Efficient public speaking is an asset, no matter if you are training new recruits or presenting a product to a client. Delivering the perfect seminar requires understanding the audience’s requirements and supplementing their knowledge well.
Backing up your claims with interactive material like presentations and providing conducive environment is the key. When you rent a training room that is fully equipped with necessary facilities, you have won half the battle. To know how to deliver a seminar, read on.
Know your listeners
Reach the venue well before time and ease the nerves. This is required to assess your audience. You will have two kinds of listeners: the organizers and the actual listeners. If you want to attract more attendees, curate the material in a way that helps listeners raise their productivity.
It is good to assume your audience to be extremely ignorant but extremely intelligent at the same time. Never cut out an informative background just because you assume the audience already knows about it.
Create an outline of points
Never go into a seminar without due planning of your presentation. Write important points down in a logical sequence, highlighting keywords. Reading from a paper sounds rigid and formal and cuts off eye contact. Begin with an introduction, providing an outline of the presentation to follow.
It is interesting to put in personal details regarding your motivation behind the seminar. Provide a heading for each topic and sign off with a conclusion for the audience to act upon.
Prepare and rehearse well
Not everybody is naturally articulate, and regular practice can make you better at delivering seminars. This can de done by standing in front of a mirror and talking to yourself. You can rent seminar room a couple of days in advance and practice talking to an imaginary audience.
Work on any areas where you find incompetencies. It is also a good idea to have a colleague ask you hypothetical questions. It is also important to practice gestures and mannerisms to avoid looking awkward.
Invite responses
Even though it is the speaker that does most of the talking, involving the audience is not a bad idea. Narrate interesting and relevant stories, share a joke or two, and ask questions. If the seminar is long, consider including a break in between, where you can hand out questionnaires or introduce group activities.
Avoid monotony
Lack of enough preparation could make talk for long periods in a confused and complicated manner. To avoid such monotonous periods during a seminar, practice speaking while you time yourself. To identify speech pattern problems, record yourself as you speak. This can also help to prevent lack of modulation. Not making enough eye contact can also cause your audience to feel uninspired. Steadily transfer your gaze from left to right as you speak.
Ensure a distraction-free environment
When you rent training room, keep in mind that the audience should not feel distracted. A fidgety or distracted audience can break the speaker’s flow. Provide proper restroom facilities and a water cooler. The room should be air conditioned and the screen should not get obstructed from anyone’s line of sight. Using too many animations or putting too much information on one slide can distract.