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How to Rehearse for an Important Presentation

• Carmine Gallo

Great speeches are never an accident.

If you want to deliver a spellbinding presentation, rehearse far more than you’ve done in the past. But you don’t want to sound too rehearsed, so you’ll need to balance memorization with spontaneity. Nail down the first two and last two minutes of your speech, and leave room for improvisation in between. And practice under pressure. This mean rehearsing in front of one or two people to get your body used to being in front of a crowd. Then ask for feedback, and rehearse again.

Steve Jobs was the most astonishing business speaker of his time. Bill Gates once called him a “wizard” who “cast spells” on his audience. Fortune magazine proclaimed that his keynotes could set “ hardened hearts aflutter .” Jobs is one of the few CEOs whose presentations have a dedicated  Wikipedia page ; his keynotes alone could  spark a surge in Apple’s stock.

• Carmine Gallo is a Harvard University instructor, keynote speaker, and author of 10 books translated into 40 languages. Gallo is the author of The Bezos Blueprint: Communication Secrets of the World’s Greatest Salesman  (St. Martin’s Press).

Partner Center

Rehearse your slide show with Speaker Coach

Speaker Coach helps you prepare in private to give more effective presentations.

Speaker Coach evaluates your pacing, pitch, your use of filler words, informal speech, euphemisms, and culturally sensitive terms, and it detects when you're being overly wordy or are simply reading the text on a slide.

After each rehearsal, you get a report that includes statistics and suggestions for improvements.

Note:  Speaker Coach in PowerPoint was previously known as Presenter Coach.

Rehearse with Speaker Coach

Speaker Coach is compatible with Microsoft Edge version 15 or later, Chrome version 52 or later, and Firefox version 52 or later. To see which version of  Microsoft Edge you have, refer to Find out which version of Microsoft Edge you have . Microsoft Edge is updated with Windows. For information on updating, see Update Windows 10 .

Open your presentation in PowerPoint for the web .

Sign in with a personal Microsoft account (hotmail.com, outlook.com, live.com, msn.com), or an Microsoft 365 work or school account.

On the Slide Show tab, select Rehearse with Coach . (If you've turned off the Simplified Ribbon, you don't have a Slide Show tab; instead use the View tab to start Speaker Coach.)

The presentation opens in a full-screen view, similar to Slide Show.

Select Get Started at the lower right when you are ready to begin rehearsing.

As you speak, Coach gives on-screen guidance (in the lower-right corner of the window) about pacing, inclusive language, use of profanity, filler words, and whether you're reading the slide text.

When you're through, exit the full-screen view. Coach opens a Rehearsal Report that summarizes what it observed and offers recommendations .

Open your presentation in PowerPoint for Android.

Select Rehearse with Coach . The presentation opens in a full-screen view, similar to Slide Show.

Select Start Rehearsing in the dialog box when you are ready to begin rehearsing.

When you're through, exit the full-screen view. Coach opens a Rehearsal Report that summarizes what it observed, and offers recommendations .

Open your presentation in PowerPoint for Windows desktop.

After you review your Rehearsal Report, close the window or select Rehearse Again to practice the recommendations you've received.

Open your presentation in PowerPoint for iOS.

Tap the More menu, and then tap Rehearse with Coach . The presentation opens in a full-screen view, similar to Slide Show.

When you're ready to begin, tap Start Rehearsing .

After you review your Rehearsal Report, close the window or tap Rehearse Again to practice the recommendations you've received.

Open your presentation in PowerPoint for MacOS desktop.

Select Start Rehearsing in the dialog box when you are ready to begin rehearsing. To receive on-screen guidance, check that Show real-time feedback is selected.

Tips for using Speaker Coach

Sign in with a Microsoft account (hotmail.com, outlook.com, live.com, msn.com) or a Microsoft 365 work or school account. You can view and edit a presentation for free in a web browser by saving the file to OneDrive and using PowerPoint for the web to open it.

You need a microphone in your computer that can hear your speech and an internet connection.

We recommend that you rehearse in a quiet place with a microphone.

After you close the rehearsal report, it disappears. If you want to save a copy of it, you must take a screenshot.

Other things to remember

Currently, Speaker Coach only understands English, and it's only available when your Office user interface language is English. See Change the language Office uses for help with the Office user interface language setting.

Coach works best with one speaker rehearsing. It may not work well if more than one person is rehearsing at a time.

Coach will continue to learn as folks like you use it, and it will add more kinds of suggestions in the future.

Unlike the Rehearse Timings feature, Speaker Coach doesn't add timings to your slides. Speaker Coach is for practicing and feedback. It doesn't prepare a slide show to be run automatically.

Presentation recommendations

To relax and slow yourself down when you're nervous, take a deep breath.

Pause if you need a moment to gather your thoughts. Quiet moments don't adversely affect your presentation.

Speaker Coach gives you a gentle nudge by suggesting specific replacement terms for certain words. You make the final decision about what words to use in your presentation.

It's all right to repeat shorter bits of text from a slide, such as a title or bullet point, just try not to read the entire slide.

Speak naturally and vary the pitch of your voice to keep the audience more engaged and focused on your key points.

For more recommendations see Suggestions from Speaker Coach.

Important information about Speaker Coach

Speaker Coach is one of the cloud-enhanced features in Microsoft 365 and is powered by Microsoft Speech Services. Your speech utterances will be sent to Microsoft to provide you with this service. For more information, see Make Office Work Smarter for You .

Speaker Coach is not currently available to our government customers hosted in our Government Community Cloud (GCC).

Frequently asked questions

What features and critiques are available for the web version.

Web will always have the most up to date features because that's where we make them available first. After we get feedback about the features on the web version, we'll extend their availability to mobile and desktop.

What features and critiques are available for desktop versions?

On desktop apps, you'll get feedback while you rehearse on pace, monotone, filler words, speech refinement, originality, and inclusiveness.

What features and critiques are available for iOS and Android versions?

Speaker Coach is now available for iOS on both iPhone and iPad. You'll get rehearsal feedback on pace, pitch, filler words, speech refinements, originality, repetitive language, and inclusiveness. At the end of the session, you'll get a summary report optimized for iPhone and iPad. Repetitive language and Pronunciation will come soon on these platforms.

Who can use Speaker Coach?

Speaker Coach is currently available to everyone in free preview—even if you don’t have an Office subscription. You can try out Speaker Coach on the Web or on an Android or iOS device.

In which languages and markets is Speaker Coach now available?

Speaker Coach is available for all English-speaking markets. We're working now to expand to new languages, including Spanish, French, and Japanese.

In which languages and markets are body language, pronunciation, and repetitive language critiques available? Will they be made available in other languages and markets in the future?

Pronunciation is currently available only for the US English market. The rest of our features are available for all English-speaking markets. We're working to expand these features to more languages and markets soon.

Where can I get more information about Speaker Coach?

Go to our support article Suggestions from Speaker Coach or see our Speaker Coach tutorial .

Present with real-time, automatic captions or subtitles in PowerPoint

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13 Tips For Rehearsing A Presentation

Hrideep barot.

• Presentation , Public Speaking , Speech Writing

What is Presentation Rehearsal?

“Picasso didn’t wait until he was Picasso to perform like Picasso”. Robin Sharma

Have you ever been on stage to give a presentation? If yes, have you ever just thought ‘I should have prepared more thoroughly’ or ‘Maybe I should have just written everything down or read directly’. Do you wonder why such thoughts appear in your head? 

This is because you are not well-rehearsed or may even be unsure about your material. There are too many emotions at the same time such as nervousness, fear of messing up or even just going completely blank on stage.

Presentation rehearsal is when the speaker that is also the presenter in this case prepares himself by practising his presentation to get the knack of his skill. 

Why is Rehearsing for the Presentation Important?

To master the art of giving a flawless presentation the key is to practice or rehearse before the grand finale that is your presentation.

Rehearsal is an imperative step to give a satisfactory presentation. Why is that you may ask even though a presentation can be given without rehearsal?  

To answer your question, yes you can give a presentation even without rehearsal or practice but that presentation won’t be as marvellous as the one with practice.

Also, there is a high possibility that you may end up messing with the presentation because of a few mistakes here and there. This can be avoided by rehearsing.

Advantages of Rehearsing for a Presentation

When you rehearse your presentation you will:

• build up your confidence
• be familiar with your material 
• administer your learning of public speaking to assess what works for you and what doesn’t 
• know where you are lacking and this will help correct your mistakes
• make your content even more comprehensive by cutting out the unnecessary things
• become skilled and polished
• master body language
• will be able to complete on time

How Long Should You Practice for a Presentation?

The presenter can practice for 1-hour keeping in mind all the other factors such as rough outline, slides and time. The presenter must time everything accordingly and then practice.

She/he can also calculate and rehearse. For instance, if your presentation is for 20 minutes you can rehearse for 80 minutes straight.

Rehearsing can also depend on how satisfied you are with your performance and so time may differ respectively. There is no certain limit as to how long you can rehearse.

How Many Times Should You Rehearse a Presentation?

The presenter can practice their presentation a minimum of 3 times and a maximum of 10 times. The more you rehearse the better the results. And like it’s rightly said, ‘Practice makes a man perfect”.

Rehearse your presentation from start to end including the slides of your presentation. Only speaking may not be that effective as compared to when you rehearse with your presentation included.

A tip would be that if it is possible and you have time at your hand then start practising 10 days before your presentation. Practice 1 time through your entire presentation every day at the least. The results will astound you.

Presentational Rehearsal Checklist

Follow this step by step list to know what you need to tick of when rehearsing for a presentation.

• Commence with taking presentation notes
• Accustom yourself with your material
• Rehearse with your presentation
• Time your presentation
• Rehearse out loud
• Rehearse in front of a mirror
• Voice record your practice
• Video record your practice
• Rehearse in front of a single person
• Rehearse in front of an audience
• Preparing for the ‘if’ situation
• Experiment with your presentation
• Pay a visit to the location where you will be presenting

1. Commence with taking presentation notes

PowerPoint has a feature in which the presenter can write his notes at the bottom of the slide. Given below is an example of where to add notes in your presentation.

These notes will not be visible on the slideshow but only to you when you are presenting in presenter mode.

Put your entire statements into bullet points which will make it easy to present your presentation. 

While rehearsing don’t just mug up the script but understand it. Even if you forget your script you can refer to these points while presenting and this won’t create a blunder.

2. Accustom yourself with your material

While rehearsing, presenters often face the problem of ‘Where should I start from?’ 

Start from going rough the outline of the presentation then move forward to what is the main body or content of the presentation and then finally combine both and rehearse your unified presentation as a whole.

Knowing your material is a great start to your presentation. Knowing your speech backwards and forward is a sign of a great presenter.

If you as a presenter are well acquainted with what is in your material you can then utilize that time focusing on other factors.

3. Rehearse with your presentation

Often presenters make a frequent mistake and that is they never rehearse with their presentation. They focus more on the delivery part of the speech rather than rehearsing with both, the speech and the actual slides.

If you don’t rehearse with your slides, how will you know which slide comes next or how to time each of your slides?

This will be a disadvantage when you present on the final day because then there will be too many things and you won’t know how to manage both.

4. Time your presentation

Timing your presentation when rehearsing will not let you exceed the limit on the main day of your presentation. Time is the most vital element in your presentation. 

Decide how much time you will spend on each slide. When you practice considering the allotted time you won’t exceed the actual time of the presentation. You will also cover everything that you wanted to say and may also get done with it early. 

Time can either make your presentation or break your presentation.

Exceeding the time limit will make the audience lose interest which is a bad sign for the presenter.

5. Rehearse out loud

Reading your material out loud will help you remember points easily.

When I was in school, my dad told me that if you read your answers loudly the words will remain fresh in your memory rather than repeating the answer 10 times and just mugging up. Feel your words and monitor your energy level.

If you are confused and don’t know what to do instead of memorizing then follow this article ‘To Memorize or to Not: A Public Speaker’s Dilemma’ for the best guidance. This article will inform you about the problem with memorizing and how you can overcome this problem.

Use this technique and read out your text at least 2-3 times a day. People who practice debates also use this technique. 

6. Rehearse in front of a mirror

When you rehearse in front of a mirror you will get an idea of how you look while presenting. You can make out what actions are going wrong and correct them. 

You can also look at your facial expressions up-close and know exactly how your face changes with what you say. 

Looking in the mirror and rehearsing your speech will also give you confidence. All the minor details that you may have missed may come out with this technique and you get the chance to correct those mistakes.

7. Voice Record your practice

Recording yourself rehearse is also one way to rehearse. When you record yourself while practising you will find that your voice may sound a bit different but that’s natural. 

It is witnessed that through recording you will find unwanted pauses in your speech presentation such as ‘Umm’, ‘Uh’ and ‘Ah’. These pauses just make your presentation look weak. So rehearsing with recording can help you erase such mistakes from your speech.

Keep listening to your recording when you are free or doing something that doesn’t need your attention. Listening to the recording continuously will accustom you to the material and presentation.

8. Video record your practice

Video recording your rehearsal is different from the voice recording. In a voice recording, you can just hear your voice but in a video recording, you can see yourself and notice all the hand gestures and movements you make while speaking.

Don’t just focus on just words, but also focus on body language. Tone, voice, pitch, are a part of vocals. Observe how you sound, ‘Are you too loud?’ or ‘Are you too slow?’

When I asked my friend what do you to rehearse your speech before a presentation she said I video record myself. In today’s time, this is the most used technique of them all.

Why is it you may ask? This is because video recording the entire practice is easy and covers everything together in just one video. Also, make sure you make eye contact and smile while presenting. All these little things can make a huge difference in your presentation. 

Body language has a wide scope in communication and public speaking. We have written an article on  Body Language and Its Contribution to the Process of Communication . Read this to know in detail about body language.

You will also get feedback about the different errors you make like not making eye contact or fidgeting with your hands.

9. Rehearse in front of a single person

Rehearsing in front of a person is different from rehearsing in front of a mirror or camera. In this case, you will get real spoken feedback from the person you are rehearsing in front of.

Preferably choose a person you are close to because that person will be honest and not be worried about hurting your feelings. She/he won’t be biased and point out the mistakes you have made.

10. Rehearse in front of an audience

Yet again rehearsing in front of an audience is different from rehearsing in front of a single person.

The larger the crowd the more you get nervous. Standing in front of a group and giving a presentation may seem easy but when the spotlight is on you there are hundreds of things going on in your head. 

Hence, when you practice beforehand there is a certain sense of calm because you have already gone through that experience and you know what to say, how to move. This also boosts your confidence and you may show better results.

11. Preparing for the ‘if’ situation

What is the ‘if’ situation? Here, the presenter must be prepared entirely for any unpredictable thing to happen.

We are assuming that even if something goes wrong the presenter is mentally prepared and does not panic. The presenter must improvise and not let it affect his presentation.

For instance- A sudden electricity cut down takes place at the location of your presentation. Be prepared to present without a PPT.

Someone from the audience may say something offensive. Don’t lose your calm and be patient. Handle the situation with ease.

These things should be kept in mind while rehearsing for the presentation.

12. Experiment with your presentation

While rehearsing you may have noticed somethings that may sound off. Instead of just going with that and repeating the same things change your words and ways. 

Experiment with your material and fit in the best quality of content. Do not compromise with your content. 

Make it interesting and innovative. Ask questions, play a quiz, tell a funny story etc. All these things will make your presentation so much more appealing.

13. Pay a visit to the location where you will be presenting

If it is possible and in your hand, visit the location of your presentation to get a better idea of what you will be dealing with.

Do a technical rehearsal of your entire presentation one time with the lights, the slides and the mic to ensure that everything is working properly. This technical rehearsal will give you a little confidence and keep your nervousness in check.

Get well acquainted with the gadget that you will be using to present your presentation. If it is possible for you, load the presentation on the selected technology at the location and test it.

Should You Memorize a Presentation or Not?

The answer to this question depends entirely on you. It’s not like it’s a restriction but it would be beneficial if the speaker does not just memorize for the sake of delivering.

Drawbacks of memorizing

Why is that so? Memorizing your entire speech is not a crime but the drawback is that if you forget a sentence or even a word for that matter you will end up forgetting the next part of your presentation as it is all connected and interdependent.

Memorizing may also lead you to recite the presentation in the same manner as it is written. Not adding your personal tinge to the presentation will make it sound bookish. You don’t want to sound too robotic with no emotions, pauses and interaction with the audience.

What to do instead of memorizing?

Instead of memorizing the entire presentation word to word one way is to rehearse by trying to understand the framework of the presentation. Create an outline and this will automatically help you understand the core of your material.

Another way is to visualize your speech. What this means is that usually, people tend to remember visual images or symbols as compared to chunks of texts.

For example, when I was in my 10 th grade my tutor told me to write the important headings in colour. Using different colours helps remember the headings clearly.

For instance, my heading is ‘Rehearsing in front of the mirror’ and I use the colour red to highlight that heading so while presenting I will instantly recall the colour and know what it is for. This may also help remember the order according to the colours.

 When you rehearse regularly you almost know what to say next and this is different from memorization.

Things to Watch Out for When Rehearsing a Presentation

There are certain things that the presenter must watch out for to give a meaningful presentation. Here are some points that will help you understand what you must watch out for. Consider these points while you rehearse for a presentation.

1. Apologizing to the audience

Apologizing may vary according to the situation and the degree of mistake the presenter makes. Apologizing unnecessarily may of course leave a bad remark for your skills.

An unsaid ‘never apologize for rule’ is noticed in public speaking because apologizing is seen as highlighting the mistake and giving it more importance. But for instance, if the mistake is prominent then apologizing would be a smart move.

So rehearse in such a way that even if you tend to make a mistake you can cover it up cleanly.

2. Asking questions when statements would be clearer

Sometimes the presenter may use questions which are not really applicable to the format of the speech. In place of a statement she/he has asked a question. The answer to which is not really required.

For instance, if you are speaking about the importance of rehearsing in a presentation and you have to say, “There is a high possibility that you may end up messing with the presentation because of a few mistakes here and there”.

But you end up saying, “Is it possible to mess up the presentation because of a few mistakes?”This question was not required in this context and it will break the flow of what you are saying.

In such a case, the audience will get disoriented and not know what to answer or even if they do have to answer.

3. Introducing too much vocabulary

Try not to use too many complex and heavy words. When you practice remember to use a simple and easy language. If the audience is unable to comprehend what the presenter is saying then the entire presentation seems baseless.

4. Redundancies and repetition

At times the presenter may keep repeating the same sentence or word again and again. Why? This is because the audience may have missed that point and the presenter repeats it to draw the audience’s attention to that specific piece of information.

But when the presenter starts repeating unnecessary and smaller statements then it leads to irritation in the form of disinterest.

Edit out the redundant adjectives from your speech such as ‘very’, ‘good’, ‘nice’ etc. Don’t add too many phrases and long statements. The longer you stretch your presentation the more the people will start getting distracted.

Avoid using slangs in a presentation. A presentation is believed to be a formal event and using slangs will make the presentation and even the setting seem casual.

5. Reading from slides

Avoid directly reading what is written word to word in the slides. This is a big NO! You don’t want the audience to think less of you. Reading from slides will do exactly that.

Make bullet points of your notes so that when you are delivering your speech you can emphasize the key points. Rehearse with these bullet points to get a hang of how you will deliver on your official day.

6. Whispering or yelling

Be aware of what tone you use while presenting. When you video record your rehearsal check if you are either whispering or yelling.

The people in the front row must not get repulsed by your presentation and your speech. Be neutral with your tone, not too loud and not too slow.

7. Nervous pacing or awkward stillness

While you rehearse keep in mind that you must master your body language with your presentation. Both must go hand in hand.

Don’t pace while speaking and ensure you don’t stand still either. You are not a prop or poll. So, move around a bit while asking questions.

We have written an article on “To walk or stand still: How should you present when on stage?” . This article will guide you about ‘Where to stand?’ , ‘Things to avoid while standing on stage’, ‘How to stop swaying during a speech’ etc.

8. Forcing emotions

Emotions are very essential while presenting.  If you seem dull and weary while presenting, the audience may get the wrong message.

While in comparison if you seem enthusiastic they may show interest as well. Though don’t ever force emotions that you don’t feel in your presentation. The audience is quick to catch.

Forcing emotions may leave a negative impact and spoil the presentation.

9. Unnecessary slides

When creating your presentation make a list of all the important pointers you will add and cut off the unnecessary information.

Don’t keep adding slides to extend your presentation. Long presentations tend to exhaust the audience as compared to short and crisp presentations.

10. Purely anecdotal evidence

Presenters should not always rely on unproven facts or information.

At times it so happens that when the speaker adds information that is not proven and someone in the audience may be familiar with it they may judge you according to this small error.

The audience may then question your credibility. So avoid adding anecdotal evidence in your presentation.

Practice Public Speaking in Your Day to Day Life

Apart from just practising public speaking when you have a presentation scheduled you can make it a point to rehearse public speaking in your daily life.

Practising public speaking in your everyday hectic life may sound perplexing but it’s a good start to improve your public speaking skills. Taking a little extra effort to rehearse every day will only help prepare you for future presentations.

It not only makes you an able speaker but also helps build your personality strongly. 3 ways you can add practising public speaking in your daily life.

1. The emoji technique

One way to practice your presentation every day is to practice at home. Rehearse when you don’t have any presentation lined up, but rehearse to enhance your art. Use the emoji technique of facial expressions.

What is the emoji technique? In this technique, you make faces similar to those of the emoji.

For instance, there is a happy face emoji so you enact that exact facial expression. The same goes for the angry face emoji, puzzled face emoji and so on.

 It may seem absurd at first but you will eventually see the result. Facial expressions are a part of delivering a speech so rehearsing your facial expressions may be a step up for a good presentation.

2. Give a speech to everybody and anybody

What this means is rehearse in front of anyone ready to listen to you and may even help point out the errors you make. Talk to them in such a way, like you would do when presenting.

Have a mental checklist of all the key points you have to cover, make eye contact, smile, use a soft tone but make sure its impactful, use hand gestures as a way of communication.

All these elements are a part and parcel of public speaking and making use of them in your daily conversations may help you strengthen your foundation.

3. Walk and rehearse

What will this technique do? In the first place, you will gain self-confidence and secondly, this will make you stronger with delivering your speech without errors.

When you walk and rehearse in front of strangers they will keep looking at you. It is human nature. When you rehearse daily, day by day you won’t get bothered by the stares. You will also get used to the staring of people in your surroundings.

The point is you won’t get nervous or distracted when you give your presentation in front of an audience who is looking at you while you present.

Israelmore Ayivor very rightly said, “People who become successful take every “today’s victory” as a rehearsal for tomorrows trophy.”

Take inspiration from this saying because rehearsal does make a difference in your presentation. The more you rehearse the better the outcome.

To become a skilful presenter/speaker is not a gift, you need to work for it. Follow the three Ds: Discipline, Dedication and Determination. This will not only bring you closer to success but also make you an accomplished speaker/presenter.

Enroll in our transformative 1:1 Coaching Program

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5 Key Steps to Rehearsing a Presentation Like the Best TED Speakers

The ted conference's recommendation to rehearse repeatedly is a winning strategy for any high-stakes presentation..

Every year I teach a class of elite business professionals who are enrolled in an executive education program at Harvard University. They are required to participate in group and individual presentations to graduate. After their presentations are complete, I recommended that each student practice their final presentations a minimum of ten times from start to finish. The ones who do stand out. 

I learned this technique from studying and interviewing the TED speakers whose talks went viral. For example, brain researcher, Dr. Jill Bolte-Taylor, told me she rehearsed her TED Talk not once or twice, or even ten times. She practiced it 200 times. Her "Stroke of Insight" has been viewed more than 22 million times and is ranked as one of the most popular TED talks of all time. 

Dr. Jill's example is extreme. You don't have to practice 200 times to create a winning a presentation. But you'll have to practice more than you think. Here are five steps to rehearse effectively. 

1. Start with presentation notes.

In PowerPoint, you can write notes at the bottom of each slide. Start writing notes for each slide in full sentences. Read the transcript out loud as you review each slide. Next, cut down the full sentences into bullet points and rehearse out loud again--relying on notes even less. Eventually, cut the notes down to just a few words that will prompt you to deliver the entire concept. The less you rely on notes for your final presentation, the more eye contact you'll make and the stronger your connection will be.

2. Practice under 'mild stress.'

Psychologists who work with athletes have found that mirror real-world conditions as much as possible during practice sessions brings out the best performance when the pressure is on. The famous entrepreneur and author, Tim Ferriss, applied this concept to his TED talk. "Mimic game-day conditions as much as possible," he said after his presentation. Ferriss gave the presentation in front of friends and strangers at various startups to groups of about 20 people. "I don't want my first rehearsal in front of a large group of strangers to be when I stand up in front of 3,000 people," he said.  

3. Ask for specific feedback.

Once you've practiced your presentation in front of a small audience, most people will say "good job." They don't want to hurt your feelings and they'll have limited feedback. While "good job" might help you feel good, it won't help you get better. Ask them to be specific: Is there something you didn't understand? Do I use jargon that you're not familiar with? Did I make strong eye contact? What did you like--or not like--about my delivery? What can I do to make it stronger? 

The musician, Amanda Palmer, invited more than two-dozen people to a watch her practice over a potluck-style dinner. She delivered the talk to students, she gave the presentation to friends over Skype, and did two or three rehearsals in front of TED organizers. She spent countless hours to get it right over a period of four months. Each time, she received feedback and tweaked the presentation--re-writing parts of the script--to condense it into 12 short, powerful minutes. 

Ask friends and colleagues for open, honest, and  specific  feedback

4. Record it.

Set up a smartphone or a video camera on a tripod and record your presentation. You'll be surprised at what you see. You'll catch vocal fillers such as 'ums' and 'ahs.' You'll find yourself using distracting hand motions like brushing your hair back or jiggling coins in your pocket. You might catch yourself avoiding eye contact or looking at the slides more than you're looking at the audience. It's not always comfortable watching yourself on camera, but it's a critical tool for successful presentations.

5. Practice until it's effortless.

The hardest question to answer is: How many times should I practice my presentation? Dr. Jill practiced 200 times. Author and scientist Mary Roach practiced 25 times for her TED presentation. I recommend rehearsing the entire presentation until you can deliver it effortlessly, without thinking about the first words you're going to say about each slide. In my experience as a professional communication advisor, I put the number of rehearsals at 10. Some people might need more; others need a little less. But if you practice your presentation from start to finish at least ten times, you'll have more confidence than ever. 

You might not be giving a TED talk, but a high-stakes presentation in any format requires an extra level of preparation and rehearsal.  

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How to Rehearse a Presentation: 5 Simple Steps

by Rob Biesenbach | Presentation/Speech Tips

In my workshops I share the technique that works for me. Participants have found it to be one of their most valued takeaways, so here is my totally not-patented five-step process for how to rehearse a presentation.

First, though, let me cover a couple of key questions.

Why is Rehearsal Important?

I wish it could go without saying that rehearsal is important, but time and again I’ve seen executives sabotage themselves by not taking the process seriously . They procrastinate, change their minds, and futz with their content all the way up to the last minute, leaving themselves no time to actually practice their delivery.

And it usually shows. People who think they’re better when they “wing it” are kidding themselves . Even professional improvisers — who perform shows where they make up the content on the spot — rehearse!

So in case there’s any question about it, here are three reasons why rehearsal is absolutely vital :

• The better you know your material, the more poised and confident you will appear (and be).
• Practicing helps you refine your ideas and improve your content  so you make the biggest impact possible.
• Rehearsing is the only way to know if you have too much content  — and one of the most common and aggravating mistakes I see presenters make is when they go over their allotted time or blow through the last part of their presentation at warp speed.

How Long Should You Rehearse?

When people ask how much time they should spend rehearsing their presentations, they usually don’t like my answer : “ As much as humanly possible .”

(Which at least sounds more manageable than one expert’s answer: 30 hours !)

The question I suspect they’re really asking is, “What’s the minimum amount of prep time I can get away with ?” They seem to be looking for some secret shortcut or hack.

The truth is, there is no magic bullet . Rehearsing a speech involves time and effort. And though my process is simple, it’s not necessarily easy. It takes work.

How Should You Rehearse?

First, let me tell you how NOT to rehearse a presentation. Rehearsing  does not mean sitting in front of your computer , tabbing through your slides and running through the presentation in your head.

Instead you need to get  on your feet and deliver it in full voice , just as you would in an actual presentation situation. You might find this embarrassing, so shut your office door and put out a “Do Not Disturb” sign.

Set up your computer so the screen is visible as you move about the room (which you would do in an actual presentation) and follow these five steps. Think of the steps as “sets” at the gym — you can perform as many “reps” per set as you have time for.

1. Current Slide + Timer + Next Slide + Notes

Set up your presentation deck in “rehearsal” mode . In PowerPoint, go to Slideshow>Presenter View. In Keynote (for Mac) go to Play>Rehearse Slideshow.

You can customize the display to show a variety of elements on the screen. Start with Current Slide, Next Slide, Notes and Timer. Like so:

As you start practicing you will likely have to stop and start and consult your notes . That’s fine. Run through it that way until you’re fairly comfortable.

2. Current Slide + Timer + Next Slide

Next, put your presentation notes on “hide” and start running through it again. Stop as needed to check your notes, but try to get to a point where you no longer need them.

3. Current Slide + Timer

Now this is where it gets tricky. Up to now you’ve had the luxury of seeing your next slide so you know what’s coming next . The reason that’s important is that it helps you transition from one slide to another in a way that’s smooth and fluid, eliminating unnecessary pauses as you advance through the presentation.

So in this step you’re going to hide the “Next Slide” display and start running it again. You will definitely end up pausing and stumbling and even backtracking when you’ve guessed wrong about what comes next. But keep working the material until you’re comfortable.

In each of these three steps you should use the timer to keep you on track . Your early stumble-throughs will probably run longer than your allotted time, but as you go along you’ll want to make sure you come in at or under that mark. And if you can’t, you’ll need to make some cuts.

4. No Slides at All

Here it gets really hard. Close your laptop or exit the presentation and run through it without the benefit of your visuals .

This step is the equivalent of actors rehearsing a play “off book” for the first time. They put down their scripts and perform their role from memory.

But they are aided by being in the familiar environment of the theater — they’re on stage, in costume, interacting with their fellow players. So there’s an abundance of sensory cues to guide them .

In the same way, you’re in your own imaginary but focused environment , shut away in your office, free of outside distraction, conjuring a stage and audience in your mind.

If you can successfully get through your presentation in this mode, congratulations. You’re doing very well. But if you want to take it up a notch, advance to the next step.

5. Leave the Office

Actors know they’ve got their part down when they can leave the rehearsal space and recite their lines (out loud or in their head) while they’re doing other things — commuting on the train, showering, grocery shopping, working out, etc.

It’s harder than it sounds — it’s like patting your head and rubbing your belly at the same time. So get out into the world, do other things, and keep running your presentation .

If you can manage that, you’re in great shape. BUT, there is one big and important difference between actors and presenters …

Don’t Memorize; Internalize

Actors learn their lines verbatim. But if you try to memorize your presentation word-for-word, you’ll have a hard time delivering it in a way that sounds natural and real. So instead, you want to internalize the material.

What that means is, you know it well enough that you’re conversant and fluent . You will phrase things differently in every iteration, but the core ideas you express are consistent over time . You have room to improvise around the margins.

Overwhelmed? Don’t Be

By now you’re probably thinking, “This is a helluva lot of work!” That’s true, it is.

But the answer to the question of how much effort you should put into practicing your presentation is simply this:  “How important is the presentation?”

Is it a talk that can make or break your year or career? Like an opportunity to impress your organization’s leaders or to establish your reputation among industry peers or to allay people’s concerns about big changes coming their way?

Then I would recommend  going all out . Maybe even hitting that 30-hour benchmark.

For lesser occasions, you can do fewer “reps” in each of the sets above.

At minimum, though, you should practice your open and close as much as you possibly can . The first and last impressions you make on your audience are the most important, so you want to come on and and go out strong .

The Effort You Devote to Rehearsal is Up to You

The amount of effort you put into rehearsing your presentation is obviously your choice. What do your ideas deserve? What does your audience deserve? What do your career and reputation deserve?

Those, ultimately, are the questions you need to answer.

[ Image via Kym McLeod ]

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Presentation Rehearsal: The Secret to Confident Delivery

Hello, I’m Cliff Kennedy. Today, we’re exploring the art of presentation rehearsal and its pivotal role in the success and confidence in your delivery. As an experienced coach working with organizations like AbbVie, Amazon, Gartner, Microsoft, and TEDxPaloAlto, I’ve seen the remarkable transformation that focused rehearsal brings to the success of speeches, presentations, and conversations.

Watch the full 45-minute walkthrough below that talks through my coaching approach to prepare all levels of speakers for their next high-stakes communication opportunity, or read the summary below.

Shift your perspective

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” These timeless words of U.S. Founding Father Benjamin Franklin are especially relevant to public speaking. Presenting isn’t just about putting together great content; it’s about practicing it well too. Half the work is in creating the content, and the other half is in the presentation rehearsal.

I tell my clients my long-term plan is to shift their perspective on what presentations are about. It’s not a monologue; it’s an engaging conversation with your audience. When you rehearse, you aren’t doing it just for yourself, you’re doing it for your audience too.

Begin your presentation rehearsal out of order

One unique technique that has worked wonders with my clients is rehearsing presentations in reverse. Start with your last slide and gradually work your way back to the beginning. This unconventional approach helps you better internalize the key messages and structure. Whether you present with slides or not, your presentation has natural breaks and transitions that can be rehearsed frontwards or backwards. Doing so ensures you feel confident and in control at every stage of your presentation, a feeling that your audience can sense and appreciate.

Interested in more? Download my worksheet with six more strategies and exercises to prepare you for your big moment.

Be natural and present

Your physical presence on the stage also contributes significantly to the effectiveness of your presentation. People are comfortable when you are comfortable and it’s important to display confidence even through mistakes or flubs. The right gestures and movements can also amplify and accentuate your message. To do so, maintain a balanced stance, minimize shifting weight or pacing, and be aware of your hand movements. My simple rules are: no pockets, no obscene gestures, and keep it natural. 

Use a process: Rehearse, refine, repeat

All successful presentations follow a cycle where you prepare, get the right mindset, rehearse, familiarize yourself with the content, understand the structure, refine it, and then repeat. Developing this or any process is integral to transforming a presentation from ordinary to extraordinary.

I invite you to embrace this approach, rehearse with purpose, and together, let’s create a culture of communication success.

Are you ready to take your communication skills to the next level? Let’s  schedule a call  to discuss your needs and begin improving the results you achieve from every speech, presentation, and conversation.

Whether you’re an individual who wants to make a bigger impact, a leader who wants to supercharge your team or an organization wanting to create a Culture of Communication Success , Kennedy Speech Communications’ coaching solutions are easy to implement and integrate seamlessly into existing cultures, schedules and workflows. Contact us today to learn how to achieve greater results from your next communication opportunity.

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Philipp Humm

How to rehearse for your presentations like a pro.

July 20, 2022

Imagine: You’ve an important presentation coming up. That presentation will decide whether you’ll get your promotion or not! 

I know, big stakes! You’re probably getting anxious just by the thought of that ;).

How can you rehearse for your presentation so that you deliver it with maximum impact?  

Let me share what you should avoid (don’ts) and what you should try (dos). The  rehearsal techniques are collection techniques that numerous professional speakers use.    

Rehearsal techniques you should AVOID

• Trying to ‘wing it : Plenty of people have told me that they prefer to not rehearse their presentation so that it appears more natural. While I like the idea behind it, I wouldn’t recommend it. By not rehearsing, there is a high chance that you’ll get lost in the weeds or forget about crucial information.    
• Rehearse in your head only : Often we go through stories and presentations thinking what we want to say. By only thinking about it, you won’t get a representative picture of how your presentation sounds in real life. You won’t know how long it will be, where to pause, or how to use your body effectively.   
• Rehearse in front of a mirror : The worst tip in public speaking is to rehearse in front of the mirror. What’s wrong with it? Tell me when will you ever be in a situation where you give a presentation while seeing yourself? Never! Exactly! It’s completely unnatural to see yourself while speaking. The only thing that you’ll accomplish by rehearsing in front of a mirror is to become more self conscious about how you look. Suddenly, you’ll notice all the small imperfections you weren’t even aware of before.   
• Practice without focus : Most people rehearse while moving their gazes randomly in the space, making it look as if they were daydreaming. This is a missed opportunity to train yourself to have more intentional eye contact (something extremely important for when you deliver your presentation).

Rehearsal Techniques you Should TRY

• Rehearse presentation 3-5 times : While the number of times you rehearse depends on your learning style, I’ve noticed that most of my clients need to rehearse their presentations minimum three times to remember the exact flow and the most of the details. Sure, it won’t be perfect, but it will be a satisfactory delivery. If you give the keynote in front of hundreds of people, you may want to put in a few extra repetitions to be 200% certain about your script. For my TEDx ( The Secret to Building Lasting Confidence ), for example, I rehearsed the full speech 14 times.
• Rehearse speaking out loud : The most effective way to rehearse your presentation is speaking out loud — in the same way you would speak during the presentation. If you can get a friend to listen to your presentation and give you feedback that would be even better. Bonus: When you mess up, don’t stop your presentation, but go on. That way you train your mind on how to deal with any ad-hoc problems that arise.   
• Practice in the street : The most common way to rehearse is in a private room. And that’s totally fine. I do that for most of my presentation. But in case, you want to take it up a notch, you can try to rehearse while walking in the street. Yes, in street, speaking to yourself in front of other people :D.  Why would do you that? If you can manage to deliver your presentation in this awkward situation,  you’ll be more comfortable in any high-stake environment.  As you’ll feel judged by strangers (e.g. stranger:  “why the heck is he talking to himself?”), you’ll learn how to deal with uncomfortable emotions. It’s a little tough at the beginning, but super powerful.
• Practice deliberate eye contact : Imagine specific objects in your space as if they were people in your audience. For instance, your desk light is one imaginary listener, the cactus another one, a photo another one. When you speak, move your gaze deliberately from one object to the other, having eye contact with each object for a full thought.   

That’s it. These are our tips to rehearse for your upcoming presentation or speech.

Give it a try and try out a few of these techniques the next time you’re preparing for your presentation.

If you still get quite nervous on stage, despite your impeccable rehearsal, you may want to check out this next article. There, I’ll share How I’d Learn Public Speaking (If I Could Start Over) . 

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Presentation Training Institute

A division of bold new directions training, how to make the most of presentation rehearsals.

When you are asked to give a presentation, you probably spend the majority of your time preparing the content. You want to make sure that you have an amazing opening line, engaging visuals, and a deep understanding of the topic. But, have you also saved some time to focus on rehearsal? This is a very important, yet often overlooked step. Oftentimes presenters spend weeks creating a presentation, only to have their delivery fall short. Why? They never took the time to rehearse. A great presentation requires plenty of practice and rehearsing. Here are five steps to effectively rehearsing a presentation. 

1. Create your own presentation notes.

If you have prepared a PowerPoint as part of your presentation, start by writing notes for each slide in full sentences. Read these sentences aloud as you review the slides. Now, cut down those sentences into bullet points and rehearse out loud again, relying even less on your notes. Continue practicing aloud until you can cut the notes down even further into just a few words that prompt you to deliver the content. Not only will this prevent you from reading directly from a slide and boring your audience, but the less you rely on notes, the more eye contact you can make and the stronger your connection with the audience.

2. Practice under ‘mild stress.’

Psychologists have found that athletes perform better when they practice in a “real-world†setting. This same principle can be applied to giving a presentation. Try to mirror real life conditions as much as possible so you can get used to the stress you will experience during the actual presentation. Rehearse in front of a mock audience consisting of either family, friends, colleagues, or strangers. You don’t want your first time speaking in front of a group to be at the real presentation. 

3. Ask for feedback.

It’s not enough just to practice in front of a mock audience. You want to ask for real authentic feedback so you can make adjustments or improvements. Oftentimes our family and friends might say,“Great job†because they don’t want to hurt our feelings. However, this will not help you improve your presentation. Ask them to give thoughtful and specific feedback so you know what you need to do to make your delivery even better. 

4. Record yourself.

In addition to practicing in front of an audience, you also need to spend time rehearsing on your own and recording yourself. Set up your smartphone or a video camera and record your presentation. This is a great way to see yourself as others will see you and correct any mistakes such as filler words, poor posture, lack of eye contact, etc. 

5. Practice until it’s effortless.

There is no set number for how many times you need to rehearse your presentation. You just need to continue rehearsing until you can deliver the entire presentation effortlessly without thinking about how you will transition from one slide to the next. If you rehearse your speech enough times, you will have more confidence and deliver a more powerful presentation.

Improve your practice.

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How to Prepare for a Presentation, with Examples

February 15, 2021 - Dom Barnard

This guide covers everything you need to know to prepare for your presentation. including what you need to think about beforehand, during and after the presentation.

1. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse (always aloud)

Once you have your presentation worked out, you will need to practice it, but even though you might think it’s the best way to have a flawless presentation, don’t memorise what you’re going to say.

That might sound like incredibly bad advice, but here’s why:

• If you memorise your speech, you’ll get stuck in thinking you can only deliver your ideas in that way, and that stifles your creativity, and the chance for new thoughts and ways to put things that come up as you speak.

Not only that, but every  audience is different . Sometimes they laugh out loud, sometimes they sit and smile, and you never know which type of audience you’ll have until you’re live.

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If you’re going off a memorised presentation, it’s much more difficult to break away from that to go with the flow on the day, and respond naturally to your audience.

• If you forget your speech in the middle of it, you will be thrown, and you’ll have more chance of complete brain freeze, which really will knock your confidence.
• Memorising your presentation gives you a false sense of security, which could leave you high and dry if something goes wrong. If you’ve only got your memorised speech, for example, what will you do if your PowerPoint freezes or your props break, and you can’t do what you were going to do?

Rehearse in front of colleagues, friends, a mirror, in virtual reality – always aloud. Make sure you spend plenty of time practising your presentation, it will make you feel much more relaxed if you know your material.

Courses where you can rehearse with interactive exercises:

• Essential Public Speaking
• How to Present over Video

Video showing how you can prepare for your presentation using virtual reality.  Learn more about virtual reality training .

2. Memorise your opening line

Do, however, memorise your opening line. If you know how you’re going to begin, you’ll get a strong start and that will build your confidence.

Many speakers and stage actors find that the minute they’ve actually delivered their first line, the nerves are gone and they’re well into their stride.

3. Practise your speech from written notes

Writing your presentation out in your own handwriting will help you clarify your ideas and may well bring you new ones.

• How to Write a Speech to Engage your Audience

4. Practise presentation flow

As well as practising for the ideas and what you want to say, practise how you want your presentation to flow. Think of it almost as a symphony, with high points, slow movements and crescendos. If it’s important, think about how you want your audience to feel, what emotions you want them to have, and when.

5. The power of silence

Don’t be afraid to pause and use the power of silence. A good pause can have a huge emotional impact. It allows people to really absorb what you are saying and react, and it’s vital to pause if you’re using humour so that the next part of your presentation doesn’t get lost underneath people’s laughter.

For more on the ‘Power of the Pause’, watch this short from video Brian Tracy:  The Power of the Pause

• 10 Effective Ways to use Pauses in your Speech

6. Have a backup

There’s nothing worse than the projector dying or finding that your laptop won’t communicate with the projector for some reason. If you know you have a backup, even if it’s only a pre-prepared flip chart, you’ll feel better, and you’ll be more confident.

7. Arrive early

Following on from that, arrive at least half an hour early so you aren’t feeling rushed, and so you have time to check your equipment and get your notes laid out ready to go. That gives you time to breathe and relax before you go on, knowing everything is as set as it can be.

8. Use physical props for a demo

Use physical props, if possible, for a demo. This can make you stand out and be more memorable among all the other speakers who only use PowerPoint, and it can add greatly to the impact of your presentation.

Video showing an example of using physical props during a live demo.

9. Structure your presentation

First, find out how much time you have to present, is it 10 minutes, 15, an hour? Prepare enough material for this time and have a couple of extra slides as backup – we tend to speak much quicker when nervous so you might find you finish your presentation too early. At some large conference events, timings may change on the day, be aware of this have a shorter version of your presentation in mind (i.e. know which slides to skip over).

• How to Structure your Presentation, with Examples
• Examples of Corporate Presentation Structures

10. Prepare for questions

Have a few backup slides for questions you think will arise from your presentation. It is sometime a tactic to explain a section briefly in your speech, so that you get a question about it afterwards. If you don’t understand the question, ask for it to be rephrased.

If there are no questions, it is not an indication how good or bad your presentation was. You many have explain your material extremely well, or simply that people are tired at the end of the day and want to go home.

• Guide for Handling Questions after a Presentation

11. Prepare for where you are presenting

If you can, go to the room you are speaking in before the actual event. It gives you an idea of furniture layout, podium height, location, room size, audience size and lighting. You can then visualise the room while practising and avoid the shock of suddenly being faced with a huge room when you expected a tiny one.

Ask the organiser if you need any particular props, for example a table to help with your live demo.

Additional planning to think about before your presentation:

1. Purpose  – what outcome are we trying to achieve? How can results be measured? What will success look like?

2. Topic  – Novelty? Complexity? Technical?

3. People  – Who should attend? What do they already know? How are they going to help?

4. Timing  – When will it happen and how long will the presentation take?

5. Location  – Where will the presentation be held? Do you have access to the correct facilities for the presentation?

6. Papers  – Who is keeping minutes? Do you need to send out an agenda before the presentation? Background information required?

7. Visual aids  – Is a  projector required ? Boards?

8. Style  – Structure or unstructured, discussion style? How assertive should you be? How should the meeting items be organised?

12. Choose the signals to give to your audience

Before the presentation, think about these 5 topics:

• Eye contact
• Facial gestures
• Body language

Decide how you will use each of these to reinforce your message. Use the table below for help.

Additional courses to help you prepare for your presentation:

• Presentation Skills Training Courses

Example from Steve Jobs

Think about these 10 techniques while you are preparing your presentation..

• Planning in Analog.  Tell a story, create stunning visuals and videos to complement video, use demonstrations and other speakers, keep the audience engaged.
• Creating a Twitter-Friendly Description  Single description sentence, condensed his message into 140 characters.
• Introduce the Enemy  Story needs villains or a problem to be solved. Jobs highlighted IBM and useless mobile phones (during iPhone release) as his villains.
• Focusing on Benefits  Keep reinforcing the benefits of your product, create top 10 lists, understand this is what customers care about.
• Sticking to Rule of Three  Classic Literary technique, things are best remembered and reinforced in threes. Read this article on  Literary Techniques  for more detail.
• Sell Dreams, Not Products  Create a vision people believe in, create a vision which will make people’s lives better
• Create Visual Slides  Use as few words as possible and use colourful graphics on the slide to highlight points.
• Make Numbers Meaningful  Compare large numbers to things people understand.
• Use Plain English  Use easy to say and easy to remember words, keep it simple.
• Large Reveals  Due to Apple secrecy, Jobs was able to deliver unexpected products to the world at his product launches.