5.

Breathe
Breathing is usually one of those things we forget to do properly because it is usually
done automatically. Bad breathing, however, can affect our voice and our expression,
especially when our presentation might take a considerable amount of time. Every

effective presenter recommends taking a few deep breaths

before starting. You can also use pauses throughout your presentation to ensure
maintaining comfortable breathing patterns.
6. Drink
It is natural for our throats to dry up when we are speaking. This is why having water
available can help prevent this problem. It is recommended to use room-temperature
water (never cold; it affects the quality of the voice), and some people recommend a warm
(not hot) cup of tea to ease your vocal chords and throat before you start. When you are
organizing an event and your guests will give lectures or speeches, it is well appreciated
if you provide them with water to help ensure their thirst remains quenched throughout
their presentation.
1.2 Planning, Developing of Contents and Activities
Now that you have taken into consideration the first steps in preparing yourself for a
presentation, it is time to move onto another very important subject: your contents and
activities, and how to make the best of them. Let’s review the Ten Steps to Prepare an
Effective Presentation that Princeton University suggests (Princeton University, 2014) so
that you can be sure that you are taking all the necessary preparations into consideration.
As we saw in the last topic, contents are essential but preparation and practice can be the
key to a successful presentation.
 1. Determine the purpose of your presentation and identify your own objectives.
Of the various factors that can affect the design of your presentation, the most important
are your objectives and audience. So, as a start, you must know exactly what you want to
achieve and what it is that you want your audience to take from you. Your strategic
choices should match the tone of your presentation. A classroom speech in your
University is not the same as a public speech to raise awareness on an environmental
problem. The following questions can help you:

● What are the key points that you want your audience to understand?
● After they hear you, do you want them to do something specific? What?
● What is the best way to prepare and deliver your presentation so that it
achieves specific goals?

2. Know your audience and what it knows.

Spectators have very different individual experiences. You are sometimes facing a
heterogeneous audience with various interests and levels of knowledge. If you are
prepared for most of them you can be a great presenter. Some useful questions here are:

● How much do they know about the subject?

● How can you link new ideas to what they already know?