Like any kind of advanced communication skill, the art of giving effective presentations is not in-born; it requires what James Clear has called deliberate practice — that is, systematic practice that requires focused and repeated attention on improving, plus making use of feedback from others to help you do so.^[1] You can apply deliberate practice to learn more about delivering effective presentations by systematically following these steps:

Observe other public speakers:  take notes on what works well (and what doesn’t). Study and learn from what successful public speakers can show and tell you about becoming an effective presenter

Practice and apply: Select and practice strategies to add to your toolkit that will work for you

Reflect:  review your own performance, get feedback from others, and adapt to continually improve your skills.

You can learn a lot simply by observing how successful public speakers “work the room” and engage their audience. Consciously take note of what they do. How do they use their voice? How do they deploy tone, pausing, pacing, and projection to ensure their voice connects with their audience and keeps them attentive? What do they do with their hands? facial expression? body language? How do they make use of the physical space around them? Take note of how speakers physically operate, both in person on screen: identify what they do, what works well and what doesn’t, and choose approaches that appeal to you for putting into practice in your own presentations.

As a student, you might start by observing your professors. Aim to identify what makes one professor a great lecturer and another less engaging. Compare what they do with their voice, their hands, their gestures, their movements. Pay attention to how they pace their talk to draw you in and create emphasis. Reflect on what they do to convey a sense of enthusiasm for what they’re talking about—or fail to do so. You want to know what kinds of things to avoid—a dull monotonous tone, for example—as well as what kinds of things to adopt to ensure your voice comes across as a powerful tool for communicating your ideas clearly and emphatically.

Learning from experts who lay out a set of simple techniques is a confidence builder because it shows that great speakers are made, not born. With deliberate practice, anyone can do this. There are no mysteries, just specific, applicable strategies that anyone can adopt to establish rapport with an audience and make a meaningful impact.

Practical Tips for Public Speaking

Whether you’re giving a presentation to classmates, colleagues, clients, a focus group, a group of city councillors, or the general public — or even in a job interview — many of the key strategies and processes that make a talk engaging and worthwhile for an audience remain the same. Below are some key lessons (many taken from the videos linked above) for effective public speaking that you can adopt to serve you well in a variety of speaking contexts.

Understand Your Rhetorical Situation

As with any communication task, a crucial first step is to develop a clear understanding of the rhetorical situation:

Understand Your Audience: They are the reason you are doing this! Keep the “audience experience” firmly in mind. Who is your audience, why are they are listening, what do they want or need to get out of your presentation? How much do they already know? Are they learners, experts, or a mix of both? Also consider how diverse might your audience be in terms of age, gender, and culture. How might these factors influence your presentation choices? What techniques will you use to engage and keep their attention?

Identify Your Purpose: what do you want to achieve? How do you want your audience to think, believe or behave differently after seeing your presentation? Set two or three clear, focused goals – key “takeaways” you want your audience to remember. What techniques might best emphasize these takeaways?

Know Your Context: what cultural and environmental factors do you need to consider? How formal or informal is the situation? Will you be presenting in person or virtually? How much time and space will you have, and what kind of equipment will be available?

Once you’ve analyzed and assessed the rhetorical situation (audience, purpose, context), you can go on to make relevant and appropriate choices about communication style and genre, making sure you offer your audience the right kinds of material, the right kinds of messaging, and the right kinds of visual supports. For instance, if you’re presenting new and unfamiliar content to an audience, it may need to be “translated” into a clear, easy-to-follow presentation style. (Think of the 3-Minute Thesis presenters above!). Having said that, most listeners appreciate clarity: plain language, relatively short sentences, and clear transitional cues are always welcome in any speaking environment.

Practice, Practice, Practice!

Whatever the context, accomplished presenters rely on extensive and repeated practice to make their performance come across as smooth and effortless. For example, practice enunciating unfamiliar words ahead of time: this will help you avoid stumbling during the presentation itself. Record yourself to see what kinds of filler words or “verbal tics” you might have that you’re not aware of (e.g. um, uh, so, like, y’ know, and  so on). Make a conscious effort to eliminate these – for example, by substituting these “thinking moments” with a quiet pause.

Equally important, practice the timing of your presentation, so you don’t run over or under your allotted time. Consider doing a practice run in front of a friendly audience (friends; roommates; family members) to get feedback. If possible, practice with the technology you plan to use and the space in which you plan to present. Create a back-up plan in case of technical difficulties (e.g. bring written cue cards in case your phone or laptop or the slide projector fail to load).

Speak Directly to Your Audience

Try to avoid reading a fully scripted presentation – but if you need to do so (for example if your presentation is a long one and/or includes a lot of specific data), then practice reading the script in a natural and conversational way. Strive to avoid reading in a monotonous, mechanical tone. Take steps to bring your script to life vocally: add pauses and emphasis as needed; modulate the pace of delivery so that your talk sounds conversational, natural, and inviting. A varied delivery style keeps your audience attentive, focused, and on track.

Establish Rapport with Your Audience

More than just speaking naturally and more than just informing your audience, presenters should ideally strive to engage an audience. You don’t want your audience to feel bored, drift off, or lose interest. Although most audiences have fairly short attention spans (maybe 7-10 minutes before their attention wanders), winning speakers put effort into deploying presentation strategies regularly (every couple of minutes)  designed to establish connection and rapport and keep the audience engaged.

The following list offers six such strategies, although there are many more you could add from your own observation, reading, and study. You don’t need to put all six into play; start with just two or three, and by consciously focusing on those, you can keep an audience involved and interacting with you and your content.

Look at your audience: sweep your eyes across the entire room, right to left, and make eye contact – look at people’s foreheads, if that feels more comfortable. Make a point of facing the audience, rather than your slides. Eyes are a key tool for conveying confidence, creating connection, and establishing a two-way relationship with an audience.

Project your speaking voice: if you don’t have a microphone, then you’ll need to speak at a volume notably louder than your natural speaking voice. You want to make sure that that everyone – not just those in the front rows of a room (or hall) – can hear you. At the end of the day, no matter how brilliant your content and visuals might be, if an audience can’t hear you, you’ve lost them, and all your preparation and effort will have little to no effect.

Avoid rushing: a rapid, fast-fire pace of speaking can make you appear anxious or nervous, as if you can’t wait to get this over with. Remember to breathe. Slow down. Take a breath or two between slides or between sentences. Pause occasionally for dramatic effect. A slower pace of delivery also gives your audience time to absorb ideas and follow your train of thought. By the same token, members of the audience who may be second-language speakers will particularly appreciate your clear, well-paced, unhurried delivery.

Use your entire body: remember, your whole body operates as a vehicle of communication, not just your voice. Employ purposeful hand gestures and other physical movements, e.g. directly point to visual elements being discussed; use gestures to help illustrate your ideas. Assume an open, confident pose (even if you don’t feel confident, you can act confident). Avoid physically-closed postures (e.g. hands in your pockets; arms crossed; looking down). If space is available, use that space – walk across it, rather than standing in one spot behind a lectern or podium. Become aware of distractive behaviours – overactive gestures that don’t have a purpose (e.g. jingling keys or things in your pocket; drumming fingers on the podium; fidgeting; touching your face; not paying attention to a co-speaker, etc.)

Maintain a positive tone: Avoid coming across as apologetic or unsure about your content or your presentation style. Remember, audiences take their cue from you. For instance, if you appear bored or uninterested in presenting, your audience will likely feel the same. If, on the other hand, you smile and project enthusiasm, your audience will be more inclined to feel excited by what you have to say. By projecting a positive tone and speaking with conviction, you bolster your credibility and keep your audience engaged.

Elicit questions and feedback: Presentations are a two-way street – ideally, a dialogue, not just a monologue. Take a quick poll, ask for participants, give a “pop quiz,” or ask comprehension questions. Be sure to reserve time for a Q&A session. No-one can cover everything, so anticipate questions you might be asked. Take time to carefully consider and respond to each question from the audience. You might use a phrase like “that’s a great question” or “thank you for asking that” to give you a bit of time to mentally prepare your response. Don’t be afraid to say you don’t know the answer, or that further research might be necessary.

Toastmasters is an international organization that is designed to help members improve their public speaking skills by applying deliberate practice. Local clubs take a “learn by doing” approach where members are supported to over come their fear of public speaking, boost confidence, and develop skills. During regular meetings, members practice giving speeches and offering each other constructive and supportive feedback. If you are keen to learn and develop further public speaking skills, consider joining a local Toastmasters club.