Giving presentations is an inevitable part of everyone’s life. We all have to give a presentation or two in the course of our career and education. The thing about this much-feared activity is that it involves a lot more than just presenting information in front of a group of people. It involves confidence, public speaking skills, and presence of mind as well. This is why people with stage fright or lack of self-confidence often tend to falter and land up giving ineffective presentations.
This article is here to help. It covers all the important aspects of giving presentations effectively, right from preparation tips to tackling nerves when speaking. Check it out.
How to give an effective presentation?
Starting out – How do you prepare for a presentation?
First, understand the topic that you are supposed to cover if it has been assigned to you and you haven’t chosen it yourself. This is important to decide what needs to be covered and what does not. Then, identify your audience. Are they your peers? Seniors? Juniors? Do they have a grasp of the topic or is it entirely new to them? This is important for deciding what topics to speak about, and whether to keep it simple or delve into more complex concepts of the subject.
Powerpoint – How to make a good powerpoint presentation?
Start with outlining the presentation and creating a presentation considering your audience. Before jumping to the content, create titles of topics to be covered. Create subtitles within these. Then start jotting down the points under each subhead. Once this is done, read the points to make sure that the overall presentation has a flow.
Once your content is finalized, start with the script. This includes what you will say. When it comes to a presentation, you can’t read out the content of the slides. You have to explain it or say something around it, like giving examples or telling a related joke. Take more time on your script, because explaining the presentation material in different ways is tougher than writing the actual presentation.
When creating presentations on Powerpoint or Keynote, be sure to keep the animations and effects to a minimum. It’s easy to go overboard with the visual and sound effects, but that’s okay for your own fun. When presenting in front of an audience, it’s best to keep it simple and consistent throughout the presentation.
Opening lines – How to start the presentation?
For starters, be at your confident best. When you are well prepared with the slides and script, the confidence will show through immediately. Dress your best, organize all your paperwork well, keep all the documents in the same order as you will need them. This will go a long way in putting you at ease.
When beginning with the presentation, first make eye contact with the audience. Smile. Put them at ease too.
The trick to a strong opening is not by introducing yourself. That’s right! Instead of saying “Hello/Good morning, my name is….” get right to the point. You can open with a joke, real experience, or example that will lead to the main topic of your presentation. A good way to make a memorable impact is to make the joke/experience/example also relatable to any topic within the presentation. This way, your audience will remember it better.
You can put your name on the first slide or on the handouts you give the audience. Alternately, you can introduce yourself after the opening statement and before starting with the slideshow.
Remember – a strong and memorable start to a presentation is one that is unconventional.
Nerves – How not to be nervous about a presentation?
This is the most common thing that people are wary of when giving a presentation – nervousness stemming from speaking in front of people. Stage fright is a real thing, and whether it is a group of 100 people of just 3, feeling nervous is natural. There are ways to tackle this nervousness using various means.
One way is practice. It is the safest way of ensuring that you are well prepared. Practicing well and multiple times is like studying for an exam. If it’s fixed well in your head, then you can power through the nerves because you know what you are going to say.
You can also try listening to music, getting an energy drink, or doing something that converts your energy and nervousness into enthusiasm. Pumping yourself up will give you some positive boost. Some other tips are arriving early, preparing cus cards, interacting with the attendees beforehand, practicing a power-stance (body language), smiling, talking loudly, working on pauses (write these down if you want), and basically walk through the fear with these methods instead of trying to fight it.
Parting Thoughts
Giving a presentation isn’t that difficult if you are well prepared. If your entire presentation journey is properly mapped out and practiced well, you can power through the nerves with the aforementioned tips. If you don’t know what to say or are unsure of a concept, then you are in trouble.
So if you want to give a memorable presentation that’s effective, these are the tips to follow –
- Know the subject
- Identify the audience
- Break down the subject into topics
- Create slides for each topic
- Write the script
- Practice, practice, practice
- Make an unconventional opening statement
- Face the fear and walk through the nerves
Good luck!
