a microphone representing a presentation

Improving Your Presentation Skills

Featured image by Michal Jarmoluk via Pixabay

Below are some great tips for improving your presentation skills.

In business we often find ourselves having to give presentations. We do so for various reasons that range from sharing knowledge with colleagues to bringing in more business or investment for our company.

The problem with giving presentations is that not only are many people afraid of public speaking but they also don’t really know how to put together a great and interesting presentation.

Preparation Is Essential

Preparation is the number-one key to presentation success. Review the people that are going to be sitting in the audience and think about what they are there for. If possible, go to them and ask them what they expect to see and hear. Find out what they are looking for.

Rather than just having a ton of information and pictures with maybe some slides to show whenever you get on a certain topic, sit down and plan out your presentation. Structure it in a way that it runs smoothly from one topic to another without any chops or gaps in between topics.

An Outline Will Help You Prepare

In fact, it’s important to create an outline for your talk. Doing so will provide you with a structure that will keep you on topic.

For example, let’s say you want to convince a venture capital firm that investing in your company would be a smart move for them. In that case, you would want to develop a persuasive speech. But how do you write an outline for a persuasive speech?

First, you’ll need to have clarity on exactly what you want to accomplish with your presentation. Next, you’ll need to gather information about your company that would persuade someone to align with your goals.

Once you have all the information you’re likely to need, go through it. Pick out the three most important points you would like to get across to your audience. Then structure your presentation around those points.

Keep your presentation succinct. You don’t want to bore your audience to death with tons and tons of information on thirty different points.

Practice Your Presentation

Practice, practice, practice … but don’t memorize.

People who give presentations on a regular basis recommend starting to rehearse about a month in advance. They further warn that failing to practice is a serious mistake. In fact, one such professional states bluntly, “It’s different for everybody, but I will say one thing: If you practice your speech only once, you’re going to stink.”

Steve Wozniak makes a presentation at the Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science & Engineering
Steve Wozniak makes a presentation at the Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science & Engineering

On the other hand, if you merely memorize your speech—or worse, simply read it to the crowd without ever making eye contact—you’re going to lose your audience as soon as you open your mouth to speak.

And finally, one last caveat: Try to connect with your audience, whether you’re speaking with only a couple of colleagues or you’re facing an entire auditorium full of people. Remember that each person is a living, breathing human being just like you and try to give each one something of value with your presentation.

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