Oral Presentation: The 6 Most Common Mistakes
It is very normal that we get on our nerves before exposing a work. Our heart races, our hands sweat, our pulse trembles, our voice changes and the fear of making a fool of ourselves knots to our stomach like a boa constrictor. But, as with everything, practice makes perfect and, after a few oral presentations, it will be a piece of cake. Now, to get to that, to the apparent absolute tranquility of a good speaker, you must first go through Dante’s nine circles of hell. Nothing happens, we are here to help you: in this horrible learning phase we want to be and guide you so that everything goes as well as possible and make a great presentation.
The big secret
Nerves are good. What is not good is the crippling stress we feel now, but a controlled amount of nerves is essential for us to put on a good presentation. Even the most experienced actors get that hint of adrenaline before going on stage. In fact, those controlled nerves give us greater mental speed (essential to get out of the quagmire quickly if something goes wrong), they make us be more aware of the public (to perceive their emotions and be able to change third if we see that they are getting bored), they give us greater concentration (essential to not lose the thread), etc.
The point is this: being a little nervous is good, but the most important trick of all this is not to be noticed. Therefore, we are going to see the 6 most common mistakes and how to avoid them.
Read without stopping
Nobody wants to hear a lecturer reading a text. The better you prepare your oral presentation, the less nervous you will be and, therefore, you will have less risk of being wrong and going blank. Use some tiles with diagrams to guide you, period.
The dance of Saint Vitus
I lean on one leg, I lean on the other, on one, on the other, on one, on the other… Do we want them to listen to us or to entertain themselves with our hypnotic pendulum movement? If you are one of those who cannot stop still, walk. Nothing happens to walk and occupy your space. What’s more, it can benefit you that you move around your “stage”, that you signal on the screen, that you interact with the audience… In a good oral presentation, the speaker does not seem like a candle.
Don’t use visual support
Speaking of pointing at the screen… don’t ever give an oral presentation without visual support. Unless you want people to fall asleep or check their cell phone after three minutes. Also do not fill the screen with texts that will not be seen from the back row. Better use pictures or short phrases; you are here to explain what is necessary.
Ramble
Don’t mess around. Be concise and clear. If someone doesn’t understand something, raise your hand or wait for question time. If you are nervous and ramble, the presentation will get out of hand and you will exceed your allotted time. Follow your chips and be methodical. As we said, good preparation is the key.
Not looking at the public
If you look at your notes or the screen all the time, the audience will be disconnected. Keep their attention looking them in the eye and alternate different spaces in the classroom. If looking at people makes you nervous, put a few friends in strategic positions around the room and tell them about it.
Using convoluted words
Don’t use expressions that you don’t normally use. It is not about talking as if you were in a bar with your colleagues, but you do not need to look like a philologist from the RAE obsessed with Latin. According to mostly ghostwriting services provider You must feel comfortable and speak naturally to reach your audience.
Although we hate public speaking, it is part of our preparation and will be useful in our future work. So it is better to take it with resignation and get down to work. You’ll see how you get the hang of it right away.
