Ever since graduate school when I saw my classmates reading the contents of their slides when presenting their projects to the class I knew there had to be a better way to get information across. Several years after that someone let me borrow their copy of the book Presentation Zen, which got me started on the pursuit of honing my presentation skills. Then, at my job, I began giving technical trainings which I enjoyed but I really couldn’t find a way to bring the lessons I had learned from the book into that. I knew there was more to learn.
In my continuing quest, I recently noticed an article about How to Give a Great Speech and it really caught my eye primarily because I believe stories have a larger impact on the audience, much more than facts and figures . Thinking back to all of the presentations/speeches I’ve seen given by politicians, tech gurus, and others, I recall how many of them were, or at least seem to be, scripted. I like how the article brings up the fact that comedians are primarily telling stories.
Hopefully, in future presentations, I will be able to use this information to improve my public speaking skills so my audience has a better experience and understands what I’m trying to get across.