Everything You Should Know about Presentation Skills

Presentation skills include various aspects of communication. Your verbal communication, including intonation, confidence in voice, and convincing words; non-verbal communication, including gestures and body language; the technical and visual aspects of your presentation and many such factors contribute to different types of presentation skills. You can’t ignore any of them.

What if your boss asks you to handle a group of clients to present the product your company has recently launched? Would you dodge what your boss says, considering you don’t have presentation skills? NO! Hence, you should and have to learn the tips to improve your presentation skills, and we will help you get through with our

9 Most Important Presentation Skills

Have clarity on the topic to be presented.

No matter how well of a speaker you are, if you don’t know what you are presenting to people, you lose it! Always do your research properly before your presentation. Think about the best ways you can present a topic assigned to you (for example, a new service of your organisation.) Know the details of the topic you will present, including its origin, its importance, its execution, and so on. This way, you will sound like a human of substance.

Know who you are presenting to.

We often ignore our focus group and keep going on with our ideas of a ‘good presentation’. What’s the point of presenting anything when the attendees can’t understand the context? Therefore, tailor-make the jargon, words, and examples in relation to the people who will attend your interview. It makes your task much easier!

Practice it enough!

Do you know who is the best and the fundamental evaluator you can ever have? YOU! Keep practising and improving your communication skills every day. Presentation is communication, and when you master the art, nothing can stop you from being an amazing presenter. To take your presentation practice even higher, you can use a mirror. Keep noting down your improvements, mistakes and other details. This will boost your interest.

Confidence is crucial!

“This…umm..product will do wonders for you, I think, and you will.. umm love it” Would you be convinced if someone asked you to invest in a product in this way? Not really. This shows a lack of confidence. Hence, you should always ensure that you have confidence in yourself and the topic you are presenting. Confidence is one of the most important presentation skills you should have. It changes the game altogether.

Observe the mood of the attendees.

We all have day-dreamt during a boring lecture. And that happens when we don’t feel connected to the content and the context. So, to ensure that your attendees are not bored or deviated from your presentation, observe their moods and expressions. Signs like yawning, and sitting numb, show that you are not connecting with your target group. Hence make sure to have a wave of interest/intrigue that fascinates them.

Make the best use of technology/tools to present your ppt.

Having a good knowledge of tools like MS PowerPoint, Google Slides, etc., helps you in aligning and presenting the content of your slides in the best possible ways. Not only does it make your presentation aesthetically pleasing, but it also says a lot about your personality- Organized or disorganised.

Keep the content of the slides concise and yet complete.

When you are presenting, your presentation slides should be used just to keep the attendees informed (of what the presentation is about) and interested. Keep the texts of legible font size and NEVER MESS WITH THE [Image:Text:Space] RATIO! Your slides shouldn’t look congested and messy. You can use graphs, infographics, pie charts, etc.

Take care of your intonation and style of conversation.

Often you won’t be praised for being casual or informal while presenting. Hence, you must take care of the intonation of your voice. Always stick to the formal style of communication while presenting. Avoid using fillers and colloquial terms.

Dressing sense matters!

The way you dress up and keep up with your hygiene speaks volumes for your personality. Your clothes should never be jazzy or distracting in a formal setting, especially while presenting. Stick to sober and, most importantly, formal clothes.

These are the eight mantras that will elevate your presentation skills. Always remember, it’s all about connecting with your attendees.