Public speaking hacks

Last night I was talking to your mum about public speaking. She told me how she hates presenting to adults. I told her that I don’t mind it. I told her that you need to know your stuff, be like Cedric and have fun when you present.

Know your stuff

I think this one is kind of obvious. How can you present with confidence – and you want to be confident – if you don’t know your stuff?

Be like Cedric

So who’s Cedric? Cedric was a YouTuber back in 2017. He’s not around anymore. Cedric was excellent in front of the camera. He spoke slowly and clearly, and he used simple language. He used gestures. He was very skilled at taking the complex and presenting it in easy-to-digest metaphors and analogies. And his videos never ran longer than about five minutes so I was always engaged. So be like Cedric when presenting. It might be hard to get your presentation done in five minutes – I get it – but never take more time than you need.

Have fun

And finally, have fun! Try to get to a stage where you have fun when you present – where you look forward to presenting. The best presenters are the ones who look like they’re having fun. Life’s too short. Try to enjoy every moment, including moments when you are presenting.