? Are we convincing? Are our sentences logical and understandable? These are the elements that should be verified.

Stage movement

Everyone is characterized by different dynamics, both in terms of voice and stage movement. Not everyone has to be a stage animal and make a show.

How to prepare a presentation in Powerpoint? How to create a visual presentation?

Only very few presentations forego visuals. In most cases, we use photos, tables, quotes or bullets. A good presentation will not only diversify our presentation, but also allow the audience to double code, i.e. remembering with two senses – hearing and sight. Here you will find an in-depth topic on how to prepare a good multimedia presentation

Copyright

This is a very important element! In the era of sharing many photos on social media, we can feel that you can freely use photos, but like any product, it has copyrights. There are many sites where you can buy photos of good quality or even download them for free and they are called stocks, such as Pixabay, Pexel, Unsplash for photography or Bensound for music. The second option is to ask the author for permission to include his work in our presentation. Some of them willingly consent to the non-commercial use of their photos or music.

Checklist before the speech

Before the speech, just like before a wedding or an important event, it is worth having a checklist and writing down everything that we need or have to do. Such principles are derived from the Getting Things Done methodology. Download a ready-made checklist before your speech.

]If you need an individual approach and preparation for your tailor-made speech, please contact me. I will help you prepare an unforgettable speech and control stage fright.

You can learn more about public speaking skills training in Zurich: