Presentation Skills - For Your Career Success

This is what you need to think about:

• An understanding of what you need to do to achieve the objective;
• How to go about overcoming your fears;
• Preparation - Preparation as always is everything;
• How to be sure of communicating the concepts;
• Understanding your audience and their needs;
• Using visual aids to aid, not hinder, your presentation.

"Every Presentation should have a beginning, middle and an end. Put it another way - there needs to be an opening or introduction, the main body of your talk, and a conclusion."

Effective Presentations are all about making an impact, but perhaps you are in a fearful state of mind and this is leaving you:

• Worried you'll make a mess of it?
• Nervous of conquering your fears?
• Afraid you’ll make a fool of yourself?
• Scared of the audience?
• Concerned that your content is not good enough?

Well here's how you deal with it.

Choosing your topic

• Why am I talking
• Who am I talking to?
• What do I need to achieve?
• What challenges are they facing?
• What arguments will be well received?

Preparing what to say

Decide on your objective and build your discussion around three main points; structure these points and use notes to help you.
Consider the beginning and the end and decide what illustrations would be helpful. If you plan on using some visual aids, don't just put the words up on screen, create images and work on your timing. I recommend you also get your free sign-up to Great Speaking Ezine which will give you even more good ideas to help your presentation skills develop.

Language

Choose active words and always frame it positively. Avoid ‘intensifiers’ like "very" and "superb". Keep your language simple and avoid jargon. Remove ‘kind of’ and ‘sort of’ as this identifies imprecise thinking.

Your Opening

Grab the audience’s attention. "Hello" is quite a good start. Don’t repeat the title and don’t start with an apology. Tell your audience the objective and how long you’ll be. Give the important facts early.

The Main Event - Making an Impact

Decide the main points you need to cover, and the amount of detail appropriate to the audience. Make certain that it is logical and sequential, but also that it sounds interesting.

Your Conclusion

Summarise your main ideas and be forward looking. Ask a question. Refer to your opening remarks. Offer a quotation. If you have taken questions at the end summarise again after the last question or you could leave an impression of someone struggling with a difficult question.

Preparing for questions

Anticipate questions and be ready. It doesn’t mean they’re being hostile or critical if they ask questions; it usually means they are interested enough to bother. Make sure you can substantiate your facts and avoid generalizations. If you don’t know the answer - say so, but be sure to find out, and let them know when they can expect the answer from you. Can you back up your claims?

Points to remember

Visual aids; are they a help or a hindrance? Are they visible to everybody in the room? Will they add to and aid audience understanding?
Talk to the audience not the screen. Use memory joggers on cards or paper. Practice use of the equipment. Does it flow? Memorise key points. Rehearse on your feet and always out loud. Creating the right impact demands a careful combination of Visual, Vocal and Verbal messages.

...and finally the impression you make is entirely up to YOU

Because so many of us have issues with speaking in public, whether a simple presentation or a speech at a wedding, you can visit Public Speaking Courses for masses of practical advice and immediate help to overcome your presentation fears.

Continue to Communication Skills

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