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July 9, 2018 - Dom Barnard
During a presentation you aim to look confident, enthusiastic and natural. You’ll need more than good words and content to achieve this – your delivery plays a significant part. In this article, we discuss various techniques that can be used to deliver an effective presentation.
Think about if you were in the audience, what would:
Providing the audience with interesting information is not enough to achieve these aims – you need to ensure that the way you present is stimulating and engaging. If it’s not, you’ll lose the audience’s interest and they’ll stop listening.
Professional public speakers spend hours creating and practicing presentations. These are the delivery techniques they consider:
You shouldn’t overwhelm your audience with information – ensure that you’re clear, concise and that you get to the point so they can understand your message.
Have a maximum of three main points and state them at the beginning, before you explain them in more depth, and then state them at the end so the audience will at least remember these points.
If some of your content doesn’t contribute to your key message then cut it out. Also avoid using too many statistics and technical terminology.
One of the greatest difficulties when delivering a presentation is connecting with the audience. If you don’t connect with them it will seem as though you’re talking to an empty room.
Trying to make contact with the audience makes them feel like they’re part of the presentation which encourages them to listen and it shows that you want to speak to them.
Avoiding eye contact is uncomfortable because it make you look insecure. When you maintain eye contact the audience feels like you’re speaking to them personally. If this is something you struggle with, try looking at people’s foreheads as it gives the impression of making eye contact.
Try to cover all sections of the audience and don’t move on to the next person too quickly as you will look nervous.
Smiling also helps with rapport and it reduces your nerves because you’ll feel less like you’re talking to group of faceless people. Make sure you don’t turn the lights down too much before your presentation so you can all clearly see each other.
Be aware of your body language and use it to connect:
Avoid standing behind the lectern or computer because you need to reduce the distance and barriers between yourself and the audience. Use movement to increase the audience’s interest and make it easier to follow your presentation.
A common technique for incorporating movement into your presentation is to:
Example: Movement while presenting
Your movement at the front of the class and amongst the listeners can help with engagement. Think about which of these three speakers maintains the attention of their audience for longer, and what they are doing differently to each other.
You can conduct polls using your audience or ask questions to make them think and feel invested in your presentation. There are three different types of questions:
Direct questions require an answer: “What would you do in this situation?” These are mentally stimulating for the audience. You can pass a microphone around and let the audience come to your desired solution.
Rhetorical questions do not require answers, they are often used to emphasises an idea or point: “Is the Pope catholic?
Loaded questions contain an unjustified assumption made to prompt the audience into providing a particular answer which you can then correct to support your point: You may ask “Why does your wonderful company have such a low incidence of mental health problems?” The audience will generally answer that they’re happy.
After receiving the answers you could then say “Actually it’s because people are still unwilling and too embarrassed to seek help for mental health issues at work etc.”
Make the audience feel as though you are speaking to each member individually by using “you” and “your.”
For example: asking “Do you want to lose weight without feeling hungry?” would be more effective than asking “Does anyone here want to lost weight without feeling hungry?” when delivering your presentation. You can also increase solidarity by using “we”, “us” etc – it makes the audience think “we’re in this together”.
Be prepared to adapt to the situation at the time, for example, if the audience seems bored you can omit details and go through the material faster, if they are confused then you will need to come up with more examples on the spot for clarification. This doesn’t mean that you weren’t prepared because you can’t predict everything.
How you say something is just as is important as the content of your speech – arguably, more so.
For example, if an individual presented on a topic very enthusiastically the audience would probably enjoy this compared to someone who covered more points but mumbled into their notes.
Prior to the presentation, ensure that you prepare your vocal chords :
Improve your public speaking and presentation skills by practicing them in realistic environments, with automated feedback on performance. Learn More
When you’re anxious your breathing will become quick and shallow which will affect the control you have on your voice. This can consequently make you feel more nervous. You want to breathe steadily and deeply so before you start speaking take some deep breaths or implement controlled breathing.
Controlled breathing is a common technique that helps slow down your breathing to normal thus reducing your anxiety. If you think this may be useful practice with these steps:
It takes practice to master this technique but once you get used to it you may want to implement it directly before your presentation.
Completely filling your lungs during a pause will ensure you reach a greater vocal range.
During the presentation delivery, if you notice that you’re speaking too quickly then pause and breathe. This won’t look strange – it will appear as though you’re giving thought to what you’re saying. You can also strategically plan some of your pauses, such as after questions and at the end of sections, because this will give you a chance to calm down and it will also give the audience an opportunity to think and reflect.
Pausing will also help you avoid filler words , such as, “um” as well which can make you sound unsure.
The first five minutes are vital to engage the audience and get them listening to you. You could start with a story to highlight why your topic is significant.
For example, if the topic is on the benefits of pets on physical and psychological health, you could present a story or a study about an individual whose quality of life significantly improved after being given a dog. The audience is more likely to respond better to this and remember this story than a list of facts.
Example: Which presentation intro keeps you engaged?
Watch 5 different presentation introductions, from both virtual and in-person events. Notice how it can only take a few seconds to decide if you want to keep listening or switch off. For the good introductions, what about them keeps you engaged?
More experienced and confident public speakers use humour in their presentations. The audience will be incredibly engaged if you make them laugh but caution must be exercised when using humour because a joke can be misinterpreted and even offend the audience.
Only use jokes if you’re confident with this technique, it has been successful in the past and it’s suitable for the situation.
Use stories whenever you can and judge whether you can tell a story about yourself because the audience are even more interested in seeing the human side of you.
Consider telling a story about a mistake you made, for example, perhaps you froze up during an important presentation when you were 25, or maybe life wasn’t going well for you in the past – if relevant to your presentation’s aim. People will relate to this as we have all experienced mistakes and failures. The more the audience relates to you, the more likely they will remain engaged.
These stories can also be told in a humorous way if it makes you feel more comfortable and because you’re disclosing a personal story there is less chance of misinterpretation compared to telling a joke.
Anecdotes are especially valuable for your introduction and between different sections of the presentation because they engage the audience. Ensure that you plan the stories thoroughly beforehand and that they are not too long.
Even though your aim is to persuade the audience, they must also get something helpful from the presentation. Provide the audience with value by giving them useful information, tactics, tips etc. They’re more likely to warm to you and trust you if you’re sharing valuable information with them.
You could also highlight their pain point. For example, you might ask “Have you found it difficult to stick to a healthy diet?” The audience will now want to remain engaged because they want to know the solution and the opportunities that you’re offering.
Visual aids are items of a visual manner, such as graphs, photographs, video clips etc used in addition to spoken information. Visual aids are chosen depending on their purpose, for example, you may want to:
Some general tips for using visual aids :
Slideshows are widely used for presentations because it’s easy to create attractive and professional presentations using them. Guy Kawasaki, an entrepreneur and author, suggests that slideshows should follow a 10-20-30 rule :
If you want to give the audience more information you can provide them with partially completed handouts or give them the handouts after you’ve delivered the presentation.
Have something to drink when you’re on stage, preferably water at room temperature. This will help maintain your vocal quality and having a sip is a subtle way of introducing pauses.
If you are very familiar with the content of your presentation, your audience will perceive you as confident and you’ll be more persuasive.
This video shows how you can practice presentations in virtual reality. See our VR training courses .
Two courses where you can practice your presentations in interactive exercises:
Try these different presentation delivery methods to see which ones you prefer and which need to be improved. The most important factor is to feel comfortable during the presentation as the delivery is likely to be better.
Remember that the audience are generally on your side – they want you to do well so present with confidence.
Presentation skills can be defined as a set of abilities that enable an individual to: interact with the audience; transmit the messages with clarity; engage the audience in the presentation; and interpret and understand the mindsets of the listeners. These skills refine the way you put forward your messages and enhance your persuasive powers.
The present era places great emphasis on good presentation skills. This is because they play an important role in convincing the clients and customers. Internally, management with good presentation skills is better able to communicate the mission and vision of the organization to the employees.
Interaction with others is a routine job of businesses in today’s world. The importance of good presentation skills is established on the basis of following points:
Development of good presentation skills requires efforts and hard work. To improve your presentation skills, you must:
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Preparation is the single most important part of making a successful presentation. It is an absolutely crucial foundation, and you should dedicate as much time to it as possible, avoiding short-cuts. Good preparation will ensure that you have thought carefully about the messages that you want (or need) to communicate in your presentation and it will also help boost your confidence.
There are a number of aspects that you need to consider when preparing a presentation. They include the aim of the presentation, the subject matter, the audience, the venue or place, the time of day, and the length of the talk. All these will affect what you say and how you say it, as well as the visual aids that you use to get your point across.
Whenever you are asked to give a presentation or speak to a group of people, you need to start by asking the purpose of the presentation.
In other words, what is the presentation expected to achieve, and what outcome(s) do the organisers and the audience expect?
These outcomes will shape your presentation, because it must be designed to achieve the objective and deliver the desired outcomes.
For example, you might be asked to give a talk to a gardening club. You might be told that the purpose of the talk is to fill a regular meeting slot, and that the members of the club have expressed a desire to learn more about pruning. You therefore know that your talk needs to be entertaining, fairly light, but knowledgeable, and that your audience wants to learn something new.
As you prepare your presentation, make sure you keep asking yourself:
“How is saying this going to help to achieve the objective and outcomes?”
The subject of your presentation or talk about comes from the objective. They are linked, but they are not necessarily exactly the same thing.
For example:
The subject may be given to you by the organisation that has invited you (such as talking about pruning to the gardening club).
You may be knowledgeable in a particular field (perhaps you have an interest in local history).
The subject may be entirely your choice within certain limitations (you might, for example, be asked to give a presentation at an interview on a project which you feel has particularly developed your skills).
Before preparing material for a presentation, it is worth considering your prospective audience.
Tailoring your talk to the audience is important and the following points should be considered:
The size of the group or audience expected.
The age range - a talk aimed at retired people will be quite different from one aimed at teenagers.
Gender - will the audience be predominantly male or female?
Is it a captive audience or will they be there out of interest?
Will you be speaking in their work or leisure time?
Do they know something about your subject already or will it be totally new to them? Is the subject part of their work?
Are you there to inform, teach, stimulate, or provoke?
Can you use humour and, if so, what would be considered appropriate? If you are in any doubt about this, it is probably best to avoid anything even remotely risqué.
It is important to have as much advance information as possible about the place where you are going to speak.
It can be helpful to arrange to see the venue before the event. It does much to quell fear if you can visualise the place while you are preparing your talk. However, even if you cannot visit, you will probably find it helpful to know:
The size of the room;
The seating arrangements (for example, theatre-style, with rows of seats; or round-table);
The availability of equipment, e.g., microphone, laptop and projector, flip chart;
The availability of power points and if an extension lead is required for any equipment you intend to use;
If the room has curtains or blinds. This is relevant if you intend to use visual aids, and so that you can ensure the correct ambiance for your presentation;
The position of the light switches. Check if you need someone to help if you are using audio/visual equipment and need to turn off the lights;
The likelihood of outside distractions, e.g., noise from another room; and
The availability of parking facilities so you do not have a long walk carrying any equipment you might need to take.
If this information is not available ahead of time, it will help to get there a bit early, to give you time to set up.
There will often be no flexibility in the time of day that a presentation is made. However, it does affect what you can do, and how you might organise your presentation, because of the likely state of your audience (see box).
How time of day can affect your audience
The morning is the best time to speak because people are generally at their most alert. However, as it gets towards lunch time, people begin to feel hungry and lose concentration. This is particularly true if the event has not included a coffee break.
After lunch, people often feel sleepy and lethargic. If you are given a slot immediately after lunch, it is a good idea to get your audience involved. A discussion or getting your audience moving about will work a lot better than simply presenting a lot of slides. A flip chart may also be a more useful tool than a laptop and projector, especially if it means you can open blinds and use natural light.
Towards the end of the afternoon, people again tend to lose concentration as they start to worry about getting home, the traffic or collecting children from school.
Evening or Weekend:
Outside regular office hours, people are more likely to be present because they want to be rather than because they have to be there. There is a better chance of audience attention in the evening. However, if the presentation goes on for too long, people may have to leave before you have finished. People will also be less tolerant of a poor presentation because you are in their time, not their employer’s.
Always find out how long you have to talk and check if this includes or excludes time for questions.
Find out if there are other speakers and, if so, where you are placed in the running order. Never elect to go last. Beware of over-running, as this could be disastrous if there are other speakers following you.
It is important to remember that people find it difficult to maintain concentration for long periods of time. This is a good reason for making a presentation succinct, well-structured and interesting. Aim for 45 minutes as a maximum single-session presentation, and preferably leave at least 10 or 15 minutes for questions. Nobody minds finishing a session early.
Always check what information you will need to provide in advance.
Organisers of big events and conferences often like to have all the PowerPoint presentations several days ahead of the event. This gives them time to load all the presentations, and make sure that they are properly branded for the event.
Some events also need speakers’ biographies ahead of time, to put in conference literature. When you are asked to give the presentation, make sure you ask what is needed by when—and then supply it.
You will not be popular if you turn up on the day and announce that you have completely rewritten your presentation on the train. It is entirely possible that the organisers may even not be able to accommodate that, for example if the audio-visual is being supplied by a separate company or by the venue.
Being asked to give a presentation is an honour, not a chore.
You are representing your organisation or yourself, if you are self-employed. You are also not there by right, but by invitation. It is therefore important that you put in the time and effort to ensure that you deliver what your audience wants. That way, you may just be invited back another time.
Continue to: Organising the Presentation Material
See also: Can Presentation Science Improve Your Presentation? Preparing for Oral Presentations Managing the Presentation Event Coping with Presentation Nerves
Presentation Slides
Story Telling
Presentation Software
Body Language
On this page you will find many of the tips and common advice that we cover within our Practical Presentation Skills Workshop.
If you are hoping to attend a workshop in the future, please check the schedule of upcoming classes, and reserve your spot. Space does fill up each week, so please register early!
Creating slides to accompany your presentation can be a great way to provide complimentary visual representation of your topic. Slides are used to fill in the gaps while you tell the story.
Start your presentation with a brief introduction- who you are and what you are going to talk about.
Think about your presentation as a story with an organized beginning (why this topic), middle (how you did the research) and end (your summary findings and how it may be applicable or inform future research). You can provide a brief outline in the introduction so the audience may follow along.
Keep it simple with a few key concepts, examples and ideas.
Make sure your audience knows the key takeaway points you wish to get across.
A good way to practice this is to try and condense your presentation into an elevator pitch- what do you want the audience to walk away know?
Show your enthusiasm!
If you don’t think it is interesting- why should your audience?
Some Good Alternatives to PowerPoint:
Your body language speaks volumes to how confident you are on the topic, how you are feeling up on stage and how receptive you are to your audience. Confident body language, such as smiling, maintaining eye contact, and persuasive gesturing all serve to engage your audience.
Now you are on stage!
When delivering the talk, watch out for these bad habits:
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Understand the complex idea well enough to be able to discern its most critical components from just the necessary but minor details.
It is a fact that you are NOT going to have enough time to get through everything that you want to say on your topic.
3-4 points = 50 min
5-6 points = 75 min
Setting a learning objectives can help you as a teacher or presenter identify what it is that you want your students or audience to take away. It can help keep you focused and not get off on a tangent either.
What are learning objectives? It is a statement of what students will be able to do when they have completed instruction.
Learning objectives fall into 6 categories moving from lower level to high level learning: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
Lower level: Students will be able to locate the major organs that make up the circulatory system.
High level: Students will be able to evaluate the impact of an increase of interest rates on the housing market.
Identifying the learning outcomes also helps you decide what active learning activities can be incorporated into your lecture.
Learning objective verbs
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define | describe | apply | analyze | arrange | appraise |
list | discuss | demonstrate | appraise | assemble | assess |
name | explain | dramatize | calculate | collect | choose |
recall | express | employ | categorize | compose | compare |
record | depict | illustrate | criticize | construct | estimate |
relate | locate | interpret | debate | create | evaluate |
underline | recognize | operate | diagram | design | judge |
label | report | practice | differentiate | formulate | measure |
quote | restate | schedule | distinguish | manage | rate |
locate | review | sketch | examine | organize | revise |
match | translate | use | experiment | plan | score |
cite |
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| inspect | prepare | select |
reproduce |
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| question | propose | value |
identify |
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| relate | combine | defend |
state |
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| solve | integrate | justify |
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| test |
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IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Writing skills. Writing is a form of presentation. Sharp writing skills can help you master your presentation's outline to ensure you stay on message and remain clear about your objectives from the beginning until the end. It's also helpful to have strong writing abilities for creating compelling slides and other visual aids.
This is not surprising. Effective communications skills are a powerful career activator, and most of us are called upon to communicate in some type of formal presentation mode at some point along the way. For instance, you might be asked to brief management on market research results, walk your team through a new process, lay out the new budget ...
Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired ...
To fully understand the impact these skills have on creating a successful presentation, it's helpful to look at each one individually. Here are six valuable skills you can develop: 1. Active listening. Active listening is an excellent communication skill for any professional to hone.
Tip #1: Build a narrative. One memorable way to guarantee presentation success is by writing a story of all the points you desire to cover. This statement is based on the logic behind storytelling and its power to connect with people. Don't waste time memorizing slides or reading your presentation to the audience.
In this article, we've summoned the following 8 presentation skills that are essential to any presenter that wants to make an impact with their message. 1. Effective communication. Effective communication skills are critical when it comes to presenting information to others.
When in doubt, adhere to the principle of simplicity, and aim for a clean and uncluttered layout with plenty of white space around text and images. Think phrases and bullets, not sentences. As an ...
Apply the 10-20-30 rule. Apply the 10-20-30 presentation rule and keep it short, sweet and impactful! Stick to ten slides, deliver your presentation within 20 minutes and use a 30-point font to ensure clarity and focus. Less is more, and your audience will thank you for it! 9. Implement the 5-5-5 rule. Simplicity is key.
What Are Presentation Skills? Presentation skills are the ability to communicate information to an audience in a clear and engaging manner. Presentation skills involve using body language, voice modulation, and eye contact to deliver a speech, a multimedia presentation, or any other type of public speaking compellingly.
Today, presentation skills are required in almost every field, and most of us are required to give presentations on occasions. While some people take this in their stride, others find it much more challenging. ... The most important aspects include the objective of the presentation, the subject, and the audience. Irrespective of whether the ...
Important Presentation Skills. In today's business environment, presentation skills are requisite in almost every professional arena. Employees are often required to give presentations on the targets achieved by them. ... Therefore, to prepare a presentation, identify its objective/purpose, determine the method of delivery, formulate a ...
varying your tone and pitch to help engage your audience. Try not to rush your speech - pause briefly after each sentence to catch your breath before moving on to the next point. and tailor your gestures and facial expressions to add emphasis to your points. Stand in a natural upright position with your hands by your sides and use open gestures ...
Last updated: May 18, 2022 • 2 min read. Body language, eye contact, and time management are all key to leading an effective presentation. Learn how to improve your presentation skills and confidence speaking in front of an audience.
PRESENTATION SKILLS OBJECTIVES: Through engaging workbook activities and videos, this Presentation Skills session aims to walk students through the process of how to plan, prepare, practice, and present powerful presentations; students will utilize the information in this workbook every time they need to create a presentation. Self - Assessment.
Ensure that your presentation still works without your visual aids in case of technical problems. 10-20-30 slideshow rule. Slideshows are widely used for presentations because it's easy to create attractive and professional presentations using them. Guy Kawasaki, an entrepreneur and author, suggests that slideshows should follow a 10-20-30 rule:
Presentation skills can be defined as a set of abilities that enable an individual to: interact with the audience; transmit the messages with clarity; engage the audience in the presentation; and interpret and understand the mindsets of the listeners. These skills refine the way you put forward your messages and enhance your persuasive powers. The present era places great emphasis on good ...
There are a number of aspects that you need to consider when preparing a presentation. They include the aim of the presentation, the subject matter, the audience, the venue or place, the time of day, and the length of the talk. All these will affect what you say and how you say it, as well as the visual aids that you use to get your point across.
Presentation Slides. Creating slides to accompany your presentation can be a great way to provide complimentary visual representation of your topic. Slides are used to fill in the gaps while you tell the story. Start your presentation with a brief introduction- who you are and what you are going to talk about.
What are learning objectives? It is a statement of what students will be able to do when they have completed instruction. Learning objectives fall into 6 categories moving from lower level to high level learning: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Examples:
Clarify your objective, identify your audience, and consider the setting for your presentation. Identify the single key point of your presentation. Construct a presentation that hooks your audience and communicates your message. Use visuals and other media in a presentation to support and enhance your words. Create an engaging remote presentation
OBJECTIVES At the conclusion of this 2 day workshop, each participant should be able to: 1. plan, organize and prepare an effective presentation 2. utilize the keys to making effective presentations 3. incorporate various motivating and attention-building techniques to develop rapport with the audience in their presentations 4.