***5 Tips for Selecting a Voice & Presentation Skills Workshop

By Nancy Daniels, The Official Guide to Public Speaking
The official guide to Public Speaking

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In my last article, I discussed what you should be seeking if you are interested in improving your presentation skills. In this article, I have added 5 more tips if you are planning to attend a workshop that covers both voice improvement and public speaking skills.

1. Make sure the company will be recording you and also providing you a copy of your own materials upon completion of the workshop. Having a record of how you sounded before you started the course is vital for voice training and will be an excellent reference and reminder for you in the months and years to follow.

2. Find out if your instructor or coach is going to teach you how to breathe with the support of your diaphragm. You may question the value of learning this technique since you have spent a life time breathing; however, you will not discover your true voice unless you are powering it by means of your chest cavity. And, that will not happen without deep breathing. In addition, diaphragmatic breathing is truly the best means of controlling your nervousness when you are presenting, be it for a sales presentation, the quarterly budget for your firm, or a graduation speech.

3. Will volume be covered in your sessions? Those who are soft-spoken must learn to increase their volume to a ‘normal’ level of sound if they expect to keep the attention of their audience. And, in situations where you may be addressing a larger group of people without a microphone, shouting is not the answer. To increase your volume properly, you must be able to project your voice which is only possible if you are breathing with support and speaking within the optimum range of your voice.

4. Color is the life and emotion you express in speaking and is what makes for a dynamic presentation or speech. Will the workshop deal with color, not only in the vocal variety of your voice, but by means of your facial expression and body language as well? Both physical attributes are just as important as your voice. Without color, your delivery will be boring. Remember, speaking in monotone does not sell.

5. Look for a 2-day time period. While 1-day workshops can be beneficial for honing your skills in public speaking, if you are serious about discovering your true voice, you need to be able to ‘sleep’ on it. This gives the new voice a chance to settle. Having that 2nd day will make all the difference because it allows for much greater coverage of the techniques necessary for your voice change. It also provides for more opportunities to address an audience.

Workshops offer a quick means of improving your presentation skills -- knowing what to look will make your selection that much easier.