iLEAP Academia

While all of us dream of achieving the status of a star presenter, it is definitely not impossible. Practice is  surely the key, but, aided by the tips and tricks listed you will be able  to develop greater levels of  confidence and speaking in front  of an  audience will soon become  second  nature  to  you. In the business world today, good speaking skills are a requisite for moving up the ladder.

Your voice is your greatest tool, so take good care of it before a presentation. Your energy, enthusiasm and style are all reflected through your voice. Pamper your voice by drinking lots of water. Keep away from caffeinated drinks and milk products before the presentation. Don’t allow yourself to be stressed - relax! Don’t force yourself to speak louder than you can - use a microphone instead. Warm up all the muscles related to voice production.
Here are some exercises you could try before a presentation. 

• Stretch your  tongue  out as far as you can in all directions.
• Make as many funny faces as you can  to stretch and loosen all your  facial muscles.
• Hum holding any pitch for about 10 seconds and try this at various pitches.
• Vibrate  your lips try  to make  motorcycle  engine  sounds , playing  around  with the pitch
• Stand  straight , breathe deeply and  slowly and  in a  controlled manner  repeat - HA HA HA. Feel the resonance and the  vibrations as you  do this.

Let us identify some common voice problems and see how we can tackle them. The table below lists out the problem and how you can work on it.

Some tips

Be sure that the pitch you use is appropriate for the person and message. Be  careful and  don’t  drop the  ‘G’ at the end of  words like  finding , running, ’T’ after or  before  ‘N’ like in don’t and want. Avoid  excessive  coughing or throat  clearing. Upward inflection of voice conveys doubt. Use downward inflection to convey certainty. Your  voice  and body are closely linked and  so tension  affects  voice  production as well. See that  both your verbal and  non verbal messages match.

• Speak less than the  allotted time. If  you  tell your  audience  that you wil speak  only  for 15 minutes and will follow it  with a  discussion , they are happy  thinking that they  need to only  concentrate  for 15 minutes.
• Use  silence effectively and watch  your  audience  digesting  what you have  said. When you pause, the  signal the audience recieves is that they can  engage with  you and  ask  questions.
• Lay  emphasis on key words and  use  numbers or  words like – first,  second etc. and the  audience attention gets  focussed.
• Engage the  child  in every person  by using  emotional  words----I am  very  excited  today, I have  some great news  for  you.
• Use  words like – you or  your  to  give the  audience a sense  of  personal  involvement.
• Do  something  unexpected to change the  energy levels in the room. Walk to the  back of the  room, present from there. Shut  down the PPT and  say let’s talk. Engage them in a creative  activity .

Summary:

• Doing a couple of jaw and facial exercises can go a long way in a good presentation.
• Convey a positive energy and excitement, and you will receive the same in return.

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