This is the last in a seven-part series of articles on presentation skills designed for persons who don't make or supplement their living from professional speaking.

Part 7 of 7: Summary & conclusion…
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7

Here's what we covered in this short version of our program:

• The Situation. We discussed Aristotle's "Appeals," the environment and some special situations.
• The Audience. We introduced The Jolson Principle and the importance of analyzing the needs and expectations of your audience, plus how to arouse their curiosity with your presentation title and content.
• The Speaker. We examined the source of speaker anxiety and what you could do about it.
• The Presentation. We looked at the three phases of planning, preparation, and delivery, along with the Universal Speaker's Law and the Magical Rule of 3, plus some specific techniques to breathe life into a dead presentation.

At this point, your presentation should be ready to go. All that's left is the study, reinforcement, practice, and rehearsal necessary to polish your performance. By now, you will have discovered that for every 1-5 minutes of your presentation, you will have spent an hour in preparation! Speaking isn't easy, but it sure is an awful lot of fun.

Good luck in your speaking. Follow the advice in this series of articles, take every opportunity you can to speak before a group, and you'll be on your way to becoming an outstanding "unprofessional" speaker. Finally, as you begin to gain experience and self-confidence, remember the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson: "All the great speakers were bad speakers at first."

Copyright 1999-2000 by William C. Wilson, Jr.
All Rights Reserved.