Presentation skills

So you were asked to give a presentation and on the spur of the moment agreed. Is time running out and are you beginning to wonder if you have made a monumental mistake?

            

Where do you start with the presentation? Well, first find out the title and the key points you are expected to address. It is very important to find out who else is talking and what they are going to talk about. You want to make sure that you do not cover exactly the same ground as someone else, otherwise the audience will just get bored. Determine how long you are going to be asked to talk for as this will help you to work out if the time you have means you can only give an overview or whether you are required to give an in-depth presentation of your topic. If you only have time for an overview then identify what you must say, what it would be good to say and the points that you will address only if you have time.

Try to think about how many slides you will have on a PowerPoint style presentation. If you are not comfortable with the technology design 3 or 4 slides that are general and will cover several themes so you don’t need to change them that often. If you are using slides or overheads limit the technical data as you don’t have the slides to be too busy. Remember graphs or data tables are a waste of time if either people can’t see them at the back of the room or they haven’t time to read them during a presentation. Don’t put too many bullet points on each slide, consider using diagrams or photographs instead of words if they convey your message, because they are much more effective.

Practice what you are going to say and check the presentation before the day, especially if someone else has prepared it. There is nothing worse than standing up in front of an audience with a presentation full of typing errors or slides in the wrong order.

Most important of all believe in what you are going to say, because lack of conviction comes over to the audience immediately in a presentation. People will forgive beginners nerves but they will struggle with a presentation that lacks personal belief or one where the presenter just reads from the slides parrot fashion – well they could have read it as a handout themselves! Show that you care about the topic and remember practice makes perfect.