zandax online course logo
 
 
 
 
zandax 10 year anniversary
 
 
 
 
 
 
Home   >  ZandaX Blogs   >  Business Blog   >  Presentation Skills Articles   > 
6 Easy Ways to Remember Your Presentation Material

6 Easy Ways to Remember Your Presentation Material

 
Delivering more effective presentations
Are you about to give a speech but afraid you might forget your material? We've got you covered. Here are 6 easy ways to remember your presentation material.
 
Article author: Ashley Andrews
      Written by Ashley Andrews
       (5-minute read)
When it comes to preparing for a presentation, one of the most challenging tasks you will have to face is remembering your material. After all, you can't keep looking at your notes all the time when you're speaking in front of an audience. However, constantly forgetting your lines can make you seem just as incompetent. So what can you do to avoid this problem?

Forget Your Presentation

The key is to be completely familiar with your material – this way, you'll be able to speak comfortably and confidently without forgetting the important points. To help you achieve just that, below are six easy ways to remember your presentation material.

1. Use mind maps to organize your ideas

Scattered, disjointed ideas are a lot more difficult to memorise, so organising your thoughts and having a proper structure in your presentation material is crucial for success. One of the best ways to organize these ideas is to use mind maps.

A mind map can either be a simple, hand-drawn diagram or, if you'd prefer something more complex, there are various templates and software available to help you build a digital mind map too. These are especially useful when you're trying to organize a large amount of thoughts and ideas, and a hand-drawn mind map just isn't feasible.

2. Rehearse out loud

Rehearsing your material out loud has several benefits. Not only does it help you recall the material at a later date, but it also helps you understand what your presentation sounds like. For example, if you're reading out loud and your presentation sounds stilted and awkward, you can alter it so that the language is more free-flowing and natural.

Even rehearsing your speech out loud five times before you're due to present it will be an enormous help, and will help you recall it much more easily. Reading out loud enables you to become familiar with your material, and that familiarity leads to confidence, something which is vital for an engaging and interesting presentation.

Improve Your Presentation Skills


If you'd like to learn more about delivering presentations, why not take a look at how we can help?

Boost your presentation skills with our online courses.
RRP from $65 – limited time offer just $23.99



3. Focus

Even rehearsing your speech out loud five times before you're due to present it will be an enormous help, and will help you recall it much more easily. Reading out loud enables you to become familiar with your material, and that familiarity leads to confidence, something which is vital for an engaging and interesting presentation.

When you're rehearsing, make sure to keep all tempting distractions away from you. In fact, try to completely disconnect yourself from digital devices. Print out your material, silence your mobile phone and shut down your computer. Keep all distractions at bay before immersing yourself in the rehearsal. If you give your mind time and space to memorise the information, you'll be able to recall it more easily later on.

4. Record your presentation

This is a very simple and yet, very effective method to memorise your presentation material. In fact, Microsoft PowerPoint actually has a record narration feature that allows you to record your presentation along with each relevant slide. If you listen to your recording along with these slides, you're getting both visual and auditory information that go hand-in-hand and will find that your mind is better able to remember what it heard rather than what it read.

5. Listen to music

Not only does the right music have a way to calm and focus your mind, but several researchers and memory experts have recommended listening to music as a way to help you retain information.

Through their experiments, researchers have found that listening to steady music can activate certain sections of the brain. One psychologist subjected his students to Baroque music that played steadily at 60 beats per minute. He found that his students were able to learn a language at a fraction of the time it generally takes, and they were able to retain 92% of the material.

This can, obviously, apply to your presentation as well. However, make sure to spend some time with experimenting in order to pick the right music first. As a general rule, instrumental music always works better than songs because words would distract you. Pick music that you're comfortable with, and see if it allows you to focus better before using it.

6. Rehearse before bedtime

It's common knowledge that your day's memory is processed during your sleep, and many neuroscientists believe that REM (rapid eye movement) sleep is necessary for memory retention.

Rehearse Before Bed

In addition, the most recent memory before you sleep affects the REM. You might have noticed that when you go to sleep thinking very intensely about something, you're likely to dream about it. You can take advantage of this intense neural activity by rehearsing your material thoroughly and without interruption directly before going to bed. You'll notice that you're able to recall the material better the following morning.

Conclusion

Although memorising your speech might take some time and effort, being prepared will definitely pay off. If you're completely familiar with your presentation material, you'll be able to deliver it with confidence and make it much more engaging for your audience as well.

Improve Your Presentation Skills


If you'd like to learn more about delivering presentations, why not take a look at how we can help?

Boost your presentation skills with our online courses.
RRP from $65 – limited time offer just $23.99

             


Do you know any other tricks for remembering your presentation material? Let us know in the comment section below!

More Articles on Presentation Skills

5 Tips on How to Dress for a Presentation
5 Tips on How to Dress for a Presentation
Ashley Andrews
Author: Ashley Andrews
About the article
Summary
Discover our top 5 tips on how to dress for a presentation and find out what outfits you should avoid in order to make a lasting impression on your audience.
[ close ]
How Do I Develop a System for Delivering Presentations?
How Do I Develop a System for Delivering Presentations?
John B
Author: John B
About the article
Summary
In this article we give you 5 ideas on how to develop a system for your presentations and make it work for you.
[ close ]
11 Presentation Guidelines for Maximum Impact
11 Presentation Guidelines for Maximum Impact
Ashley Andrews
Author: Ashley Andrews
About the article
Summary
A great presentation inspires action, educates, entertains, and is easy to understand. This article outlines current best practices for presentations
[ close ]
Is There A Difference Between Presentation Skills And Public Speaking?
Is There A Difference Between Presentation Skills And Public Speaking?
John B
Author: John B
About the article
Summary
What are the differences and what are the similarities between presentations and public speaking? What skills do you need to exhibit?
[ close ]
Unlocking the Potential of Infographics: A Comprehensive Guide for Presenters
Unlocking the Potential of Infographics: A Comprehensive Guide for Presenters
Ashley Andrews
Author: Ashley Andrews
About the article
Summary
We show you how. by unlocking the potential of infographics, you can create memorable and highly engaging presentations.
[ close ]
How to Stay Organized for a Presentation
How to Stay Organized for a Presentation
Ashley Andrews
Author: Ashley Andrews
About the article
Summary
This article looks at how to get and stay organised before doing a presentation, which ensures things go smoothly and professionally.
[ close ]
5 Sure Ways to Master Public Speaking and Delivering Presentations
5 Sure Ways to Master Public Speaking and Delivering Presentations
Ashley Andrews
Author: Ashley Andrews
About the article
Summary
5 Sure Ways to Master Public Speaking and Delivering Presentations. Remotivated and delivering the kind of performance that you would expect
[ close ]
How to Get an Audience to Remember Your Presentation
How to Get an Audience to Remember Your Presentation
Ashley Andrews
Author: Ashley Andrews
About the article
Summary
Getting an audience to remember your presentation is best achieved if well planned beforehand. Here's 6 hooks to help stick in their minds.
[ close ]
The 7 Main Reasons Why People Give Presentations
The 7 Main Reasons Why People Give Presentations
John B
Author: John B
About the article
Summary
There are seven main reasons that people will give a presentation or public talk. This looks at all 7, and gives hints for each one.
[ close ]
Why Do We Need to Prepare for a Presentation?
Why Do We Need to Prepare for a Presentation?
Ashley Andrews
Author: Ashley Andrews
About the article
Summary
This article looks at why it is important to prepare for a presentation. With so much to go wrong, these specific areas can be avoided up front.
[ close ]
9 Reasons to have Good Presentation Skills in the Workplace
9 Reasons to have Good Presentation Skills in the Workplace
Ashley Andrews
Author: Ashley Andrews
About the article
Summary
This article looks at 9 occasions that it is important for you to have good presentation skills within the workplace, and how it benefits you
[ close ]
Why Do We Need Presentation Skills?
Why Do We Need Presentation Skills?
Ashley Andrews
Author: Ashley Andrews
About the article
Summary
This article looks at 10 great reasons why its important to have good presentation skills among your skillset.
[ close ]
 

Write for us on the ZandaX blog

We're always looking for guest contributors to increase the variety and diversity of what we present.

Click to see how you can write for us:

 

The ZandaX Business Skills blog categories

Click a panel to visit the main category pages for the blog
Career Success
Career Success
Marketing
Marketing
Presentation Skills & Public Speaking
Presentation Skills & Public Speaking
Customer Service
Customer Service
Microsoft Software
Microsoft Software

ZandaX Blog Contents

Want to see them all? Click to view a full list of articles in our blogs.

 
zandax online courses logo
"ZandaX courses are such great value, and with the help and support they give, there's no better option in the market"
ZandaX LinkedIn logo
ZandaX YouTube logo
ZandaX FaceBook logo
Course Categories
 
All content © ZandaX 2024