Improve your presentation skills

  What are presentation skills?

 Presentation skills allow you to convey information to an audience. Those with strong presentation skills often:

 • Research background information for their topic

 • Write an organized speech centered around a core subject

 • Prepare engaging visuals such as slides, videos and graphics

 • connect with their audience through effective storytelling

 • Use body language to show they are a confident speaker

 • Interact with audience members throughout their presentation

 • Deliver their presentation in a natural, authentic way

 • Memorize key talking points without the need for a line-by-line script

How to improve your presentation skills

      Use these tips to improve your presentation skills:

1. Present useful information 

      When creating your presentation, determine what information is most useful for your audience. For instance, if you are presenting an idea to your client, think about what aspects of the project will matter to them. You want to recognize and understand who your audience is before even beginning your planning process. Do some background research to learn who might see your presentation and what questions or concerns they might have.

2. See how the experts do it

While practice can certainly help you be a more effective speaker, you can also learn from other speakers. Take time to either attend a presentation in person or watch videos online. Take note of what these speakers do well and what you think they could improve. Try to incorporate some of their effective speaking strategies into your own presentation.

3. Learn it without notes

While you can choose to have cue cards available, try to memorize your presentation. Rather than remembering every single line or a script, however, try to give your presentation using a loose outline. This strategy can help you develop a more natural flow of speaking. Sometimes, memorizing your script verbatim can make it challenging to get back on topic if you forget a line. That's why having a general idea of what you're going to say may be more forgiving.

4. Watch yourself in the mirror

When practicing your presentation, watch yourself in the mirror to see your body language. You could even record yourself and watch the footage afterward. Take note of your posture, eye contact and overall demeanor. During your presentation, make an effort to look engaged in what you are saying and stand up straight.

5. Use your presentation as an opportunitly

Rather than feeling apprehensive about your presentation, reframe it as an exciting opportunity. Try to figure out ways to feel excited about meeting with your colleagues or clients. For instance, when presenting a project to a client, think of it as a chance to impress them. Likewise, when meeting with coworkers, think of your presentation as a way to pass on important information.

6. Give yourself time to prepare

Try to arrive at your meeting room 15 minutes early. This gives you time to set up your devices and displays and get familiar with the setting. Having time to prepare for your presentation can help you feel calmer and more confident.

7. Use a visual aid

Along with triggering your memory, a visual aid can make your presentation more interesting. Consider speaking alongside a slideshow. When preparing your slideshow, use as little text as possible. Most of the information you share should come from you. Use slides to share statistics, data, graphs and images. You might also want to add a supplementary video to break up your presentation and keep your audience engaged.

8. Practice positive thinking

Remember that you are your biggest critic and that your coworkers want to see you succeed. Before your presentation, give yourself a little pep talk. Remind yourself that you put in the time and effort to make a quality presentation and that you are going to do great.

9. Stay on topic

Keep your audience's attention by staying on topic throughout your presentation. Try to make your presentation as narrow as you can, covering information that is relevant to your audience. You can always do a follow-up presentation if you feel like there are other important topics to talk about.

10. Follow a general outline

Your presentation needs a beginning, middle and end. Use the first few minutes to introduce your audience to what you plan to discuss. Then, you can get into the bigger details and supplementary information. Finally, end your presentation with a summary and time for questions.

11. Connect with your audience

Before you begin your presentation, feel free to chat with your audience as people are getting settled. This can help you feel more comfortable and create a connection with your audience.

12. Relax your mind and body

Find a quiet, private room to do some mental and physical preparation. You can mentally prepare by telling yourself positive affirmations. "I can do this," “I am a good speaker" and "I have interesting things to say" are all helpful reminders. You can physically prepare with some deep breathing, stretches and power stances.

13. Be aware of your nonverbal cues

One way to show you are a confident public speaker is by being aware of your nonverbal cues. Throughout your presentation, make eye contact with your audience. While it's OK to glance at notes, use the majority of your presentation shifting eye contact from person to person. Along with eye contact, make an effort to smile.

14. Embrace pauses

If you even lose your focus, pause for a moment to recollect your thoughts. This is better than filling the silence with "um" or "ah."

15. Present to a small group

Practice your presentation with a small group of friends or family members. This can help you get a feel for the real thing as you ease into the process.

16. Be open to questions

As you transition to the next part of your presentation, consider taking a moment to address anyone's questions. Try to answer to the best of your ability though you can admit when you don't know the answer. Another colleague may even be able to fill in where you need help.

17. Know your time limit

When creating your presentation, work within a time limit. If a meeting lasts only an hour, organize your presentation for 30 to 45 minutes, leaving time for discussion or questions.

18. Learn to slow down

Often, when people feel nervous, they speak faster. When practicing your presentation, make an effort to slow down. You want everyone to clearly hear your ideas and have time to process them.

19. Stay hydrated

Bring a bottle of water to your presentation. This is quite helpful when your throat starts to feel scratchy from talking. It is also a great way to take a natural pause and prepare for your next thought.

20. Be a storyteller

If it makes sense for your presentation, incorporate some personal anecdotes. These are brief, amusing stories that can help your audience relate to what you are trying to say.

21. Incorporate some humor

Unless you are presenting something quite serious, consider adding a little humor into your presentation. This can lighten the mood and keep people interested in what you have to say. Think of a work-appropriate joke to start off your presentation.

22. Choose a structure

Make your presentation easy to follow by following some kind of structure or pattern. For instance, consider formatting most of your slides in the same way.

23. Dress the part

When presenting in front of your team or clients, you want to dress comfortably, yet professionally. Dressing in an outfit you like can help you feel more confident and put together.

24. Speak loud and clear

Speak loud enough for everyone in the room to hear you. Make an effort to enunciate your words so that everyone can clearly understand what you are saying. Practice this by recording your voice.

25. Figure out the technical details

Meet with your technical department to discuss any technology you might need for your presentation. Practice setting up your slideshow, video and audio. Give it a test run to make sure everything loads properly in the space you are using.

26. Volunteer to present

Of course, one of the best ways to become a more confident speaker is by speaking in front of crowds. Whenever you have the chance to present something at work, consider taking it. By starting with a small audience, you can eventually become comfortable enough to talk in front of your entire company.

27. Give yourself grace

Even if you aren't a professional public speaker, most people would give you credit for being willing to speak in front of an audience. Remind yourself that each time you present something, you are building your presentation skills. Making mistakes is your opportunity to learn and grow.

28. Show some authenticity

While you want to be professional and polished during your presentation, you can also show a little bit of personality. Telling jokes, sharing stories, laughing at comments and smiling are all ways to be personable in front of others. Being yourself is an important part of creating an authentic presentation.

29. Ask for feedback

After you are done presenting, ask your manager for some feedback. Try to apply what they said to your next presentation. You can also ask for feedback from your friends or family members who you are practicing in front of. This way, you can learn what you need to improve before your actual presentation.

30. Summarize your main thoughts

At the end of your presentation, make sure you include a little recap of all of your main points. This can help your audience remember the information you shared. You may even want to send everyone copies of your slides and any other supplementary information