Presentation Skills

Lets look at the basic skills you need to deliver your message to the audience and get a positive reaction. Some presenters never look at their audience but instead concentrate on the presentation on the screen, others look at their notes, never glancing up. These are just two of the hundreds of ways to make a presentation ineffective and boring. It takes a certain amount of skill to give a good presentation but the elements can be learned and are relatively easy to put into practice.

Questions & Answers

Giving a presentation to a group of important people can be a nerve-racking experience. The best way to reduce the level of nervousness is to know your subject matter well and be absolutely confident that you can deal with any questions that might arise. Ask your colleagues to draw up a list of possible questions and then work out the best answer for each.

Presentation Content

It's essential that you are familiar with the presentation so you know what's coming at each stage. If you've developed the presentation yourself that should be easy. However, you might forget the running order - particularly if you've made any changes. Try to avoid last-minute changes and run through the entire presentation at least once on the day you're going to present it. Keep a list of the slides close to you as you speak.

Body Language

"Stand up straight - don't slouch." We often heard those words as we were growing up. However, when you stand in front of an audience, and particularly when you're under pressure, it's easy for the shoulders to slump. It's important that this doesn't happen because positive body language is essential to getting your message across. Get into the habit of consciously checking your posture every few slides and correct any slight drooping immediately.

Your Posture

How do you know if you're standing properly or not? Try this little trick. Imagine someone grabs your hair at the crown and pulls you skywards. Your neck straightens and your shoulders move back to their proper rest position. By the way, it's better to practice this physically first before trying it out in the middle of a presentation!

Your Hands

Some presenters clasp their hand in front of them and others stick them into their pockets. What should you do with your hands? The correct rest position is down by your sides. Use this position when you're being introduced. You'll probably find the position awkward at first and you may tend to fidget but try to avoid this and keep practicing. When you're actually giving your presentation move your hands to demonstrate each point - and don't be afraid to use large gestures. Bring them back to your sides at the end of the point. Don't move your hands around too quickly though, or people will think you're a little excitable.

Your Voice

There are three thing to work on here. First try to avoid any high-pitched sounds coming from your mouth. The deeper your voice the more authority it has. If your voice edges towards the upper-end of the spectrum at times (particularly when you're excited) you'll need to practice controlling it and bringing it back down. The second thing to avoid is speaking in a monotone. You'll lose your audience very quickly if you do this. Vary your voice with the message. Inject some enthusiasm at times, then relax again, increase and decrease the volume. Work to make your voice an active element of your presentation. The third thing to avoid is the use of "fillers". These are grunts or words that serve no purpose and get irritating very quickly. For example: "This shows .. Uhh, at least... it shows the... Uhh... profits are not, what you might call, very ahh.. profitable." Avoid fillers at all costs. The problem is you may not even realise you're using them. Video yourself explaining something difficult (ideally to an audience) and see what happens.

Eye Contact

The eyes are a very important presentation aid when used properly. They provide a direct link between the presenter and the audience. How you handle that connection can make a significant difference to the outcome of the presentation. If you avoid looking at the audience - concentrating instead perhaps on the screen, your notes or your shoes - you'll give the impression that you don't care about them. They'll think you're arrogant and cold. The actual reason may be because you're nervous or shy but they won't know that. If you want to get your message through to the audience - and get a sympathetic reception - you have to make eye contact. First, let see how it should be done.

Eye Contact - Small Groups

Start at one side of the room. Look into the eyes of a person for two to three seconds - as you make a point - and then move on to the next person. Rather than looking at each person in strict rotation you can move across the room and connect with a person there and then move back. However, make sure you connect with everyone in the room - not just those that seem to agree with you (or the attractive ones!).

Eye Contact - Large Groups

If it's not possible to connect with each person individually then divide up the audience into sections and pick a person in each section. Repeat the method outlined above - but never connect with the same person twice. When you return to the same section pick someone else.

Eye Contact - Faking it

If you find it difficult to make proper eye contact with anybody there is a still something you can do. Instead of looking directly into the person's eyes look at the top of their forehead. This will give the impression that you are looking directly at them. After a while - when you are comfortable with this - move your gaze to the bridge of their nose - right between their eyes. After some time doing that you may eventually be able to look each member of your audience directly in the eye.