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Presentation Skills: Actions You Should Take
After Your Presentation
Usually the emphasis on making an effective speech is what you do
in preparation before the presentation begins. But if you speak
very much, what you do after the speech can help you become a
more effective speaker.
As soon as possible after the speech, write down impressions of
how you felt the speech went. Answer at least two questions
about the speech: What was the best part of the speech? What
part of the speech can be improved the next time?
Some of your best ideas will come to you as you are speaking.
Write them down as soon as the speech is over so you can be
prepared to use those lines or ideas the next time you speak.
Think about the peaks and valleys in the speech. Consider when
the audience seemed to listen best and when the audience seemed
restless and disinterested. Write down your reactions while they
are fresh on your mind.
Talk to someone about the speech within the first day after your
presentation. You'll remember best what you talked about and you
might discover a better way of telling a story or making a point
as you summarise your speech to a friend or colleague.
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Keep track of stories you tell and case studies you include so
you'll not repeat yourself if ou speak to that audience again.
In addition, keep records of how long you spoke, what you wore,
key people you met, and anything unusual about the speaking
context. Occasionally look back over your records of individual
speeches and look for trends in your speaking that you are
unaware of. When you speak to this group again, this information
will be the basis for your audience analysis. This is especially
important if you speak frequently within your company and your
audience will be made up of listeners who have heard you before.
You don't want to develop a reputation for telling the same
stories over and over.
If the group has speaker evaluations, ask that a copy of the
summary be sent to you. Look for any pattern in the comments as
you analyze the summary. If one person said you talked too
slowly, it may be a personal preference and you don't need to
give much consideration to the critique. If four or five people
make that comment, however, then you might want to consider
changing the pace of your speaking for the next speech.
Certainly your main concern should be with your preparation
before the speech. However, don't underestimate the effort of
what you do in analyzing the speech after the audience has left
the room.
Stephen D. Boyd, Ph.D., CSP, is a professor of speech
communication. He is also a trainer in communication who
presents more than 60 seminars and workshops a year to
corporations and associations. See additional articles and
resources at
http://www.sboyd.com.
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