Table Of ContentTHE BUSINESS From Behind the Desk to the W Human Resource Management and
EXPERT PRESS Front of the Stage OR Organizational Behavior Collection
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DIGITAL LIBRARIES F
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How to Enhance Your Presentation Skills LD
EBOOKS FOR
BUSINESS STUDENTS
David Worsfold
Curriculum-oriented, born-
digital books for advanced From Behind the Desk to the Front of the Stage discusses all aspects
business students, written of public speaking with particular emphasis on the skills
by academic thought people need to be successful in their business careers. It covers
leaders who translate real-
a wide range of different presentation challenges, including From Behind the
world business experience
making an impact in the boardroom, conference speaking,
into course readings and
using multi-media, and bringing complex subjects to life. There
reference materials for
are many practical hints, tips, and exercises to help people Desk to the Front
students expecting to tackle
improve their presentation style, as well as detailed advice on
management and leadership
how to create and structure content to make maximum impact.
challenges during their
F of the Stage
professional careers. This book has a business focus and is aimed at people who R
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need to be good on their feet in order to progress in their M
PBYO LLIICBIREASR BIUAINLTS careers. It also covers other challenging events such as awards BE
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ceremonies, formal, and informal social occasions. Its USPs are I How to Enhance Your
• Unlimited simultaneous N
that it takes people on their journey from behind their desk D
usage T
• Unrestricted downloading to the front of the stage in a sympathetic and insightful way, H Presentation Skills
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and printing helping them to build on their strengths and gain confi dence D
• Perpetual access for a as they go along. E
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one-time fee K
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• No platform or David Worsfold is best known for his work as an award- O
maintenance fees winning fi nancial journalist, specifi cally as a writer on the T
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• Free MARC records insurance industry and fi nancial services. David has edited a E
• No license to execute F
wide range of leading business titles and has contributed to R
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The Digital Libraries are a most major national newspapers in the UK. He has appeared N
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comprehensive, cost-eff ective on radio and television as a commentator on insurance and O
way to deliver practical fi nancial issues and is an experienced conference speaker and F T David Worsfold
treatments of important facilitator. Worsfold created an innovative range of training H
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business issues to every courses and coaching modules for people who need to move S
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student and faculty member. from behind their desk to the front of the stage as part of A
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their job. These have been run successfully for over 20 years, E
helping hundreds of people to be more confi dent and effective
For further information, a presenters. He is also an expert on social media and wrote
Twitter for Financial Services, published by Business Expert Press
free trial, or to order, contact:
in December 2017.
[email protected]
www.businessexpertpress.com/librarians Human Resource Management and
Organizational Behavior Collection
ISBN: 978-1-63157-909-7
From Behind the Desk to
the Front of the Stage
From Behind the Desk to
the Front of the Stage
How to Enhance Your
Presentation Skills
David Worsfold
From Behind the Desk to the Front of the Stage: How to Enhance Your
Presentation Skills
Copyright © Business Expert Press, LLC, 2019.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other
except for brief quotations, not to exceed 400 words, without the prior
permission of the publisher.
First published in 2019 by
Business Expert Press, LLC
222 East 46th Street, New York, NY 10017
www.businessexpertpress.com
ISBN-13: 978-1-63157-909-7 (paperback)
ISBN-13: 978-1-63157-910-3 (e-book)
Business Expert Press Human Resource Management and Organizational
Behavior Collection
Collection ISSN: 1946-5637 (print)
Collection ISSN: 1946-5645 (electronic)
Cover and interior design by Exeter Premedia Services Private Ltd.,
Chennai, India
First edition: 2019
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America.
Abstract
A practical guide to presentation skills based on four decades of experi-
ence of public speaking around the world and of training and coaching
people.
It deals with all aspects of public speaking, but with a particular
emphasis on the skills people need to be successful in their business career
or when representing or presenting to a wide range of organizations.
It covers a wide range of different presentation skills, including
making an impact in the boardroom, conference speaking, using multi-
media, and bringing complex subjects to life, as well as hosting everything
from roundtables to awards presentations.
There are many practical hints and tips and exercises that people can
do to improve their presentation style, as well as detailed advice on how
to create and structure content to make maximum impact.
It has a business focus and is aimed at people who need to be good
on their feet in order to progress in their careers or promote the topics
they are interested in. It also covers some of the challenging events such as
awards ceremonies, as well as formal and informal social occasions.
Its USPs are that it takes people on their journey from behind their
desk to the front of the stage in a sympathetic and insightful way, helping
them to build on their strengths and gain confidence as they go along.
Keywords
audiences; autocues; awards ceremonies; conferences; content; cue cards;
facilitating; gestures; humor; interactive technology; introductions;
microphones; pitch and pace; powerpoint; preparation; presentations;
public speaking; relaxation techniques; rhetoric; roundtables; scripts;
slides; stance; structure; style; video; visualization; voice; voice exercises
Contents
Introduction ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ix
Chapter 1 You Want to Succeed and So Does Your Audience! .........1
Chapter 2 Preparation: The Foundation of Success ..........................5
Chapter 3 Learning to Relax ..........................................................13
Chapter 4 Content Versus Style .....................................................19
Chapter 5 Components of Style ....................................................25
Chapter 6 Making the Most of Your Voice ....................................35
Chapter 7 Amplification and Microphones ....................................47
Chapter 8 Content: Keep It Simple and Direct..............................55
Chapter 9 To Script or Not to Script? ............................................67
Chapter 10 Making Slides and AV Work for the Audience ..............75
Chapter 11 Hosting and Facilitating Events ....................................81
Chapter 12 Making Roundtables Work ...........................................87
Chapter 13 Chairing Conference Sessions and Panel Debates ..........97
Chapter 14 Making Awards Ceremonies Sparkle ...........................107
Chapter 15 Social Events: A Different Challenge ...........................115
Chapter 16 How to Improve .........................................................121
Conclusion �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������129
About the Author ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������131
Index �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������133
Introduction
A speech is a solemn responsibility� The man who makes a bad
30-minute speech to 200 people wastes only half an hour of his own
time� But he wastes one hundred hours of the audience’s time—more
than four days—which should be a hanging offence�
—Jenkin Lloyd Jones, Unitarian minister and uncle of architect
Frank Lloyd Wright
There comes a time in the careers of everyone who wants to be success-
ful and reach the top of their chosen profession when they have to start
standing up in front of audiences and—here is the tough bit—speaking
to them.
For some, this is a challenge they relish and seem to rise to with ease.
For many, however, this journey from behind the desk to the front of
the stage is filled with terror. Surveys of popular opinion on what people
most fear in life frequently put public speaking at the top—it even comes
out ahead of death in some polls.1 That is a sobering thought for anyone
grappling with the prospect of having to stand up in front of colleagues,
business prospects, conference audiences, or even family and friends.
Why is this? And, more importantly, what can people do to overcome
that fear and master the art of effective public speaking?
Running away is one option. In modern business life, however, that
will be career limiting. Despite the explosion in digital communication
channels and social media, people still place a very high value on face-
to-face communication. People relate to people more than screens and
machines. We want to hear stories told by people. We want to look people
in the eye to judge the truth and sincerity of what they are saying. Often,
we want our emotions to be engaged: we want to be inspired, moved,
1 “Are You Scared of Public Speaking?” 2013. The Guardian� https://theguard-
ian.com/commentisfree/poll/2013/oct/30/public-speaking-phobias-scared-glos-
sophobia (accessed July 9, 2018).
