When delivering a presentation, voice projection is essential. The 5 P's is a way of maximising all the vocal aspects.

P ower

- Too loud a voice can be annoying particularly for those at the front of the audience

- Too quiet can say that the Presenter lacks confidence and others at the back can't hear

P itch

- Inject some energy into the voice to show enthusiasm for your message. The pitch or tone will vary more and the speech sounds more interesting to listen to

- Remember to inflect the voice i.e. stamp vocally on certain words. For example, saying 'Thank you very much' is less impactful than saying 'Thank YOU very much!'

P ace

- A good guide is an average of 120 words per minute in presentations

- Most people talk too fast (probably because they want to get it over with as quickly as possible!)

P ause

- Pausing is good for emphasis on key quality points. Pre-empting a quality point with a "Now this next point is very important", and a 3 second pause before making the point, is impactful

"The most precious thing in speech are the pauses"

SIR RALPH RICHARDSON

P ronunciation

- 'E's and 'P's ; 'B's and 'D's are very similar sounds, and need to be enunced clearly

- Slowing the pace can help the Pronunciation

"Talk low, talk slow, and don't talk too much"

JOHN WAYNE

View our fully designed, ready to deliver course material on Presentation Skills. Bryan Edwards is Managing Director of ABC Training Solutions Ltd (www.abctrainingsolutions.biz) which delivers training throughout the U.K. and markets a range of fully-designed, ready to deliver workshops, self study packs and other training exercises for the busy trainer. He can be contacted on 07747 602215 or [email protected]