Some qualities of a good speaker are mentioned below:
- Organized
A good speaker is organized, his points are clearly connected and logically presented one after another with an overview at the beginning.
- Never go over time
This is a cardinal For every one person in the audience who is interested in the finer details of your work. there are maybe five who just want to get back to their own work. If you go over time, those people will hate you. Factor in questions (during and after your talk) when you practice timing your talk.
- Seriously, NEVER EVER go over time
This is really important. A good speaker can control his or her own presentation, even if that means cutting some sections out to stay within time. Know ahead of times which sections are expendable. Keep track of the time using the clock in the room, the session chairperson, or your own watch. Oh. and try to avoid making it obvious when you’re checking your watch. If you check your watch, then everyone is going to check their watches. Include slide numbers or an outline; people are more likely to stay with you if they know you’re almost done.
- Contingency plans
Don’t assume compatibility! Instead of uploading your talk as a .ppt, use pdf. Do you have a back-up on a USB memory stick or a copy on your own web space in case the file upload doesn’t work? If you’re using your own laptop, do you have your own set of AV cables to connect to the projector? In the worst case, do you have transparencies for an overhead projector? It might be a bit overkill, but this talk might be the difference-maker for that postbox position you want. No pressure. Include your name on every slide. Be sure to do this for conferences and workshops, where your audience is likely to forget your name after your introduction. Your title slide should have your name and institution so that people know how to look you up. (You have a department webpage with contact information, right?) Having your name handy also helps when people in the audience want to interrupt you to ask a question.
- Important ideas go first
Good seminar speakers realize that the audience’s interest peaks early in the talk. Put the ‘big idea’ of your talk in the beginning, and then flesh out the ideas with the rest of your tune. This is also nice because in case you run out of time, you can cut your presentation’ short without losing the point of your talk.
- Frequently recall your logical flow
The main difference between a chalkboard talk and a slide-based talk is that on the chalkboard ideas stay up until one absolutely has to take them down. This means you can refer back to equations or an overall outline as you progress. In a slide-based talk one doesn’t have this luxury, so be kind to your audience and frequently remind them what equation of slide 5 was when you refer to it later on. (This is also why chalkboards are much better for lecturing courses!)
- Speak with enthusiasm
Even if you’ve done something terrific, people will be tearing their hair out if you speak in a monotonous voice. Show that you’re excited about your work. Show confidence; stage fright will be interpreted as a lack of conviction in your own work.
- Speak clearly
I was fortunate in high school to have participated in the academic decathlon, which involves giving prepared speeches. Our team would .do voice exercises for enunciation, projection, and clarity of speech. I’m not sure if I’m any good as a speaker, but I know Pd be much worse if not for this teed-bit in my background. As a speaker, you have to speak to an appropriate volume and project your voice.
- Interact
Good lecturers interact with their classes and to a certain extent a good-.seminar speaker can engage the audience without being too pedantic. Give credit to previous work by members of the audience, socialize during pre and post-seminar refreshments, and treat questions as a dialogue. If the department that is hosting you offers to take you out for dinner, go out with them but understand that may be viewing this as informal post box interview, so try not to get drunk yeah.
