As someone who has taken the stage for hundreds of presentations over the years, I’ve recently had a few people ask for my best tips on effective public speaking. This prompted me to view a handful of presentations I’ve attended in the past few weeks through an even more critical lens – really analyzing what separates the good speakers from those that miss the mark. Based on these latest observations, I’ve come up with this list of 5 quick tips for any aspiring presenter. Whether you’re making your case in front of an internal team, speaking at a conference, or even hosting a podcast or webinar, consider applying these 5 tips to elevate your delivery and impact.

🗣 Voice Matters 

A crucial element of an effective presentation is strong vocal delivery. I recently attended a talk where the speaker had an incredibly nasal, grating voice that made it very difficult to pay attention for an extended period. Similarly, I’ve seen presenters with odd inflections or upward lilts at the end of every sentence…making each phrase sound like a question?  I know it seems like a small or even uncontrollable detail, but these types of vocal idiosyncrasies can honestly prove to be highly distracting and even irritating to an audience.

The best presenters understand the importance of vocal variety, projection, and overall pleasing tone. They annunciate clearly, pause for emphasis at key moments, and modulate their pitch, pace and volume to keep the audience engaged. Monotone, nasal or quirky speech patterns can undermine an otherwise strong presentation. Just as we’re turned off by fingernails on a chalkboard, listeners can get grated by harsh, unpracticed vocal delivery over time.

This may not be a popular opinion, but presenters with nasal or harsh vocal tones can struggle to keep an audience engaged and even be off-putting.  In those cases, it may be worth considering that public speaking roles are not the best use of their skillset. Sometimes self-awareness around one’s vocal presence can help determine if duties like organizing workshops or assisting a lead presenter would be a better professional fit than being the speaker at a conference, presentation, or webinar.

⏰ Give Attendees Time To Practice

When it comes to presentations aimed at teaching new skills, it’s just so critical that attendees have ample opportunities to practice and apply what they’re learning. I recently sat through a two-hour skills training session where the presenter lectured nonstop, except for two brief, unguided breaks. As I looked around the room, I saw that people were lost in the first 15 minutes.  It was simply too much too fast, and some of the information was already too advanced. It’s so important for any presenter to “read the room” and have an awareness of the skill level and comprehension of attendees – and then knowing when to slow down or stop to clarify or allow practice time.

The most effective training presentations are interactive, with the presenter regularly pausing to have attendees try out the skills through hands-on exercises, performance tasks, role-playing scenarios, or “talk to your neighbor” time. Simply talking at people for hours on end is one of the least effective ways to drive true learning and behavior change. Our brains need repetition, application, and opportunities to make mistakes in a safe environment in order to embrace and truly learn new skills.

Ideally, any skills training presentation should alternate between short bursts of instruction followed immediately by a relevant practice activity. This allows attendees to apply the concepts while they’re still fresh, identify gaps in their understanding, and receive real-time coaching. Without this critically important cycle of learning and doing, even the most comprehensive training is likely to go in one ear and out the other. Engaging the attendees as active participants versus passive listeners is key.

🧠 Be An Expert in Every Way

Recently, someone asked me for advice on how to give a great presentation as part of a job interview process. My main guidance was that the key to successful delivery in these high-stakes situations (or for any presentation) is being an absolute expert on the content you’ll be presenting. When you have deep mastery of the material, you can discuss it with confidence, field any curveball questions that come your way, and flexibly explain concepts from multiple angles in a natural, unscripted way.

Knowing your stuff inside and out allows you to get out of your own head and connect more genuinely with your audience – in this case, the people who hold your future employment in their hands. It frees you from having to memorize a rigid script, which often comes across as stilted and rehearsed. Instead, you can have a genuine dialogue, adapting your examples, suggestions, or anecdotes in the moment based on reading the room.

Thorough preparation is crucial, but over-scripting your presentation can actually undermine your effectiveness, especially in unpredictable interview environments. The folks evaluating you want to get an authentic sense of how you think on your feet and demonstrate true subject mastery beyond just regurgitating memorized facts. Being an expert in your material is what allows you to stay poised under pressure.

💡 Set The Stage

With more presentations happening virtually these days via webinars and video conferencing, it’s essential that presenters take steps to ensure a professional digital environment. I recently attended a webinar where the speaker’s camera was poorly positioned (a laptop on a desk with the camera pointing upward), resulting in a harsh ceiling light glare directly behind the presenter’s head the entire time.  Even more distracting was the fact that the presenter’s cell phone notification chimes went off during the webinar.  Little things like these can really take away from a presentation.  It certainly distracted me – I had a hard time paying attention to anything that presenter was saying.

For effective online presentations, setting the right visual stage is crucial. This definitely includes adjusting your camera angle and lighting.  Having a plain (or blurred) background free of clutter and distractions also helps the audience stay focused. And seemingly minor details like silencing notifications and avoiding unexpected noises make a big difference in reducing avoidable disruptions.

Additionally, online presenters need to be super aware that attendees may be viewing on small laptop screens or even mobile devices. A few quick tips for this:  keep yourself centered on the screen, make sure any screenshares are easy to read, and try to limit lots of distracting hand gestures.  Visual aids certainly play a big role in any presentation, but a pitfall to avoid is overly animated GIFs or excessive movement in your slides, which can be more distracting than impactful. Stick to clean, static visuals and adequately sized text that complement your presentation rather than detracting from it.

Lastly, take the time before going live to check your audio/video setup, eliminate potential distractions, and before you go live, practice being a professional online presenter.

😴 Don’t Overtalk Just To Fill Time

Lastly, a crucial piece of presentation advice – don’t feel compelled to fill every moment with words just for the sake of it. I recently witnessed a speaker who drew out syllables and phrases unnecessarily, almost as if trying to prevent anyone else from speaking and filling those little time gaps.  Just this past week, I saw two different speakers add rambling filler details that add no real value, just to extend their time. This is a mistake and almost always an immediate turn-off for listeners.

The best presenters embrace silence and prioritize being concise over hitting an arbitrary time limit. If you have 30 minutes of strong, focused material, deliver those 30 minutes crisply and confidently. Don’t forcibly pad it to an hour by droning on with fluffy filler. Doing so isn’t engaging for audiences – it’s tedious and dilutes your impact.

Effective presenters know how to pause for emphasis, aren’t afraid of brief silences, and cut out any unnecessary tangents. Being concise with your content demonstrates respect for your audience’s time and keeps them hooked. If you find yourself with extra time, see it as an opportunity to open up for more dialogue and questions rather than filling dead air.  Be confident enough to give your focused message and gracefully exit once it’s delivered.  Your audience will appreciate you so much more!