Lisa McAskill, MC for the 2015 SA Prayer Breakfast, shares her top tips for delivering a successful presentation.
Preparation is key. You need to spend some time really thinking and working out what it is you are going to speak about. As soon as you know you have to give a presentation, start making some notes, jotting down ideas and thoughts – they don’t have to be in order initially. You will find that you will be more attuned to picking up on relevant information. It may be something you hear on the radio, see online or someone is talking about. This is where you usually find the gems of your presentation.
Practice out loud. Re-write your speech if you need to, so that it sounds just like you and the way you talk.
Trust yourself. Once you have prepared and practiced and have your notes as back up, then trust your instinct in the moment to take the presentation to where it needs to go.
Express yourself. Use your hands to help express what you are saying – and be aware of your body language when you are feeling most confident and replicate that.
Engage. Make eye contact and smile! Don’t just smile with your mouth smile with your eyes too! If you are speaking about something good, look happy about it!
Work in some humour early on. If you can make your audience laugh, they will keep listening in the hope you will do it again. It doesn’t have to be hilarious, mildly amusing will do. It shouldn’t seem to be added in but arise naturally from what you are saying – keep a lookout for it in your information in stories, look for things that are weird, or incongruous, or ironic or silly.
Connect with your audience. Allow yourself some time to do a bit of bonding with the people in your audience beforehand, that way you will have some supporters already on side and willing to engage straight up.
Be yourself and be natural. But be a slightly heightened, slightly more confident, extroverted and enthusiastic version of yourself.
And finally – enjoy the experience!
Lisa McAskill is an experienced presenter with a successful career in the television, modelling, film and training industries. During her 30 year career she has:
Presented on Channel 9’s Postcards program for 14 years
- Presented on numerous local morning programs, corporate and training videos
- Featured in more than 70 local, national and international television commercials
- Been a successful model for 20 years
- Worked in production for Grundy’s Wheel of Fortune
Lisa’s technical skills and experience are underpinned by a lifetime passion for teaching. She is delighted to now share her knowledge through her training and workshop programs.
See more at lisamcaskill.com.au
