When you are asked to give a presentation, you probably spend the majority of your time preparing the content. You want to make sure that you have an amazing opening line, engaging visuals, and a deep understanding of the topic. But, have you also saved some time to focus on rehearsal? This is a very important, yet often overlooked step. Oftentimes presenters spend weeks creating a presentation, only to have their delivery fall short. Why? They never took the time to rehearse. A great presentation requires plenty of practice and rehearsing. Here are five steps to effectively rehearsing a presentation.Â
1. Create your own presentation notes.
If you have prepared a PowerPoint as part of your presentation, start by writing notes for each slide in full sentences. Read these sentences aloud as you review the slides. Now, cut down those sentences into bullet points and rehearse out loud again, relying even less on your notes. Continue practicing aloud until you can cut the notes down even further into just a few words that prompt you to deliver the content. Not only will this prevent you from reading directly from a slide and boring your audience, but the less you rely on notes, the more eye contact you can make and the stronger your connection with the audience.
2. Practice under ‘mild stress.’
Psychologists have found that athletes perform better when they practice in a “real-world†setting. This same principle can be applied to giving a presentation. Try to mirror real life conditions as much as possible so you can get used to the stress you will experience during the actual presentation. Rehearse in front of a mock audience consisting of either family, friends, colleagues, or strangers. You don’t want your first time speaking in front of a group to be at the real presentation.Â
3. Ask for feedback.
It’s not enough just to practice in front of a mock audience. You want to ask for real authentic feedback so you can make adjustments or improvements. Oftentimes our family and friends might say,“Great job†because they don’t want to hurt our feelings. However, this will not help you improve your presentation. Ask them to give thoughtful and specific feedback so you know what you need to do to make your delivery even better.Â
4. Record yourself.
In addition to practicing in front of an audience, you also need to spend time rehearsing on your own and recording yourself. Set up your smartphone or a video camera and record your presentation. This is a great way to see yourself as others will see you and correct any mistakes such as filler words, poor posture, lack of eye contact, etc.Â
5. Practice until it’s effortless.
There is no set number for how many times you need to rehearse your presentation. You just need to continue rehearsing until you can deliver the entire presentation effortlessly without thinking about how you will transition from one slide to the next. If you rehearse your speech enough times, you will have more confidence and deliver a more powerful presentation.