Prepare

Presentation is a means of communication that can be adapted to various speaking situations, such as talking to a group, addressing a meeting or briefing a team or even an interview!

Presenting information clearly and effectively is a key skill in getting your message across to your target audience. Today, presentation skills are required in almost every field, and most of us are required to give presentations on occasions. Today most of the pitches or proposals have taken the shift to digital with the entire ecosystem adapting to online meetings and sessions. While some people take this in their stride, others find it much more challenging. The current scenario is the right time to prepare to present.

Few people are able to give a presentation without notes. You will need to know your own abilities and decide how best to make the presentation. You might manage your talk by using full text, highlighted pointers on your slides or notes on cue cards, keywords on cue cards, or mind maps.

There are a few things we must consider with rehearsing our presentations, and yes rehearsing is important – even if it is in front of a mirror or reading it out loud to your own self, so keep the below points in mind to prep up:

Right Talk: confidence comes so easy if you are saying the right thing, the right way to the right people. Basically what you say, you feel it to each word. The best start is when you establish the motive or objective for the audience.

Effective and Engaging: use modulation in your voice, emphasize on key words and important points and breeze through what does not require a verbal explanation – refer to a creative used instead – for instance. Interact and engage with the audience in between the slides to keep it interesting. This also enables you to tailor the presentation as per the audience need and skip through the not so exciting slides if that is how the vibe in the room is.

Feedback: irrespective of how pro you are or no matter how good an orator, it eventually depends on were you able to connect with your audience or were they convinced with your presentation – content/style/facts etc, so yes their whole sole feedback. Being receptive of the audience feedback – will help you improve and eventually master the game.

We will be back with more on this topic!