{"title":"How to Give a Presentation: 6 Public Speaking Fundamentals","canonicalUrl":"https://www.showmestepbystep.com/communication/how-to-give-a-presentation","category":{"slug":"communication","name":"Communication"},"creator":{"name":"Communication Coach Alexander Lyon","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCie09bMB6ITYmpU3z6vv2tw","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5mYphUoOCs"},"tldr":"6 dos and don'ts for public speaking beginners: structure, eye contact, simple notes, simple slides, confident posture, voice projection. No fluff.","totalDurationSeconds":352,"difficulty":"easy","tools":[],"materials":[],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Step 1: Don't Ramble - Build a Clear Intro, Body, and Conclusion","text":"A speaker who weaves around is impossible to follow. Before you stand up, write out a clear introduction, 2-3 main points for the body, and a conclusion.Add transition statements between each main point ('Now that we've covered X, let's look at Y'). Audiences remember structured talks; they tune out rambling ones. Most professionals over-prepare on content and under-prepare on structure - flip the ratio."},{"number":2,"title":"Step 2: Make Eye Contact: One Thought, One Person","text":"Don't look over heads, at the floor, at the ceiling, or scan the room. Look directly into one person's eyes long enough to finish a thought (a sentence or half-sentence), then move to the next person.The rule of thumb: 'one thought, one look.' This feels awkward at first - do it anyway. Eye contact is what makes the audience feel spoken-to instead of spoken-at. Without it, you're a recording playing in the room."},{"number":3,"title":"Step 3: Pare Down Your Notes to a Grocery List","text":"Don't jam your notes or slides with everything you want to say - you'll end up locked to the page, sounding stiff and wooden, never looking up.Whittle the notes down to talking points. A few keywords per main idea, like a grocery list. This forces you to look up, talk like a human, and connect with the audience instead of reciting. The bonus: when you trust yourself to talk to the topic, the talk improves."},{"number":4,"title":"Step 4: Keep Slides Simple - Don't Read From Them","text":"Avoid jam-packed slides with complicated text and animations. Each slide should make ONE point clearly.Rule of thumb: spend 2-3 minutes per slide max - if you're slower, your slides have too much. For a beginner talk, a few slides total is plenty. Slides supplement what you say; they don't replace it. The audience reads faster than you talk, so a wall of text guarantees disengagement."},{"number":5,"title":"Step 5: Stand Confidently - Move with Purpose, Not from Nerves","text":"Don't pace back and forth aimlessly or fidget with your hands, feet, or a pen. Stand still in one spot, share a chunk of your message, then move with purpose to a different spot and share another chunk.Use your hands to emphasize ideas with deliberate gestures - don't tuck them in pockets or wring them. Confident posture changes how the audience receives you before you say a word."},{"number":6,"title":"Step 6: Project Your Voice and Use Pauses Instead of 'Um'","text":"Speak loud enough to reach the back of the room - aim your voice there even if no one's standing back. Emphasize key words with vocal energy.Pause after a key idea instead of filling the silence with 'um' or 'uh.' A 2-second pause lands a thought. An 'um' undercuts it. Pauses also give you time to find your next sentence without panic. Most beginners are afraid of silence - the audience isn't."}],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-05-20T13:28:52.856Z","published":"2026-04-26T23:10:15.778Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit ShowMeStepByStep with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure."}