1. Delivering the paper or presentation, (i.e. some public speaking tips).

Delivering papers is an art and a skill. It requires a number of things that you can only get better at with practice. If you need public speaking skills consider the following:

  1. Join a local Toastmasters group, (www.toastmasters.org). Toastmasters is a group that has been around a long long time. When I was a member, (non-pandemic times), we would meet for lunch and certain of us would give prepared talks to practice in front of a group, and then we would also go around the table and practice contemporaneous speeches. I found this to be a very valuable experience.
  2. Talk in a room to yourself looking in a mirror. Try to memorize the first couple of minutes. The ancient Greeks had a saying, "well begun - half done". This is very true, if you just get through the first few minutes the rest will go just fine.
  3. Get yourself on camera. Use your cell phone and get yourself recorded. Look for things like pauses, signs of nervousness, and what you are doing with your hands and body language.
  4. Write a script, and notes on note cards. Practice your entire talk at least 3 times. By doing this, once you have to do it the day of the event, it will just flow nicely. Make sure you practice an hour or two before the event as well.
  5. Try to express emotion and passion. Try to build in a personal story or experience that you know very well.
  6. Start off by thanking everyone for the opportunity to be there and tell them how happy and privileged you are to share some of their time. Close by thanking them for their time and try to make sure there is a well understood conclusion.

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