How to Speak & Sound More Confidently During Your Presentations in English
Does the thought of giving presentations in English make you feel anxious and stressed?
Or are you somebody that is constantly running away from giving presentations in English, even though at some point your job will demand this from you?
If your answer is “yes” to one of these questions, you probably need to build confidence in speaking English in front of people.
Fortunately, there is a way to build confidence, and with some effort and direction, it is very possible to increase your confidence and improve your speech for presentations in English quicker than you might think.
In this lesson, I share 5 actions that will dramatically improve your speech and confidence in giving presentations in English.
1. Memorize the Introduction
I suggest memorizing the introduction to your presentations in English because getting off to a strong start is crucial for three main reasons.
Firstly, starting your presentation strongly has an immediate, positive impact on your self-confidence, which as a result, settles your nerves and prepares your state of mind for the rest of the presentation.
On the other hand, if the introduction is weak it is likely that confidence will be negatively impacted, which consequently, could potentially ruin the rest of your presentation.
Secondly, memorizing the introduction gives you the certainty that you will get off to a good start. As a consequence, you will feel less anxious because it is often uncertainty that gives birth to anxiety.
Third, a strong intro will give you an initial positive impression from the audience’s perspective. It takes somewhere between 2 and 30 seconds for people to form first impressions of others and start determining traits like trustworthiness. Furthermore, first impressions are lasting, meaning that it takes a lot to reverse an initial negative impression.
I encourage my clients to write down the introduction and practice saying it until they have memorized it. During the session, the client shares their screen so I can correct any mistakes and modify it so that it is objective, clear, and has an impact.
Here’s a simple introduction structure that you could implement in your future presentations in English:
Greet – “Good morning everyone!”
Introduce yourself.
Introduce the presentation topic and explain the reasons for listening.
Outline – Briefly describe the different sections of the presentation.
Question policy – During or at the end?
Linking expression to the first part of your talk – “Now let’s move to the first part of my talk which is about…”
2. Include Strategic Pauses
A simple pause can be one of the most effective tools that you can use in your presentations in English to increase your persuasive power and authority.
They also give you time to think, calm your nerves, eliminate filler words (like “erm”), and portray confidence.
Think about it, have you ever seen a nervous speaker pause?
Here are 3 ways you can use pauses in your presentations in English:
1. Add emphasis to key points
Pausing after you say something you want to emphasize can be a powerful verbal tool in a presentation. As you prepare your speech, plan pauses around the important expressions and messages you want to highlight.
2. Indicate a change in topic
To help the audience understand the progression of your speech, pause between two different parts of your talk, for example, after the introduction and before the part that follows it.
3. Replace a filler or hesitation word
My clients often ask me how they can avoid overusing filler words such as “erm”, “so” and “like”. My recommendation is to pause more frequently.
I suggest recording yourself giving the speech so that you can identify how much you use filler words. If you tend to overuse “erm” try a pause and a mental (not verbal) “erm” during your next presentation in English.
3. Consciously Speak Slower
Speeding through your presentations in English can make you appear as if you are nervous or lack confidence. When you rush your words, they also tend to ‘eat’ one another. This can make it difficult for the audience to understand what you are saying.
To look confident when you’re speaking to an audience, pace your talking speed. Speak a little slower than you think you need to. Just like strategic pauses, speaking slower naturally gives you more authority. Conversely, nervous and unconfident speakers tend to speak quicker than they normally would.
When you discuss more complicated information or emphasize a key point, consciously slow down and use simple words. Your focus should be on explaining your message as clearly as you can as well as allowing your audience to digest this message. By speaking really quickly, you risk your listeners missing parts of your speech, losing concentration, or misunderstanding it.
As well as this, bear in mind that when we read something aloud, we tend to speak faster than normal. Therefore, if you are reading something from a slide make sure that you slow down a little.
4. Use Linking Expressions
A technique that will instantly improve the structure and quality of your speech for your presentations in English is the use of linking expressions.
Linking expressions are like ‘glue’ holding the different sections within your presentation together while helping you move in and out of these sections without losing the flow of your presentation.
Using linking expressions assists your audience in following your presentation as well as maintaining their concentration. They will also help your English sound more native-like because you learn and apply complete expressions that natives use, cutting off the possibility of translating directly from your mother tongue and making grammar mistakes.
Here are some examples of linking expressions:
Beginning the Main Body
Now let’s move to the first part of my talk which is about…
So, first…
To begin with…
Ending Parts within the Main Body
That completes…
That’s all I want to say for now on…
Ok, I’ve explained how…
Beginning a New Part
Let’s turn to the next part which is…
So now we come to the next point, which is…
Now I want to describe…
Moving on to the next issue…
I’d now like to change direction and talk about…
An effective exercise to incorporate into your preparation routine to help you memorize the structure of your English presentation is to only practice the linking expressions. Try it!
5. Anticipate Audience Questions and Prepare Your Answers
One of the fears that some of my clients have had is not being able to understand a question from the audience during their presentations in English. Or the fear of not being ready to answer a question.
A lack of preparation for possible audience questions will likely cause you to be nervous. Whereas, if you do anticipate those questions and come up with answers for them, then this will clearly make you feel more confident going into the presentation.
I suggest writing down how you would like to answer these questions and practice them orally.
I also suggest that you prepare exactly how you will respond to a question if you don’t fully understand it. For this, you can learn two or three clarifying questions and expressions. Here are some examples:
Clarifying Questions / Expressions
Do you mind saying that again, please?
I don’t quite understand what you mean by…
So just to be clear, what you’re saying is…?
If I understand you correctly, you mean…?
Take Action
I encourage you not to run away from giving presentations in English but to actually face up to them.
If you are somebody who avoids giving them because of a lack of confidence speaking English, understand that you are only going to build your confidence by entering the uncomfortable zone, by putting yourself in situations in which you don’t feel safe – like giving presentations in English.
The secret is to be prepared which helps you rise up to the challenge and, as a consequence, will transform your confidence.
I encourage you to face your fears but make sure that you have prepared adequately.
