Most salespeople get pretty good at public speaking. After all, it's a big part of the job… even if you're usually speaking in front of an audience of one. But even the best speakers can usually benefit from a little advice. Here are some tips for improving any speaking opportunity, whether it's a sales presentation, a webinar, or a speech at your next industry event.
1. Stand Up
When you stand as you speak, you are literally speaking from a position of strength. A standing person feels more energetic than a sitting person, and that will come through in your presentation. It's also easier to speak loudly and clearly when you're standing, because sitting puts pressure on your diaphragm. And finally, standing allows you to use your body language to its full extent - pacing, gestures, writing on a whiteboard, etc.
2. Make Eye Contact
Eye contact is also a crucial component of body language. Regularly making eye contact with your audience maintains a connection with that person. If you're giving a presentation for more than one person, glance at each of them in turn. Don't just focus on the "most important" person there, or you'll make the rest of your listeners feel excluded. Usually you'll want to maintain eye contact for 5 to 10 seconds before switching to a new person.
3. Have Fun
If you don't enjoy your own presentation, who will? If you're having a good time, that energy will come across in your presentation and will help your audience have a good time, too. Inject a little fun into your presentation - whatever will help you to enjoy yourself. That might be an amusing slide, a great quote, or joke or two thrown in. Just be sure to stick with business-appropriate humor. Then before your presentation, think about how great it will be if your prospect decides to put in a huge order based on your presentation. Visualize yourself in that situation, and bring that mental energy into the room with you.
4. Keep Your Listeners Involved
Don't just stand up there and make a speech. That's a great way to put your audience to sleep. Instead, get them involved and interested in what you're sharing with them. This goes whether you're speaking to 50 people or one person. The easiest way to keep your listeners engaged is to periodically ask a question. It can be about something you are discussing in your presentation or about the presentation itself. For example, if your presentation is about manufacturing safety standards, you might ask your audience, "How many accidents do you think the average plant has in a year?" Or you might ask the status question like, "Does that make sense to you?" or "What you think about that?"
5. Have a Script, but Don't Use It
Anytime you give a presentation, you should know in advance exactly what you're going to say. Do some rehearsing, sticking to your script exactly. But when you go into the actual presentation, be prepared to do a little veering from your script. A presentation almost never goes exactly as planned. Your listener might have a question you're not expecting, or he might be very interested in something you mention in passing, inspiring you to dedicate several more minutes to that topic. But in those situations, don't think that you've wasted your time by preparing in advance. Your script provides you with a jumping-off point. Without a place to start, your presentation would be much weaker.
By Wendy Connick
http://sales.about.com/
1. Stand Up
When you stand as you speak, you are literally speaking from a position of strength. A standing person feels more energetic than a sitting person, and that will come through in your presentation. It's also easier to speak loudly and clearly when you're standing, because sitting puts pressure on your diaphragm. And finally, standing allows you to use your body language to its full extent - pacing, gestures, writing on a whiteboard, etc.
2. Make Eye Contact
Eye contact is also a crucial component of body language. Regularly making eye contact with your audience maintains a connection with that person. If you're giving a presentation for more than one person, glance at each of them in turn. Don't just focus on the "most important" person there, or you'll make the rest of your listeners feel excluded. Usually you'll want to maintain eye contact for 5 to 10 seconds before switching to a new person.
3. Have Fun
If you don't enjoy your own presentation, who will? If you're having a good time, that energy will come across in your presentation and will help your audience have a good time, too. Inject a little fun into your presentation - whatever will help you to enjoy yourself. That might be an amusing slide, a great quote, or joke or two thrown in. Just be sure to stick with business-appropriate humor. Then before your presentation, think about how great it will be if your prospect decides to put in a huge order based on your presentation. Visualize yourself in that situation, and bring that mental energy into the room with you.
4. Keep Your Listeners Involved
Don't just stand up there and make a speech. That's a great way to put your audience to sleep. Instead, get them involved and interested in what you're sharing with them. This goes whether you're speaking to 50 people or one person. The easiest way to keep your listeners engaged is to periodically ask a question. It can be about something you are discussing in your presentation or about the presentation itself. For example, if your presentation is about manufacturing safety standards, you might ask your audience, "How many accidents do you think the average plant has in a year?" Or you might ask the status question like, "Does that make sense to you?" or "What you think about that?"
5. Have a Script, but Don't Use It
Anytime you give a presentation, you should know in advance exactly what you're going to say. Do some rehearsing, sticking to your script exactly. But when you go into the actual presentation, be prepared to do a little veering from your script. A presentation almost never goes exactly as planned. Your listener might have a question you're not expecting, or he might be very interested in something you mention in passing, inspiring you to dedicate several more minutes to that topic. But in those situations, don't think that you've wasted your time by preparing in advance. Your script provides you with a jumping-off point. Without a place to start, your presentation would be much weaker.
By Wendy Connick
http://sales.about.com/
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