Rehearsal of Presentation
Rehearsal is vital for presenting an excellent presentation. Rehearsing boosts your confidence, assures you understand your topic, and helps you to improve your presenting abilities. It is critical to practice not just giving your speech, but also employing your visual aids.
Rehearse your presentation first for yourself (in front of a mirror or to a cat), then for a friend or colleague.
Set a timer for your rehearsal. Make sure you can finish your discussion within the time limit.
Practice with your slideshow. Running it concurrently with your talk will verify that it appears and functions as expected.
Make sure the structure of your presentation corresponds to the order of your visual aids.
Consider the timing of your slideshow. Is it compatible with your words? Is there excessive on-screen movement? Are there too many mouse clicks near together?
Here are five ways to rehearsing successfully.
Begin with presenting notes.
PowerPoint allows you to put comments at the bottom of each presentation. Begin writing complete phrases on each slide. Read the transcript aloud as you go through each slide. Next, break down the whole phrases into bullet points and perform them out loud again, this time using fewer notes. Finally, reduce the notes to only a few sentences that will urge you to present the full idea. The less you depend on notes for your final presentation, the greater eye contact and connection you’ll have.
Practice with’mild tension.’
Psychologists who deal with athletes have discovered that simulating real-world settings as much as possible during practice sessions results in the greatest performance when pressure is applied. Tim Ferriss, a notable entrepreneur and author, used this topic in his TED presentation. “Mimic game-day conditions as much as possible,” he stated following his presentation. Ferriss delivered the lecture to groups of around 20 individuals at different companies, both friends and strangers. “I don’t want my first rehearsal in front of a large group of strangers to be when I stand up in front of 3,000 people,” he told the audience.
Ask for detailed input.
Most individuals will remark “good job” once you rehearse your presentation in front of a small group. They do not want to hurt your emotions, thus they will provide minimal response. “Good job” could make you feel good, but it won’t help you improve. Ask them to be specific. Is there anything you did not understand? Do I use jargon you are unfamiliar with? Did I make strong eye contact? What did you like or dislike about my delivery? What can I do to strengthen it?
Amanda Palmer, a musician, invited more than two dozen people to see her rehearse over a potluck supper. She presented the lecture to students, friends via Skype, and two or three rehearsals in front of TED organizers. Over the course of four months, she worked tirelessly to perfect it. She gathered comments on each presentation and adjusted it, rewriting sections of the script to reduce it into 12 short, compelling minutes.
Ask friends and coworkers for open, honest, and detailed comments.
Make a record of it.
Set up a smartphone or video camera on a tripod to capture your presentation. You will be astonished by what you see. You will hear verbal fillers like ‘ums’ and ‘ahs.’ You’ll notice yourself making distracting hand actions like brushing your hair back or jiggling money in your pocket. You may find yourself avoiding eye contact or focusing on the slides rather than the audience. It’s not always easy to see oneself on camera, but it’s an essential tool for good presentations.
Practice until it comes naturally.
The toughest thing to answer is how many times I should rehearse my presentation. Dr. Jill practiced 200 times. Mary Roach, an author and scientist, rehearsed her TED lecture 25 times. I suggest practicing the full presentation until you can give it naturally, without worrying about the first words you’ll say about each slide. In my experience as a professional communication counselor, I set the number of rehearsals at 10. Some folks may need more than others. However, if you rehearse your presentation from beginning to end at least 10 times, you will feel more confident than before.