1. Speak loudly, slowly and clearly and let your confidence and enthusiasm show. Vary your vocal variety – change the tone, volume, speed and pitch of your voice.
   
   
2. Please remember that most participants are not native English speakers. Avoid speaking too quickly as this may affect the audience’s ability to understand you.
   
   
3. Avoid reading your slides. Engage with the audience as far as possible and make eye contact.
   
   
4. Speak to the ways people learn; auditory, visual and kinesthetic. Know your audience so that you can offer the right mix. Research suggests 40% are visual, 40% are kinesthetic, and only 20% are auditory. If you don’t use props or visuals, you will not reach 80% of your audience. Be inclusive and find ways/tools that will speak to 100% of the people in your audience.
   
   
5. Encourage questions: be patient and listen to the question without interrupting the person asking the question whilst he/she is in mid-flow.
   
   
6. Humour can be an effective tool for establishing rapport or making a point. Any joke you tell should be appropriate.  
   
   
7. Learn to laugh at your mistakes (if you make any).
   
   
8. Have a reverence for the work you do. It is a privilege to be on the platform and with this comes an awesome responsibility to your audience. Speaking is an art and a skill. Tap in to your creativity, your wholesomeness, your playfulness and live/speak from the inside out.
   
   
9. Enjoy your session. If you enjoy it, your audience is likely to enjoy it too.

If you are unable to attend the Congress and need to send a replacement, please contact Pat Vanhove via e-mail at: pat.vanhove<at>ecco-org.eu

*please replace <at> with @