Good presentation skills – whether you’re leading a team meeting, pitching to investors, addressing the management board – are crucial for success. Maybe it’s your first time, or perhaps by now you feel you can present in your sleep (not good, by the way) it’s always worth reviewing the basics. Here are 8 ‘golden rules’ for great presentations to consider:
- Tell a story – Whenever possible, organise your material to create a narrative with clear beginning, middle and end. This aids audience comprehension and using metaphors, analogies and real-life examples with help people engage with your presentation.
- Present only what the audience needs – As the presenter, you probably know far more than you audience about the topic. Don’t be tempted to tell them everything you know (that’s just showing off!) Better to give them only the information they need to achieve the goal of the presentation, whether that’s a decision, commitment to a project, or understanding of a set of issues.
- Don’t be too rigid – A good presentation is well-prepared and yet… you can’t anticipate everything. Be ready to flex in response to the audience. Maybe it becomes clear that knowledge levels are higher than expected and they don’t need to see every slide. Or maybe it’s the opposite scenario and you need to add in some extra explanations. Either way, be ready to roll with the needs of the audience you have, not the audience you wished you had.
- Don’t tell, show – Whether with a slide, a story or anecdote, or a statistic, illustrate your key points. Explanations are rarely as memorable without a great visual, chart or compelling fact. And while we’re on the subject of slides and visuals, keep them simple and with a reasonable font size.
- Don’t just read your script, present! – The first time someone read a text to you, it was probably a bedtime story. The aim of that was to put you to sleep. This is not that scenario! If you want you audience to be enthused about the topic, your presentation must be enthusiastic (and not a dry reading).
- Watch your audience – Wondering how it’s going? Observe your audience. As we all know, body language says a lot. Do they look attentive, engaged? Or switched-off? Don’t be afraid to go off-script if what you’ve prepared isn’t working.
- Watch yourself – Your body language counts, too. Maintain an erect posture (possible whether standing or sitting), use open hand gestures (with elbows away from the body), look directly at the audience and ensure your facial expressions, voice, and energy are confident and positive.
- Be human – Let’s face it, presenting can be a scary experience and that can lead to dry, rigid presentations (especially when the underlying driver is “Please let this be over soon!”) Don’t forget to be a person – smile, relax, use a conversational tone of voice and use humour if and when it feels appropriate (depending on topic and audience).
Of course, there are plenty of other ‘rules’ or tips for great presentations, golden or otherwise, but the above list is a good start and guaranteed to be widely applicable.
If you’re interested in diving deeper, join us for our “Presentation Skills – Open Day” on 26 March 2025. We will delve into the core skills you need to improve the impact, clarity and structure of your presentations; including mastering the physical factors, and harnessing the power of non-verbal communication to engage your audience. Sign up here. Or just give us a call on 01582 463460; we’re here to help.
