8 Timely Tips for Pre-Presentation Preparation

Your big day has come. You are ready to deliver your presentation. To guarantee your success there are still a few final steps to take before you face your audience.

Check in early.

Arrive early to check out the logistics of the room in which you will be speaking. Is there a platform and where is it? Where will you be standing when you are introduced? How will you reach the lectern? Is the audience close enough to where you will be speaking to build intimacy? Is the light on you instead of the banner or the lectern if you are not standing behind it. Research shows if you put the sound UP and the lights DOWN the audience thinks they can’t hear!

Make friends with the stage:

When the room is empty walk on the stage, “block” your presentation, Go through the outline of your talk. Imagine an enthusiastic response.

Take a clock:

Make sure you have a clock you can see from a distance. These days to keep me on track I take a large kitchen clock that I can from a distance.

Microphone:

Do you have your preferred microphone? Hand-held, lavaliere, or Lectern. Learn how to turn the microphone off and on, and how to smoothly remove it from the stand. Practice talking into it, the proper placing is chin level for a handheld. Ask someone to walk around and check you can be heard from all parts of the room.

Audio visual:

If you are using a PowerPoint projector make sure the equipment is working well. Are your PowerPoint slides in the right sequence? Do you have a remote control to change them? This way you can move around and are not chained to your computer. Remember to turn the slide to black when you are not addressing what is on the screen.

For smaller meetings:

Do you need a flipchart? If so are there appropriate markers and extra paper?

Connect with the organizer or emcee.

Be clear about who will introduce you, and where you'll be. Will you walk on from the wings or up from the floor? If you are speaking at a banquet, check that you will have a clear path to the microphone without tripping over wires, chairs, or diners.

Pre-written introduction:

In advance send your pre-written introduction. Carry another with you. Have it written in 18 – 20 point type and each line a bullet point. This is easier to read than paragraphs. Be sure your introducer knows how to pronounce your name correctly.

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Being perceived as a dynamic, inspiring, and persuasive communicator is a matter of business life and death! Get 24/7 access to executive speech coach and sales presentation skills expert Patricia Fripp when you sign up for FrippVT today at www.FrippVT.com.

Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE is an award-winning keynote speaker, business presentation expert, sales presentation skills trainer, and in-demand speech coach to executives and celebrity speakers and known as "the speaker's speaker." Meetings & Conventions magazine named her "One of the 10 most electrifying speakers in North America." Fortune 500 companies maximize their investment by engaging Patricia for the keynote, breakout sessions, and to coach their executives on their presentations. Patricia is known for simplifying and demystifying the process of designing and delivering powerful keynote speeches and sales presentations.