Want that promotion? Presentations are opportunities to shine. Just like with conversations, careers have been made - or broken - by one presentation. You need to treat every presentation as a career enhancing or detracting event. Refining your presentation skills will make your promotion pitch that much more effective to your boss.
A lot of people suffer from presentation anxiety. Public speaking can be frightening, although it doesn’t have to be. Presenting is like any other process, there is a series of logical steps to follow. Years ago, I learned a simple five step process for effective presentations.
Below, I’ll share the material I cover in a three-day workshop on presentations skills. Breaking the presentation process down into these five easily manageable steps is the best way I know to get over presentation anxiety.
- Determine your message.
- Analyze your audience.
- Organize your information for impact.
- Design supporting visuals.
- Practice, practice, practice.
- What do you want or need to communicate?
- What information does the audience need?
- Why do they need it?
- At the end of the presentation, what should the audience: Understand? Remember? Do?
- Who is the audience for this presentation?
- Why are they attending?
- What is their general attitude toward you and the topic?
- What is their knowledge level on this topic?
- Begin at the end. Prepare your presentation ending first. This is helpful, because it keeps you focused on where you’re going.
- Prepare your presentation beginning. A good beginning has two things: a hook, and an outline of your talk.
- Fill in the blanks with your content.
