Presentation Skills

People work hard to master the knowledge and skills of their profession. Developing
the capability to present that expertise and their ideas is a valuable investment.
Presentations are used as a formal method for bringing people together to plan,
monitor and review issues/projects. Presentation is purposeful and goal-oriented,
interactive, formal and audience oriented. It is a tool of professional and business
interaction. Poor presentation of ideas not only reduces the professional image of the
person presenting, but may also result in losing the business.
One needs to know how to present ideas in a persuasive way, how to make the
audience interested in the presentation, how to use appropriate visuals in a
presentation and how to reflect confidence while speaking. Good presenting is about
entertaining as well as conveying information. People retain more if they are enjoying
themselves and feeling relaxed. So whatever your subject and whosoever your
audience, try to find ways to make the content and delivery enjoyable - even the most
serious of occasions, and the driest of subjects, can be lifted to an enjoyable or even
an amusing level one way or another with a little research, imagination, and humour.
What can a presentation do for us?
1. Presentation puts us on display. It gives us a platform to show our skills, talent and
capabilities.
2. It also allows us to initiate discussions which could in turn provide us with valuable
insights about our own ideas.

Presenting information clearly and effectively is a key skill in getting your message
across. Today, presentation skills are required in almost every field, and most of us
are required to give presentations on occasions.

A 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. A presentation can also be used as a broad term that encompasses other
‘speaking engagements’ such as making a speech at a wedding, or getting a
point across in a video conference. A presentation requires you to get a message
across to the listeners and will often contain a 'persuasive' element. It may, for
example, be a talk about the positive work of your organisation, what you could offer
an employer, or why you should receive additional funding for a project.

To be effective, 4Ps and the method and means of presenting the information should
be carefully considered.

4Ps - Plan, Prepare, Practice and Perform

One can achieve results in any field by applying proven techniques to whatever
problem one tackles. Roughly the same sequence of events occurs in producing any
product, whether it is an automobile or a presentation. One of the key factors that
distinguishes the cool efficient professional (who gets results) from the average person
(who stumbles around and rarely gets anything done) is the knowledge and application
of the proven technique. And this is the Four-Step-Approach to success Plan –
Prepare – Practice – Perform which is the basic element of an effective presentation.
A presenter should have the ability to begin his presentation in an effective way,

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develop his/her ideas logically and conclude the presentation with something
memorable.

Plan

Presentations are always given for a particular purpose to a specific audience within
a given environment. Planning addresses the strategic aspects of your presentation.
Failing to establish a clear and realistic objective makes it difficult to

a) Shape the presentation; b) Know what to ask for; c) Know that you have achieved
the objective

Planning a presentation involves defining the purpose, analyzing the audience,

analyzing the occasion and choosing a suitable title. The presenter must concentrate
not only on the facts to be presented but also upon the style, pace, tone and skills that
need to be used to woo the audience. The starting point in planning any presentation
is to formulate a precise objective. No two objectives will be served by the same
presentation. Narrow the focus of your presentation. If the presenter does not focus
on the objective, it is unlikely that the audience will. While planning a presentation seek
answers for the following – What is the presentation intended to do? How does it fit
into the broader scheme of things?

Ask yourself the following questions to develop a full understanding of the

context of the presentation.

• When and where will you deliver your presentation?

There is a world of difference between a small room with natural light and an informal
setting, and a huge lecture room, lit with stage lights. The two require quite different
presentations, and different techniques.

• Will it be in a setting you are familiar with, or somewhere new?

If somewhere new, it would be worth trying to visit it in advance, or at least arriving

early, to familiarise yourself with the room.

• Will the presentation be within a formal or less formal setting? A work setting
will, more or less by definition, be more formal, but there are also various degrees of
formality within that.

• Will the presentation be to a small group or a large crowd?

• Are you already familiar with the audience? With a new audience, you will have
to build rapport quickly and effectively, to get them on your side.

• What equipment and technology will be available to you, and what will you be
expected to use?

The next task is to consider the audience to determine how best to achieve your
objectives in the context of these people. Essentially this is done by identifying their
aims and objectives while attending to your presentation. If the presenter can
somehow convince the audience that they are achieving those aims while at the same

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time are helping the presenter achieve his aims, the presenter will find the audience
to be very helpful and receptive. This principle of matching the audience aims with
those of yours is the simplest and the most effective manner of obtaining the attention
of the audience.

For a presentation to be successful it is important to sustain the interest of the

audience till the end. Before you put pen to paper, or begin creating PowerPoint slides,
you need to take the time to get a complete understanding of your audience. While
audience analysis does not guarantee against errors in judgment, it will help you make
good choices in topic, language, style of presentation, and other aspects of your
speech. The more you know about your audience, the better you can serve their
interests and needs.

Analysis - Who are they? How many will be there? The composition of your audience
is your first consideration. What do they all have in common?

Understanding - What is their knowledge of the subject? What do they already know?
You'll need to address your listeners at the level of their existing knowledge. So it's
important to have a clear picture of what they already know. From that, you can build
your presentation, adding information your listeners don't already have. Think in terms
of how much information your audience needs, not how much information you can
provide. In some cases, you may want to provide additional information in a handout
after your presentation.

Demographics - What is their age, gender, educational background, marital status,

culture?

Interest - Why are they there? Who asked them to be there? Do your listeners share
common interests? What's their relationship to one another?

Environment - When and where is it going to be? What time of the day is your
presentation? Is the room or location already set? Where will I stand? Can they all see
and hear me? Where will the audience be seated and how will their seating
arrangement affect my delivery?

Needs - What are their needs? What are your needs as the speaker? Acknowledge
audience attitudes and concerns. You'll have a much better chance to persuade
your listeners when you have some information about what they already think about
your topic and even what they think about you. What attitudes, biases, interests, or
concerns might they have that could affect how they receive your message? Do they
have strong opinions or feelings about your topic, or about you? Do they have deeply
held beliefs you will need to address? To what extent are their egos and values likely
to be a factor? Determining what can trigger strong emotions in your listeners-whether
positive or negative-is an essential step. You may decide in the end that you can't
completely satisfy everyone's concerns. But at least you can present your position
strategically, while taking those concerns into account and through that, showing your
own awareness and sensitivity.

Customized - What specific needs do you need to address?

Expectations - What do they expect to learn or hear from you? How long are they
expecting you to speak?

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If you spend time getting the answers to these questions, you not only find it easier to
design your presentation, you’ll give a better talk. Once you get to know your audience,
all you have to do is meet their needs and wants and you’ll become known as a
dynamic presenter and communicator.

Know your audience and tailor your presentation to fit them. Audience analysis
attempts to discover what baggage the listeners will bring to the presentation room.
The biggest error while presenting is to not make it meaningful for the audience. Most
people present from their own viewpoint and think that the audience will connect. The
primary question in the minds of the audience is “What is in it for me?” Knowing and
successfully addressing the needs of the audience is at the heart of successful
attention and persuasion. You can't persuade your listeners if you don't know much
about them. Knowing your listeners helps you to shape your message in a way that's
most likely to gain their acceptance. Any number of factors can affect how your
listeners will react.

Don't be shy about asking - it's a sign that you care about your listeners and about
addressing their interests and concerns. Presenters are often surprised, once they
start asking, to discover how much they can learn about an audience ahead of time.

Audience analysis is not one time activity but it continues through phases of
preparation and during the presentation also. This continuous sensitivity to the
audience results in a “listening speaker”. The more you understand about the
participants, their work environment and the stresses they face, the more successful
you’ll be at making a solid connection. It may seem simple and obvious, but it deserves
extra attention.

Prepare

It is said that Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance (5 Ps). One of the worst
openings for a presentation is “ I really did not have much time to prepare” which
could be translated by the audience as “ I am going to be unorganized and not worth
the time you will be spending on me”. You need to convey sincerity and honesty in
your presentation and that you value what you are doing.

Good preparation is the key to confidence, which is the key to you being relaxed.
Good preparation and rehearsal will reduce your nerves by 75%, increase the
likelihood of avoiding errors to 95%. You will present better if you have prepared
effectively. This does NOT necessarily mean that you have written out your speech
verbatim and rehearsed it until you know it off by heart - although that might work for
some people. It does, however, mean that you have to be confident that you are saying
the right thing, in the right way, to the right people. One needs to prepare several
things for a presentation to be impactful, like the opening, the structure, the visuals to
be used in the presentation and the closing.

The opening of the presentation should convince the audience to listen to the
presentation. It has five functions -

i) Get the audience’s attention - listeners form their first impression quickly.
Therefore, the opening should capture their attention. And this can be done by several

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quick attention getters - Zinger (a striking or amusing remark) - startling statement or
statistics, anecdotes (stories), questions, quotations and humour.

ii) Introduce the subject - a statement of the central idea should be included in the
introduction. In simple and direct language tell the audience what the presentation is
all about.

iii) Give the audience a reason to listen to - audience attention should be drawn to
the topic of the presentation by showing them how the topic affects them directly.
Giving relevant statistics can motivate the audience.

iv) Establish the credibility - the speaker’s credibility should be established early in
the presentation. He should be able to convince the audience that he is worth listening
to. The presenter should be well-prepared, appear confident and strike a rapport with
the audience by narrating personal experiences relevant to the topic.

v) Preview the main ideas - the audience should be told what they are going to listen
to. The preview to the presentation should be given towards the end of the introduction.
The preview should include a statement of the central idea and mention the main
points of the presentation.

Structure - Take time to organize. Develop the framework. Identify the key ideas and
arrange in clear, concise and convincing manner. Ensure that you develop the material
to back up, illustrate and clarify the positions and claims you make.

While each speech may be complete with an introduction, body, and conclusion, these
elements will only be effective if they are well-constructed. Great orators invest time
to structure their presentations – have good opening, clear and persuasive story lines
and inspiring closings. It is important to clearly structure your presentation and to
outline this structure to your audience. This will give you, the presenter, a clear path
to follow and will provide your audience with a clear route through your argument or
themes.

You must organize your information to be presented in the speech in a manner that
makes it easy for the audience to understand. Don’t get so involved in the minutiae
(finer points) that the main point is lost. Ensure that you talk about the issues that count
to the audience and repeat them as often as you can. Change is likely, so plan for it.
You need to prepare for the deviations from your script when it is clear that you are
not focusing on issues the audience is interested in. Audience likes road maps - they
appreciate and need periodic guideposts to be clear about what is there in the
presentation, how much is covered and what remains. Check the clock - how much
time you have for the presentation and tailor your presentation as per the allotted time.

Staying too long on the same subject in the same mode of delivery will send people
into the La La Land. So break it up, and inject diversions and variety - in terms of
content and media. Using a variety of media and movements will maintain maximum
interest. Ideally, devote 15% of the total time to set the context and introduce the topic
of your presentation, 75% to the main body of the presentation and 10% to conclusion.
Choose a method of delivery that suits your content, style and objectives. There
are various ways to structure the presentation –

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Sequential / chronological argument – consists of a series of linked statements
ultimately leading to a conclusion. This can be achieved by a careful and deliberate
distinction between each section.

Hierarchical decomposition – in this method the main topic is broken down into sub-
topics and each sub-topic into further smaller topics until everything is broken down
into very small basic units.

The meaty sandwich – this is the beginning - middle - end format in which the main
meat of the matter is contained in the middle and is preceded by an introduction and
is followed by a conclusion.

Causal (cause/effect or consequences) -The main points in this pattern show a

cause-effect relationship (e.g., the causes and the effects of the oil spill in the Gulf of
Mexico). Decide if you want to focus on causes or effects. Let’s say your topic is the
use of pesticides in farming. You could focus on only effects by explaining the effects
of pesticide use on soil.

Alternatively, you could focus on only causes by explaining why farmers use
pesticides. In many cases, this makes sense because the effects are obvious; for
example, in discussing a deadly airplane crash, you might limit your presentation to
exploring the multiple causes of the accident.

Another possibility is to discuss both causes and effects. Usually, you begin with
causes and end with effects. For example, farmers use pesticides because they need
to increase crop yield on less land or because chemical companies pressure farmers
to use them. The effect of such use is that the pesticide residues pollute runoff and
then streams, rivers, and lakes.

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence - This organizational pattern, developed by Alan H.

Monroe in the 1930s, is designed to inspire people to take action.

It consists of five steps:

Attention: Gain the attention of your audience by telling a story, using a startling
fact/statistic, posing a question/rhetorical situation, using visuals, etc.

Need: Show that there is a need for change and that the situation at hand is dire by
using statistics, examples, testimony, etc.

Satisfaction: Offer a detailed solution to the problem you just presented.

Visualization: Help the audience visualize the benefits of your proposed solution.

Action: Tell the audience what action they can take to solve the problem.

Conclusion - The final impression you make on the audience is the one that they will
remember for a long time. Thus, it is worth planning your last few sentences with
extreme care. As with the beginning, it is necessary first to get their attention. A good
closing requires a change of pace and one needs to reiterate key points.

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We must create a strong introduction and a strong close. We must tell people what
we're going to speak about and what our purpose is.

And while we might end on a stirring quotation or a stunning statistic, we must before
this have summarised what we have spoken about and if appropriate, demanded an
action from our audience, even if it is to go away and think about what we have said.

A good beginning and ending can serve as valuable bookends which add
immeasurably to your presentation and public speaking skills!

Practice

Skip it at your own risk. Practising a lot while repeating the same mistakes does not
help at all. It is important to have someone see your practice and help you identify the
areas that need further attention. Take feedback on every aspect of your presentation
- confidence, poised body language, distracting mannerisms, visuals, strong opening,
memorable close, key points, clear and concise delivery, logical flow of ideas,
supporting evidence, etc.

Many presenters spend a lot of energy on getting just the right graphics trying to
illustrate their points but fail to look after the supporting material. Contracts are rarely
won by enthusiasm alone. Good support or evidence adds spark to presentations.
It offers one of the best ways to get an audience actively involved and it helps the
presenter add personality and experience to the message and style. Presenters use
support/evidence for three primary reasons-

To increase understanding;

To convince, backing up claims with solid evidence;

To inspire or move, relating something so vivid, moving or catchy that it leads to action.

Use support to illustrate, validate, inspire and entertain by applying the term “for
example”. Make sure the support material is relevant to the topic. Provide enough
support to illustrate and prove your case but don’t over do it. use statistics when
needed and covey them in terms the audience can understand.

Make sure that the visuals add and not impede communication. "A wide screen just
makes a bad film twice as bad." - Samuel Goldwyn

Think back to a presentation that you have attended in which a PowerPoint took center
stage. In these situations, slides are usually written out word for word. The lights are
usually turned down low and everyone in the audience is looking at the pictures and
not at the presenter. In these instances, the speaker has given its position of power to
the slide show! People will walk away commenting on the show, not on the speaker.
This is not what you want in the event that you are looking for a promotion, or to be
regarded as a subject matter expert. Turn the lights back on, get out in front, and
connect directly with the audience members. Use your visual aids as supporting
features.

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Choose the best visual medium to suit your purpose, situation, budget and your
audience. Make the visuals readable/audible. Present material in bite-size pieces to
keep the audience’s attention focused. Excessive dependence on graphs, charts
leads to boredom. Proofread your visuals.

Using appropriate aids will increase the effectiveness of a presentation. Good visuals
may serve the following purposes-

1. serve as speech notes - to emphasize and clarify the main points of the presentation
each visual aid may contain a main idea. Effective titles may be used to convey the
main message of the visual aid.

2. give confidence - using good visuals might increase the confidence of the
presenter because they refresh the memory, establish his credibility and show that
the presenter has planned, is well-prepared and is a professional.

3. help focus on the theme of the presentation - and concentrate on the objectives of
the presentation. Maybe used to highlight the central idea of the presentation.

4. increase audience interest - interesting and relevant visual aids make the
audience more interested in what is being said. They may force even a hostile and
demotivated audience to pay attention.

5. give clarity and precision - and make the presentation easy to understand and
remember.

6. reinforces and illustrate information

7. links ideas and also used to compare ideas

Perform

You have done your homework: planned and carefully analyzed the audience,
organized your presentation, gathered credible supporting material, checked the
arrangements and rehearsed. Now your success will depend on how you deliver.

Show time. It is the presenter’s opportunity to convey information, ideas and

proposals. It is also the audience time to sound out the speaker with friendly or nasty
questions or comments, clarify information and resolve uncertainties. Whatever you
say and show is secondary, you – the presenter will always remain the focus of the
audience’s attention. If you strut and fret on the stage then people then people lose
interest and question your credibility.

Dress appropriately, to enhance what you have to say and not distract the audience.
Get to the venue early. Ensure that everything is in order. Anticipate disasters and be
prepared for them, test everything – your material, slides, projector, room where you
would be delivering the presentation. Have an arrangement checklist. Talk to all not
read (except where required) from the slides/ notes. Don’t let visuals displace you. Let
your natural body language operate in all its forms (eyes, smile, posture, gestures).
Use your voice effectively to focus, punch up and dramatize. Avoid monotone. Keep

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an eye on the clock and your plan. Stay flexible, gauge responses. Shift gears, cut
material, open discussion – do everything to let your message sink in. Manage anxiety.

Be a presenter with both, the facts and the phosphorescence. Most outstanding
speakers have characteristics like -

Dynamic, Speaks with energy, enthusiasm and conviction; and/or

Lively, made it fun to listen to; and/or

A winning presence, Sincere, warm, natural; and/or

Commanding; and/or

Personal - I felt he/she was speaking right to me; and/or

Direct - looked us right in the eye; and/or

Handled himself with grace and certainly knows what he/she was talking about

These attributes reveal themselves in the way speakers deliver their message. They
determine whether those messages are listened to, received correctly, believed and
acted upon.

The presenter needs to make his/her delivery personal and passionate. Many people
downplay the importance of delivery saying that the data speaks for itself. Always
remember, how information is presented is clearly a major part of success. Be
yourself. Audience relate well to the presenters who come across as genuine,
whoenjoy what they are doing and are not uptight with fear about something or
everything that can go wrong. Fun and happiness is contagious. Stay tuned to your
audience and the situation and then adjust your presentation rather than continuing in
a direction which has no relevance to your audience. Anticipate and manage questions
well. The ability of the presenter to handle audience comments or questions is often
more critical than the ability to make the formal presentation. Talk to the audience and
not the screen or equipment or ceiling. Respect your audience. Be careful with
acronyms and abbreviations. Speak a language that the audience understands.
Remember: Audience trusts those who are most like themselves. Or are most like
what they want to be. If you cannot be a role model, at least establish that you have
the same interests, needs and desires as the audience.

The average human being has a very short attention span and has a million other
things to think about. As a presenter our aim should be to reach the audience through
this mental fog and to hold the attention long enough to make our point.

Interact with the audience. Encourage them to ask questions. Success at questions
and answers (Q&A) takes special effort, preparation and on-the-spot skill. Have solid
content, clear organization, credible reinforcement (evidence) and good graphics –
this means half the battle is won. Do your homework well and be prepared for any
question that might pop up. Listen carefully and completely and think before
responding. Answer all questions courteously and accurately without any sarcasm and

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don’t try to dodge the question. Watch out for your nonverbal communication, it should
not be contradicting your words. If you do not know the answer say so and commit to
provide the answer at a later date. Talk to the whole audience and not just the
questioner.

During your presentation you want to keep abreast of the energy in the room. This is
most easily done if your remarks are well organized and you can focus on your
audience. Make eye contact with all those you can see during the presentation. If
you’re in a large room, move your eye contact around every few seconds to areas of
the room you can’t see. Involve everyone by varying your eye contact frequently. Use
gestures to emphasize key points and constantly bring your remarks back around to
your theme. Keep in mind that everything you say during your presentation needs to
relate back to the bottom line message (and what’s in it for your audience) that you
announced at the start.

Follow-up

Summarize your remarks powerfully by mentioning key points again, and tying them
into your conclusion. Provide an action request so that participants know what they
can do after the presentation to take next steps. Answer questions in the group or in
individual conversations and always let people know how to get in touch with you
should questions arise later. Make sure to maintain your professional poise even once
you have left the stage as the audience’s eyes will still be on you!

All is not over once the presentation is over. Once you’ve left the presentation room
take stock of what went well and what you will improve next time! Now is the time to
tally up the scorecard, take care of the loose ends, capitalize on your strengths and
apply the lessons learned towards a better presentation for the next time. Questions
raised may require further study and feedback to audience members. Any open items
or commitments made during the presentations should be followed up. A presentation
is an excellent opportunity for picking up a variety of information. Document the
information collected/ gleaned and use it for the next presentation.

https://www.skillsyouneed.com/presentation-skills.html
https://www.presentationtraininginstitute.com/improve-presentation-skills-before-
during-after-speaking/

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