You have a limited time to impress your audience with your presentation skills. Whether it's a job interview, a pitch, or a report, you need to deliver your message clearly, concisely, and confidently. How can you do that? Here are some tips to help you present information effectively in a short time.
Before you start preparing your presentation, you need to identify your main goal and your key message. What do you want your audience to know, feel, or do after listening to you? How can you persuade them to take action or agree with you? Write down your purpose and your message in one sentence and use it as a guide for the rest of your presentation.
A well-structured presentation helps you organize your ideas and keep your audience engaged. A simple and effective structure consists of three parts: introduction, body, and conclusion. In the introduction, you should capture your audience's attention, introduce your topic and your message, and preview your main points. In the body, you should develop your main points with evidence, examples, and explanations. In the conclusion, you should summarize your main points, restate your message, and end with a call to action or a memorable statement.
Visual aids can enhance your presentation by making it more attractive, memorable, and understandable. However, you should use them wisely and sparingly. Choose visual aids that support your message and your main points, such as graphs, charts, images, or videos. Avoid using too many slides, too much text, or too many colors. Make sure your visual aids are clear, relevant, and easy to read. Also, don't rely on your visual aids too much. They are not a substitute for your verbal communication. You should still explain your visual aids and connect them to your message.
These days, for any presentation, I try to stick to the rule 1 slide for 2 mins of talk. So that means 1 hour presentation has max 30 slides, which includes title, agenda and subtitle slides. Any more slides need to have a really important element on it to be included.
One of the best ways to improve your presentation skills and reduce your nervousness is to practice and rehearse your presentation. Practice your presentation several times, preferably in front of a mirror, a recorder, or a friend. Pay attention to your content, your delivery, and your timing. Make sure you cover all your main points, use appropriate language and tone, and stay within your time limit. Rehearse your presentation until you feel confident and comfortable with it. Don't memorize your presentation word for word, but have some notes or cues to help you remember your key points.
Don’t try to memorise AND don’t write out your presentation word for word. We speak and write entirely different and you can have a tendency to read if you write it out word for word. Also, what happens if you lose your place, you could spend valuable time looking for where you left off and it might throw you off the rest of your presentation. Of course, there are exceptions- you can write out word for word Direct Quotes, if you’re quoting someone verbatim, you want to get it right. I would allow the Thesis and Preview statements to be written out as you want to make sure you include all relevant information.
A successful presentation is not a one-way communication, but a dialogue between you and your audience. You need to engage your audience and make them interested in your topic and your message. You can do that by using various techniques, such as asking questions, telling stories, using humor, or using gestures and eye contact. You should also adapt your presentation to your audience's needs, expectations, and feedback. For example, you can use examples or analogies that relate to their background, experience, or interests. You can also check their understanding, answer their questions, or address their concerns.