How to improve your presentation skills

Presenting to an audience is an important professional skill to have. Every employee can benefit from perfecting this, particularly those looking for a new role or a promotion. Good presentation skills are crucial for public speaking, attending interviews, or conducting meetings in the workplace.

Why are presentation skills important? Being able to present will stand you in good stead throughout your career. They can get you noticed by existing employers and considered for progression opportunities. In the case of external meetings, you could be noticed by other hiring managers looking to recruit into their business. Strong presentations can also lead to positive client feedback, or enhance your professional reputation among your peers. Additionally, they can enhance your communication abilities in both your personal and your professional life.

In this article, we’ve outlined a range of valuable tips for how to improve your presentation skills and included some top tips from our own Talent Development Manager, Kelly Wilson. 

Creating your presentation

Knowing your audience is perhaps the most important aspect when putting your presentation together. You’ll need to be aware of who you are presenting to if possible, so find out who’ll be in attendance and tailor your content accordingly. If it isn’t possible to confirm everyone who’ll be there, at least try to find out who the key stakeholders would be if everyone does show up. Preparing a presentation with them in mind will help you to prepare for showcasing your work and abilities to those at the highest level, or those who’ll be making key decisions. 

Knowing your audience and having a clear purpose is key in creating a well thought out and provoking presentation, this includes asking yourself: what do I want my audience to do, what do I want them to know and feel. Alongside this, it is also important to understand what your audience already know about the topic, about you and any bias they may have with your topic you are presenting as this will likely affect how you structure your presentation to ensure its success.

Structure your presentation and show your audience what they can expect and what they’re looking at during each stage of your presentation, with a carefully-organised, logical order of business, clear agenda and comprehensive, uncluttered slides. Think of it as a captivating story with a beginning, middle and end. Briefly outline what the presentation is going to consist of in the introduction, elaborate in the main body with clear headers and numbered slides, then create a summary slide for the end. 

Presentations are far better remembered when they have a natural flow to them, think of it as creating a story for your audience and use your presentation to take them on that journey.

PowerPoint Slides shouldn’t be used as crutches. They are there to guide the audience through your presentation, not to help you present – your planning, knowledge and practice will do that. Don’t put too much detail on your slides. If there’s a lot to read or take in from the deck you present, your audience will be fixated on the screen rather than focusing on actively listening to you. Let your slides breathe and only include the most relevant information that you can build on and develop during your talk. 

Think about how you transition from one topic to another during your presentation: this involves closing off your section topic and then introducing the next one so that audience can clearly understand how the two topics are linked.  This technique helps the natural flow of the presentation and will bring your audience on the journey.

Prepare to present

Once your presentation has been created, you can hone your presentation skills in front of a mirror, to a friend, loved one, or colleague. Gain constructive feedback so that you can make any necessary changes ahead of time. When choosing your outfit, select whatever you feel comfortable wearing. This gives you the best chance of feeling confident and self-assured. You’ll of course be the centre of attention, so dress in whatever you think will present you as professional and in control, which you’re happy to wear while all eyes are on you.

Scope out the room beforehand, if you can. Getting a feel for where you’ll present and confirming that it meets your needs can ease any pre-presentation nerves. Does the area you’ll present in have the resources you’ll need, such as appropriate technology, enough room and chairs for you and your audience, and any other equipment? Can you get into the room early to carry out a practice run? You can then ensure that sure your slides are visible and that your voice can be heard from the back of the room.

Don’t write out your whole presentation to read out. Use bullet points on a cue card if you need to remember key talking points that elaborate on what’s included in your slides.

Delivering your presentation

Arriving early not only makes you look professional and prepared, it can help to calm your nerves too. Getting to the venue or room ahead of time allows for any last-minute preparations, such as setting up your equipment. 

You may want to invest in a presentation clicker which enables you to move your slide deck from anywhere in the room and will prevent you from leaning over your computer (impacting your posture) to change the slide each time.

Remember to greet your audience warmly. Introduce yourself and the presentation topic, and summarise the structure of your presentation. Let the audience know in advance that they’ll be able to ask questions at the end, so that they can take down notes of anything they’d like to refer back to and your running time won’t be interrupted during the presentation itself.

During the presentation, make eye contact with people naturally and don’t focus too much of your attention on one person. 

Use can use a ‘lighthouse effect’ technique which involves gently moving your eyes across the room from side to side so that you don’t focus on one specific person.  

This could make them feel awkward and risks you losing the rest of the room. If it makes you feel better, try skimming the tops of people’s heads, giving the impression that you are actually looking at them. If there are any particular points during your presentation that you’d like your audience’s full attention on what you’re saying, you can temporarily hide the slides from view.

Speak naturally and take your time. Pause during natural sentence breaks, speak clearly and project your voice to the furthest person. Don’t rush through the presentation. If you forget a point, carry on – you can always come back to it later and say something like ‘one point I should also mention is...’ You can also just be honest about any mistakes. People connect with you when you show your humanness, rather than try to be perfect and worry about how you’re being perceived. 

If you are nervous, develop a positive mantra that can help you get through your nerves, for example: rather than saying to yourself “I am a terrible presenter and will make lots of mistakes”, tell yourself “I am passionate about this topic and people will want to listen, I know I can do this. 

Towards the end of the presentation, summarise your main points again so that your audience can remember key learnings. Thank them for their time and invite questions. If you can’t answer a question for any reason, don’t worry - offer to find out later or direct them to another person or resource that could help. If you just need a little more time to consider your response, repeating the question back to them gives you additional thinking time. It also helps the other person to feel heard and ensures that you’ve correctly interpreted what they want to know.

Seek out presentation skills training

Presentation skills training specialises in giving you the necessary tools to deliver compelling and engaging presentations. You’ll be able to learn techniques to structure your content effectively, craft impactful messages, and master non-verbal communication. See if your employer can fund this; if they have a training budget in place, it’s undoubtedly a valuable investment for enhancing your professional skills.

Training sessions often include practice sessions, allowing you to refine your delivery style and overcome stage fright. Trainers focus on enhancing visual aids and slide design, ensuring that presentations are visually appealing and help you to convey key messages. These learnings can empower you to communicate with confidence, captivate audiences, and leave a lasting impression in any setting.

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