Command Performance
How to Make Effective Presentations
By Jill Geisler, The Poynter Institute

You're called before the group to present your ideas, facilitate a meeting, or inspire the troops. And you are frightened. More than anything, you long to be a commanding speaker. Here's the simple secret: true command comes from comfort.

If your best friends were asked to list five positive qualities about you--what would they be? Intelligent, fun, trustworthy, hard-working, creative? Your audience deserves to see those qualities, too. Here's how to project them:

• Know the people in your audience. Who are they? What do they care about? What do you have in common with them?

• Establish eye contact. Care enough about every person in the room to look at each one directly.

• Have an outline. Know your material and the order in which you want to present it.

• Use notes judiciously. Notes can demonstrate you care enough to check your data and details. They can also be a barrier if you look more often at them than at the audience.

• Know when to break away from your outline. Let a fresh idea interrupt your plan. A noise in the room, a question from the floor, an observation you make-- all can enliven your delivery.

• Involve the audience. Ask for a show of hands or create an audience participation exercise to keep the group engaged.

• Vary your tone and pacing. Signal that you are moving to a new thought or topic.

• Roll with the punches. Make a mistake? Don't dwell on it--the audience won't. Restate with a smile and go right on.

• Be conscious of your appearance. Make sure the audience pays more attention to what you're saying than your clothing, jewelry, or hair. Dress comfortably, and just a cut above the crowd, to demonstrate your respect for the audience.

• Plan your close. Like a runner who can see the finish line it will give you confidence.

  REMEMBER: TRUE COMMAND COMES FROM COMFORT.