3 COMMON MISTAKES MADE BY SPEAKERS AND PRESENTERS

Tell me.

How often do you listen to a speech or a presentation?

Based on your experience, did you notice that some speech or presentation had a great impact on you while the others did not?

Did you feel that some of the speakers need to improve their presentations in some way?

Did it ever cross your mind that some of the speakers or presenters may have made some mistakes during their presentations?

Well sometimes, a speaker was so excited to give a speech or deliver a presentation and overlooked some important details.

Thus, mistakes happened.

Here are 3 common mistakes (you may have witnessed) speakers made when giving a speech or a presentation.

1) Speaker had lack of connection with the audience.

One big mistake that a speaker could have done was neglecting the need to connect with the audience. There was no effort in trying to get to know the audience. Before the speech presentation, a speaker made a mistake by not finding out the necessary information about the audience like their age, occupation and background.

The speaker did not take into consideration of the audience’s interest and failed to see which topic that may appeal more to the audience. Instead, the speaker focused more on what he or she was keen to share.

Other than that, the speaker made a mistake during the speech presentation by excluding the audience’s participation. Some speakers made no attempt to interact and mingle with the audience. 

The speech or the presentation was more to one way communication and very formal. The speaker preferred the audience to just listen to them which was a wrong judgement.

PLEASE TAKE NOTE: Connection is very important in communication which in this case is giving a speech or a presentation. Without it, the message will not get across to your listeners. 

Remember that each group of audience is different and the speech topic must be suitable to the group of audience. 

Otherwise,the audience will not be interested to listen to your speech or presentation. 

Besides this, one way communication is never effective. The audience will be bored listening to a speaker who only wants them to listen instead of encouraging them to be involved.

2)The Speaker Concentrated Too Much On Giving Information.

I have witnessed this many times. A speech or a presentation which had brilliant content with only one problem; too much information delivered in such a short time. Some speaker focused too much on giving information that they forgot the audience were just humans with short attention span and limited ‘memory storage’.

They used too many slides and showed too many data. When they tried to deliver too much information in a limited time, they made another mistake by rushing through it. They did not ensure that the message went across to the audience which matters the most. They just wanted to finish off the presentation and expect to audience to absorb the information like a sponge.

PLEASE TAKE NOTE: You know the saying, “Too much of anything is never a good thing”. If you try to deliver too much information in a short time, trust me… you are wasting your time.

Your audience might look like they are listening but not for long. There is no way they can take in so much information. They will stop paying attention to you and you will not get the message across no matter how good your contents are. Make sure you choose which information is important and just focus on that.

3) The Speaker Spoke With No Enthusiasm

Have you ever listened to a boring speech or a presentation where the speaker sounded as if he or she hasn’t eaten for a week? There were no eye contact and the voice was flat. The worst part was that the speaker did not speak to you but reading out directly from the slides?

The speaker did not seem to be happy to be there. There was lack of emotions. There were no energy, no passion, no fire and no zest!

The speaker looked serious and unapproachable. There were no jokes and no stories. The speaker did not speak from the heart. The speech or the presentation was plain and far from exciting. I’m sure you know what I mean.

PLEASE TAKE NOTE: How can your audience be interested to hear what you want to say if you do not seem to be excited to speak to them? Listening to speaker who speaks without enthusiasm is like listening to a machine.

Your audience are human beings. They love something exciting, inspiring and mind-blowing. They want to listen to fascinating stories, real life experiences and awesome ideas. They wish for something that can stimulate their minds and tickle their bones. They are there because they want to listen to you. They are not there to fall asleep.

There you have it…3 common mistakes made when giving a speech or a presentation. Some of the speakers did not realise these mistakes or took them for granted. By not making these mistakes, a speaker or a presenter shall be able to do a better job and make a great impact. Actually, these mistakes can be avoided with proper planning and enough preparation.

In my opinion, be sure to be sincere every time you deliver a speech or a presentation. Sincerity makes you think more about what you can do for others and you will determine to give your best.

Everything else will fall into place. 

Written By: Intan Salwana Anis

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