Presenting new concepts, ideas, or information in a public forum is an important component of influencing your organisation and team.  

Communicating in such a forum involves multiple communication skills: your writing style and content, your ability to communicate verbally, and your ability to understand what your audience needs to hear.

Here are ten tips for delivering an effective public presentation.

1. Know what you want.  Is the aim of your presentation to communicate a change in strategy, to provide training, or to build a team?  Are you looking to provide clarity about a specific task, or are you looking to create a vision that will influence your senior manager to alter their approach? Getting it straight before your start will help your audience get it straight later.
2. Prepare. The more prepared you are the better your talk is likely to be.  Writing your talk and doing a trial run-through will likely provide you more clarity in the talk’s content, and give you more confidence about what you are going to say. This will come through in your delivery style.
3. Organise your talk in a logical sequence.  For example, if you’re trying to create momentum for change, you might want to start by describing the current situation, and the problems that are occurring because of this situation.  You might then go on and talk about the reasons for change, and then how change can be achieved. Introduce your topic, inform people about what you are going to talk about, then talk about it. At the end, summarise your key points.  You might tell people you are going to talk about five things today, outline your five key points then run through them one by one.  Summarise those five key points at the end.  
4. Delivery makes a major difference and is often more important than the content.  Deliver your message clearly, and with enthusiasm and vitality and the audience is likely to respond in kind.  Hesitancy and a tentative approach often cause uncertainty about the message.  Vary your speed of talking, and vary your pitch and the audience is more likely to be engaged.  If you sound monotonous people tune off.  
5. Plan the setting ahead of time ahead. Choose a room size and environment conducive to your talk, and ensure that people will be able to hear you.  Provide adequate time, including an appropriate period for questions.  Avoid fidgeting, and where appropriate provide a coffee break. 
6. Listen to what is happening in the room.  Are people starting to get fidgety and tune off, are they actively listening and engaged? If the former, do something to regain their attention: make a joke, show them a picture, reiterate the importance of what you're saying.
7. Use visual aids.  PowerPoint presentations can pack a punch, but they should be brief and to the point. In general, it is a reasonable rule to allow one slide per minute of the talk.  Too much detail on a slide and too many slides turn people off. And don't just stick with PowerPoint. Use a flipchart and write out questions.  Add a video if you can, include pictures of your organization where possible. You’re not the only one at work with a short attention span! We all focus better when an effort is made not only to inform, but also entertain.  
8. Illustrate your points with examples.  For example, if you are talking about the importance of caring for people when they are off work, cite an everyday example that people can relate to.  You might want to use a case from another workplace, to maintain confidentiality.  If people can relate to the case themselves, i.e. it matches their experience in everyday life, the more likely they are to get your message.
9. Get in touch with your emotions prior to your presentation.  This is particularly important if you have not done a lot of public speaking.  If you are anxious as you start your talk, let people know.  A simple line like “This is really important to me but I’m nervous today please so bear with me” will engage your audience, and they are more likely to support and help you rather than become frustrated if you are hesitant in your style.  It is also more likely to help you, once your anxiety state is declared.   Talk to someone before your presentation.  Get in touch with your strengths, how you’ve been effective in the past, and apply those attributes to the talk you’re giving.  If you are grounded in your strengths rather than your hesitancy, your talk is more likely to be successful.
10. Let people know what you want and need.  If you are looking for change, tell them specifically what you are looking for. If you are looking for people to take on actions, be clear about what you want them to do and give them an end date.  If you want to engage them in something you are involved in, ensure you let them know about follow-up actions that you will take on, and when you will be in touch with them.