Presentation Skills

Presentation Skills
Successful presentations are designed to meet the needs and expectations of the
audience. The information and delivery should be relevant and presented in a way so that
the audience will listen and keep listening. Many presenters get caught up in the details of
the topic and what they want to say, and lose sight of the audience and what they need to
gain. The emphasis should be on the listener, not the presenter. You will have determined
what information will appeal to them and this will increase your persuasiveness. There is
no question about the importance of content. A presentation without good content will
always fall flat. However there are many skills that must be applied to bring good content
to life.
Objectives:
 To develop enthusiastic delivery style.
 To develop skills are comprised of effective eye contact, volume, pacing, tone, body
language, word choice, and appearance
For the Best Presentation

Even with solid research, subject expertise, good planning and excellent facilities,
some presentations fail. If a presenter does not have a confident, enthusiastic delivery style,
the audience quickly loses interest and becomes bored. Research has shown that an
audience’s opinion of a presentation is based
 7% from the presentation content
 38% from voice
 55% from facial expressions and gestures.
Presentation Style
Presenters need to use their own personality while focusing on their delivery skills
to project the professional and confident style needed to create a successful presentation.
Utilizing an interactive and lively presentation style uses nervous energy in a positive way
instead of as an inhibitor. Delivery skills are comprised of effective eye contact, volume,
pacing, tone, body language, word choice, and appearance.
Presentation Content
 Focus their attention
 Start with a clear, relevant purpose statement that shows the benefit to them
 Use language that is clear and easily understood
 Start with the familiar
 Use examples and analogies
 Stay focused on your main objective(s)
 Use concrete examples
 Make it memorable
Physical Environment
 Keep room temperature on the cooler side
 Give them a break if they have been sitting more than 1 hour
 If a break isn’t possible, ask them to stand up and stretch
 Eliminate unnecessary noise distractions
 Lighting should be bright
 Visuals should be easily viewed by all audience members
The Presenter
 Create an attention-getting introduction
 Make a positive first impression
 Use your voice, gestures, and facial expressions for emphasis to increase
retention
Body Language in Presentations

 Using your body language properly will help your presentation become interesting
and engaging.
 Keep your weight balanced equally over both feet.
 Stand facing the audience.
 Gestures add visual emphasis to your words and help your listeners remember the
content. When possible, check your physical appearance in a full-length mirror prior to
your presentation.
 Your appearance affects the audience’s perception of you.
 Everyone experiences nervousness before presentations.
 The trick is to make your excess energy work for you by fueling it into your
presentation. Good visuals help support and organize a presentation.
 The best way to come across as sincere and interested is to be yourself.
 How do you let your own personality shine through without compromising the
structure and content of the presentation?
 Share personal experiences
 Use humor (appropriately), tell stories not jokes
 Relax
 Speak in a natural, conversational style – Avoid reading from a script
 Use your visual aids as your notes rather than reading from them or a script
 Become involved and committed to your topic.
Use of Visual Aids
People depend on what they see visually as their primary source of information.
Adding visual aids to your presentation has a dramatic impact on how much your audience
takes away. Research shows that information seen and heard has a much better chance of
being remembered than information just heard. Good visuals help support and organize a
presentation. They focus the audience’s attention and clarify and augment ideas. Visuals
enable you to get more content across in a shorter period of time, simplify complex
information, and eliminate misunderstanding.
Strategies for Publics Speaking & Successful Presentations

 Research a topic – Good speakers stick to what they know. Great speakers research
what they need to convey their message.
 Focus – Help your audience grasp your message by focusing on your message. Stories,
humour, or other “sidebars” should connect to the core idea. Anything that doesn’t
needs to be edited out.
 Organize ideas logically – A well-organized presentation can be absorbed with
minimal mental strain. Bridging is key.
 Employ quotations, facts, and statistics – Don’t include these for the sake of
including them, but do use them appropriately to complement your ideas.
 Master metaphors – Metaphors enhance the understandability of the message in a
way that direct language often cannot.
 Tell a story – Everyone loves a story. Points wrapped up in a story are more
Memorable too.
 Start strong and close stronger – The body of your presentation should be strong
too, but your audience will remember your first and last words (if, indeed, they
remember anything at all).
 Incorporate humour – Knowing when to use humour is essential. So is developing the
comedic timing to deliver it with greatest effect.
 Vary vocal pace, tone, and volume – A monotone voice is like fingernails on the
chalkboard.
 Punctuate words with gestures – Gestures should complement your words in
harmony. Tell them how big the fish was, and show them with your arms.
 Utilize 3-dimensional space – Chaining yourself to the lectern limits the energy and
passion you can exhibit. Lose the notes, and lose the chain.
 Complement words with visual aids – Visual aids should aid the message; they
should not be the message.
 Analyze your audience – Deliver the message they want (or need) to hear.
 Connect with the audience – Eye contact is only the first step. Aim to have the
audience conclude “This speaker is just like me!” The sooner, the better.
 Interact with the audience – Ask questions (and care about the answers). Solicit
volunteers. Make your presentation a dialogue.
 Conduct a Q&A session – Not every speaking opportunity affords a Q&A session, but
understand how to lead one productively. Use the Q&A to solidify the impression that
you are an expert, not (just) a speaker.
 Lead a discussion – Again, not every speaking opportunity affords time for a
discussion, but know how to engage the audience productively.
 Obey time constraints – Maybe you have 2 minutes. Maybe you have 45. Either way,
customize your presentation to fit the time allowed, and respect your audience by not
going over time.
 Craft an introduction – Set the context and make sure the audience is ready to go,
whether the introduction is for you or for someone else.
 Exhibit confidence and poise – These qualities are sometimes difficult for a speaker
to attain, but easy for an audience to sense.
 Handle unexpected issues smoothly – Maybe the lights will go out. Maybe the
projector is dead. Have a plan to handle every situation.
 Be coherent when speaking off the cuff – Impromptu speaking (before, after, or
during a presentation) leaves a lasting impression too. Doing it well tells the audience
that you are personable, and that you are an expert who knows their stuff beyond the
slides and prepared speech.
 Seek and utilize feedback – Understand that no presentation or presenter (yes, even
you!) is perfect. Aim for continuous improvement, and understand that the best way to
improve is to solicit candid feedback from as many people as you can.
 Listen critically and analyze other speakers – Study the strengths and weakness of
other speakers.
 Act and speak ethically – Since public speaking fears are so common, realize the
tremendous power of influence that you hold. Use this power responsibly.

Presentation Skills

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Presentation Skills

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Presentation Skills

For the Best Presentation

Body Language in Presentations

Strategies for Publics Speaking & Successful Presentations

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