Delivering presentations is a part of many people’s day jobs. Whether you’re a natural public speaker or you find it a little nerve-wracking, it’s important to engage your audience with interesting slides as well as punchy, informative narrative.
A well delivered presentation can make all the difference when it comes to stakeholder engagement. Let’s have a look at some top tips for making your presentations impressive and enjoyable.
Plan, plan, plan
Being prepared is key to delivering an engaging presentation. Ensure you’ve fully researched and understand your topic: it will be obvious if you haven’t got a full grasp of your subject matter. It’s worth rehearsing your presentation to a family member or even the mirror. This helps you to see how it will flow on the day.
If you feel you’d benefit from the help of someone experienced, consider Gloucester business coaching specialists, www.randall-payne.co.uk/services/business-advisory/business-coaching/gloucester/, who can offer tailored support with your presentation.
Have a strong start
Make sure your first slide packs a punch to pique the audience’s interest. A joke, story, video or quote are all interactive, interesting ways to start according to Indeed.com.
Allow your words to flow
There’s nothing more boring than a presenter simply reading the words off the screen. Learn your material beforehand, so that you can speak freely on the day.
Likewise, avoid saying too many fillers such as ‘umm’ or ‘err’. This affects the flow of your speech. Practice your talk until you are confident which will avoid the filler words.
Relax your body language
An audience will relax and engage more if you are also relaxed when presenting. Relax your shoulders, breathe deeply and slow your words.
Make eye contact
Pick out a few audience members who are clearly interested in what you are saying and make eye contact with them for a couple of seconds at a time. As you relax into your presentation, you can increase the number of people you’re making eye contact with. This helps you to appear engaging, interesting and approachable.
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