Careers resource Presenting with impact

Alumnae careers resources: Presenting with impact

Start strong!

This is the point that you have everyone’s attention. The audience is all ears, full of anticipation and hopeful of learning something interesting.

Use this time wisely.

Start with anecdote, a wow fact, an observation. This will draw the audience in and make them lean forward to engage further.

A pause is powerful!

It gives you, as presenter, the chance to consider what you are going to say next, and it gives the audience a chance to take in what you have just said.

More importantly, it gives you added credibility – emphasizing your point and showing the audience you are worth waiting for.

Dive in!

It’s a cliché but practice makes perfect.

The first time you say it out loud, you might realise important points you have forgotten, or points that aren’t needed.

You will also notice if it flows, or if you need to move things around, and how confidently you are able to project your voice.

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Michelle Obama is master orator.

Watch any of her speeches to see how she incorporates storytelling, speeds up or slows down for impact. And importantly there are so many quotable lines which the audience will share with others – or will hit the headlines.

Hear Michelle speak

Greta Thunberg is skilled at using the power of three structure in her speeches.

She also uses repletion effectively to emphasis her points. And importantly they always have a call to action – she doesn’t want people to sit on their hands after hearing her speak.

Hear Greta speak

Viv Groskop wrote the best book on presenting in recent times, called ‘How to own the room’.

It is aimed at women with imposter syndrome and encourages authenticity. This is achieved through making a connection with the audience, focusing on what your body language says about you and getting out and trying it out – something Viv put into practice herself when she performed 100 comedy shows in 100 days.

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