10 Tips: Give A Great Presentation [Preparation Is Key!]
Contents
Presenting and public speaking is many people’s biggest fear.
Like most things in life presenting is a skill.
It has to be practised and developed over time, no-one is born a great presenter.
To help you learn to present effectively, we have distilled the art of presenting into 10 key points.
1. Use Speaker Notes
Speaker notes are a great tool to keep yourself in control.
Many people create these writing notes on a print out of the PowerPoint outline view of their presentation.
2. Prepare And Plan
Plan and research your presentation before delivering it.
Practice as much as possible before the presentation. Ideally, rehearse in front of a group of friends or family members to get their feedback.
3. Focus On The Design
Eyes won’t just be on you!
The design of your presentation needs to be easy to read and understand.
Simple ways to improve your design which we cover during our PowerPoint courses include:
- Present important statistics as infographics
- Combine the written word with visual elements
- Make sure that your text is not too small
- Less is more – avoid background information
4. Know Your Audience
The point of a presentation is to communicate to a large number of people at the same time.
Spend some time thinking about your particular audience and how best to communicate with them.
- What level of knowledge do they already have?
- What are the key messages you want to communicate to them?
- How will they find the information most easily digested?
- What types of presentations are they used to?
Knowing your audience means you can communicate in the way that they will find easiest to understand.
5. Interactivity
People have short attention spans.
Their attention spans online (as opposed to in person) are even shorter.
Your presentation needs to be interactive to keep them engaged.
6. Know Your Technology
Practice using the technology before the day.
You don’t want to learn how to use Zoom or Teams while an audience is watching!
7. Dress Professionally
You would dress professionally if you were delivering a presentation in person.
Treat an online presentation in exactly the same way.
8. Is a Q&A Session Necessary?
This comes back to knowing your audience.
A more ‘informative’ presentation, such as a lecture should include a Q&A at the end.
9. Create Presence
No matter who your audience is, they’ll still be expecting an approachable, human being up on stage.
Whether you’re delivering in-person or online, try to keep smiling and make eye contact with your audience.
10. Create a Story
Human brains love stories.
People love to listen to stories and metaphors so try to work them into your presentation.
Facts are briefly interesting but stories are memorable.
Our Final Thoughts
We know how daunting it can be to present in front of a group of people.
Keeping these tips in mind is the key to becoming a confident presenter.
Don’t forget how important practice is!
As with most skills in life a mixture of practice and some professional tips will help you develop your presenting skills.
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