Presentation skills

How do you feel one minute before you have to make a presentation?

Is it better to give a presentation to five people or thirty? Why?

What is the most difficult thing about making a presentation?

What advice would you give to people making a presentation?

How many slides should a good presentation have? Why?

What do you think of PowerPoint? Are you good at using it?

What's the best presentation you have ever heard?

Do you like people looking at you when you make a presentation?

How rude is it to talk during presentations?

What do you think when people talk during your presentation?

How do you feel when your presentation is over? Why?

Presentation skills

Alright, now it's your turn!

You're going to make an "elevator pitch" (a presentation of just 5 minutes or less).

Using everything you know, compose your notes and prepare to present!

Introduction

Catherine giving a presentation

A good way to make your presentations effective, interesting and easy to follow is to use signpost language. 'Signpost language' is the words and phrases that people use to tell the listener what has just happened, and what is going to happen next.

In other words, signpost language guides the listener through the presentation. A good presenter will usually use a lot of signpost language, so it is a good idea to learn a few of the common phrases, even if you spend more time listening to presentations than giving them! Signpost language is usually fairly informal, so it is relatively easy to understand.

3. Use Supporting Material Liberally

Even if you establish your credibility, you also need to establish the credibility of what you say during your presentation. Instead of just presenting the material, accompany it with information that supports it and gives it credibility. You don’t have to include it in your slides, but make sure it is in your speaking notes.

For instance, you can tell a story, give statistics, reference research, or even provide quotes from well-respected figures that support your message.

And don’t be shy about addressing credibility. You can even say “you may be sceptical about this, but …” or “I know this is surprising, but …”

2. Include a Goal Early in the Presentation

If your audience knows the purpose or goal of the presentation from the start, they are more likely to relate what you have to say with that purpose as you present your material. This makes it easier at the end to get the action you want, whether it’s funding, approval to proceed with an initiative, to change their minds, or simply get agreement and understanding.

It will also help you shape your presentation by focusing you on that goal rather than straying from the primary purpose.

4. Begin Separate Ideas with Powerful Quotations or Images

For more impact, introduce each separate topic or idea with a relevant quotation or full-screen image that evokes the topic instead of using a stock title slide. Add a word or two about the topic if you have to, or simply say it out loud and let the quote or image support it.

This gives your topic more impact since a strong quote or image will stick in their minds as they listen to the related material. It also breaks up the presentation, particularly if you have no choice but to include dry material like sales graphs or bullet points in your PowerPoint presentation.

You're going to plan a short presentation about one of your favorite hobbies. Choose the hobby, and get ready to take notes!

Some tips on presentations from Forbes.

6. Be Prepared for Difficult Questions

Questions may come up during your presentation or even at the Q&A session, so you need to be prepared for the most difficult ones, particularly ones that may derail your presentation or subvert your goal. Since you should know your topic and your audience, you should plan for these kinds of questions.

Consider all the objections the audience might have or questions they may raise about your points and information. Include the most critical ones within your presentation to sideline objections, or be prepared to answer them when they come up.

This can be as simple as being able to justify statements or address concerns about an approach from subject matter experts like finance, IT, HR, etc., who may be part of your audience.

1. Establish Your Credibility Right Up Front

Lets face it, your audience is more likely to listen to what you have to say if they know you are credible. And it’s not about a lengthy intro with your career highlights.

Instead, whether giving a public presentation or an internal presentation, start your presentation by establishing credibility before you give them information.

5. Ask Thought-Provoking or Rhetorical Questions

An effective way to convey information is to ask a question first instead of launching into the presentation material. This will get them thinking about the material in the context you want.

For instance, you could say “You might wonder why …”; “When I started to look at this issue, I asked myself …”; or “How much longer should we …?”

Be sure to consider your audience and the things they would wonder about, and phrase your questions so you answer those things for them, while at the same time advancing your message and your goals for the presentation.

Let's listen to presentations

7. Have Your Own Questions Ready in Case Nobody Asks One

Regardless of whether you are doing a public presentation or a focused business presentation, you should leave time for questions and answers at the end. If nobody asks a question, be prepared with your own questions that you can then answer. Ease into them by saying something like “I’m usually asked…” or “One thing you might still be wondering about is …”

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for coming along here today. I hope my presentation isn’t going to take too long and that you will find it interesting. The purpose of today’s presentation is to discuss how we can improve internal communications within our company.

Now let me begin by explaining that I’d like to talk about the business case for better communication; secondly, I want to cover different styles and methods; and finally I would like to finish off by talking about some of the basics we need to have in place to deliver good quality, consistent communications across the company. I’d be very happy to invite you to ask questions at the end of the session and I’m sure there’ll be plenty of time for us to discuss some of the points that have been raised.”

Clip 2

“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for finding the time to come and join me for this presentation this afternoon. My name is Tim Mason, I‘m a retail consultant, and many of you will have seen me shadowing you in your jobs and looking through the accounts and so on in the company over the last week. I’ve invited you here today to have a look at my findings. First, I’d like to have a look at the performance of the company, the sales of the company over the last three years; then I’d like to have a look at our market share in the womenswear market and look at our competitors; and thirdly, I’d like to suggest some improvements in our range of womenswear. At the end I’d be happy to answer any of your questions.”

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