I’ve written about the importance of putting down your editing pen and taking up the harder task of practicing your speech. (In this photo, the 2007 Bushwackers Drum and Bugle Corps are practicing in Weehawken, NJ.)
If you don’t practice, you don’t get good. So you’re willing, right?
But how do you do it?
What Do You Practice?
The Rule of 3 tells us to look for no more than three answers, illustrations, or examples to any question; but in this case, I’ve got four things on my practice list:
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graphic by Nicole Kenney
Practice your key message. This is the central idea that your audience will remember. Practice it backwards, forwards, upside down, and in your sleep. If you don’t truly know the main point of your presentation, how will your audience be certain they know it?
- Practice transitions. How will you carry one point into the next? And if you’re using PowerPoint, how will you narrate one slide to the next? Good transitions create forward momentum. Flat transitions (“Here you see… This slide shows you… Here you can tell that…”) sap your audience’s energy and leave them adrift.
- Practice your opening and close. Your opening should be confidently delivered, to set your audience at ease. Your close should feel like a “big finish,” so they know they’ve heard something important. Both those goals are much easier to reach if you’ve practiced your content and can focus on delivery.
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too hot? too cold? just right?
Practice any stories in your presentation. Few of us can tell a great story the first, or even the tenth time we try. Your stories deserve to be well-considered (what do you take out? what do you emphasize?) and well-shaped (beginning-middle-end); and only practice will guarantee that they are.
How Do You Practice?
- Out loud
- In sections
- Conversationally
- A lot!
Laurika and Christian practice a riff
