These are some things that I generally keep in mind whilst preparing or giving a talk. (These are just things I do, feel free to disagree.)
Preparing:
1) Give yourself enough time to write and practice the talk. If you can get ~1 month, that (for me atleast) is more than enough time.
2) Say the words out loud when practicing. You may use different words or slightly improvise during the talk, which is totally fine. Just let yourself hear some version of it a few times (out loud) before presenting. In my experience this helps to avoid stutters, and keeps you in your place.
3) Watch talks of people online that you enjoy or by people that inspire you. We all have our own "style" when it comes to public speaking. You will never be able to straight up copy someone. But watch and take mental notes as you do.
4) (If you are preparing slides), keep them simple! It is YOU who is presenting the talk. Not a wall with a projector. Treat your slides mostly as an accessory. They can help illustrate a point perhaps, or outline the key subjects. Short and simple.
Presenting:
1) If you can, make sure you have a bottle of water handy when you go up.
2) When I approach the stand, platform or stage, I like to do so with confidence. This really does depend on the setting. But for example, as I walk up, sometimes I'll take my jacket off. Or do something that otherwise makes me feel like I'm owning the space. This makes me feel much more comfortable and puts me off to a good start. Even if you're not a confident person, walk up as if you are or do something simply to make you feel more comfortable.
3) Don't be afraid to use the space you have been given. This goes both for actually walking around, and using your arms to assist your words. Hands out of pockets. Use them.
4) Pauses are a good thing! Whether it's just to take a sip of water, or just a pause for the sake of pausing. This both gives you a few moments to collect your thoughts and also a few moments for the audience to digest what you have just been saying.
5) Slowww it down. It's almost too easy sometimes to rush talks when it comes down to actually presenting one. Take your time. They came to see you! So make it worth their while.
6) This is slightly tricky in some cases, but try to calibrate yourself towards the audience. For example, in my case, I've found people seem to pay more attention if I've just said something slightly amusing. If you can get away with it, go for it! It's a hard one to explain, but the bottom line is, try to get the crowd on the same page. I'll perhaps think of a better way of explaining this one and reply to this comment.
Preparing: 1) Give yourself enough time to write and practice the talk. If you can get ~1 month, that (for me atleast) is more than enough time.
2) Say the words out loud when practicing. You may use different words or slightly improvise during the talk, which is totally fine. Just let yourself hear some version of it a few times (out loud) before presenting. In my experience this helps to avoid stutters, and keeps you in your place.
3) Watch talks of people online that you enjoy or by people that inspire you. We all have our own "style" when it comes to public speaking. You will never be able to straight up copy someone. But watch and take mental notes as you do.
4) (If you are preparing slides), keep them simple! It is YOU who is presenting the talk. Not a wall with a projector. Treat your slides mostly as an accessory. They can help illustrate a point perhaps, or outline the key subjects. Short and simple.
Presenting: 1) If you can, make sure you have a bottle of water handy when you go up.
2) When I approach the stand, platform or stage, I like to do so with confidence. This really does depend on the setting. But for example, as I walk up, sometimes I'll take my jacket off. Or do something that otherwise makes me feel like I'm owning the space. This makes me feel much more comfortable and puts me off to a good start. Even if you're not a confident person, walk up as if you are or do something simply to make you feel more comfortable.
3) Don't be afraid to use the space you have been given. This goes both for actually walking around, and using your arms to assist your words. Hands out of pockets. Use them.
4) Pauses are a good thing! Whether it's just to take a sip of water, or just a pause for the sake of pausing. This both gives you a few moments to collect your thoughts and also a few moments for the audience to digest what you have just been saying.
5) Slowww it down. It's almost too easy sometimes to rush talks when it comes down to actually presenting one. Take your time. They came to see you! So make it worth their while.
6) This is slightly tricky in some cases, but try to calibrate yourself towards the audience. For example, in my case, I've found people seem to pay more attention if I've just said something slightly amusing. If you can get away with it, go for it! It's a hard one to explain, but the bottom line is, try to get the crowd on the same page. I'll perhaps think of a better way of explaining this one and reply to this comment.