As difficult as it is to win the heart of the crowd when presenting, loosing the room withing the first 5 minutes of presentation is the exact opposite.
When it comes to public presentation, there are do's and don'ts. As a public speaker myself, I have tried as much as I can over the years to put these rules to use.
Therefore, below are 5 important things to avoid whenever you are presenting or giving a speech.
"I'm tired"
Most speakers make this mistake. They start by giving excuses. "I was only invited yesterday". "I just arrived this morning", or some other excuses that the audience does not want to hear. Go straight to the point and skip the excuses."Can you hear me? Yes you can"
This is one awful way many people start their speeches. They tap the microphone few times and say "can you hear me?" It is not your duty as the speaker to test microphone volumes. Go straight to the point and if need be to test the microphone, do it the previous day."I'll be brief"
Most people make this promise, but sincerely not everyone keeps it. Although it's not in the best practice to keep the crowd more than expected but it doesn't mean you will make a promise that you can't keep. When you say you'll keep it brief and you end up with a very lengthy presentation, the audience gets bored and looses interest in whatever you are saying."I'll attend to that later"
On no account should a speaker leave a question that was raised as a result of a segment or a paragraph in the course of the presentation. There are times when audiences will be eager to learn and interact, you as the presenter needs to allow them at every opportunity you get."Please switch off your mobile phones"
Gone are the days when speakers will ask the audience to switch off their phones to avoid distractions. These days, audience uses their mobile devices to broadcast their selves to the world. They even tweet those beautiful quotes that you deliver in the course of the presentation. You can only ask them politely to put their devices on silent. You don't demand respect anymore, you earn it through the captivating speech you give.
Conclusion.
Always be ready, be professional, and be yourself. The audience will love you for that.
Thank you so much for reading.
If you found this post useful, please have your say in the comments section below. You are at
liberty to tell us what you feel or what your experiences are with public speaking.