Presentation Skills

Presentation skills are the abilities one needs in order to deliver compelling, engaging,
informative, transformative, educational, enlightening, and/or instructive presentations. Central
to effective presentation skills are public speaking, tone of voice, body language, creativity, and
delivery.

Main Types of Presentations

1. Persuasive Presentations
 Persuasive presentations are those given to arouse the audience to make the decision
which the presenter hopes for. An example might be a startup founder delivering a
presentation to an angel in the hopes of getting investment or a salesperson pitching a
product to customers.
2. Instructional Presentations
 Instructional presentations are those given to guide the audience on a new policy, law,
etc. For example, an HR manager might hold an on boarding presentation to instruct new
employees on the rules of the company.
3. Informative Presentations
 Informative presentations give information about a new procedure, benefit, etc. One
example might be a company HR presentation where the manager gives information
about the new bonus requirements.
4. Inspirational Presentations
 Inspirational presentations are similar to persuasive presentations, but here the speaker
aims to boost morale or increase brand pride, for example. Another example would be the
rousing conclusion of a TED Talk speaker as they wrap up their speech.
And, there are several presentation delivery methods:
Presentation Delivery Methods

1. Extemporaneous presentations are those you deliver without any preparation, though you plan
it beforehand.
2. Memorized presentations are those you learn by heart. Hard to get right, but compelling if it is!
3. Manuscript presentations are those you deliver from a pre-written script or notes.
4. Impromptu presentations are similar to extemporaneous presentations, but you decide on and
deliver them on the spot.
Pro Tip: What’s the difference between a speech and a presentation? A speech is just plain ol’
spoken word read or delivered based on a written draft while a presentation gets creative with
interaction, videos, slides, etc.

 skills in general are broken down into soft skills (those you develop throughout life, like
communication skills) and hard skills (those you study, such as computer skills). For
more on this, check out: Soft Skills vs Hard Skills for a Job: What Employers Look For

 Some people are born entertainers or have an innate eidetic memory (the ability to recall
things from memory with great clarity from just a moment of exposure).

 The rest of us always have room for growth. No matter what the situation—

Here are the best ways to improve presentation skills:

1. Prepare Your Presentation in Advance

 There are various methods of preparing for a presentation, and they’re all very similar to
preparing for a job interview.
 Run lines with a mock audience or friend, like actors and actresses auditioning for movie
and stage roles. Give yourself plenty of time to prepare for an upcoming presentation or
speech, especially when you are less experienced.
 And, the last part of preparation—always be prepared with answers to follow-up
questions once your presentation is over.

2. Practice Your Presentation As Much As Possible

 As with anything, practice makes perfect. but practice of some length is always required
to hone your presentation skills.
  Practice alone. Then, practice with a friend or family member. Then, always use each live
presentation opportunity as a practice round for the next presentation.

3. Learn How to Skip Around

 Poor presentation skills for most people involve a monotonous, robotic delivery.
 And, sure, that isn’t so compelling.
 However, what’s equally lackluster is a presenter who is unable to be dynamic and find
real-time solutions to questions asked during the presentation. If an interruption or news
update mid-presentation throws you off, then you need to practice and learn how to
handle them.
 Likewise, imagine giving a breaking news update to the public. If an advisor comes up to
your podium to whisper in your ear, you have to take this new news into consideration,
altering your presentation to fit.
 Like improv sketches, knowing how to handle changes is an important part of a
performance.

4. Speak Passionately About Your Topic

 When you are passionate about the topic of your presentation, the audience senses it. It
leaks through your pores and reflects from your eyes.
 Show passion. Show enthusiasm. Be slightly crazy—
 Or learn how to fake it.
 Audience members who feel it on a visceral level, rather than only intellectually, are
much more inclined to pay attention and find agreement with you.
 And, bonus: they tend to fall asleep less!

5. Tell Stories in Your Presentations

 Story telling is one of the most effective presentation skills.
 Crowds love stories. They give great examples of what the presenter is talking about,
and they earn that rapt attention which any presenter aims for much more easily.
6. Understand What You Should and Shouldn’t Do
 On your first presentation, you’d be forgiven for having a coffee to clear the fog from
your mind. If and when it increases any pre-PowerPoint jitters, you know never to drink
coffee prior again.
 Same goes for the way you breathe, and the food you consume beforehand. You don’t
need the added discomfort of a gassy stomach, so know what foods, if any, cause that for
you.
 On the opposite side, exercise, for most people, is a great way to relieve any built up
tension the night prior.
 As you practice, practice, practice, you’ll get signals from your environment, audience,
and body as to what does and doesn’t work for you.

7. Know Your Audience

 This one requires research in advance (remember: prepare!).
 Let’s say you were hired to deliver several motivational speeches to various members of
a large company. You nail your first presentation delivered to an audience of interns.
 Do you give exactly the same performance to the senior-level executives, your next stop?
 You wouldn’t, hopefully.
 Executives will need to be spoken to in a different language, almost, with different
vocabulary. Research your audience to deliver a presentation that speaks directly to them,
not some other crowd, even if it was successful before.

8. Film Yourself
 Try filming yourself delivering the presentation and playing it back. You can learn a lot
just by seeing your own mistakes and working to improve them.
 Later, give that same video to a friend and ask for further feedback and criticism. They
are likely to spot something you might have missed, because, you know, two heads are
better than one and all that.
9. Connect with the Audience’s Emotions & Inspire Action
 Connect with the crowd on a gut level. The audience has to feel that what you’re saying
is important, actionable, and true.
10. Tell Them You’re Nervous
 This is one of my favorite presentation tricks, as I get super anxious before any kind of
public speech or demonstration.
 If you feel nervous, consider starting off by telling the audience such (“Forgive me,
please, if my voice is wobbly, I’m a bit nervous…”). The audience is sure to empathize
with your situation, and you don’t have to go through the entire presentation with some
higher bar of confidence.
11. Use Humor
 Add some jokes and humorous comments throughout your presentation. Like storytelling,
it connects with the audience on a deeper level, and getting them to laugh helps to earn
their attention back if you were losing it.
 On top of that, you help cut any tension in the room, which is helpful if you’re nervous or
have a fear of public speaking, but also helps to make any proposal or instructional
presentation more palatable to the audience.

12. Remove Filler Sounds & Crutch Words

 For example, do you, um, give, like, uh, sounds like this?
 There’s nothing wrong with these in everyday speech. In linguistics, these are
called filler sounds (or crutch words), and it is a common way to allow your brain to
catch up with your words.
 However, in presentations, these only make you look incompetent. Likewise, find other
ways to improve your presentation delivery. Maybe your hand gestures look robotic,
your jokes fall flat, or your voice cracks.
 A compelling presentation depends on a compelling delivery. Check out this guide from
Harvard Business Review for a great write-up on how to stop using so many crutch
words.

13. Use the Right Visual Aids & Presentation Media

  With some presentations, the medium of delivery is set (aside from the speech element).
On a school project, for example, you may be required to use Microsoft PowerPoint.
 However, when you have a choice, choose the right visual aid method. Even with
PowerPoint, you have to choose between text slides, image slides, and info graphic
slides.
 Not only is there not a single perfect visual aid medium for all presentations, but different
sections of one presentation could benefit from a different media format. Maybe a 5-
minute video would work great as an intro. Perhaps a set of image slides to wrap things
up.

14. Improve Your Confidence

 When trying to learn how to improve speaking skills or how to improve public speaking,
work on improving your confidence. It’s one of the single most effective ways to boost
your delivery, and thus your presentation.
 Think positive thoughts. Make a SWOT analysis to boost your self-confidence. Work on
your body language and stance.
 A confident speaker is way more effective at how to give a presentation than one who
isn’t, and this is true at job interviews, meetings, and negotiations.

15. Get Psyched

 Sometimes the best way to get over those nervous jitters is to get yourself psyched
 Consider workouts, for example. How to get over that lazy feeling and get yourself to the
gym? Think of the beach, think about how you’d like to look, play some heavy metal or
hip hop.
 Likewise, figure out what gets you pumped and excited before entering onstage. Music
almost always helps, as does a bit of private dancing in an empty room. Maybe make
faces at yourself in a mirror to immediately. Think of the post-show party after your
presentation is over.
 Invigorating yourself with these common routines is sure to prepare you for any type of
presentations—including job interviews!
16. Focus on the Core
 A great presenter may have many illustrious stories to help the audience understand the
gist of the show. However—
 If you don’t use storytelling correctly, you’re liable to go off on tangents which will lose
the audience. More disastrously, it could make you lose your own train of thought.
 So, when you’re more of a beginner, focus on your core topic, and don’t stray far from its
message. As you get more confident, you’ll be able to step further and further with your
storytelling.
 An added bonus: your presentation will be short, sweet, and over that much faster.

17. Engage an Audience Member

 We’ve talked about connecting with the audience before, but this presentation trick
works wonders, too.
 Is everyone staring too intently at you and you are starting to get freaked out?
 Turn the attention onto someone else for a moment to help you recollect yourself.
 Perhaps make a joke about how your partner (“sitting right over there”) just ran three red
lights to get you there on time. Or, if you’re on a panel, maybe you could give praise to
that academic award your colleague behind you just earned.
 Whichever way you do it, all eyes look away, giving you an instance to get your head
right.
 But be careful and always get permission! You don’t want to embarrass someone or say
something not meant to be revealed just so you can have a 15-second reprieve. Always
ask in advance.
18. Breathe
 Breathing is so involuntary and commonplace that you likely wouldn’t consider it to be a
potential presentation booster.
 However, with the right breathing techniques, you can definitely lower your stress and
anxiety, whether it’s on stage or at an interview.
19. Reappraise Anxiety as Excitement
  I used to always be nervous going to work each morning. Around the same time, I would
also want to use the restroom.
 That needing-to-go feeling always felt associated with nervousness. However, when I
told myself that this feeling was just a normal morning urge, rather than anything to do
with work—boy did that help!
 As a Harvard study theorizes, you can use reappraisal of anxiety to help with
presentations, as well:
 “Individuals can reappraise anxiety as excitement using minimal strategies such as self-
talk (e.g., saying “I am excited” out loud) or simple messages (e.g., “get excited”), which
lead them to feel more excited, adopt an opportunity mind-set (as opposed to a threat
mind-set), and improve their subsequent performance.”
 Now, when I go to work each morning, I’m excited.

20. Use the Toilet

 As I stated in my story example above, that need-to-go feeling may become associated in
your mind with nervousness.
 So, go to the bathroom.
 And go even when you don’t have to, just in case your portion of the presentation or the
questions afterwards runs longer than expected.
21. Mingle Beforehand
 You were probably going to shake hands and chit-chat with audience members after the
show’s over, depending on the intimacy and nature of the venue. However—
 Mingle with them beforehand, as well. For those of you who might be afraid of public
speaking, chatting face-to-face with members of the crowd turn them from big, scary
monsters to people just like yourself.
 Even if you’re just generally nervous about public speaking, getting a few smiles and
handshakes prior adds a “temporary friend” in the audience for you—sure to put you
more at ease than if everyone were complete strangers.
22. Arrive Extra Early
 You might have planned to arrive a few minutes early anyway, right? However—
 It’s not enough.
  There are likely dozens of things you can’t or won’t account for, from the projector
malfunctioning to crazy feedback on the mic to curtains that just won’t recede.
 While you don’t have to account for everything that could go wrong, it’s best to give
yourself extra time just in case. And, hey, if everything is fine for you, then you just get a
few extra minutes to relax yourself and rehearse once more.
23. Exercise
 One of the best ways to have a relaxed demeanor and attitude right before a presentation
is to exercise. Regular exercise is proven to reduce anxiety and stress, too.
 Go for a brisk walk for 10–15 minutes, or do a few bicep curls. Like a shot of whisky, it’s
sure to take the edge off. It’s just healthier and safer.
 However, don’t go too hard—you don’t want your shirt to have visible pools of sweat.

24. Sit In on Other Presentations

 Aside from your own public speaking and presentations, what better way to improve your
presentations than by watching others?
 Don’t just watch anybody, of course.
 Find a person or two whose presentation skills you absolutely adore. Whether they’re
online or at your local town hall, watch closely and take notes on what makes them such
a compelling presenter.
 1This brings us to the next step—