1. Avoid Ahs or Ums: These verbal tics are the bane of all presenters. They also serve as immediate cues for your audience to roll their eyes and tune out. So why do some of us ah and um more than others? Sometimes it’s related to fear and nerves. Other times, it reveals a lack of confidence (real or imagined) in what we’re presenting. And then, occasionally, the tic develops out of simply trying to sound too conversational.
(Helpful Hint, request that your webinar vendor edit out some of the unpleasant Ums, Ahs, and long pauses after recording your Live Webinar.
2. Develop a conversational style: The nice thing about a conversational style is that it shows you’re familiar and comfortable with the material you’re presenting. At the same time, you don’t sound like a robot that’s merely reading from a script-or worse, someone who is reading it for the first time. A conversational style puts the audience at ease as well. And keep this in mind: conversational and professional are not mutually exclusive terms. You can be both at the same time.
3. Be a Slave to Rehearsals: We know you know this. The thing is, we too often see people skip this important step–and suffer from it as a result. Even people who give speeches and presentations all the time (like the president) continue to practice. The key to these rehearsals, especially when you’re delivering online content, is that you MUST mimic actual conditions. Use the phone, computer, room, etc. that you’ll be using on the actual presentation day. Oftentimes, glitches crop up that are outside of the presenter’s control. The most effective presenters are so familiar with their surroundings and so comfortable in their presentation because of the rehearsals that they can effectively punt when these glitches occur.
4. Don’t be a Slave to Slides: Meaning, don’t have your entire presentation on your slides, which you then simply parrot back to your audience. BORING. Keep slides spare and your conversation lively.
5. Have High Energy: We’re not talking Richard Simmons bouncing-off-the-wall sort of energy (unless that works with your personality and audience). But don’t sound like you just woke up, either. And SMILE. People will hear it in your voice, which will put them at ease. And it will help you feel more confident thanks to all the happy-producing endorphins released when you grin.
How to give your energy a boost: Before your presentation, go for a brisk walk in fresh air, do some light stretches, or watch a funny video on YouTube to help give yourself a physical and mental boost.
6. Ride Glitches like a Relaxed Cowboy (i.e. even Steve Jobs has difficulties): Did you happen to catch Steve Jobs when he unveiled the iPhone 4–and had to deal with major technical glitches? You can watch the excerpt here. Jobs uses humor at first, and then his tech team resolves the problem. Mostly. The takeaway: if it can happen to Steve Jobs, it can happen to any of us. In other words, it’s okay.
How to prepare for glitches: Stand-up comics have an effective strategy. They develop standby jokes that they always use for hecklers. Come up with some funny lines and/or have some other talking points that you can use if the computer freezes or a website can’t be accessed or if things are starting late due to technical issues. People are forgiving. But it will help if you remain calm and even self-deprecating during these hiccups.
7. Love Doing It: Yes, even if you have to fake it a little (or a lot). The people who present best love doing it, and we can guarantee that they didn’t always love presenting. It’s an acquired taste, but one that can be yours.
Strategies for learning to love giving presentations: Understand and accept the fact that fear isn’t the absence of courage. Butterflies are normal (even Johnny Carson admitted to getting ’em right before he walked on stage every night). Repeat affirmations like “I give great webinars. I give great webinars” and use visualization techniques.
By BeaconLive Read More at: http://www.webinarwire.com/posts/2011/5/26/7-habits-of-highly-effective-webinar-presenters