Public Speaking: Teaming Up with Another Presenter

Technical training presentations demand that the audience learns hard skills. One approach to public speaking in a learning environment is team teaching. Splitting the public speaking presentation between two speakers will ease the strain on each of you while allowing you to maintain the quantity and quality of the information presented to your audience.

Here’s a checklist to follow when team teaching.
* When you decide to team teach, select only partners you trust not to upstage you. Each presenter should strive to make the other speaker the hero.

* At the beginning of your public speaking program, let your audience know that two presenters will be speaking throughout the event. This will prevent their perception that the off-stage team member is interrupting the on-stage member.

* Each team member’s first segment should be long enough to build rapport with members of the audience.

* To keep the interest of the audience, position one presenter on the left side of the stage and one on the right side of the stage. This will force individuals to physically move their eyes when listening.

* Use a variety of team teaching techniques to add interest to the presentation. For example:
o Give each presenter one morning segment and one afternoon segment.
o Try changing speakers every six minutes.
o When both presenters are experts on the topic, use a spontaneous delivery, not scripted.

* Cautiously use point/counterpoint action, taking care not to create a perception that a presenter is either too conservative or too liberal.

* Have one team member ask a question already in the mind of the audience and the other speaker answer the question.

* When using an interruption action, decide who is in charge of each topic and plan to the minute when transitions and interruptions will occur.

* While one team member is presenting a long segment, the other speaker may leave the room.

* Have a place for the off-stage presenter to sit when the other presenter is speaking. This may be in front of the room or to the side nearest the exit.

Team teaching will work in many settings and make it easier for you to present a long program.

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