Increase Your Impact Immediately.

The material in this eBook has evolved over the course of more than 30 years during which I have delivered over 8,000
presentations to audiences including college students, entrepreneurs, small business owners, corporate executives, and board
members. My experiences with those presentations, combined with coaching students and executives who want to improve
their presentation skills, led me to identify the 52 specific actionable ideas categorized into five sections: Preparing For Your
Presentation, Delivering Your Presentation, Using Visuals Effectively, Connecting With Your
Audience, and Ending With Impact.
Each is intended to be practical, easy to implement, and will improve
your effectiveness as a presenter, no matter what the situation. As
you go through each section and read each trick, ask yourself:

How can I use this to improve

my next presentation?
To your success,

Michael Hudson
michaelhudson.com

Preparing For Your Presentation

1

Use All Available

Resources

There is a wealth of information and training available, including this resource

and other content at michaelhudson.com. Dedicate yourself to learning, honing,
and fine-tuning your craft.

Craft Your
Messages

Determine the real objective of your presentation. Is it to persuade? Teach?

Share information? Your objective will dictate the way you deliver your
presentation, and the way you structure your content.

Keep It
Simple

The human mind can handle seven (plus or minus two) pieces of information
at any point in time. Stick to two or three main points, and develop subpoints
around them.

Use
Tell, Tell, Tell

Tell people what youre going to say, tell them what youre saying, and tell them
what you just told them. Develop your ideas to lead your audience, deliver your
core message, and reinforce it by circling back to connect the dots.

Lookout for
Listening Styles

There are visual listeners, auditory listeners, and kinesthetic (feeling) listeners.
Make sure your presentation engages and provides for all three types by telling
vivid stories, varying your voice, and showing emotion.

Simple Sound
Bites Work

Incorporate sound bites or taglines throughout your presentation to reinforce

your core message. Repeat these throughout your talk, and youll find audience
members reciting it long after your presentation.

Arrive Early
Always

You cant afford to be caught off-guard or stroll in late. All manner of things
need to be surveyed lighting, seating, technology. Arrive at least 45 minutes
before you speak and set yourself up for success.

Preparing For Your Presentation

8

Dress
For Impact

Dress one step up above the audience. If the audience will be dressed casually,
go corporate casual. If they are dressed corporately, go to an evening out level.
This positions you as an authority.

Check All
Equipment

Your laptop, microphone, and the rooms lighting should all be tested. If you use
projection, make sure the lights dont detract from the screen. Arrive early and
make sure these are taken care of.

10 Act As
The Leader

Find out where the fire exits are in the event of an alarm, and be aware of
anything that can create an unnatural noise that the audience wonder, What
was that? What does it mean to us? Remember, you are in charge of the room.

11 Eat For
Success

Have a little salad with a light dressing and some sort of protein. That will give
you good energy to keep you going through your speech. Avoid, at all costs,
those pre-planned meals that have a lot of rich, creamy, gravy and dressings.

12 Stay
Hydrated

Our bodies lose as much as a pint of water during a 30-minute speech. Keep
your hydration level up. That is the key to keeping your energy strong and
delivering powerful presentations.

13 Manage
Your Nerves

Before you speak, gently press your right thumb against the palm of your left
hand. There is a point in the middle of this palm called the ulnar point. Pressing
that will relax your body because it goes directly to your heart.

14 Connect With
Your Audience

Connect with your audience when they get in the room. Act like youre the host
of the meeting, not just the guest speaker. Walk around, introduce yourself to
everyone, give them your name, ask for their name, and ask them what they do.

Preparing For Your Presentation

15 Set Up The Room
For Success

Take the time to talk with the meeting planner about how you want the room
set up. Give them a diagram. Personally connect with the people who will set up
the room to make sure its set up the way you want.

16 Work The
Microphone

If there are more than 25 people in the audience, insist on a microphone. You
want to make sure the audience gets the message the way you deliver it and the
way you want them to receive it. Make sure to sound check before your talk.

Delivering Your Presentation

17 It Starts With
The Introduction

Get rid of all the background info that has nothing to do with why youre
speaking to this audience at this time. They care about why youre the right
person to deliver this message to them today. Craft that, and deliver.

18 Dont Speak
Too Soon

Take the stage after your introduction. Walk up to where youll be speaking.
Stand still. Look at the audience, and look around the audience. This builds
anticipation, and the room is yours. Then begin your speech.

19 Open With
Impact

Never open with, Good morning, and when they dont respond say, That was
pretty weak! Good morning, and expect them to respond again. Opening with
a story, question, or statement will make a greater impact.

20 Manage
Your Time

Never say, If I had more time, Id tell you more. You were brought to that
event to give a speech for a duration of time. It is your responsibility to figure
out what information is most important for you to deliver in that period of time.

21 Just Be
Yourself

Bring you to the message. Worry far more about whether youre coming
through than whether your message is coming through. If youre coming
through, the message will always come through.

22 Forget
The Podium

Never give a speech from behind a podium unless youre forced to. A podium is
a boundary between you and the audience. If you cant move the podium out of
the way, step around to the side of it and give your speech from there.

23 Stage
Positioning

Think about the area youre working in as a big diamond on the floor. There are
five points to that diamond: front, back, left, right, and center. The center point
is where you want to deliver the majority of your presentation from.

Delivering Your Presentation

24 Stage
Memory

Use the diamond to help memorize your content. Deliver your opening from
the center point. Then deliver your first point that brings the audience in by
stepping forward, and use different positions on the stage for other points.

25 Use Humor
Effectively

The day-to-day stuff we experience is whats funny. Bring that into your speech.
Dont bring canned jokes in. They seldom work. Real, personal, day-in-the-life
stories will always have more impact (even if they are not that funny).

26 The Power
Of Threes

There is power in the use of three examples, three key points, or three
illustrations. Threes will be memorable, provide an easy way to manage your
message, and allow you to show a range of perspectives on an issue.

27 Eye Contact
Counts

Make eye contact with members of your audience. When you do, you set
yourself apart from other speakers who simply scan the room, looking for
friendly faces. Youll make direct, one-on-one connections with impact.

Using Visuals Effectively

28 Use Visuals
You Cant Touch

Use visuals that you cannot touch. What I mean by that is stories. There is
nothing more powerful than sharing your personal story with your audience to
illustrate a point. It connects them with you.

29 Using Computer
Visuals

Always use powerful images and never use more than 3 points per slide (one is
best). Remember, the purpose of the slide is not to deliver the information; it is
to reinforce the message and give a visual representation to what you articulate.

30 Using A
Flip Chart

What better way to engage an audience than to ask them for their thoughts ...
and have them see their thoughts appear on a flipchart right in front of them?
Its great for interaction.

31 Managing
Your Notes

Its best not to use notes, and worth practicing until youre comfortable
without them. Setup your computer to see your slides without turning your
back on the audience. If you must read something verbatim, use a clipboard.

32 Using
Handouts

Giving your audience something to take with them will reinforce your message,
particularly if youre trying to teach or persuade. Make sure your handout is
targeted to the takeaways, not just something your software creates from slides.

33 Using
Gestures

Find where youre comfortable keeping your hands. Keep them there except
when you gesture to illustrate a specific point, or motion to the audience to lean
forward and come in on what you are talking about.

34 Careful Quotes
Increase Impact

Use one or two quotes in a speech, not 10 or 12. Remember, the audience came
to hear you. Your message is what matters, not how your message connects to
previous messages or what other people have said.

Connecting With Your Audience

35 Technology
Realities

What if the projector bulb blows and the place where youre delivering the
presentation has no backup? Use a flipchart, or print your presentation out and
have a copy with you.

36 A Caution About
Microphones

Make sure you have fresh batteries in the microphone, and you know where the
controls are to adjust the volume. If you cant fix a problem quickly, turn it off.
Deliver your presentation by projecting your voice, if possible.

37 Tracking
Your Stories

Track your stories so you always have them. This should be a file that you keep
handy at all times. Consider buying a small notebook, or use an app on your
phone. This is a habit worth developing that will enrich your speaking content.

38 Dont Be
The Hero

Be careful to not make yourself the hero of your stories. Your goal is to focus
on the audience and give them information they can use. Effective stories will
bring them in because they see themselves in it, not because they see you in it.

39 Rehearse, Rehearse,
Rehearse

Rehearse every speech four, five, even six times before you give it the first
time. That will increase its power and impact. You will also gain incredible
confidence.. All three contribute to the success of your speech.

40 Vocal
Power

Your voice has power. As you rehearse, figure out how you will use that power
to bring your message home. Lower your voice when you want to bring the
audience in with you; raise it when you want to make a key point.

41 The Power Of
The Pause

Learning to pause--at the right time creates emphasis, builds interest, and
makes your audience pay attention. Effective speeches have natural breaks
throughout. Avoid over-talking -- and utilize pauses to pace your presentation.

Connecting With Your Audience

42 Eliminate Ums, Ahs,
and Redundant Phrases

Videotape your speech. Watch it, tablet ready at hand, and track times you say
um, ah or uh. Youll discover what is making you say those filler words, and
easily remove them from your speeches.

43 Powerful
Posture

Standing with confidence and comfort is critical. Practice in front of a mirror.

Learn how to use your body to engage with the audience by leaning in at times
when you want to connect, and get comfortable standing naturally.

44 Engaging Your
Audience

Try asking a question and having the audience raise their hand to respond. Or
give them a scenario, work in small groups and then report. You can also give
individual assignments and randomly sample the audience.

45 Stage
Movement

Movement is powerful and effective when used correctly, but dont move for
the sake of moving. The speaker who walks back and forth or paces mindlessly
side-to-side to dissipate nervous energy does not connect well.

46 Record
Everything

Record every speech you give. Learn from it. Improve your presentation. Repeat
the process. Each time, youll get better and better. Have your recordings
transcribed so you can turn them into blog posts, handouts, and other content.

Ending With Impact

47 Ending Your
Speech

Youve given the audience a message. Now its time to let them know what you
want them to do. Tell them exactly what action you want them to take, invite
them to take it, thank them for their time, and your speech is done.

48 Always End
On Time

Always prepare your speech so that you can cut things out to allow you to end
on time, even if you were introduced long after your scheduled time. Nothing
makes audiences more unhappy than speakers who dont end on time.

49 Close With
Impact

Youve thanked the audience by gently bowing your head. Your introducer
should rise and begin the applause. That tells the audience youre finished.
Arrange this beforehand with your introducer.

50 Thank People
Properly

After you have closed, simply say, Id like to thank so-and-so for inviting me,
and all of you for your time and attention. If you really want to stand out, send
a handwritten note to the key people a week after the presentation.

51 Handling
The Q&A

Always repeat the question before answering it. This 1) confirms that you
understand the question asked. 2) gives you time to formulate your response. 3)
lets everyone else know what question you are answering.

52 Always Leave
Late

Youre the speaker. Your presentation is why people came. Plan your schedule so
you have time to linger in the room, talk to the people who want to pursue the
subject youve shared, and interact with those who want more information.

Michael Hudson
Are you are a business leader that wants to implement positive change, but struggles with communicating that vision? Or perhaps youve
attained a certain and even impressive measure of success, but still find yourself restless, ucomfortable, and always responding to
little issues. I know how that feels, and I can assure you:
If you want to take your business to the next level either in income or scale, but feel pulled in too many different directions
If youre working more hours than you ever envisioned, and feel like youre drowning in minutiae
If you find yourself disconnected because your time, energy, and focus is misaligned with your true passion
Then I can help.
Im Michael Hudson, coach, speaker, facilitator, and creator of the Vision Speaker system, a proven process to help leaders design,
deliver, and develop dynamic presentations to communicate change. I designed the Vision Speaker system based on insights from
working with over 2,500 businesses over the past 30 years, ranging from academia, finance, small business, and politics.
At the heart of it all, Im a collaborative teacher, a guide who helps leaders like you do work that truly matters. It would be my privilege
to help you discover and achieve your true potential.
What to do next:
Visit MichaelHudson.com today, and be on the lookout for more free, helpful
content coming your way.

Connect With Michael:

michaelhudson.com
facebook.com/drmichaelhudson
twitter.com/drmichaelhudson
linkedin.com/in/drmichaelhudson
instagram.com/drmichaelhudson
michaelhudson.com/speaking
slideshare.net/DrMichaelHudson
Copyright 2015 Michael Hudson