The following is a summary of presentation skills hints and tips for managers and others. For best effect they should be used in conjunction with a good quality presentation or public speaking training course.
Preparation
Practise
Practise on a colleague or friend. Think about who your audience is and what you want them to get out of an effective presentation. Think about content and style. If you video yourself get someone else to evaluate your performance; you will find it very difficult to be objective about yourself. Prepare, prepare, prepare.
Reconnoitre
Go into the presentation room before the event; practise any moves you may have to make, e.g. getting up from your chair to the podium. Errors in the first 20 seconds can be very disorientating.
Avoid 'Blue peter syndrome'
Try not to over prepare. Don't rehearse the whole thing right through too often. Your time is better spent going over your opening and closing paragraphs. Rehearse your beginning and your finish. Pick a few choice bits to learn by heart.
Technical support
Test the equipment before the presentation; get familiar with it before you start. PowerPoint and OHPs often seem as though they're out to get you, so make sure you're in charge not them.
Visual aids
Use visuals to give a big picture quickly. Show them graphics, pictures, cartoons bar charts etc; you can then use words to elaborate. Slides with words on are of limited value. If you seem to have a lot you may find you are showing your audience your speaker notes!
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