No one is great at giving presentations right off the bat. Like many things, it does take practice. Some people may be born with a natural ability to speak in front of the public but that doesn’t mean they can make an amazing and engaging presentation. Let’s dig into some tips and tricks used by many successful public speakers, so you can improve your presentation skills.
How to Give a Good Presentation:
Be mentally and emotionally prepared
Make sure your presentation has been rehearsed beforehand. You need to be prepared in order to deliver an amazing presentation. Mentally go over the best ways to convey the story you are telling. You don’t want to just memorize the words in the presentation, add a piece of yourself to the presentation. To stay organized try dividing your presentation into sections, peripherally by topic. Try your best to keep the sections similar in length so you can plan your pauses, and don’t be afraid to add presenter notes within your slides to prompt you.
Body language
Body Language is huge, it is the first thing people notice. Body language is one powerful communication tool. In order to draw the target market, delivering proper body language is critical. You want to present yourself openly, shoulders back, body facing the audience, and conversing with your peers.
Be properly organized
In order to eliminate delivery errors or technical issues, put together a presentation with the right structure and vocabulary. Practice pronunciation and speed. Prepare for technical issues by having a backup file on hand and updating your software beforehand. This will help the audience stay engaged throughout the entire presentation and avoid mishaps that may take their attention away from the story you are telling.
If you’ve ever asked for feedback and felt like you’re not getting an honest opinion you’re not alone. Honest feedback can be hard to come by these days. According to an article in the Harvard Business Review.
Use props to your advantage
Props are a great way to keep your audience engaged. This tactic draws your audience’s attention to follow along with the way you are engaging with the props. Doing this helps to get the message across smoothly. Props support the presenter emotionally, which allows room for you to showcase your interactions with the prop during your presentation. To get you inspired, watch this TED talk where Hans Rosling uses a washing machine as his prop.
Learn from your mistakes
Feedback is the most useful way to improve your presentation skills. With Presentii you can track real-time feedback and interest levels, paired with a voice recording of your entire presentation. After your presentation is over you will have a summarized chart along with your voice recording to understand and easily review how well your presentation was received by your audience. This gives you more time to focus on your presentation or training session at the moment, and worry about feedback later. One of the best parts about Presentii is the anonymity it provides to your audience. Your audience can feel comfortable and confident to speak their mind, without the negative associations we might feel if we had to voice our opinions in front of the entire group.