P2P

38 P E E R T O P E E R : I L T A ' S Q U A R T E R L Y M A G A Z I N E | W I N T E R 2 0 2 0 should pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor"). Have you ever heard "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country?" This device is called a chiasmus but that is not nearly as important as the fact that this device resulted in a highly memorable use of words. Always consider the value of a perfectly placed phrase. Vocal Variety — Your voice quality links you to your audience. Is your voice louder than a carnival barker or as quiet as a church mouse? The goal is to make your voice pleasant, natural, forceful, expressive, and easily heard. I find standing allows for the best voice quality. Also, consider your volume, pitch, rate, and quality. Your pitch should be in synch with what you are saying (e.g., high pitch for excitement or low pitch for sadness or thoughtfulness). Your rate should factor in how fast or slow you are talking. Your quality includes a multifaceted goal of conveying friendliness, naturalness, and confidence. The goal is to make it enjoyable and pleasant to the ears. Gestures & Body Language - These skills include some of what you may expect including the proper use of your hands and how you move, maintaining effective eye contact with your audience. However, this category includes some aspects or nuances you have not considered. As an example, ensure your gestures naturally sync up with what you are saying. Also, give you speech in front of the bathroom mirror or record it — you'll quickly find out which of your mannerisms works well and which you may want to remove from your repertoire. Research - When I think about research, I think about credibility. I believe your bank of credit with the audience increases with appropriately placed statistics, testimonies, anecdotes, and other facts. Also, consider using a particular type of fact for certain points (e.g., statistics when explaining one set of facts) or a different set to make another point (e.g., a testimonial could bring home a point which would benefit from an emotional underpinning). Also, make sure the information provided is appreciated and understood by your audience. Visual Aids - Whether you choose diagrams, graphs, maps, slides, photographs, or any other visual aid, ensure your visual aid is not the presentation but, rather, complements your presentation. Additionally, it should be used to reinforce points, further understanding, and even save time. Perhaps most important of all, practice and test out your visual aids in advance particularly if you will be using digital technology. We've just looked at four specific factors that contribute to our fear of public speaking and how to overcome them. But there are some things you should do for every presentation you give: • Be prepared. • Start strong. Plot your presentation like an action movie. • Pivot from performance orientation to communication orientation. • Speak with passion and authority. Love your topic! • And be patient. With yourself, your audience, your technology. Losing your patience is only going to create an adversarial relationship between you and your audience. And of course, practice. To get better at giving presentations and work on overcoming your fear, you have to give more presentations. Just like most things, when it comes to presenting little wins can lead to big wins. If you set a stretch goal to give a big presentation at a conference in 2021, then start volunteering to give smaller presentations between now and then. ILTA F E A T U R E S Glenn Hoxie is a results-oriented professional with 30 years of IT management and project management. He has led enterprise-wide software, hardware, and network implementations and is recognized for managing major desktop and server initiatives which impact an entire organization. Also known for completing highly visible telecommunications projects on time and on budget as a result of following project management protocols. He is a recognized team and project leader. Jeffrey Roach has been working with law firms for the last 20 years designing and delivering learning strategies. He is currently the President of EncoreTech, where he works with top law firms and training departments around the country on delivering outstanding learning experiences.

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