Siemens 7.1g

Considering the needs of the audience

PowerPoint skills

Clear articulation

Composition skills

Engaging presentation style

Some audiences want a lot of technical detail; others don't. Some will enjoy humour; others won't. There are jokes that work in some crowds, but not others. To draft a successful talk and adopt the appropriate presentation style, you need to be able to assess the needs of your audience.

Public speakers must be able to speak well. This includes enunciating clearly, speaking loudly enough, and using proper grammar without verbal crutches such as "um" and “er”. You must be familiar enough with your material that you don't pause excessively, repeat yourself, or stumble over your words. You also need to be able to pace yourself so that you finish on time, rather than way too early, or even worse, too late.

this includes vocal tone, body language, facial expressions and timing. The right style can make a boring talk come to life. If you can make your presentation exciting and engaging—even funny, then you’re on to a winner.

Not all public speakers use slides, but having the artistic ability to create slides that are aesthetically pleasing and easy to understand will enhance your presentation skills massively.

Construct talks that are rational, coherent, easy to understand, and cover all the points you want to hit. Storytelling and humour help, though you must know how to use them, and judge when they are appropriate. Public speaking is not only a form of performance art, but it also requires writing skills.