Presentation Skills – Make A Difference!

Presentation Skills at Work

Presentation skills are not something you have to be born with, but with a little practice and guidance you can be on your way to becoming a highly effective presenter. When you are making a presentation, people are there to hear what you have to say – many presenters forget that and rely too much on the PowerPoint behind them to do the work.

So don’t fall into the trap of using your slide show as a crutch. Instead, take some time to develop your presentation skills and you will be much more successful.The guidelines below are best used in formal presentation situations, such as meetings or conferences. They are not meant for use in extended presentation situations or training workshops.

Presentation Skills – The Basics

Basic Guidelines For Designing Your Presentation

Set Objectives – Be sure that you are clear in your own mind about what you want the presentation to accomplish and what you want your audience, to know, understand, or decide when you are finished. Be very clear about what you want the audience to come away from the presentation with, how you will go about getting there, and how you will know if you’ve achieved your objectives.
Make Your Audience Feel Invested – Let your audience know why they are there and what they can expect to walk away with after the presentation. As you plan your presentation, continue to imagine yourself in the audience. What’s in it for them?
Elicit Feedback/Check for Understanding – At several points during your presentation, you will want to stop and get some feedback from your audience so that you can adjust as you go forward. You will need to check for things like whether they understand what you are telling them, whether they have any questions, and whether they have any comments that you can address. One caveat – be sure to keep the feedback pieces brief and don’t allow the presentation to be sidetracked or hijacked by audience members.
Set a Mood – Be clear about the mood you want to set for your presentation and try to keep it positive. Even if you are imparting some bad news, make sure you end on a positive note. You don’t want your audience to leave your presentation feeling negative.
Follow a Structure – The best structure for a presentation can be summarized like this: Say what you’re going to say (create an opening/introduction), Say it (the body of the presentation), Say what you said (summary/conclusion/restate your main points).
Provide Supplemental Materials – Make sure you have a folder with articles, charts and other materials that will allow audience members to review and remember what you discussed – however, be sure not to hand this material out until the end. If you hand it out beforehand, the audience will be looking through the materials and not giving you their full attention.
Don’t Read from Your Slides! – In fact, don’t look at them if you can help it. Face the audience as often as you can. The PowerPoint is for them, not for you!
Keep it Human – Remember, this is about interaction – you need to develop a rapport with your audience, so speak clearly, don’t rush, smile often and make eye contact. People will care about what you are saying to them if they feel (even unconsciously) that you care about them.
Rehearse! – Be sure to practice your presentation as many times as you can, especially if you are using a PowerPoint or Slides. Practice makes perfect!

Presentation Skills – Conclusion

As you can see, learning presentation skills will make it easy for you to become a good presenter. Remember that the presentation is not about you and it is about your audience. If you stay focused on meeting the needs of your audience it will not only create a better presentation, but you will be less nervous because you’ll be thinking beyond your performance.