Is your opening interesting?
If not, get busy or you’ll lose your audience. Churchill said that in order to deliver a good speech, you have to have a strong opening and a dynamic ending and you need to put those two things as close together as possible. I would tell a personal story that is relevant to the event and the topic, preferably a story that takes them by surprise and makes you look like an idiot. Self effacing humor is the best humor for a speaker.
Do you state the problem clearly?
Presentations are problem-solving devices. The bigger the problem the lower you can go on Maslow’s hierarchy. Most business problems are about uncertainty and lack of security. If you can identify the problems your audience has and you can offer solutions, you are walking on water.
Are your points developed to give a well-rounded view of all relevant aspects?
Be careful not to get too deep into the weeds when making your major points. From Father, Son, and Holy Ghost to Moe, Larry, and Curly, the world has generally stuck to the rule of three. Only three major points in your talk, and no more than ten minutes per point.
Do you tell the audience what action you want them to take?
Sometimes in business, executives sit for 8 hours a day listening to presentations–concentrating hard. They like it when they know up front what you want from them. Some companies call it, “The Ask.” If you do give them the ASK up front, you’re losing the drama, but gaining the favor of your boss. Your call.
Do you demonstrate a vital and passionate interest in the issue?
I once asked a minister what’s the most important thing in a sermon and she said, “Passion. If you have that, the parishioners will forgive all your sins.” I would add, please don’t fake it. They will smell that fakery all the way to the back of the pews.
Do you explain and translate technical material well?
This is a tricky one. I have a childhood friend who, at one point in his career, sold supercomputers to the high tech and scientific faculty of major universities. He quickly learned that the profs were not the sizzling sages he thought they might be. He found that the easiest way to explain how his supercomputer threw off heat–the intense heat of such a machine–was to say that instead of three water buffaloes there were 39 huskies doing the cooling. Apparently, that was the explanation that worked the best.
Are your visuals well designed and related to each other?
It is rare to see one plaid slide followed by a polka dot one, so that settles that. However, we still encounter troglodytes who plaster slides with tiny fonts and then turn their backs to the audience and read the slides in a nasal twang. Can I assume you know that pictorial and graphical slides are best?… that you should have as few slides as possible? … and that there is some science around visual aids? Look up the 12 Principles of Multimedia Learning.
Have you prepared for Q&A?
Stand up for your major points. If someone is clever enough to reveal an error in your thinking, thank them.
If you know only your side of the issues, you know nothing. Make sure you know the position of the other side, in all it’s detail.
Don’t rush your response to questions, look your questioner in the eye, and be diplomatic.
Don’t allow anyone to monopolize the discussion.
At the end, review your major points and your call to action.
Any anecdotes, examples, humorous points?
A skilled comedian you are not. Don’t try to please with humor. Dare to be dull. However, if you are giving an after dinner speech, you’re expected to be entertaining. Personal stories relevant to the occasion are almost always required.
Do you inspire confidence in the audience?
That is crucial. Humility is a wonderful thing, and best of all you can be humble and confident at the same time. You can achieve that powerful state by being extremely well prepared and extremely modest and polite. My favorite speakers are humble and quietly confident. The worst speakers are braggarts. I almost gag with disgust when I hear them.
Finally, don’t do what I did once, shout loudly and spread my arms to hide the fact that I was terrified. The trick to angelic speaking is to be personal in public.