Presentation Skills

Presenting information clearly and effectively is a key skill in getting your message across. Today, presentation skills are required in almost every field, and most of us are required to give presentations on occasions. While some people take this in their stride, others find it much more challenging.

For every presentation these things are common and important:

• You will present better if you have prepared effectively. This does NOT necessarily mean that you have written out your speech verbatim and rehearsed it until you know it off by heart—although that might work for some people. It does, however, mean that you must be confident that you are saying the right thing, in the right way, to the right people.
• You need to be clear about your audience and your message. Every presentation will be better if you have clearly considered the message that you want or need to convey, and how best to convey it to your audience. These two pieces of information drive your style, structure, content, and use of visual aids.
• You must never overrun your allocated time. In other words, don't outstay your welcome. Almost every speech or presentation is better if it is shorter. Nobody minds going for coffee early or finishing before they expected to do so. Everybody minds being held up.
• Your audience starts on your side. As a rule, your audience is there (more or less) voluntarily. They have chosen to listen to you, and they want to enjoy your presentation. The occasion is yours to lose.

Structuring your Presentation,

Structure is important because a well-organized presentation creates an impression that you know what you are talking about-you will gain the audience's trust and they will be more likely to listen to you. A structure provides a logical flow so that you can provide the information that the audience needs to follow your presentation. The structure will help you become more comfortable following this flow. There is a natural structure to presenting and the following structure formalizes this process.

1. Purpose

To determine your purpose,ask, "What are the main points I want my audience to take away from my presentation"? This provides focus for you and the audience is clear on what they will gain listening to your presentation.

2. Audience pre-assessment

It is important to identify the characteristics, knowledge and needs of your audience so that you are delivering the 'right' presentation to the 'right' audience. Know who your audience is, what they want/need to know and what is their background. This step is done before the presentation or throughout.

3. Opening your Presentation/Bridge

This is also known as the hook. It is designed to grab the audience's attention and provide them with a reason to be interested in the presentation.

4. Body of Presentation

This is the major portion of the presentation. It is necessary that it connects directly to your purpose or bridge. Cover enough points to achieve your purpose (no more) and be sure to support your points clearly and concisely.

5. Closing your Presentation

This is the final impression that you will leave with your audience-make sure it is a strong one. Connect back to your purpose and let them know where you have been. Leave your audience with a clear understanding of your points.

Some points which will help to keep the audience engaged,

• Skip through some slides to a section that they may find more interesting
• Ask your audience whether there is information that they were expecting that you are not providing
• Suggest that everyone looks a bit sleepy, and maybe it would be better to start questions early, or have a discussion; or
• Ask the audience at the start of the presentation what they are expecting and what they want you to cover. That way, you can tailor the presentation to fit their expectations.