Historical leaders and techniques for effective public speaking

¶ … history have brought us great leaders whom people all over the world recognize and admire. In front of hundreds of thousands of people they deliver stirring and moving speeches that touches each listener's heart and soul. Each of their gestures while delivering words of wisdom demands respect and attention. Truly, these great personalities from the annals of history have mastered the art of public speaking, effectively presenting their thoughts, views, ideals and policies. It is no wonder that their works in the past have become the foundation of lectures and studies on how to effectively conduct presentation in front of an audience. The manner of their delivery is now a basis for presentations aided by modern technology.

This paper shall clearly discuss important details in summary on effectively conducting presentations whether in front of a class, a work environment, a public audience or a client. Preparations, situations and the do's and the don'ts of proper staging of the presentation shall also be tackled.

Planning and Preparation

There is great importance in careful preparation and planning before conducting a presentation. Each topic should be clearly identified. The manner of the delivery and each situation should be properly placed in the body of the speech. The amount of persuasion should be carefully considered. The time allotted for the staging should be well budgeted.

With so much potentially at stake, the presenter must concentrate not only upon the facts being presented but upon the style, pace, tone and ultimately tactics which should be used. (Gerard Blaire)

An outline is commonly suggested in preparing the plan. This would include the introduction, the body and the concluding remarks and statement of the whole presentation. After all components are placed in its proper place then you are ready to deliver and conduct.

Delivery and Conduction

Now comes the most important part of your presentation, the delivery of your ideas pertaining to the topics you would want to discuss with your audience. An online reference indicates that

Presenting your ideas powerfully and effectively demands content-knowledge, delivery skills and an awareness of the tools that can take an ordinary presentation and turn it into a powerful platform for delivering meaningful messages that will be around long after the meeting is over.

The presenter must always be aware of the gestures and actions while presenting a topic, an idea or a proposal to his audience. There are several things that masters on this field always consider while carrying out the presentation, such as the appearance of the conductor, professional and neatly groomed. Always maintain an eye contact with your audience, natural body movements. The volume, the pitch, the tone and the articulation of the voice is also one of the essential part of the delivery.

The body of the presentation should always answer the vital questions of what, why, how and who. This information is the key in giving the primary content of your topic. The topic must have a flexible and flowing structure. In modern presentations, visual aides and multimedia tools are commonly being incorporated. This can help you in making the presentation more memorable to your audience.

The concluding statements should emphasize what is meant to be delivered, exert a great impact to your listeners, and reacts positively to the topics you have discussed. This then would assure you that the whole presentation is a success!

The don'ts while delivering the presentation

Here are some of the don'ts while delivering and conducting the presentation:

Stand rigid while doing the presentation.

Marching and slouching on the stage or podium.

Play with keys or coins in your pocket

Using unwanted gestures such as tapping your feet, hands in the pocket, and other actions for this may be perceived as disability on the part of the presenter.

Do not use jokes unless you are well tuned in this field.

For what its worth, practicing and preparing before a delivery of a presentation would always assure you in succeeding in your primary goal, the appreciation and the positive reaction from your audience.