Thomas Murrell................................................................ How to Start a Presentation Confidently.........
The most common question I'm asked as an MC, professional speaker or executive speech coach is, "How do you start
a presentation confidently?" My answer, "It’s all in the preparation and the first seven seconds."
There are common mistakes novice and even experienced presenters make even if it is a three minute impromptu
speech, a 45 minute keynote or two day training session.
Over my 30 year career, here are my public speaking tips on how to start a presentation confidently.
- Do not apologize at the beginning: This is the "I'm sorry" beginning and a trait common amongst nervous speakers.
They are trapped in a downward spiral of poor self-belief and have an urge to apologize at the very beginning of a
speech when it is most critical to exude confidence.
Common apologies I hear are: "I'm sorry I don't have much time so I will rush through this", "I'm sorry I have a lot of
PowerPoint slides and not much time". "I'm sorry I didn't have much time to prepare for this speech”. "I'm sorry I got
called in to speak at late notice". "I'm sorry I'm having trouble with the technology"
It is a natural defence mechanism to apologize and I find this especially prevalent amongst Australian speakers. No
matter what is happening in the background the audience doesn't really care. All they want is for the speaker to
succeed and for them to have a positive experience.
- Don't Tell a Joke: I was recently at networking breakfast when one event speaker told a very bad joke that was
rude, off colour and lacked humour. After his short speech came a deathly silence. No one clapped, yet there was
applause for every other speaker that morning at this business event.
Unless you are a professional comedian, don’t tell a joke at the beginning of a speech. Jokes often contain an "ism" -
sexism, racism, and ageism as the risk in offending a person in your audience is high and not worth it.
- Avoid Fake and Phoney Engagement: This is usually done by an emerging "motivational" speaker who has watched
too many 1980 or 90’s speakers who used to start off with "So how are you today?” When the audience fails to
respond, they would continue in a louder voice with an inane and annoying "I can't hear you!" and what ensues is
normally an immediate dislike of the presenter by the audience. - Avoid the "Hands up if you have ever..." technique: Yes, I encourage audience interaction but this is a very poor
audience engagement technique in the beginning of a speech. Leave this one to the primary school teachers where it
suits the context of engaging with five to ten year olds perfectly when asking them questions. - Avoid Gratuitous Thank yous: ‘You are a wonderful audience." "It's great to be here." "Thanks for that terrific
introduction." Sure compliment your audience if it is appropriate and adds value to your speech. Just start your
speech strongly - don't waste time on super fluffs.
Thomas Murrell MBA CSP is an international business speaker, published writer, bestselling
author, media consultant and award-winning broadcaster based in Perth Western Australia.
His regular electronic magazine is read by over 8,000 professionals in 36 different countries.
Subscribe by visiting http://www.8mmedia.com Call Thomas at +618 9388 6888 or visit his
blog at http://www.8mmedia.blogspot.com/