Experienced speaker Dominic Regan provides guidance on making a successful presentation
What follows are a few suggestions that might help if you are called upon to deliver a lecture to anyone, anywhere.
Practice makes perfect
“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail” sounds trite but is deadly accurate. You need to know your stuff and to display modest confidence. On no account start by saying “I haven’t a clue why they asked me to talk” or, even if true, “I was asked to do this only last night”. Do not dig a grave.
Always work from an identical set of notes to those handed out. The danger is that if you have updated your notes since they were first produced the pagination will be out and you will miss the new items added. Always read from the same hymn sheet.
Timing is crucial. If a new talk give it a run through, breaking it down and asking roughly how long each segment will take. Public speaking is at a slower pace than normal conversation. Ensure you do not go short. I once chaired
