Tweet

The Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Publicly Speak

Written by: Andrew Rondeau

Article Overview: Here are several questions that will help you prepare:

The Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Publicly Speak

You have been aked to present. Oh no...where do you start?

Here are several questions that will help you prepare:

Does the presentation fall within the scope set for the speech?

Is it too long - have you fallen into the trap of trying to tell your audience everything you know, regardless?

Will you have enough time to fit all the content in?

If not and the time ix fixed, trim some of the content:

* go for an overview instead of detail

* three key points instead of the whole subject

* the two issues of pressing concern to the audience instead of the ins and outs of the whole matter

Is there too little?

How you thought about what the audience will want to know and the likely questions and objections they could put in your way. Make sure these are covered in your presentation even if this means you have to go out and do further research

Is the level and detail of content right for the audience?

What one audience wants is very different to what another one wants even when the subject matter is the same.

Do you have sufficient information to enable you to achieve your original objective?

Have you broken your subject matter down into manageable chunks of information that the audience will be able to absorb?

Dies each sub section follow on logically from the last and have you developed a link phrase / question to move you and the audience onwards?

Is there a beginning, which outlines the route map your audience will be invited to follow, and an ending which summaries key points and leaves them with a final message?

Is the structure the most suitable for this particular audience - remember different audiences will need different structures.

Is the structure the most effective one to help you achieve your original objective?

Have you picked the most suitable style for this particular audience?

What about your language - is it relevant and will it build rapport between you and the audience?

Have you used examples, comparisons, stories, anecdotes, metaphors, analogies that are meaningful to the audience and which make your language vivid and memorable?

What about your body language - it is supporting what you are saying positively? Watch yourself or ask someone to observe you rehearsing.

Does your voice sound interesting? Are you giving your voice the opportunity to change pace, speed, tone and volume?

Have you thought about supporting visual aids - to clarify, illustrate, liven up the presentation, support what you are saying and grab people's attention?

Think about the layout of the room - are you going to be able to move smoothly around the available space without looking awkward, tripping up over something?

Have you adopted the correct posture that not only is going to project the right image but which also allows you to breathe effectively?

Got all the answers?

Now you are ready...

Related Articles
  How to gain Trust, Credibility and Leverage from your customers.
  Pretending to know the acronyms
  Professional Business Coach
  10 Tips to Master Questions During Your Presentation with Authority
  Empathy 101: Ten Commandments of Human Relations

Article Tags: audience, audiences, final message, further research, ins and outs, manageable chunks, objections, objective, phrase, route map, scope, subject matter



Related Forum Posts
6 Simple Ways to Be Taken More Seriously - 1. Eye Contact 2. Be Assertive 3. Speak Clearly - Don't beat around the bush 4. Better to be the king the the court jester - only make jokes when apropriate. If your not serious then don't expect people to take you seriously 5. Confidence 6. Confidence (yes, confidence again!)
Re: Marketing ideas? - Questions will set you free... And make you Rich [quote="KH_Global":349pds7c]Just ask ask ask. That is it.[/quote:349pds7c]
Re: Contact Information - Another idea would be to have an email form in place to accept "ticketed" inquires (if people are afraid of spammers seeing their email address). However, I hate how some sites try to persuade you out of sending an email by bombarding you with lists of "Frequently Asked Questions & Answers" as I find they're rarely helpful.
Each Franchise is different! - No two franchises are alike. Build the fee structure that makes most sense for all parties involved, franchisor, franchisee, and vendors. Yes vendors, some franchises take the the % that vendors (for example coke and pepsi) give them and contribute those to the advertising fund. Many franchises don't manage the advertising fund by themselves but seek franchisees to have a say in how the money is spent, some times thru regional franchisee groups. Speak to a few of the franchise development companies (franchise mills) be careful for the fill in the blank, one size fits all franchise development companies, those companies seldom produce successful franchise systems.
Re: forclosure - As a business financial advisor for SBA loans, I agree 100% with Shri- Be prepared to show your financials and back up any troubles with solid explanations. If you made a bad real estate investment, don't be afraid to admit it, and don't place blame esleware, if it was your fault that it fell apart. Be confident in telling them that you learn from your mistakes. If you do not disclose all information and it comes out later, it will be viewed as you're being dishonest then the investors will bail. Well, at least that's the way bank lenders are. I've seen loans get declined simplybecause someone had a past arrest 15 years ago and didn't disclose that information within their application, yet others who have submitted the application with letterof explanation went on to getting their loan approved! Be VERY prepared when pitching your idea to Investors and do plenty of research. Speak to SCORE, they can help prepare you. Also- come up with a unique presentation that the investors will remember! Have at least 3 year projections within an excellent business plan ready for review. Good luck!


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Adjusting Your World

How to Sell to the Price Driven Customer

Google Panda and Your Search Engine Rankings

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.