While some people might think that it’s just chalked up a natural talent, effective presentation is a skill that can be improved through certain habits. The following are all some of the best ways that you can improve your presentation skills with subtle daily habits.
1- Focus on your breathing more closely.
Presentation Training Institute said, “Focus on your breathing.” Focusing on the rise and fall of your breath will fully encapsulate you in the moment, keeping you from having your thoughts occupied by unproductive thoughts about the past and future. The more firmly you can root yourself in the present moment by concentrating on your breathing, the better you’ll be able to immerse yourself in the flow of your words without getting held back by any anxieties or doubts. You will be able to tap into the full potential that you have to take advantage of your presentations current space of time just by allowing yourself to experience it more deeply.
2- Smile more.
Find a person near the front of the room and concentrate on them, but don’t stare a hole right into the back of their head. Smile at them, and through the mirror effect, they’ll feel compelled to smile too. Rather than just zeroing in on one person, alternate between looking at that one person and then giving your attention to the expanse of the room as well. Don’t let your eyes flicker between just one person after another with every second, but do make a point to get yourself comfortable with looking at one person before gazing out to the crowd. Eventually, you will forget the unnerving feeling of having all eyes on you at once; you will have officially taken the room into your positive energy-infused frame.
3- Take note of the words you misspeak the most, but don’t beat yourself up over it.
Allow yourself to make a mistake when you’re speaking and use these mistakes as valuable data for improvement. People aren’t robots, so you can’t be expected to always have a completely fluid flow of speech without at least some chance of misspeaking from time to time. If you happen to stutter or fumble over your words, don’t let it bring you down. Feel free to play off of the joke if you want to, but accept the fact that these things do happen. The quality of your presentation will be built upon how you handle these missteps, not whether or not they happen in the first place.
4- Journal regularly.
Get used to writing her thoughts down. Keeping a journal isn’t going to turn you into a master presentation expert overnight, but it will make you a lot better at organizing your thoughts in a subtle way. You may not necessarily have to take the notes up in front of the crowd when you present, but the act of putting your thoughts into an organized format will make you better at conveying them over time. Take about 20 minutes a day just to write out your stream of consciousness so that you can make better sense of it later on.
5- Make more small talk.
Don’t limit your conversations with strangers to text. Speak to people on a regular basis in general. When you’re out in public, find things about the environment to make small talk about, even if it doesn’t seem all that significant. The simple act of engaging with other people and becoming more comfortable with the sound of your voice will make you much more effective at communicating in general. By communicating with people constantly, you will be able to enter a “flow state” of speech more easily.
6- Include third parties in your conversations more often.
When you’re having conversations with others, consider making a point to include other people nearby if it’s appropriate. Finding ways to group others into a discussion will simply make you more comfortable at engaging multiple people at once. You can take note of the ways that your words and inflections differently affect a wide range of different people. You don’t need to have everybody like the way that you naturally speak, but you will definitely become more comfortable with speaking to groups in the end.
7- Clean your ears thoroughly.
Be vigilant about keeping up a good ear hygiene routine. Many people are surprised at just how much easier it is for them to speak smoothly when they don’t have as much blockage in their ears preventing them from hearing their voice the way that it is heard by other people. Dedicate at least 5 to 10 minutes a day to making sure that you clean your ears thoroughly.
