General Presentation Skills

Finding the right register:
Getting the right balance between formality and informality in a presentation is very tricky.

1. Avoid colloquialisms (“sort of” or “kinda”)
2.  Try to avoid erms and ums
3. You want your audience to respect you, not like you.
4. Try to speak more slowly than you would normally.
5. Use pauses for emphasis (as opposed to raising your voice)
6. Don’t let your voice fade away at the end of sentences.

Reduce Anxiety
The easiest way to reduce anxiety is to have a well prepared and well-rehearsed presentation.
However, if nerves are still a problem, try the following…

1.   Visualisation: Imagine yourself giving a brilliant presentation.
2.   Breath deeply.
3.   Relax muscles / Release tension.
4.   Take a script which you can read if all else fails.
5.   Do something else really stressful just before… (Drastic, but works!)

Know your audience

Ensure you tailor your presentation appropriately, depending on the audience makeup. Do they know a lot or a little about the issue, do they generally support or oppose the issue?
A good general rule is that it pays to keep things simple.

Preparing your presentation

1. Use Powerpoint (or handouts)
2.  If using powerpoint, don’t use anything less than a 24pt font.
3.  Aim for about 8 slides for a 15 minute talk.
4.  Do not put more than 4 or 5 pieces of information on each slide.
5.  Make sure the slide contains information which will prompt you to make the points you want to make.

Practice

1. Practice giving the presentation to a friendly audience and ask them for honest and constructive criticism.
2.  Finishing on time is very important, and requires practice.
3.  So practice out loud on your own with a clock.

Some general tips

1. Make eye contact.
2.  Talk clearly to the back of the audience.
3.  Don’t mumble the ends of sentences.
4.  Be enthusiastic (or pretend…)
5.  Ask someone in the audience to warn you when you have two minutes left or wear a watch and pay attention to the time.
6.  The only way it gets better is to give more talks.

Tips for handling questions

1. Repeat questions for the benefit of the audience (and to give yourself extra thinking time).
2.  Be honest when answering questions, especially if you have no idea of the answer.
3.  Don’t be afraid to ask the questioner to be clearer.
4.  Don’t be afraid or ashamed to let someone else in the room answer the question.