How to prepare a speech or presentation in 5 minutes

Most people will panic and become a fear stricken nut case as soon as they know they have do a presentation or speech. This can lead to sleepless nights and anxiety where they either over or under prepare. It’s no wonder that 97% of the population try to avoid ever getting up in front of an audience.

For many years I’ve used the following 5 simple steps to take all the time and pain out of preparing for any presentation to audiences of all sizes. You too can use this technique to quickly and simply prepare a presentation anywhere in length from 60 seconds to 60 minutes.

Step 1: Speak on a topic you are passionate about. This way you don’t have to do any research and you will enjoy presenting it. If you enjoy it so will the audience

Step 2: Be crystal clear on your message. It’s crucial to know what you want to leave the audience with. What do you want them to take away from your presentation?

Step 3: Work out the first words that you will say. The beginning of any presentation is the most challenging because this is when you will be the most nervous and the audience will be the most sceptical. So it’s important for you and them that you make a solid start. Knowing exactly the first sentence that will come out of your mouth will fill you with confidence. I like to start by asking the audience a closed question by a show of hands. Here’s an example: If the presentation is about public speaking a good question could be: “How many of you are afraid of public speaking?” Practice this opening statement as much as you can prior to the presentation.

Step 4: List 3 points that you will speak on. Three bullet points is all you need; remember, this is a topic you know intimately because you are passionate about it. You don’t need to write down what you are going to say. That’s too much work and during your presentation you don’t have to remember what it was you wrote down, which is one less thing to worry about as there’s nothing you can forget to say!

Step 5: Know how you will finish. This is the message that you worked out in step 2. Write this out and practice it as much as you can prior to the presentation. I like to use quotes from famous people that relate to my central message as part of my conclusion.

So remember; the only parts of the presentation you have to write down and practice are steps 2 and 5.

I’ve found using this technique not only allows me to prepare a presentation quickly but it also makes the preparation enjoyable, which then leads to confidence about the actual delivery. Who knows, if you start preparing all your presentations this way, like me, you might start to enjoy public speaking!