Successful Presentation Skills for ANY Setting

 

Mpho Bosupeng

The following is a summary of the main arguments of my book titled: Successful Presentation Skills for Any Setting by Mpho Bosupeng. The book is currently available on Amazon and other major online book stores. Be sure to get yourself a copy if you are interested in developing your presentation skills further.

There is absolutely no doubt that today good presentation skills are vital for success in almost every field or career you can possibly think of. At a university level, every student is supposed to present on a topic in front of his colleagues. Business leaders such as CEO’s or CFO’s need presentation skills to showcase financial projections for example. I wonder how a prospective business pitch would go about if someone had no oral presentation skills. The board members would probably be bored and leave the board room before you even get to the climax of your business proposal. This would perhaps be not different to a situation where a prospective parliamentarian does not have presentation skills to win the hearts of voters. An army commander needs presentation skills to give clear orders and directions; teachers or lecturers need the knowledge to be able to deliver the course material to students.

Rule 1: Do Your Research

Before carrying out your presentation, you have to carry out an in-depth study of what you will be talking about. There are quite number of things you should cogitate here. Firstly, you need to know when you will be presenting. The critical factor is the place itself. You should perform a background check on the auditorium or lecture room which is going to be your place of delivery at least 2 days before the day of the presentation. Time is crucial for a presenter. The audience is usually turned off by late turn ups and this can earnestly affect how well you connect with the people from the very start.

 The other factor to consider is the audience. You need to make a rough estimate of the audience. Over and above the instructions outlined above, you have to do an exhaustive revision on what you are going to present on. The first step is to write down on a piece of paper what topic or agenda you are going to present on. Then by all means, read all the materials that cover the topic really well. Take notes as you read. Do not settle for just getting by. This is where you will really set yourself apart from all the other people who are indolent to perform background readings.

A summary of Rule 1 is:

a.       Know the time of the presentation.

b.      Familiarize yourself with the place of delivery.

c.       Estimate the size of the audience.

d.      Know how long you are going to be on stage.

e.       Study hard all the history and background information related to the subject matter (most important).

Rule 2: Practice Makes Perfect

My second rule needs you to memorize and rehearse your session. I urge you to understand and memorize all the necessary background information you have found. This is normally not difficult because your points will not be anything more than 2 full pages depending on time allocation of course and whether you will be presenting in a group or flying solo. I can’t stand it when someone reads lengthy paragraphs at a presentation because it shows that without the notes you will probably have nothing to say. This should not happen if you have understood and memorized meticulously all your points.

After memorizing your points really well the next step is to practice the presentation itself. If you have access to the auditorium or the delivery room you should do your practice there. Check that the podium, projector, projector screen, microphone and speakers are in working order. For those who intend to use the projector, use PowerPoint or any presentation programme to write only key points on the slides. Bring a couple of friends if possible to monitor your voice projections, audibility and gestures. Treat them now as your audience. You can now start your practice if you acquired everything. Calling a few of your friends to watch you present is just an attempt to make the battlefield appear more real to you. You can practice your sessions alone. 

Important points covered here are:

a.       Understand and memorize your points.

b.      Prepare a PowerPoint presentation (if required).

c.       Practice the entire presentation.

d.      Observe your time, loudness and hand movements.

Rule 3: Trust Yourself

Nothing great can be done by someone who does not believe in himself. It is okay to feel jittery when coming up on stage but do not allow fear to overcome your purpose of information dissemination.

People will lose interest in you if you appear to be shaken and unsure of what you are talking about. If you are going to be part of a presentation with three or more members, it is imperative that the first speaker is absolutely confident in himself and his abilities. This is necessary because any sign of lack of confidence can receive only negative feedback from the audience. Yawning and continuous texting are some of the mishaps you might witness if you do not believe in yourself as a presenter.

Rule 4: Own The Stage- It’s yours

My fourth rule is own the stage. For you to maximize your effect and delivery you need to be comfortable with the stage as you practiced with Rule 2. There are a few things you need to take care of before delivery. Firstly, you need to go through your points one more time. Over and above that, you need to be energetic to deliver a powerful presentation. Please make sure you sleep and eat well before the day of delivery. You are going to need this energy to project an audible voice, to perform gestures and also to generally keep you on your toes. My principle is to move in such a way that you are able to have an effect on the audience regardless of the position they are sitting. Most people usually when they present, talk to the few who are closer to them or on their right hand side or left hand side. I guess you are familiar with the statement “we can’t hear you from this side”. If you are going to be rigid and stick to any side you are going to encounter such comments. The other issue is how to maintain eye contact with the audience. Remember good eye contact will show the audience how confident and knowledgeable you are about what you are talking about.

Another concern is owning diagrams in your presentation. Do not be distant when showing illustrations. I urge you to show a deep understanding by illustrating and pointing out key words or concepts embedded in your diagram or illustration.

Important notes here are:

a.       Sleep and eat well.

b.      Move around and maintain eye contact with your audience.

c.       Diagrams or drawings should be part and parcel with the presentation.

d.      Monitor how fast you speak and breathe.

Rule 5:  Close The Presentation

After successful follow through of all the outlined rules what you need now is to close the presentation. Do not leave the audience hanging not knowing whether you have finished or not. Close neatly and make room for questions if required. Make sure you answer the questions directly and with the zeal to impress the audience.

Congratulations, you have pulled off a successful presentation. However, it is important to note that you will need more practice in order to become an expert. That can only be done by putting yourself in a perpetual state of discomfort and not holding back from presentations.

Thanks for reading.