Copy The Performers on America's Got Talent!

One of the goals of all of the contestants on this popular talent show is to make each performance just a little better -- and that should be you goal as a speaker or presenter as well.

If you want to be successful you should strive to make each aspect of your presentation a little better than your previous engagement.

One way to do this is to have somebody in the audience who will give you an honest appraisal your performance. Try to select somebody for this role who is a good voice coach  and who is skilled  in the organization and presenting of material in an effective manner.

And then you be willing to their appraisal of your weak  points especially. We all have them no matter how many presentations we have given -- just like professional football or soccer plays.

The most successful contestants on American's Got Talent spend hours practicing the techniques learned from special coaches assigned to them. 

As professional speakers and presenters we should do the same thing.

Do You Really Believe?

Do you really believe in what you are trying to sell in your presentation -- whether it is a sales presentation to a client or to a larger audience?


If you don't forget it. People quickly detect insincere "snake-oil salesmen".


To gain that appreciation for whatever your product, service, or idea is make sure you  dig for ideas and information just like the older prospectors dug for those little nuggets of gold being washed down the mountain stream.


Then test those ideas to see what their value actually is. The prospectors used to take their finds to an assayer's office to test it first to find out if it wasn't "fools gold" -- other minerals that looked like the real thing but weren't actually true gold particles -- and then the quality of the gold.


You need to do the same type of thing before presenting your ideas to your audience. Analyze these ideas critically to find out their true worth and just what makes them so valuable to yourself and others through personal research and interviews of experts in the field.


Then with all of this information clearly in mind you will be able to deliver that persuasive and interesting speech or presentation.

How Well Do You Use Pausing?

When planning and delivering your presentation don't forget the "pause".


It can create anticipation for what you are going to say as well as give our audience to think about what you have just said -- or give them a chance to respond to your question -- either mentally or orally.


In addition to using pauses before and after words or phrases in your material don't forget to use effective pausing after  punctuation such as commas, semi-colons; colons; and periods especially if you are reading previously written material by you or somebody else. Improper pausing here can destroy the intended meaning.


A good example of this is the part of the Bible where  Jesus said to the person on the stake beside him. Did he say, " I tell you today you will be with me in paradise!"  or did he say, " I tell you today, you will be with me in paradise!"


The meanings are worlds apart.


Silence can indeed "be golden" when you use it  properly in your speech or presentation. It can either clarify or muddy your meaning. 

Strengthen Your Lips

Two  of the things that can cause poor pronunciation of words or dropping of critical syllables at the ends of the words when you are speaking is poor breathe control and -- lazy lips.  Both can be corrected.

Proper breathing can even be practiced when you are lying down in bed (an ideal time to practice inhaling and exhaling completely) or when you are stuck in a long line of stalled traffic while commuting.

With breathing just take a few minutes to take 10 deeps breaths -- making sure you fill the lower part of your lungs before exhaling. This will not only relax you but also help you to build strong, healthy lungs -- essential to a good clear voice.

And while you are going about your daily activities (preferably alone) you can also practice your whistling. It's an excellent to  strengthen those lips which  -- along with a good supply of air from your lungs -- will help you to eliminate those dropped word endings making your presentation much clearer and enjoyable.

Does Your Audience Drift Away?

Does you audience seem to drift away to another world when you are talking? Are they coming away from your presentation with wrong ideas.  Are they still unconvinced  -- even after all of the work and effort you have put into writing and presenting your ideas? 


If so -- you may lack fluency -- hindering the smooth flow of words and thoughts.


A number of things can create this problem such as:

• Unfamiliarity with all the words in your material
• Pauses -- for no reason or in too many places
• Poor material organization resulting in your ideas becoming jumbled
• Poor vocabulary, causing you to grope for words to express your ideas, with word whispers such as: "uh - uh -uh" peppering your talk     
• Poor sense stress
• Poor grammar and composition skills making your ideas hard or impossible to follow

The elimination of all of these is  critical to a good presentation -- but all of these obstacles can be overcome with study and practice on a regular basis. It is good, for instance, to practice your speaking or reading  skills for a few minutes each day.

It is just like swimming. With swimming you learn the proper strokes and breathing patterns and then put them into practice regularly.  To gain fluency in your presentations you do much the same thing -- learn  where you need to improve, learn how to do this and then put this information into practice. It takes effort and discipline.

If the hopeful Olympian swimmer just jumps into the water and splashes around instead of practicing proper strokes and breathing    she would fail to achieve her goals  and the  public speaker who does not constantly test where he is weak and make efforts to improve will soon flounder.

Use All Your Senses!

As you do research for your different presentations and go about your daily activities  do the opposite of what Leonardo laments here and you will not only live a richer life but also gather a wealth of colourful, inspiring information  to illustrate your presentation.


In his book Head First  Tony Buzan quotes Leonardo da Vinci who lamented the  response of most people to things around them. According to Buzan, "Leonardo da Vinci noted, with some melancholy, that the average human 'looks without seeing, listens without hearing, touches without feeling, eats without tasting, moves without physical awareness, inhales without awareness of odour or fragrance and talks without thinking.' "


Don't be the the average person.


Use all of your senses to help you  create visual and other mental  pictures of what you are seeing and learning about. This will make your own experiences more memorablefor yourself  and when you relate some of these to your audiences  you will be able to create pictures for them as well and  your presentation will really come alive and be more memorable and inspiring as well.

Remember That Words Are Just Like Artists Paints and Brushes

Remember when preparing for your presentation or speech that the words you are going to be using are  like an artist's paints and  brushes; with the artist  can create clarifying and memorable images in the mind's of his or her audience or a confusion of ideas that leaves them wondering.  The same is true with your public talk or presentation.


 Carefully consider what words you will need to develop your ideas and how you will use them. Before your presentation make sure you understand not just the meanings of the word but also their  context and the ideas you are developing with them. That way you'll be able to create accurate,  exciting, and motivating word-pictures

Captivate Your Audience By Making Sure You Enjoy Yourself

Want to captivate your audience?  Make sure you are enjoying yourself while delivering your talk or presentation.


The powerful way this works is clearly illustrated in the latest episodes of America's Got Talent  The entertainment reality show that  showcases a wide variety of acts during its late spring and summer months on American and Canadian television channels.


Invariably the most exciting and entertaining performances come from artists who are obviously loving what they are doing and completely caught up in it.


Invariably they will tell you that they put a lot of time and work into their act before they came on stage --so much that they were eager to showcase their talents.


The same is true for public speakers and presenters. Do enough --research -- into your topic.  Dig for new or forgotten ideas and information until you come with  "golden nuggets of information" and ideas that you know will interest and help your audience.


Then if you follow all of this up with proper practice and preparation you'll find that even if you are normally timid before you give presentations that if you do this diligently  that you will actually be  so eager to share what you have found with others that'll you'' forget much of your nervousness.


This will really help you to deliver a valuable and memorable presentation.