Speech Contest of Company Culture and Product Introduction

In order to improve our presentation skills and have better understanding of our company and products, 16^th June, 12 contestants from our sales team took part in the “Introduction of EsunHeavy Industry” Speech Contest. As a salesman, it is important to have good presentation skills to convince our customers to purchase our products.

As the audience of this Contest, I was impressed by all the contestants with their professional and passion. To sum up this event, I think a good presenter should consider the following points:

Identify the Audience

Identifying who are the audiences and what are their aims. If your opening remarks imply that you understand their problem and that you have a solution, then they will be flattered at your attention and attentive to your every word.

The Eyes

The eyes are said to be the key to the soul and are therefore the first and most effective weapon in convincing the audience of your honesty, openness and confidence in the objectives of your presentation. During the presentation you should use this to enhance your rapport with the audience by establishing eye contact with each and every member of the audience as often as possible.

The Voice

After the eyes comes the voice. In front of an audience you have to make sure that your words are not being misunderstood. The simple advice is to slow down and to take your time. Remember the audience is constrained by good manners not to interrupt you so there is no need to maintain a constant flow of sound. A monotone speech is boring, so it is important to try to vary the pitch and speed of your presentation.

Expression

The audiences watch your face. If you are looking listless or distracted then they will be listless and distracted; if you are smiling, they will be wondering why and listen to find out. In normal conversation your meaning is enhanced by facial reinforcement. Thus in a speech you must compensate both for stage nerves and for the distance between yourself and the audience. The message is quite simply: make sure that your facial expressions are natural, only more so.

Stance

When you are on stage, your stance and posture will convey a great deal about you. The least you must do is make sure your stance does not convey boredom. The perennial problem is what to do with your hands. These must not wave aimlessly through the air, or fiddle constantly with a pen, or (worst of all visually) juggle change in your trouser pockets. The key is to keep your hands still, except when used in unison with your speech.

Jokes

The set piece joke can work very well, but it can also lead to disaster. You must choose a joke which is apt, and one which will not offend any member of the audience. This advice tends to rule out all racist, sexist or generally rude jokes. If this seems to rule out all the jokes you can think of, then you should avoid jokes in a speech. Amusing asides are also useful in maintaining the attention of the audience, and for relieving the tension of the speech. If this comes naturally to you, then it is a useful tool for pacing your delivery to allow periods of relaxation in between your sign-posted major points.

Relaxation

If you get nervous just before the show, either concentrate on controlling your breathing or welcome the extra adrenaline. The good news is that the audience will never notice your nerves nearly as much as you think. Similarly, if you dry-up in the middle - smile, look at your notes, and take your time.