public speaking.
 

great.

i volunteered to train my coworkers. i get to fly around CA all the winter months and give presentations. this is NOT my wheelhouse, but you know what? i am looking forward to it. i got major bonus points with management that i volunteered.

i am going to practice my presentations till it is memorized.

i do still have an unopened bottle of magic anti anxiety pills..okay maybe ONE pill is missing. hahaha..i tried one to see if it made me stupid..but i never took one for anything stressful.

damn..i have no issues doing the smaller venues my day to day job calls of me, but this is the next level.

maybe i'll meet more CA PPOT guys. :D

Just imagine everyone in their undies!

i'm a civil engineer..not in medical sales..

my mind's eye!!! :D

You'll be great at it Cliff.
My one and only experience with 'public' speaking was when I got laid off back in '92. The EDD at the time was running workshops to help all the unemployed aerospace workers find jobs. You had to get up in front of a bunch of people you didn't know and 'sell yourself' to them.
The one thing I learned from that was this. The true meaning of the word FEAR.
False Expectations Appear Real.
Once you get over that hump it's easy. Just think of the audience as a captive audience in their underwear and you'll be fine.

Know your subject cold, bring water and a sense of humor. I know you'll be fantastic.

That's the secret right there. You're the expert on your topic. Your audience is there to learn from you. You could be wrong about something and they would not know it if you show confidence.

Our supervisors have to recognize their employees on their anniversary in front of the 700 employees at the monthly employee meeting. Most really sucked despite memorizing their recognition. Some drone on about unrelated stuff about their employees.

Know your stuff, but...Outline what you are going to say. Memorize the outline. Seems more personable versus memorizing the talk word for word.

Try to avoid repeating something like, "And uh"

Listen to the audience and pause when they laugh, don't pause if they don't.

Be expressive, ie add some emotion to engage people. Can be positive, negative, funny, shocked, etc.

Don't bring in unrelated humor for humor's sake.

Find and go to a Toastmasters meeting if you are unsure about anything. It's what they do for fun.

there are 17 events. i assume after 10, i'll be pretty good. ;)

As stated above, know your subject material inside out and backwards.
Think of someone to whom you enjoy listening. What do they do to keep your attention?
They probably modulate pitch and speed of their delivery. Volume changes can also help focus the group attention.
It is very rewarding when you have them listening.
Have fun.
Les

Like RKD in OKC suggests Toastmasters. You can usually go to the first two sessions for nothing. After that they want you to pay dues. Toastmasters can give you direction and lots of practice and I highly recommend it. Practice, practice and more practice helps you be more relaxed especially if you have an audience each time.

Try not to read everything but use cue cards. You are the expert. They want you to succeed. Don't try to memorize everything. You know your subject well then there should be no problem. Control the group. Redirect questions to the end. :):)

Be careful doing that. It comes off like you are reciting rather than presenting information. Talk to your slides. They are there as a road map and contain information that may not be covered in your presentation.

Just don't read the slides and try not to memorize a script (its nearly the same thing). I watched an attorney once that had memorized a scripted argument. You could literally see her eyes moving across the page she had studied and also had natural breaks in presentation where pages would have been turned.

Deep breath. You will be fine. You need to find what works for you. I practice arguments/opening statements out loud where ever I can; the car, shower, sitting on the toilet. Saying it out loud gets you used to it.

I agree.

If I memorize (or attempted to) a presentation it is slow and boring. Know the subject. Know the outline. Then freelance. You will learn what works as you move though the itinerary.

Pretend they are all Pelicans.

That is perfect...so is all the other advice!

I have given hundred of presentations to crowds large and small. The key is to own the material. So my first question is, do you get to write the presentation(s)?

Do not put a whole bunch of words on a PP slide and expect it to go well: Embed pictures and video and talk to the images.

Make the presentation question friendly...so much more: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=writing+effective+presentations&t=ffsb&atb=v72-6__&ia=web

I am writing our annual Shareholders Meeting brief now. I'll probably write it four times until I think the flow and content is right. I look at presentations like they are a video game: It has to be visually entertaining and capture the audience.

That and rehearse.

i am going to ask to build my own presentation. i cant work off of other's stuff. i am also going to ask that they allow me to use Keynote, instead of Powerpoint.

i'm going full DIVA!! "i cant work like this :)

Start off with a few jokes that won't get you in trouble. ;)

That is great news, just don't go all Beyoncé:cool:

I have presentations that are over a GIG in size due to video and pictures...works for me. I get invites to speak every week. I only do two a year now.

Good luck.

Careful, most of the presentations I've seen with slides it looks like they are following someone else's presentation. They put too much information on a slide. Best if slides are titles of topics as you talk and/or a specific illustration. Make what your are saying the focus not just following slides.

I find it easy when over 25 people.

Smaller groups I can be more tense.

I am perhaps fortunate that I am good at both improvisation and following a script.

If a situation calls for one or the other I can move easily.

I also notice that often before giving advice on "how to's" you need to see someone in action.

Sort of like telling some one when it is their first time at a race track to brake late at corner X. You have no idea where their actual braking point is, maybe they already instinctively would have gotten it right, and now they will get it wrong.

So without knowing your public speaking abilities I will abstain from giving specific advice.

My only vague advice is to figure out and know why you are up there. Is it to entertain, pass on knowledge, etc...

I see musicians that can't handle a crowd because they are afraid of mistakes, they forget that if people wanted a mistake free experience those people would only listen to albums and not go to live events. In this type of venue the reason you are up there is at the audience's discretion.

Hopefully you enjoy the travel and the locations and nearby food places are good.