Business Consultant and Keynote Speaker, Jane Gentry leverages her acting background and experience to strengthen her presentation skills. In this video, Jane shares her perspective on preparing for important presentations whether to a packed stadium, or to one client or prospect.

The best speakers practice and prepare for every presentation, but how you practice a presentation is the key to becoming a better presenter or public speaker. To rehearse and practice is incredibly important, but are you thinking about it in the right way? If you simply memorize the words, your presentation is bound to fall flat and be seen for exactly what it is – rehearsed. 

When preparing for a presentation it helps to look at its anatomy. There are four key parts of a presentation that you should focus on practicing in the final hours before you present. 

Part 1: The Opening

Practice your opening! What is the first thing that you are going to say? This is where you grab people’s attention, or not. Plus, practicing your opening guarantees that you start your presentation with confidence, immediately establishing that you are prepared and professional.

Part 2: The Stories

Always pepper your presentations with stories. Share stories of successes or failures you’ve experienced to establish an emotional connection with your audience. Stories are an immensely powerful way to connect people’s emotions with their brain and their buying decision.

Part 3: The Transitions

Think about how you will go from one point to the next. Don’t let the transition catch you off-guard or to cause down-time in your presentation. Make sure to practice what you plan to say when switching slides or moving on to a new topic in your presentation.

Part 4: The Closing

This is what people will remember about you when you leave the room. Your close should be purposeful, inspiring, and encouraging your audience to act.

They say practice makes perfect, but when it comes to being a great speaker – HOW you practice really makes the difference.