Have you ever found yourself disappointed with your presentation?
Perhaps you’re not getting the results you want; maybe your audience isn’t engaged; or, perhaps it’s even worse, you’re losing their attention. There are many reasons for this; however, poor presentation skills are at the root of it all.
When delivering your message, people are likely to either think about what they’ll be doing next or try to predict what you’ll say next. If they can do one or both of these things (which is understandable), how do you expect to hold their attention? Therefore, I believe that improving presentation skills is crucial for leadership and communication.
Keep your audience engaged.
The most important aspect of presenting is being engaging. If you can capture your audience’s attention, you can keep their attention for a longer time and help them comprehend the information you are giving them. There are many ways to be engaging in a presentation. The first is to make sure that you have an audience that wants to be engaged in what you are presenting.
Sometimes this requires some work on your part, but several things can make people more receptive to what they are hearing. The first is making the presentation about the audience instead of about yourself. This can be done by providing them with information that they need or providing them with an opportunity to ask questions when they have been thinking about a certain topic or issue that they have been concerned about.
- Make every slide count
- Use visuals to create interest
- Don’t be too wordy
- Design slides that catch the eye
- Be a storyteller – have a narrative
- Practice makes perfect
- Use stories to help connect with your audience
- Warm up your voice
- Get comfortable with the stage
- Learn to use props
- Pay attention to your body language
- Know the presentation inside and out
- Prepare notes in advance
- Don’t just read verbatim off the screen
- Audience participation is key!
- Think about timing and pacing
- Use simple (not complex) language
- Watch your audience more than your slides
- Work on your energy level
