By Luke Hannan

Check these top 6 body language hacks to have you speaking like a Professional Master of Ceremonies, MC or Paid Keynote Speaker in no time!!!
Following are my favourite techniques that I use every day during Corporate Presentations, as a Conference MC and when Public Speaking.
Read on, take note and use these 6 body language hacks to take your Public Speaking and Presentation Skills to the next level.
​

1. Posture
2. Eye contact
3. Hand Position
4. Hand Gestures
5. Movement whilst on stage
6. Taking your position on stage

​

Posture Posture Posture


If buying a house is about location location location, then professional level speaking or presenting all starts with posture posture posture.


Why is posture so very important?


As a professional Master of Ceremonies / Conference MC I’m extremely fortunate to see hundreds, even thousands or amazing speakers each and every year work their magic on the stages of Conferences all over the World.


Correcting your posture is probably not the smallest or easiest change you’ll make when stepping up the quality of your presentations - But how you stand or sit when you’ve got the floor is the foundation on which you’ll build all of your other presentation & Speaking skills - so as you embark upon your journey toward getting it right; you and especially your audience will definitely see one of the biggest uplifts in quality in the quality of your delivery as a speaker or presenter.


WHY?
Speaking is a physical action. When we talk, muscles in our tummies (our diaphragms) contract to squeeze air from our lungs, this air passes out of our lungs, via the vocal chords (that produces sound a.k.a. our voice) and it reverberates through our lower skull, past our tongue and out of our mouths and the world hears our message - but are they really listening???


SO?
Take lifting weights at the gym - for anyone who has ever dead-lifted or squatted over a long period of time, you’ll know that form is the key to keeping your body safe, importantly - good form is also the key to getting stronger and importantly lifting more!!!

If you’re not a gym junkie consider a 100m sprinter, optimal form means better conversion of muscle movement into forward motion (which in turn means you get the the end of the track faster)

If you’re not using your diaphragm properly people will still hear you, and you can still speak - but are you getting the most out of the speaking armory that your body represents?


HELP ME
First and foremost it pays to be in shape - stay fit - practise Yoga and hit the gym, do push ups, planks, squats in your bedroom - if you truly want fitness you’ll get it on any budget with any time frame - check eBay out for those selling their gym sets for $0.99 as they’re in a hurry to move - it’s all there - you’ve just got to want it bad enough…. Stamina and physical fitness help me as a Professional Master of Ceremonies and remember that the journey of a thousand miles starts it’s the first step - so get out there!!


STANDING:
Think mountain pose in yoga - but bring your hands in front of your belly button (don’t clasp…) and stand stall, straight yet relaxed. Quite often as a Conference MC I’ll be behind a lectern whilst as a sporting event or cocktail function as a Master of Ceremonies I’ll be standing either on stage or at ground level-  in the case of sporting events and usually walking around within the crowd - IN BOTH CASES I’ll always stand relatively the same when speaking


PRO TIP: The Lectern may seem like a great place to hide when your nervous about your speech or presentation but let’s be real here; you’re presenting or speaking on stage and in front of a crowd (they know you’re there) so resist the urge the to:

1. Lean down behind the lectern trying to hide
2. Leaning on the lectern with forearms resting in the “aero position” (think spin class exercise bike or triathlon / time trial bike position)
3. Crossing your legs and resting on the lectern - not only might it move (most are on wheels) or worse fall over. Plus even if it’s bolted to the ground you’ll automatically relax and slouch from your lower back upwards - making it harder to project your voice.

 


SEATED:

1. In a meeting room - Steer well clear of the “executive layback” - and go for what I like to call “the locked and loaded” position. - See Figure A below - this woman is locked and loaded and ready to fire - GIVEAWAY!!! 1 hour of free public speaking training if you know who she’s speaking to!! - 1st to comment wins!!!!
2. On a stage (i.e. Panel Discussion) - this one’s a little more ambiguous or fluid.
   • Seat / Bar Stool - your form on a standard seat (think high school seating) or bar stool is either going to be Bad or Good - there is no in between. Adopt the “locked and loaded” position and take control - the alternative means your entire diaphragm is compressed, your lower back is arched more than a bendy banana and your voice will not Project well - sit up straight and deliver like a boss!
   • Couch / Lounge Chair - Most keynote speakers or panelists I've ever hosted as a panel moderator will tend to sit right back and get comfortable - and in the vast majority of cases they’re C-Level executives who’ve spent a fair amount of time on conference stages (meaning they’re relatively comfortable - if this is you - my best advice is to sit comfortable and deliver like a boss!) if however you’re unsure it pays to get there early and see what works for you - remembering always how certain slouched positions may change the way you project your voice.​

Check out the posture tips in the below Talking tip

​EYE CONTACT
​

The Eyes are the window to the soul and if you’re looking to build that next level intimate connection with your audience - look into them.
Whether it’s an audience of 1, or 1,000 you’ll almost always be able to see peoples eyes. Sometimes as a Master of Ceremonies for a massive Gala Dinner (think 400+ people) I’ve found that the lights can be rather bright - but you can still lock onto those sitting close.


Quality not Quantity

• There’s looking at someone and then there’s looking into them… The best advice I ever received from Sarah Ewen (a speaking coach and presentation legend http://www.publicspeakingforlife.com.au/ ever regarding eye contact was to look, connect, make your point - then connect with someone else. This is good advice - stick to it!
• Further to the above (and taking it from the DON’T DO) - avoid eye darting, where it’s like your trying to look at so many people in such a short period of time that you look at many sets of eye, but you connect with no-one

The Boss Trap

• Avoid presenting only to the senior people in the room, this is very prevalent in business meetings and forums where senior managers and/or key influencers are present in the room. The team members are presenting (and often quite well)BUT…. They present to the senior members of the audience predominantly (or only) and if you’re the audience and not in the ‘presented to’ cohort things can get a little lonely.
• It would be easy to think this point relates only to business meetings - it’s so very prevalent on the big stage also (as a Professional Master of Ceremonies this I see this regularly) where the executives of the company are present in the crowd however the message is delivered from the presenter or speaker on stage almost exclusively to the known parties, leaving everyone else out

Learn more here

HAND POSITION


Hands Hands Hands - behinds your eyes I truly believe these little puppies are arguably your most powerful body language tools!!!


Use em’ well, and your ability to convey a message (i.e. communicate) will drastically improve - so how do you keep those bad boys locked and loaded ready to fire on your suspecting audience at all times when duty calls? Here’s my top 3:

1. RELAX: Ok so locked (and loaded) is a substandard definition of how you should hold your hands - certainly not locked - First and foremost you’ll need to relax
2. Johnny Wilkinson (Hands): For the die-hard English (or Australian) Rubgy fans you’ll no-doubt remember his hands when kicking for goal. Now importantly in this photo focus only on the manner in which his hands are touching, not where they are in relation to his body and definitely not the way he is standing - there are subtle variances between speaking on a stage and kicking for goal. Interestingly his legs, buttocks and feet are great for speaking - if we rotated his upper body back so he was standing straight, relaxed his arms and lowered his forearms to look like this he’d be spot on
3. No clasp: Clasp = Claps - if you clasp your hands, you’ll clap when you return from a gesture, and believe me everyone will hear it - so don’t risk the clap…. Stay aware and away from the clasp….

HAND GESTURES


Although we like to dance like no-one is watching & sing like no-one is listening - Hand gestures when your public speaking of presenting have to power to really take your presenting to the next level or alternatively confuse your audience with preponderant un-coordination. Get it right and you’ll transition from beginner to intermediate and then expert in a compressed timeframe. Your audience will be raving so be sure to present like a professional - Use your hands.


In a study done by Science of People - check out https://www.scienceofpeople.com/hand-gestures/ found that in an average TED talk (some 18 minutes) - the most popular TED talkers used their hands almost twice as much as the least favourite TED talks (some 465 vs 272) - that’s pretty insane and of course the quality of content, delivery and so many other variables affect the popularity of TED talks - but numbers are numbers.


If you’re an advanced speaker looking to boost their gesture repertoire I’d strongly suggest to read the entire blog post by Science of People - https://www.scienceofpeople.com/hand-gestures/ it’s super detailed, however if you’re just beginning, perhaps you’ve got your first MC assignment or Public Speaking task ahead of you - start small.


Here are my 3 golden rules of Hand Gestures

1. Use your Hands: Kind of going without saying this one but to enter the , you’ll need a ticket - and using your hands is a ticket to the game - if you’re able to use your hands - do it!

 

1. Match your gestures and words: As a Master of Ceremonies I’m lucky to see so many wonderful speakers and presenters. One thing that I see often (and of course have been guilty of - we all have) is non congruent body language and words -

Here’s an example: It’s widely accepted that nodding your head is a Yes and Shaking your head is a No. If you’re trying to respond or suggest positively and/or with a Yes verbal response - but you’re shaking your head - your audience will get confused as to whether it’s a Yes or a No.
The same thing happens with hands - let’s say you’re standing in for a friend as a Wedding MC and are verbally ”Welcoming” guests but your hands are pushing them away - it’s not congruent and it will affect your ability to deliver key messages (i.e. communicate) with your audience.


Practice, Prepare & Persevere: 3 P’s that ill help you,

1. Practice: Although some suggest not to practice hand gestures (as you may appear too rehearsed) - I believe if you at least use your hands when rehearsing in front of a mirror - you‘ll be able to spot any really non congruent words/gestures and adjust - and it’s always better to make the fundamental errors in practice so that on the stage or in that important meeting - you deliver like a professional speaker
2. Prepare: Take the time to learn about your stage and/or where you’ll be presenting or speaking - will you have a microphone, is it:
   1. Handheld - if so this will restrict most of your hands movements to one hand
   2. Lectern - you’ll have two free hands allowing movement however the space directly in front of you will be a little impeded (else you’ll be playing Wii Tennis with the microphones before you know it!!)
   3. Lapel Mic - you’ll have free hands, and generally nothing in front of you, but beware of moving too much and you may get clothes rubbing sounds through the mic plus nervous energy burned by doing laps from left to right on the stage is never good (unless of course you’re an aerobics instructor - then go for it!!!)
3. Persevere: Public speaking is a journey - there are times as an Master of Ceremonies when I’m just through some technical stuff (often housekeeping - i.e. toilets / fire exits) and think to myself - Oh my, i’m a statue, and I’ve gotta get back into the hand gesture frame of mind - so remember as long as you have a crack, seek feedback and always move forward - you’ll be a professional in no time!

 
Ensure your hands are open

1. Great advice from a public speaking world champion Dananjaya Hettiarachchi is to keep your hands open - palms facing the audience.

         For open gestures this is a real winner as it keeps your body open.  

​MOVEMENT WHILST ON STAGE

So you’re on stage, rocking it and now what - shall we be the Statue of Liberty or a child with ants in their pants…..?

It depends….

If you’re behind a lectern (using a lectern Microphone) you’ll honestly need to stay put… sure feel free to walk around - but know that if you do (not only will your MC be festering you to move back to the Mic) but the audience won’t be able to hear you…

PRO TIP: when speaking at a lectern and referring to slides…. Know that your voice projects all around you, but in therms of Microphone Pick-up you’ll need to be speaking into the mic. If you’re talking and need to turn around - use this opportunity for some silence (because your voice will drop right off in terms of volume if you look away when speaking

If you’re free to roam.  When a lapel microphone (or a handheld) the stage is your domain - use it wisely and don’t be running left / right / left right….  Here’s how I avoid pacing left to right and in doing to I keep the necks of my audiences safe (and MC like a boss…)

1. Be aware of your nervous energy - this is a big one… when given the opportunity to move, speakers or presenters can pace that nervous energy out so it’s super important to keep your movement in check
2. Record yourself - for this you’ll need a trusted advisor in the audience with a phone to record you - this is the best feedback you’ll ever get and you can compare your movement to that of your favourite speaker or speech and if you’re not in check take it point by point, sentence by sentence and check out where you’ll need to find tune you moves
3. I like to use the point / move marriage… WTF is that? Ok so you move, connect with someone in your audience (look into their eyes - not just at them) make your point, then move onto the next point and at that time you move. A word of caution - with quick bullet points perhaps you’ll stay put to for a group and move for the next group

There are no hard and fast rules to movement on stage - save that less is quite often more, go slow, get feedback and be sure to reflect on how you move the next time you’re on stage or presenting / public speaking.

​TAKING YOUR POSITION ON STAGE


This is an easy fix as the start of your Speech or Presentation and slightly tougher to remember to execute at the end.
If your speaking where there is a Professional Master of Ceremonies the audience will know who you are & why you are there (Any Professional MC should have reset the audience, introduced you and discussed in brief your why)





​BEFORE YOUR CALLED ONTO STAGE (key considerations)

1. Have you got your notes
2. Do you have water
3. Are you mic’d up (or do you need a mic, is there one there (usually the AV team and/or MC will take care of this - however just note it down - furthermore an organised event team will take care of everything, so get there early, meet them & discuss your objectives and how you’ll present - this can open great dialogue as to the best microphone setup (lapel / lantern / handheld). If you’ve got the option(s) choose the best one for your situation
4. Have you got timing sorted (who’ll help you stay on time)
5. Is there a slide ‘clicker’ to navigate through your presentation?

WHEN IT’S TIME TO ROCK & ROLL!!!
When you’re called on stage, or your time arrives to present / speak;

1. Take your time when moving onto stage
2. Calmly walk to the lectern or the position where you’ll be speaking
3. Take a calm deep breath when you get there
4. Begin your presentation
5. Rock that son of a gun!!! And remember - you can never lose, you only ever win or learn!!!

ONCE THE MAGIC IS OVER


Ahh the pressure is off & the crowd goes wild!!!! What now….
Normally in a conference your Master of Ceremonies or Compere will begin speaking, thank you again, facilitate Q&A and again sing your praises. Once that is finished, slowly make your way off stage and remember that although you’re now extremely relaxed (as it’s all over) do not drop your guard. Silly comments or jokes can ruin all the good work you’ve put in. So with appropriate place (not crawling or sprinting) make your way off stage.


If there’s no MC you may have to take questions yourself more on Q&A later. But once all is over, again, don’t rush off stage. Take your time, relax and I always like to hold for just a moment when the applause is roaring to just soak it in for a tic (not too long though - then it just gets awkward….)

There's my top 6!!
There are so many body language tips and tricks, all of which have been integral in me taking the quality in my MC / Master of Ceremonies opportunities to a higher level.

​For more public speaking tips and training - check out the suite of video at: 
https://www.lukehannan.com.au/talking-tips.html
​
And now I’d love to hear from you:

Which strategy from today’s post are you excited to try first?

let me know by leaving a comment below!

By Luke Hannan

Today I’m going to share with you my top 5 delivery skills to boost your speech and presentation skills to have speaking like a Professional MC or Paid Keynote Speaker in the shortest possible time!!!

In Fact, These are the exact techniques I use every day during Corporate Presentations, as a Conference MC and when Public Speaking.

Read on, take note and use these 5 essential boosts to take your Public Speaking and Presentation Skills to the next level.

1. Warm Up
2. Tone
3. Pace
4. Silence
5. Pitch

1 .  Warm Up

I love to read, and a great book I’ve recently read is one of Usain Bolts…
Did you know that Usain’s masseuse Eddie would work on his body to warm and loosen him up before every Training Session and Race - every time!!!

Public Speaking uses muscles in your abdomen, chest, throat, face, mouth, neck and so much more so warming up your body & voice is essential before every speech or presentation, loosen up those vocal chords, lips, tongue plus diaphragm and I assure you the words will come out of your body as smooth as silk.

So how can we warm up our voice ?? Here’s a great video that encompasses my MC and public speaking warm up.
I use these exercises before every Master of Ceremonies assignment - whether it's a Conference MC appointment hosting over 1000 people or leading a small public speaking training class.

I warm up every time - and so should you

2 . Tone


Each and every one of us has a natural ‘tone range’ (from high to low) within which we generally operate.

In general, when attempting
to verbally convey information a reasonably wide tone range can provide more flexibility, more options & a better toolkit than a range that is significantly compressed - WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

​In the following video you’ll note that the very same sentence is repeated first with a wider range of tone, second with a compressed range.

Based on the 2 examples in the video imagine a keynote speech during a conference, a corporate event host at a function or a business professional in a meeting delivering a presentation or sales pitch for more than 5 minutes with a really compressed tone range and then consider this -

1. How likely are you to you switch off?
2. How much extra effort would it take to stay interested?
3. What would you be focusing on - their voice or the information within their words (or maybe your emails & iPhone)?
4. How much would their compressed tone range affect the speaker's ability to communicate their key message(s)?

If we consider the overarching purpose of public speaking which I believe to be “the transmission of data” If you’ve a compressed tone range when Presenting or Speaking this can make it difficult to convey your key messages

WARNING: Beware of the last word in any sentence in your speech or presentation!! if you inflect your tone up on the last word in a sentence it can turn sentence into a question - when in fact it’s a statement - check out the talking tip below for an example

PRO TIP: Record yourself and listen back - how is your range?? To open it up more try these singing exercises and then bring that into your public speaking. Remember practice makes perfect so get out there, get recording or feedback and contact me for advice or feedback at anytime

3 . Pace


Slow and Steady wins the Race!!

There are certainly times when a fast pace serves you well, to rev the crowd up and get people really excited - however it’s not sustainable for the duration of a presentation, especially for your audience.

Imagine a Conference MC or Wedding Master of Ceremonies who every time they spoke did so at a thousand miles an hour… Cue the iPhones.

Pace has it’s place, take commentating a horse race where in lieu of significant action early on - the speaker will generally start out slow and build pace as the race evolves, reaching maximum energy & speaking pace as the race reaches its crescendo. Importantly any professional speaker will alter continuously adjust and change their pace throughout their perch or presentation - and so should you.

GO    S    L    O    W
If you slow things right down and I assure you, the audience will hang of your every word. So be courageous and slow it down - the results will surprise you.

3 massive reasons people rush when presenting or public speaking

1.    Nerves
It’s natural to get nervous when your presenting or Public Speaking - whether you’re speaking at a Business Conference, MC for a friendly wedding or hosting clients in business presentation, nerves quite often creep in and the nervous energy can lead us to race through our speeches - Keep an eye out for this!

2.    Running out of time
For the self-aware speaker who is keeping tabs on time or when the Master of Ceremonies is guiding you towards your finish time and you’re running behind it’s a natural to think “I've got 15 minutes of material to cover in 5 minutes” so mathematically if you race through your material you might just get there…

Beware you might as well not speak as the audience will have a significant propensity to tune out if you begin racing and maintaining this over average speaking speed for too long.

IF YOU’RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME -

1. NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER Rush through your slides to finish on time!
2. Keep tabs on time - the earlier you realise you’re behind the easier it is to adjust
3. Consider your ‘WHY’ - what’s the key message(s) you’re looking for the audience to takeaway - reiterate this and that should be at the forefront when considering what information to present in the valuable time you have left
4. Throw to the audience involved and get their feedback as to what they’d like you to cover in this last section of your presentation
5. Avoid eating into your Q&A time. Q&A really helps the audience to; clarify your key messages, seek additional information you may have left out and this two way interaction really boosts the quality of your presentation - after all we wish to speak with our audiences - not to them.

3. Not enough practice
I would strongly suggest to practice, practice, practice (see the talking tip below on that) and nail your time - as a Conference Master of Ceremonies one of the questions I ask all my speakers is “you’ve got X minutes, how long will you use” and the professional speakers generally know this down to the minute - Know your timing.

To control your pace self awareness is the key - advice from trusted advisers in your audience, ask your MC, practice adequately beforehand, record yourself during rehearsals and whilst on stage presenting and know that you’ll likely speak faster on stage.

4 . Silence

Silence is Golden, and integrating silence into your presentation or speech can be as simple as pausing for a second or 2.
The irony is that when you’re presenting and keep quiet (not using filler words like um, or argh, more on filler words soon) the quality and balance within your presentation will sky-rocket and for you to bank this uplift in presentation quality all you had to say was nothing…

It is a real privilege as Professional Master of Ceremonies to see so many amazing speakers work their magic, work their crowds and work their butts off to deliver a riveting presentation, an inspirational speech or dazzling sales pitch using properly positioned pauses as a tool within their speaking arsenal.

Silence really does give your audience a chance to think, to ponder and to process your information. It also builds suspense among the audience - The next time you’re called upon to host an awards night or present an award - be sure to hold the room you are in silent just before the you announce the award recipient(s) - the audience will be hanging off your words to hear what you say next (this is a key strategy of mine with Master of Ceremonies responsibilities during awards nights!!!)

Beware - when you first integrate silence into your presentation it will feel like a lifetime between words, the reality however is that the true duration your silence will be less a than a second or two.

Importantly Silence will also give you a moment to reflect, you’re not talking, in theory you won’t be moving too much - what a great time to take a moment to relax and then after a moment of silence - soldier on!

Challenge yourself!! Add silence into your next speech to presentation.
When writing my MC or speaking notes I’ll add <> in between words where I’d like to integrate a pause - the more <<<>>> the longer the pause I’m like to implement!
<> Short Pause 
<<>> Medium Pause 
<<<>>> Long Pause 
<<<<>>>> Super Long Pause 

Drop a note in the comments below with how you indicate a pause within your speaking notes - I'd love to hear from you!

5 . Pitch
​
Pitch is such a vital tool within our speaking arsenal as changes in pitch and inflection within a sentence can entirely change the meaning of the words you say - same words, same order - different meaning.

Take this amazing sentence I’d heard recently whilst listening to Royston Guest (Royston is a key pillar behind my Professional Master of Ceremonies & Live event Hosting business - his business growth pathways tool is amazing - be sure to check out: https://www.growthpathways.com)

The sentence is

“I DIDN’T SAY HE STOLE IT”​

In the video below we’ll see how pitch and inflection total change the meaning of this sentence.

As you can see that same sentence has so many different meanings just but altering our pitch and infecting on different words within the sentence.

Be sure to check your pitch and inflection when your presenting or public speaking and you'll have much greater control over the manner in which your key messages are received.

There's my top 5!!
There are so many amazing speaking tips and tricks, all of which have been integral in me taking the quality in my Master of Ceremonies opportunities to a higher level.

​For more public speaking tips and training - check out the suite of video at: 
https://www.lukehannan.com.au/talking-tips.html

​
And now I’d love to hear from you:

Which strategy from today’s post are you excited to try first?

Or maybe you have a question about something you read.

Either way, let me know by leaving a comment below and I'll respond ASAP!

By Luke Hannan



Today I’m going to show you how to prepare for your next speech or presentation

In Fact, these are the exact strategies I use when preparing myself for Professional MC gigs. 

Read on, take note and use these 11 essential tips to nail your next speech or presentation.
​
1. Consider your audience
2. Understand the event 
3. Why is the audience there
4. Why are you there
​5. The key take away
6. Know the Format
7. How long do you have
8. Know when you're up
​9. What prop(s) will you have
​10. Plan to Practice
11. Will there be Q&A? 

​
​
1. Consider your primary audience

It goes without saying that the manner in which you’ll address a group of children would vary to how you’ll control a boardroom.
​
Look at the general audience examples below and consider how you might present an idea and importantly what elements of that idea will be most sought after by the target audience:
- Event Managers (focusing on the details / level of organisation?)
- Marketing            (focusing on look & feel / customer suitability?)
​- Finance                 (focusing on profitability / return on investment?)
- Legal                      (focusing on is it Legal / aligned to regulatory obligations?)
 
It is crucial to note that different people prefer to receive information in different ways and often seek varying angles of information about a similar concept.

​Key Takeaways

• Take the time to learn about your audience
• Why are they in attendance?
• How do they like to receive information (visually / verbally)?
• What information is important to them? 

​
​2. Understand the type of event 

The type of event will provide a guidance as to the tone that you should aim for within your presentation or speech.
​
Take a look at the below table & use it to challenge your thinking - What things would you consider entering in the cells below when presenting at the below types of events?  







Key Takeaways 

• Always strive for congruence between the type of event and your presentation (there will always be exceptions) however if you’re not a comedian a presentation full of funnies in the boardroom or at a funeral may not fit the bill
• As a Professional MC I’ve seen people presenting packs full of Meme’s to senior executives thinking humour was an appropriate play
• When in doubt - seek the opinion of a trusted adviser

3. Learn why your audience is there?

Recently, I attended a conference that was marketed as future focused, thought provoking and inspirational yet roughly half of the speakers were really focused on selling/marketing their products.

Although most of the promoted products and services were innovative - the consensus among many audience members was an imbalance between too much Sales Pitch and not inspiring enough

Key Takeaways

• Take the time to learn about your audience - why are they there?
• What is the theme of the event?
• What does the marketing collateral for the event say / suggest?
• Network beforehand with your audience, you’ll learn so much by asking them a few simple questions - including why they’re present​​​

​4. Know why you are there

Why were you chosen to deliver this presentation?
- Perhaps you’ll be adding a plethora of value as a Subject Matter Expert?
- Maybe you’re the Leader and need to step up & take control?

Whilst you may be wearing any number of hats - at the very core be sure to truly uncover your role:

• Selling
• Informing / Teaching
• Inspiring
• Transforming
• Celebrating
• Remembering / Reflecting

Key Takeaways

• If you’re the subject matter expert this probably means your audience knows far less about the subject than you - keep this in mind and ensure you take them on a journey with you
• Wherever possible stay away from acronyms that may cause confusion. After 20 years in finance I love a good acronym, but if your audience doesn’t know or misinterprets a given acronym they’ll get confused... If they get too confused, they may tune out & if they tune out it’s game over

​5. Define what you want the audience to take away

What are your most important messages - As a Professional Master of Ceremonies I love to ask my Keynote Speakers before the conference or event “If you’re audience is taking only 1 thing away from your speech or presentation - what would it be?" For example:

• Choose this product / use my service
• Try this out / sample our goods
• Change how you do something
• Think Differently

Whatever your key takeaway is it's vital that within the first 20-30 seconds of your presentation your audience knows exactly why you’re speaking to them. (See the below short video on Clarity)

If you’re speaking where there is a Professional MC they’ll have already clarified why you’re presenting or speaking in your introduction.
However often the 'MC' will simply read your Bio leaving an important element - your ‘Why’- out in the cold.
If this happens or if there's no MC (a work meeting for example) it’s up to you to clarify early on why you’re there and what you want the audience to takeaway.

Key Takeaways

• Be clear very early on as to why you are speaking / presenting 
• If there is an MC - ensure they integrate your ‘why’ into their introduction of you
• Often events and conferences will have a theme - a ‘why’ that’s highly congruent to the theme of the event or conference has a high propensity to be aligned to audience expectation and therefore be more likely to be appealing, engaging and interesting​​.

​6. Understand the Format of your presentation

This is often clear but in terms of preparation you’ll need to cross check what the format is. (i.e. are you sharing the stage with numerous other presenters in a panel style discussion?)

A 40 minute Panel Discussion with 5 panellists, an MC plus Q&A means you’ll probably only get 5 minutes max of airtime and it won’t be 5 minutes straight. You’ll likely get 30-60 seconds up front and if there’s rebuttals or debate you’ll need to be on the ball to ensure you best convey your key points.

Alternatively it could be just you for 40 minutes with Q&A meaning you’ll have 30 minutes with little interruption to convey your key messages


Key Takeaways

• Knowing The format of your presentation will drastically impact your ability to convey the key messages / information you have
• Take a pro-active approach with the Master of Ceremonies, Event Organisers or Event Management Team to learn exactly what the planned approach is
• Plan your chunks of information to integrate seamlessly within the given format because a 10 minute point within a 30 minute - 5 person panel won’t work; You'll get cut-off and your ability to convey your key messages will be reduced

PRO TIP: Where you sit may alter audience perception of you. Studies have shown that the person in the middle of a Panel is perceived to carry the most authority... Perception is reality so consider which seat you’ll occupy and why.​​​

7. Learn how much time you have

The format of your presentation (see point 6 above) will have a significant Impact on your actual allotted time.

Assuming you know what the format is and how this impacts you - It’s time to figure out how much time you’ll have;

• Keep in mind also you may need to integrate Q&A
• Talk with your Master of Ceremonies as to how long they'll require to introduce you and wrap up (should be roughly 1-2 minutes) - sounds like a lot and it may be in the Run sheet - but if it’s not the time needs to come from somewhere... A Professional MC will ensure:
  • Your ‘why’ is clear
  • The audience knows who you are (your Bio)
  • Rules around Q&A are established
  • Created / Adjusted / Fine Tuned the appropriate mood within the Audience
• Do you have a hard stop? A ‘Hard Stop’ can be defined as a time you need to be out of there (perhaps the room needs to be flipped or lunch needs to served) whatever the reason it’s good to know if you’ve got flex on your finish (ideally this wouldn’t change your goal - but if things run long - it helps to know if the proverbial lights will get turned off mid-sentence)

Key Takeaways

• Be Proactive and ask the tough questions of the MC, the Event Organisers and the Event Management Team - fact is better than fiction
• Respect that Business Conferences and Events are quite liquid in nature and change rapidly
• Be ready to adjust your presentation - ask yourself
  • Could I compress / expand by 5 or 10 minutes
  • Am I ready to be put under timing pressure
  • How will I keep track of time (a great Conference MC will keep you on track)

8. Know when you are presenting

​It’s easy to overlook the ‘when’ of your presentation or speech - however as a Professional MC timing is one of the key things I discuss with my Event Management clients and their Keynote Speakers during pre-event consultations.

Here’s are few key things to look out for:

• Presenting before a meal break - Not only will the audience probably be hungry - they’ve likely also sat through 60-90 minutes of other presentations / speakers before you’ll present.
• Speaking straight after lunch - the audiences’ metabolisms will be working overtime to process food, hence their energy level may be low (this is especially true if the lunch was a big greasy one).
• Presenting late in the schedule at a:
  • Conference / Business Function - This spot can be especially challenging yet at the same time very rewarding - the opportunity to be memorable and finish on high note is extraordinary - however the risk of dis-engagement is high. At a conference, a Professional Corporate MC will ensure the energy is maintained however if you’re called straight up (often happens) you’ll need to take the energy situation into your own hands.
  • Boardroom / Executive Team - If you’re presenting to a board or executive committee and your position within the agenda is anything but spot 1 - you must be prepared for proceedings to be behind schedule - in fact most times I’ve presented to an executive team during my 20 year career in finance the agenda was behind schedule. This is an opportunity however it can also be frustrating - be aware it’s out of your control - stay calm, hydrated and use the time to relax, reflect and recharge
  • Awards Night / Celebration Event - Even the most seasoned audience member is likely to have an extremely short attention span when they’ve had a few beverages… When you’re up late in an event with alcohol present know that succinct, short and sharp may be optimal.
  • Also of note here is NOT TO DRINK yourself - I advise all of my professional presentation & public speaking coaching clients to never drink prior to their presentations or speeches.

Key Takeaways

• Be aware of when you are presenting
• Pay attention to the food on offer before you’re on
  • High Sugar may have the audience restless (and crashing if you’re going long)
  • High Fat may have the audience tired and low on energy
• Keep your eyes on the audience and pay attention to their energy levels
• Never underestimate the power of food - in Daniel Kahneman’s ”Thinking Fast & Slow” there’s a great study around Parole Judges and their propensity to grant Parole just after meal breaks as opposed to just before - astonishing stuff  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/kahneman-excerpt-thinking-fast-and-slow/

PRO TIP: If you need to boost the energy - physiological intervention is a great option so be courageous and get the audience involved - even a quick stand up and meet the person next to them will get the blood flowing!!

​9. Ask what props will you have

Slides can be a great prop to aide you in conveying your key message - however the ability to inform, persuade, convince and confirm ultimately rests with you.

There’s no faster way to lose the engagement of an audience by reading detailed information, slide after slide for the duration of your presentation.

Always discuss the vision for your presentation with the MC, Event Managers and the AV team (or if you're flying solo be sure to ensure that any complex demonstrations can be seamlessly integrated into your pack). Also pays to have a backup in case things fail when you're halfway through.

Key Takeaways

• Always remember you’re the centre of attention - not your slides
• If you’re slides are detailed and they’re OK to share tell the audience!! As a Conference MC I regularly see audience members madly snapping photos or taking notes of detailed slides they were going to receive after the conference anyway
• In terms of slides - there’s so very many great sources for presentations online!!! A really great place to start is  https://www.duarte.com/presentation-skills-resources/category/presentations/​

​10. Plan and Lock in your Practice time

If you’re going to present like a pro - don't prepare a speech at the last minute. You’ve got to put in the groundwork.

As a Conference MC roughly:

• 80% of my time is preparing
• 15% of my time presenting
• 5% is post the event recapping / improving.

Plan to practice as much as possible including getting to the meeting room or stage where you’ll be delivering your presentation.

Key Takeaways

• Be prepared to run your speech at least 10 times out loud before your actual delivery date
• Get to the venue early and run through the presentation on stage
• Remember that at the end of the day you can't really lose - only Win or Learn

​11. Understand if you’ll have Q&A? 
​
​Asking questions of your audience has so many benefits:

• Boosting engagement levels within the audience
• Learning your audiences’ concerns and providing information to put these concerns to rest
• Understanding your audience’s needs
• Gauging the audience's knowledge levels (both before, during & after your presentation)

​

Whilst a large proportion of presentations that feature Q&A do so toward the end, you might like to consider scheduling Q&A halfway through and again at the end. I fact some speakers will open with Q&A, using the audiences questions, queries and comments as the basis for their presentations.

I’ve had the pleasure of being a Conference MC on countless occasions and questions are becoming faster, easier & more anonymous - quite often the Event Organisers will use apps such as sli.do https://www.sli.do/ which allows quick, concise and timely questions to be asked at any stage with anonymity. Significantly boosting an audiences willingness to participate.

​
Key Takeaways

• Be courageous - get your audience involved
• For questions being asked in person where you don’t know the audience (I.e. a Business Conference setting) consider seeking names / positions of the questioners - Builds rapport, respect plus provides solid networking opportunities following your presentation.
• Be ready for the tough questions & prepare in advance for curveballs you know you may get (I.e. “how is your product better than the new (cheaper) competitors”)
• Don’t shy away from difficult questions but also know what you’ve a right not to answer - a Professional Master of Ceremonies can help intervene - be sure to talk it over with them first.

And now I’d like to hear from you:

Which strategy from today’s post are you excited to try first?

Or maybe you have a question about something you read.

Either way, let me know by leaving a comment below right now