THE 5 presentation tips from the 10-year Speak event

On June 23, we experienced an unforgettable afternoon with 400 clients and friends on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Speak to Inspire. In the beautiful Kleine Komedie, we organized our own speaker event, where the lineup consisted of speakers we have coached in recent years for their public appearances.

And what speakers! None other than photographer Jimmy Nelson, former top hockey star Kim Lammers, futurist Peter Joosten, artist Jeroen van der Most and anti-smoking activist Wanda de Kanter. In between, De Speld provided live comic relief, and our own Rutger Mollee, as chairman of the day, brought everyone together with a smile and a tear. Watch a brief video summary of the afternoon below.

What made this day extra special was that after each presentation, one of our coaches explained the presentation techniques used. Some may think, "But I never speak on such a big stage." Yet these tips can come in handy when speaking in front of small groups or giving business presentations. So does experience from the many training programs we conduct in business.

Below, Speak to Inspire founder Huib Hudig discusses key lessons from our coaches, based on the three essential aspects of the speaker-audience relationship: authority, connection and originality.

1.Show yourself
Coach Emilie van Dijk helped Kim Lammers prepare her story. In her analysis, Emilie emphasized the importance of personal stories in presentations, as they create a strong connection with the audience. People sometimes wonder if sharing personal stories is relevant. Yes it is, because it allows you to touch people on another level. Facts trigger reason, stories trigger emotion. "Vulnerability is a superpower!" says Emilie.

.Vary your presentation
After Peter Joosten's inspiring talk on future scenarios, coach Maurits Koster explained that most of us stick to a familiar presentation style. But by using different styles of presentation, such as water (empathetic), fire (passion), earth (businesslike) and air (breezy), you can bring more life to your story.

3.Put down authority
David van der Meulen, who helped Wanda de Kanter with her impressive anti big tobacco story, emphasized the importance of authority during a presentation. Help your audience by naming your own expertise and especially showing your passion for the topic. When people see that you yourself believe in what you are saying, it strengthens your story.

4.Experience the moment
Coach Alwien Tulner shared after artist Jeroen van der Most's bizarre story that many people suffer from tension while speaking. Our natural tendency is to push that tension away, which actually causes it to increase. The trick is to allow, experience and accept that the tension is there. Eventually you find that this unpleasant feeling disappears on its own.

.Take your audience to a secondary world
After Jimmy Nelson took us on a fantastic trip around the world, I got to do a book on storytelling myself. The art of presentation - including business presentations - is to take your audience into a secondary world in their minds where we see images and experience emotions. By visual storytelling and creating a story with a problem being solved, you take your audience with you and create emotions.

Valuable lessons from our amazing coaches, who every week help people from the business and event industry give better and inspiring presentations. I am extremely proud of our team and look forward to working with them for at least another 10 years!