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"Fans," says media coach Kathleen Hessert, "expect athletes to communicate with the same degree of excellence as they perform. Good communication builds interest, which builds fans, which means dollars."
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More Techniques / The Basics- Effective Presentation Preparation

Writing for the Ear

When writing speeches it is imperative that you focus on the audience. Concentrate on portraying the message you want them to hear and absorb, not necessarily what you want to say. Here are a few speechwriting rules:

  • Remember Cicero's advice.
    The aim of writing is not simply to be understood, but to make it impossible to be misunderstood.
  • Know the exact meaning of words.
    This will help you avoid embarrassing blunders such as introducing the "penultimate" keynote speaker.
  • Watch out for homonyms.
    Telling your audience "the company performed the task weekly" could easily be interpreted as "the company performed the task weakly."
  • Add "aural punctuation."
    Listeners can't see punctuation. "Do you have any brothers- or sisters-in-law?" can mean one thing when you read it, and another when you hear it. To avoid confusion, expand your sentences.
  • Use transitions generally.
    Transitions include recaps, questions, and single words such as consequently, therefore and next. Take extra care to guide your listeners and keep them on track.
  • Write periodic sentences.
    In sequencing your sentences, it's always best to move from the least important to the most important, from the most obvious to the least obvious, from the prosaic to the profound.
  • Employ the power of meter.
    Use rhythm, pacing, and a mixture of accented and unaccented syllables along with your natural cadences. This will capture and hold the attention of your audience and can set the entire mood for your speech.
  • Be proactive
    Listeners expect a certain order and rationality in what they're hearing while at the same time enjoy a challenge to think of things in a new way. Instead of always being predictable, opt for the less obvious to keep listeners on their toes.

 

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Effective Presentation Preparation

 Outline your idea: A presentation is like sailing the ocean. If you want to reach your destination, you have to start with an action plan. So lay the groundwork to your presentation with an outline of key points. This will help you stay on course in case of a storm.

Allocate time: Allocating time for your presentation and practicing it to fit the time constraint is very crucial. First of all, audiences hate long-winded presentations, as they are a sign of disorganization. Besides, it will make you comfortable to know that you don't have to rush your speech.

Identify critical ideas: What are the key points you want your audience to get out of this presentation? Identify them clearly and emphasize them.

Script key areas: To ensure that key points are delivered accurately and effectively, have those ideas scripted out. This will take the load off your shoulders.

Prepare handouts: Handouts will get the audience involved, keep them focused on your message and have something tangible to take with them after the presentation.

Audiovisuals: If you want to get their attention and keep their attention, then be sure to use attractive audiovisuals.

Refine presentation: Review your presentation for message clarity, organization, creativity and content.

Audio tape yourself: This is a great way to review what your audience will hear.

Critique and revise your presentation: From the audio tape, critique your presentation for message clarity, key point emphasis and content creativity.

Videotape yourself: In face-to-face communication, 93% of the effectiveness depends on how you look and sound. Therefore, your gestures, your posture and voice play a major role in conveying your message.

Do your final refinement:By checking your gestures, posture and voice, you will look, sound and speak a message of confidence and control, and people will believe you.