There will be plenty of times in your life (and not just during university) when you will be asked to give presentations. They may be individual or group presentations, but either way you might be addressing a large audience. Even though for some people public speaking can be daunting, it doesn’t necessarily have to be. The key to mastering a perfect presentation is in these five tips.
1) Know your subject: make sure you know the subject of your presentation inside out. There is nothing worse than someone who reads off the slides. Also, the only way you will be able to answer questions fully is by understanding what you’re presenting. Demonstrate your knowledge: this is likely to get you a higher mark too.
2) Refer to your brief: sticking to your brief is what is going to get you those marks. Ask yourself questions like ‘what am I going to be assessed on?’ and ‘have I covered those areas?’. Make sure you know what the marking criteria will be, and what your presentation needs to cover. This may help you when deciding on the structure of the presentation.
3) Engage with your audience: grab their attention and make sure you hold onto it until you’ve finished presenting. Make points and back them up with interesting examples and ideas. Ask questions. Don’t be afraid to test your audience, or ask them what they think. The audience wants to be involved, not ignored. The energy you give off is the same energy you’ll get back! Handouts and visuals (photographs, graphs, audio or video) are the best way to get your audience interested. Presenting doesn’t have to be you standing up and talking for the whole duration. Add some colour to your presentation. Make it memorable for being interactive.
4) Assert authority and confidence: by speaking with authority and clarity your audience is more likely to listen and learn something. Hold some eye contact with members of the audience to show you’re confident. Confidence is crucial for developing your communication skills.
5) Practice, practice, practice: like most things in life to get better at it you have to practice. Time yourself whilst you run through your presentation. This helps you identify whether you’re over or under your time limit. If possible, record it too: by doing that and watching it back you will be able to spot what you’re doing wrong, whether it’s speaking too low, or just whizzing through it all.
Within time using these 5 tips you’ll be able to give the perfect presentation and impress everyone with your public speaking skills!
Picture from Slideshare Blog