When you give an oral presentation, how you say something is almost as important in getting your message across as what you say. The following techniques will help you polish your delivery.
Maintain eye contact with your audience. Eye contact communicates that you know your topic and that you care about making sure the audience understands your arguments.
Vary the pitch of your voice. Speaking in a monotone is the fastest way to put your audience to sleep. When you mention a startling statistic, raise your pitch. To demonstrate weight and importance, go to a lower register in your voice. Practice using vocal variety to make sure that it sounds natural.
Speak loudly. You might feel as though you’re yelling, but the audience will let you know (by looking surprised) if you are too loud. Speakers rarely are.
Articulate every word clearly. Consonants are often dropped in casual conversation, so try to make them clearer than you would in normal speaking.
Slow down. Most presenters speak too quickly. Slow down your normal rate of speaking to give the audience time to process your words. As you practice, note where you tend to speed up, and add a comment (such as “Slow down!”) to your speaker’s notes.