6 errors of public speaking at conferences

Quite often I have to attend all kinds of seminars, conferences, meetings, hackathons and presentations. Where, at one fine moment, one of the guests has to get up, pick up a microphone and talk about something. Moreover, it doesn’t matter on what topic kurultai, over and over again I see about the same “difference”.

Do not check equipment performance

At least once during any conference there is a speaker tapping the microphone with his fingers, saying intriguingly “One! One! ”And the questioner“ How do the slides switch here? ”

All this:
 takes time;
 distracts the attention of the audience;
 forms a negative assessment of your oratory skills;
 makes you go astray and nervous.

Tip: come to the place of your performance in advance. See how your presentation is displayed on someone else’s technique. It often happens that fonts fly off, there are errors and other force majeure. All this is easily eliminated 10-30 minutes before the start of the performance. Ask the organizers to show you how the slides switch, the microphone turns on and off. Grab your laptop and flash drive just in case.


Do not stipulate the rules of speech and be distracted by questions

Quite often I watch how a harmless performance turns into an oriental bazaar. Everyone shouts from their seats, they don’t listen to anyone, they stretch their hands and ask questions, without having finished listening to the speaker. The fault is the absence of the stated regulations.

Tip: greet the audience, in 2-3 sentences tell about yourself and indicate the format of your presentation. You can tell what your story is about, how long it will take, and when it is best to ask you questions. All this will make it possible to outline the boundaries of what is permitted, protect it from all kinds of irritants and set the listeners to work.

Further and below in the text I will apply small video examples. No offense. No malicious intent. I googled it and found the first vidosiks that came across, it seems to me, the most suitable in meaning. If you find friends, do not throw pebbles at me. I'm not on purpose.


Speak when no one is listening

I never understood the desire of people to start their speeches until the focus of attention of the audience. Usually, there is a performance of a person, he goes on stage and from a place in a quarry begins to push his cart. Nobody listens to him, especially doesn’t stick him in, and here the middle of the speech is behind. Sometimes all this looks like a continuation of the now popular YouTube show "What happened next."

Tip: Don’t start talking while the audience is “buzzing”. Why waste time trying to shout down a noisy room. Usually, as soon as the speaker begins to increase the volume of the voice, the intensity of the noise increases. You can be silent until everyone calms down. There is an option to close the microphone with your hand, then it will make a sharp, loud and nasty sound, thereby attracting the attention of the hall. The main thing – do not talk until you listen!


Stand with your back to the room and read the contents of the presentation from the screen.

This is generally the most common situation. The speaker turns his back to the audience and begins to read everything that is written on his slides. You probably know that reading aloud is slower for any person than for yourself. Therefore, while the speaker is in the middle of his slide, the audience in the hall has been nervously smoking bamboo for a long time. And it’s good if the presentation is 10 minutes and three slides, worse when the presentation is an hour and the slides are well past seventy.

Tip: Do not try to voice everything that is written in the presentation. Anyway, the presentation only complements your report. Best not to be distracted by slides. They should visually support the course of your story.


Fine print and lots of text

There is nothing worse than a small screen, a large audience and a dim glow of the projector. At the exit, you get a completely pale presentation, without the ability to recognize its contents. Leave the urge to place text on top of pictures for better times. Animation and other special effects also take away the attention of the audience.

Tip: Try to minimize the size of the presentation text. One slide is one thought. The size is from 32 to 54. Font, if it is not defined by the brand book, take the most common one (Arial or Calibri), in this case there is less chance that it will "fly off".


Do not indicate your contacts

This is generally found in every second speaker. Well, if there is on the title slide his name and company. Often this does not happen, not to mention email, telephone and other communication channels. It does not cost absolutely nothing, but it allows you to significantly increase the effectiveness of your performance. Firstly, it cannot be ruled out that someone wants to share your presentation with colleagues or partners. And if suddenly the topic of your report is of interest to important people, they will have to make extra efforts in order to find you. The second, quite often “good thought comes after” and then write “to the village to grandfather” also without options.

Tip: Indicate your details at the beginning and end of the presentation. It is advisable to show the current details.

BONUS: instead of a conclusion, look at the finals of the world championship in oratory. A very interesting sight.

Z.Y. I hope that the thoughts voiced above will not cause you sharp rejection. Of course, my story does not pretend to be the ultimate truth. These are just personal observations, nothing more.

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