In the last episode, Iva and Boris talked about why rehearsing will help you deliver a flawless presentation. Now it’s time to show you how to practice like a pro speaker so you deliver a message that influences your audience.

You’ll learn about a few useful tools that are designed to help you get a clear idea of how your current presenting is and give you pointers for improvement.

Also, listen to the end of the episode to get all the tips used by pro speakers and top brands when they prepare for a big presentation.

To make sure your timing, pace, and filler words are managed well, here are a few tools to help you out:

Speech – Words to Minutes: This one lets you add your script and gives you an estimated calculation of how much time it will take for you to present it.

Orai: An app you can download for iPhone and Android to get your speaking evaluated based on tone, pace, pitch, pausing, conciseness, and a lot more.

Ummo: A speech recognition app that helps you clean up all of the umms, uhhs, and other filler words.

PowerPoint Presenter Coach: Microsoft’s AI-based feature called Rehearse with Coach to help you clean up your speech, make sure it’s original, and a lot more.

Practice like you mean it. Don’t just stand on your desk or couch looking at your slides and mumbling some stuff you think you’re gonna say.

Stand up, talk out loud, and imagine you’re already at the venue or conference room. The people are there expecting you to deliver, give them something new and valuable and not waste their time.

Even the biggest speakers rarely allow themselves to improvise on the spot for big presentations. So take it seriously so your audience can take you seriously when you deliver.

Use your smartphone to record a video of yourself while you rehearse your presentation. Either look at the camera to imagine like you’re talking to an audience or place it on the side to watch yourself from a different perspective.

This will show you what to improve, how you use your body language, whether you’re too monotonous, or if you struggle to speak clearly and consistently.

This is a next-level step that’s not always possible. If you can find a way, definitely do it. It’s the most effective possible way to rehearse your presentation and get real feedback on your performance.

Ask your friends, family, or colleagues who know a bit about what you’re doing and do a practice run of your presentation in front of them. If you can’t get them around you, send them the video recording.

Make sure you ask them important things like whether they lost interest, did they have questions, was there something unclear or unnecessary, how they felt about you as a speaker, etc.