Killer Tips for Captivating Presentations
It often becomes necessary to give a presentation at the workplace. However, the very thought of giving an effective presentation makes a lot of employees develop cold feet! The lack of adequate Presentation skills leads to discomfort and they get stressed out. If this has happened to you too, relax. Making an effective presentation is not exactly akin to mastering rocket science. With consistent practice and deployment of the right methods you will be able to sail through such events.
Why do people become weary of giving presentations?
It is not without reason that many working professionals feel nervous or hesitant about giving a presentation in English. They feel worked up owing to the following reasons:
- Some people lack fluency in English and that makes them feel weary of giving a presentation.
- For a section of people, the very thought of speaking for a long time, in front of an audience is exasperating.
- The MTI factor makes some people stay away from giving a presentation.
- Sheer lack of experience makes some people hesitant about giving presentations at the workplace. They cannot fathom how to accomplish it from the start to the end, smoothly.
- Not being tech-savvy makes some people hesitate at giving a presentation.
The importance of developing Presentation skills
No matter if you feel hesitant or sceptical about it, presenting in English can be quite necessary at the workplace, sometimes. You cannot forever keep evading it, from a logical standpoint! Giving a presentation is an excellent way to showcase and explain a concept or idea to the management. It also gives you the means to exhibit your innovative mindset, and to an extent, inner leadership traits. So, it is absolutely important you learn the ways to excel at making a presentation.
How to develop and polish your Presentation skills effectively
Listed below are some tried and tested measures that you can utilise to acquire and develop skills for presentation. You can brighten your prospects by practising the Tips for a presentation consistently.
Getting the content ready and checking it beforehand
Whether you use a projector or a laptop for making a presentation at the workplace, ensure you check the content before the actual event. Assess all of the slides or content to be used carefully. The last thing you will want while presenting is a missing slide or the content being arranged in the wrong manner.
Focusing on the aesthetics
While making a presentation, focusing on the aesthetic aspect of the content is quite important. The viewers will see the content first, accompanied by your words. The visuals have to be effective enough to arrest their attention. So, you have to use colours and elements carefully. The text should stand out against the background well, for example. Do not use too many elements in the slides to evade visual clutter as well. It would be prudent to mix different types of content throughout the presentation such as texts, images, animations, small videos, sound clips etc.
Doing a few simulation sessions
If it is an upcoming important presentation, you should try a couple of simulation sessions. Trying a few practice sessions for the upcoming presentation will help you fathom the deficits in your Presentation skills. You will, for example, be able to figure out if your choice of words is good enough or if you can speak in an engaging manner for a long time or not. It will also let you figure out if you are taking pauses at the right time during the presentation. To improve your English conversation skills, you can always try using a digital platform like PracUp.
Maintaining the right body language improve presentation Skill
When you are making a presentation in English, it is not only about what to say. A lot also depends on how you look and conduct yourself during the session. So, you must learn to use apt body language while giving a presentation. Most of the time during a presentation, you will be in a standing position. Ensure you stand upright and maintain eye contact with the viewers. Do not look at the floor too much or look at other directions repeatedly as it can make the viewers distracted. It is important to maintain a balanced body language that reflects confidence but does not go over the top. Keeping a light smile on your lips is recommended.
Checking the gadgets and accessories
Just like you check the slides or presentation content before the vent carefully, ensure you assess the gadgets and accessories too. Now, the thing is a wide range of gadgets and accessories are used nowadays for giving a presentation. You should be comfortable using the main software app or cloud service for giving the presentation. Similarly, check out all the accessories well. In some cases, you may have to use remote control pointers. Ensure you check all these stuff for smooth functioning prior to the event. The wireless devices should be fully charged, for sure.
Keeping distractions away
While developing Presentation skills you also need to learn how to keep distractions away. The first thing you can do is put the mobile phone in silent mode. A phone call in the middle of the presentation can distract both you and the viewers. Also, train your mind to remain calm and stop your mind from wandering. Your focus should be on the presentation and the viewers for the time.
Improving spoken English skills
For presenting in English successfully, your grasp of the language needs to be impeccable. You need to have a good vocabulary–to begin with. Or else, you will end up fumbling with words while proceeding through the presentation. Fluency in spoken English is a must for making an engaging presentation. You can definitely try using various online resources for English fluency and vocabulary enhancement. However, a better idea would be to try a dedicated digital platform such as PracUp where you can improve your English conversational skills through practice with veteran coaches. Improvement in English will have a direct impact on your presentation skills.
You may also interested in: A one-stop guide to enhancing Your English Speaking Skills
Evade using too many fillers and ambiguous words
To polish up your Presentation skills, you may have to use connecting words and some filler words have to be used. These become necessary when you move to an important slide, for example. However, evade overusing filler words when giving presentations. Also, it would be good to evade using words that are ambiguous or vague. For example, you may avoid using words like possibly, probably, I guess. etc. When you are giving a presentation you need to be confident about the subject and there is no place for vagueness.
Using pauses in an apt way
To develop Presentation skills, you must learn when to use pauses. A presentation can last for several minutes and speaking continuously without a break is not a practical idea. That will make it hard for the viewers to grasp the content. Taking too many pauses while presenting in English will make them disinterested as well. The idea is to find a balance. You may pause a while before moving to an important slide, for example. If you are not certain about how and when to use pauses while speaking for a long time, there is a way out. Try a unique digital platform like PracUp, where you can master this aspect by practising conversing with trained coaches.
Thinking of the target viewers
While practising for an upcoming presentation at the workplace, you must think of the viewers. Think of factors like their comfort level in terms of vocabulary and language. Not every time you will be speaking to people who are tech-savvy, for example. So, you have to choose your words for their convenience. Using too much jargon is not prudent either.
Manage nervousness and stress
You may feel somewhat stressed before or during a presentation, owing to a myriad of factors. Despite preparing a lot and checking everything well in advance, some things may go wrong. This could include a technical glitch, resource shortage or something you were not prepared for. In any case, do not get stressed out. If you get worked up and that becomes visible, it could hamper the presentation. Slow walk on the stage if you need to move, do not keep a pen or pointer at hand if you know you often fidget, for example.
Summing it up
Developing Presentation skills can be useful for improving your career prospects. For this, you need to focus on improving fluency in English, enhancing vocabulary and working on your body language. You will be able to boost your presentation skills considerably by practising conversing in English. For this, the most ideal option is to use a tailor-made, digital platform like PracUp.
