Simple ways to make your presentation convincing

Some people have an innate gift when it comes to public speaking. Others have to continue working at it throughout their entire lifetime. No matter what category you fall under, all of us can become successful public speakers. It just takes a little practice, research, and confidence. Here are some simple ways to make your next presentation convincing:

• Grab your audience's attention. People need a hook line to get interested in what you have to say. Even an engaging title to your presentation might just do the job.
  
• Keep your audience entertained. You don't need to be a comedian, but you also don't want your audience to fall asleep. Do things that will engage your audience. Look for ways to interact with your audience. Perhaps you can do some demonstrations and get a couple volunteers to come up from the audience. The more you involve the audience, the more people will actually listen to what you have to say.
  
• Bring a certain level of credibility to the table. In order to get people to listen to you, you need to provide credible information and you need to be a credible person. Do not give people a reason to doubt your credibility. A great way to prove your worth to the audience is to participate in an open question and answer session. This shows the audience that you are comfortable with them and you are an honest person.
  
• Even if another person prepares your speech for you, make it sound personal. Try to add a couple person stories to it and truly be enthusiastic about your material. This message will be conveyed to your audience and they will feel your enthusiasm. If you are just looking down and reading your speech off a piece of paper, your audience will know that you did not prepare or it or they will be able to tell that you have not rehearsed it.
  

• Be prepared. The best speakers spend countless hours on research. They take time to educate themselves about the topic they are going to present. This helps them not only properly present the material successfully, it also helps them with some of the random questions they will get before and after the presentation. Not only should you take time to research your material, you need to rehearse your presentation several times. Your audience needs to feel that you actually know the material you are presenting. The more you practice, the easier it will be for you to successfully convey your message to your audience.
  
• Tell stories or share personal information. A good speaker can connect with their audience by sharing a little bit about themselves. The story doesn't even need to be something you were directly involved in, but it needs to be engaging. People love to hear stories, and it's a great way to keep their attention.
  
• Give your audience something to think about. You can start off your presentation by posing a question and then referring back to it toward the end of the presentation. This is a simple way to keep your audience listening to your entire presentation because they will be anxious to find out the answer to the question.
  
• Control your annoying habits. Spit out the gum and don't pace around on the stage. Small little things like brushing your hair will start to get annoying to your audience. To figure out what your habits are, do your presentation to your family members and ask them to critique you. Another method is to record yourself on video camera and then watch it and look for all the little things like do that may take away from your presentation.