How to Use Your Voice to Sound Confident in Presentations
Learn to deliver confident presentations to enhance your business reputation
Most people would rather fake the flu than deliver a presentation at work.
"Sorry to let you all down, cough, cough. I feel terrible. I think it might be C*vid."
Yeah, right.
Fear of looking stupid, fear of stumbling over your words, and fear of being laughed at can trip you up.
But like anything else that looks easy when others do it but is terrifying when we have to try it ourselves, presentation skills can be learned.
And you do need to learn.
If you avoid giving presentations and chairing meetings, you'll risk becoming invisible and damaging your career or business opportunities.
Being an outstanding presenter will get you noticed and increase your professional standing.
A key part of a presentation is how you sound.
Why?
Because your audience may consist of people who:
Have difficulty hearing
Are blind or partially sighted and are relying on your words to learn
Do not have English (or the language you are speaking) as a first language
Have difficulty understanding your accent
May find loud or high-pitched noises stressful
And we all learn better if we can tap into different learning modes.
To deliver an outstanding presentation and impress your audience:
1. Breathe
Wait, what? I always breathe; I'm alive, aren't I?
Yes, you do breathe. But if you are nervous, your anxiety about delivering a presentation may result in shallow breathing.
You'll feel breathless, your voice will quaver, and you'll find it hard to control your pitch and tone.
The anxiety we feel about presenting is the same as the anxiety our ancestors felt when facing danger. Unfortunately, our brains can't tell the difference between a wild animal that wants to rip our guts out and the beady eyes of an audience in a presentation.
So we go into fight-or-flight mode, our brains don't get enough oxygen, and we can freeze up.
Yes, right in the middle of that important presentation in front of your boss and your arch enemy, Sarah from Finance, who once chatted up your boyfriend at a work do. Bitch!
To get rid of the anxiety, the squeaky voice, and your feeling of panic, try diaphragmatic breathing, also known as belly breathing or abdominal breathing. It will calm you down and increase the amount of oxygen in your blood.
How do I do diaphragmatic breathing exercises?
When you first learn the diaphragmatic breathing technique, it may be easier for you to follow the instructions lying down.
Lie on your back on a flat surface or in bed, with your knees bent and your head supported. You can use a pillow under your knees to support your legs.
Place one hand on your upper chest and the other just below your rib cage. This will allow you to feel your diaphragm move as you breathe.
Breathe in slowly through your nose so that your stomach moves out, causing your hand to rise. The hand on your chest should remain as still as possible.
Tighten your stomach muscles, so that your stomach moves in, causing your hand to lower as you exhale through pursed lips. The hand on your upper chest should remain as still as possible.
You'll need to practice if you aren't used to belly breathing.
NB: Some medical conditions may prevent your diaphragm from working correctly, so if you have any issues with belly breathing, go and see your medical practitioner.
Action points:
Try out belly breathing to see if it helps
Once you've learned how, belly breathe while you practice your presentation
Do 3 minutes of belly breathing before starting your presentation - no one will know; you can do it sitting at your desk, with your eyes open
Remember to pause and breathe between sentences
2. Slow down, it's not a race!
Most new presenters speak too fast. When I'm in grumpy old woman mode, I blame it on the double speed feature on audiobooks and YouTube, but in reality, new presenters have always spoken too fast.
Half to a third of your normal speed is what to aim for. It will seem too slow initially, but you'll get used to it with practice.
People talk too fast because they are scared of their audience getting bored or find presenting stressful.
But if you speak slowly and clearly, your audience is more likely to listen. If they can't understand you because you are talking too fast, they are more likely to switch off.
Talking at top speed will get the presentation over with quicker, but if you slow down and give your audience time to respond, you'll gain confidence and begin to enjoy it.
Remember those who are hard of hearing or who translate what you say back to their own language and back again? And the ones who have difficulty understanding your accent?
They need you to slow down.
Speaking slowly will make you look more confident to your audience.
Action points:
Use your phone to record yourself speaking
Experiment with speaking both fast and slow so you get used to varying the speed
Keep practicing until you can adapt naturally to a presentation speed at least half as fast as your normal speech
Be thankful you're not doing this before mobile phones, where we had to use a cassette recorder and critique each other ;-)
3. What did she say?
Some people speak too quietly, as well as too fast.
One evening, I attended a leadership presentation hosted by a tech company. The presentation was about selling their leadership system, but they promised wine and snacks, and it sounded interesting, so I hopped into an Uber after work, ready to be amazed.
And amazed I was, but not in a good way.
The venue, a large company lunchroom, was filled with about a hundred people. I bumped into a friend, and when the talk started, the best spot we could get was squashed behind a post at the back.
We couldn't hear a thing.
The speaker had no mike and spoke very quietly, making no effort to project their voice or even speak loudly.
Despite many irritated calls of, "Speak up, we can't hear," nothing changed.
What a waste of an evening, not to mention the money I spent on the Uber to get there.
Conversely, speaking too loudly can give people a headache. I was once on a course with a colleague and his voice was so loud that after two days I had a migraine. He wasn't even the presenter!
Make sure that everyone can hear you, and if you've ever been told you have a loud voice, check that you aren't speaking too loudly.
Action points:
Practice speaking loudly and quietly so you know the difference
Ask a friend or colleague to come to the presentation venue and tell you if they can hear you at the back
If you can't find a colleague, use your phone. Put it on the other side of the room and speak in a range of volumes. See how much your phone picks up compared to how much it picks up when it's right next to you.
And remember, you can always ask the participants whether they can hear you.
4. Wake up! The presentation's over!
Have you ever nearly fallen asleep in a presentation because the speaker's voice was so dreary?
That's because listening to people speaking in a monotone is hard.
Try different pitches to enliven your presentation. A high pitch might be suitable for a question or to convey excitement, and a lower pitch is better for a statement or conclusion.
When I first heard my voice on tape, I was horrified. It was high-pitched, squeaky, and childish—certainly not the professional voice I had always imagined. Like me, you probably have no idea what your voice sounds like.
You may speak in a monotone and not know it, or your voice might be higher or lower than you'd like.
I've learned to lower my voice during presentations, as my high-pitched voice sounds unprofessional to me.
There is no ideal pitch for a presentation; just make sure you know what you sound like and adjust your pitch to something you are happy with.
Action point:
Record your voice and pay attention to the pitch
If your voice is monotone, practice varying the pitch
Decide which parts of the presentation need to be in a high or low pitch and mark up your notes accordingly
Practice your presentation and adjust your pitch according to your notes
5. Tone it down
When you're presenting you want to get your message across. This means you have sound sincere.
In addition to monitoring your volume, speed, and pitch, you must also ensure that you are speaking in the right tone, one that is consistent with your message.
We've all encountered the bored fast-food worker who tells us to have a good day, but sounds like they have no interest in you, your day or anything about you.
To appear enthusiastic, ensure your tone matches what you want to convey. If you are talking about something serious, use a serious tone.
Check out whether your normal tone might be misconstrued in a presentation. For example, if you come across as sarcastic, you will want to avoid that in a presentation.
Action:
Record your presentation and listen to the tone
Note where your tone matches the message and where it doesn't
Keep practicing until you are happy that your tone is appropriate
6. Pause for thought
Your presentation needs pauses so that your audience can think about what you've said and ask questions.
People vary in how long it takes them to process verbal information. Some of your audience may be happy to hear high-level facts, and others may want to know details. Pausing allows your audience to ask for what information they need to understand what they hear.
Pausing also gives your words weight and splits up your ideas. Pause for about 1.5 seconds at the end of each sentence. If you run all your sentences together, it may be unclear where one idea ends and another begins.
When I moved to New Zealand from the UK, I got confused listening to the news as the broadcasters did not pause between topics. One minute, we're talking about university funding, and the next, a murder victim pops into the story. It's confusing.
To get your information across to your audience, use pauses wisely.
Action point:
Go through your presentation and work out where the pauses should be
Record your presentation and time yourself on the pauses - they will seem much longer to you than the audience
Listen to a speaker you admire and notice when they pause and for how long
7. I'd like to emphasize…
We take cues about the importance of words from the speaker.
Consider this sentence:
"I didn't say he stole my car"
The statement takes on a different meaning depending on which word you emphasize.
"I didn't say he stole my car"
"I didn't say he stole my car"
"I didn't say he stole my car"
"I didn't say he stole my car"
"I didn't say he stole my car"
"I didn't say he stole my car"
"I didn't say he stole my car"
When you are presenting, make sure you emphasize the important bits.
If you want people to know they have to submit their reports by a set day, emphasize this; otherwise, it will get lost in a sea of unimportant information.
Action point:
Go through your presentation and mark the essential bits that the audience must know
When you practice your presentation, make sure you emphasize the appropriate words and phrases
If in doubt, say, "I want to emphasize this."
8. Practice out loud
If location, location, location is the mantra of the real estate world, practice, practice, practice is the mantra of presentation skills.
When people deliver an outstanding presentation, they've either:
practiced or,
are so experienced at presenting they no longer need to.
And the second point applies to hardly anyone.
Practice makes perfect
But only if you practice out loud. It's a big mistake to go through your presentation in your head but not out loud.
When you practice out loud, you will discover you can't pronounce certain words (I have trouble with the apocalypse; luckily, it doesn't come up much in business presentations!)
You may also find that your words are in the wrong order, that you forget what you're meant to say, and that what you say doesn't make sense.
Speaking is a physical act, which is why you have to do it, not think about it. By all means, do some practicing in your head first, but you must also do a physical run-through.
Action points:
Practice, practice, practice
Out loud
Preferably in the room you will be doing the presentation in
9. Note that down, Miss Smith
A useful trick is to mark up your presentation notes. The worst kind of notes are a page of A4 in small text. You won't be able to read them. You need something written large that you can read while fending off that wild animal who wants to tear your guts out (not your boss—if it is your boss, get a new job).
Use:
Postcards or other cards that you can flip through
Bullet points in a font large enough to read (the larger, the better if you are older)
A printed copy of your presentation
Whatever suits you best - try out a few options
Action points:
Mark where you need to:
Pause
Vary your pitch
Vary your tone
Emphasize important points
Takeaways
Presenting is an essential skill if you want to advance in your career or business. Anyone can learn to present well, but it can be nerve-wracking at first.
You need to practice:
Breathing
Pace
Volume
Pitch
Tone
Pausing
Emphasis
Presenting out load
Marking up your notes
Here is a checklist to download to help you practice:
If you found this post useful, you’ll love my FREE email course, 7 Days to Stress Free Presentations: Ditch the Fear and Present With Confidence!
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What a fantastic article using your voice to raise self-confidence when giving presentations. I'm one of those people who took speech class in the summer and have avoided giving presentations in my career. A few years back, I decided to join Toastmasters but didn't stick with. It's probably something to revisit because speaking is a valuable skillset to have regardless if it's for work or in your regular day-to-day life. Each tip resonated with me. They are so simple and get overlooked.
very helpful advice - esp. like No. 7 Emphasis. btw do you think that Kiwis generally (radio presenters) speak particularly fast & ppl you meet generally in Aotearoa, compared to UK?