

Ask HN: Best speaking tips? - lukeqsee

I love public speaking -- whether it's a presentation or a speech.<p>I'm also always looking to get better.<p>What are your tips concerning public speaking? Do you have any specific tips concerning specific situational speaking, e.g., a presentation at a conference, or a sales presentation)?<p>The most helpful idea for me: Always remember you are only trying to communicate X to Y people. It stops you from rambling, and also allows you to explain X really well for Y group of people, a.k.a, laser focus.<p>Thanks in advance for your tips!
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rhasson
I gave a presentation to in Japan (I don't speak Japanese) to about 200 people
through a interpreter. The challenge there is that you must be able to speak
slowly, clearly and use non-complicated and less technical words. Since my
presentation was technical it was difficult to stay away from technical terms
and I later found out that the interpreters did a poor job translating my
presentation and many people didn't really get a lot of the detail I
discussed. My suggestion is to keep things simple, find interesting ways to
explain your technology,product,ideas,etc in a non-technical way (as you were
explaining it to your mother). This is obvious, but it becomes that much more
important when your presenting to an international audience especially when
you are going through an interpreter.

Roy

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iuguy
Don't read the slides. Your slide bulletins should act as an aide memoire for
the things you're trying to get across.

