When it comes to public speaking at corporate events many people think that you have to have the gift of the gab to succeed. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

The key to successful public speaking is preparation – especially if you want to deliver a presentation that will engage your co-workers.

In the following paragraphs we’ll breakdown the most important elements that form the basis of any strong presentation or speech at corporate events. Consequently, if you find yourself in a position where you’ll have to do some form of public speaking in a professional capacity it is important that you read these top tips and implement as many of them as possible to ensure that your nerves don’t get the better of you.

Consider the layout of the room

The layout of the room is important and it will largely dictate the way you approach your public speaking task.

If the room is small and there are only a few people you probably won’t need to worry about investing in a microphone. On the other hand, if you are speaking to a larger audience you won’t want to have to rely on almost shouting so everyone can hear you. Tone of voice is key to engaging people and if you force yourself to almost shout you can bet that the audience won’t absorb the information that you are delivering.

You’ll also want to make sure that your audience are as comfortable as possible so that spend more time focusing on you and less thinking about when they can get up to stretch their legs. As a result, it is essential that you invest in appropriate tables and chairs for your event to ensure that your audience enjoys your presentation in comfort.

Encourage audience participation

There is nothing worse than a corporate presentation that is over 100 PowerPoint slides long and all the audience can do is sit there and probably tune out by slide 20.

The key to employee engagement is to demonstrate that they are valued and their opinion matters – the same goes for public speaking at corporate events. This is why it is of paramount importance that you actively encourage audience participation throughout your presentation; the last thing you want is people tuning out in the early stages.

They topic and nature of your presentation will dictate how you can get the audience involved, but even asking for a show of hands for general opinions at different points can go a long way to keeping your audience switched on.

Use positive body language

Over 80% of communication is non-verbal, so that means that only 20% of communication is the words coming out of your mouth.

With this in mind it is essential that you adopt positive body language to illustrate confidence and this way your audience will be much more likely to buy into what you are talking about.

Positive body language is something that you can teach yourself; so don’t worry if you have a habit of slouching and going into your shell. Things like widening your stance, standing tall and lowering your vocal pitch can go a long way to conveying far more positive body language.

Forbes have written an excellent article on ‘12 body language tips for career success’ so be sure to check it out.

Practice makes perfect

Preparation is key. Nothing is less engaging than seeing a speaker about to deliver a presentation and take a sheet of notes out of their pocket. Whilst you aren’t expected to learn your presentation word for word, you should have practiced enough that you would be able to do it without having to read from a sheet.

You’ll also find yourself less likely to stutter and have your nerves get the better of you if you are well prepared.