Presentation Skills For Business Tips
Presentation Skills For Business Tips is presented by Jill Simpson of http://www.devatraining.co.uk/ DEVA Training in Kilmarnock.
At some point in business you will have to present something and that’s when you need to sharpen your presentation skills. It could be that you will need to make a business presentation to colleagues in a management meeting, present your business plan to your bank or a potential investor, or pitch for new business.
To help Jill Simpson has compiled five top tips for better business presentation skills.
The first of her presentation skills is preparation, this is everything. Don’t leave it to the night before because come the presentation you’ll neither do yourself nor your business justice. If you were an actor, singer or band you wouldn’t go stage unprepared. Structure your talk well, and practice it out loud.
The second of Jill’s presentation skills tips is to consider your audience. One size doesn’t fit all – the principles of marketing apply here as anywhere else. Instead of, “what am I going to say?” you should be asking: what do they want to know? If your content is relevant to your listeners, they will pay attention; if it’s not, they won’t.
Third on the list of presentation skills tips is to consider your message and the purpose of your talk. Are you selling a product, building awareness of your expertise, or trying to impress your peers? If you aren’t clear about your message from the outset, your audience certainly won’t be. Present your message from an angle that really interests your audience. And remember, don’t give too much away: leave them wanting more.
The fourth of her presentation skills tips is, less really is more. You’re the expert and you have a library of knowledge at your fingertips, but the experienced communicator is selective with what she shares. Make every point carry weight with your audience: a memorable five minute talk is worth so much more than twenty minutes of boring detail. Check every point you make against its relevance to the listener and its place within your key purpose.
The final tip for honing your presentation skills is to be yourself. Your audience has come to see you not dozens of PowerPoint slides or the back of your head as you fumble at your laptop. Find your voice and your personality as you present material that you know to be engaging and relevant to your audience. You’ve practiced your presentation. Remember to speak slowly -more slowly than in a normal conversation, and pause to allow the audience to take in what you’ve said. Remember to smile and share your enthusiasm for your subject. And finally, enjoy yourself: your audience will appreciate it and learn more because of it.
Wikipedia has an extentive entry on public speaking: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_speaking
The Toastmasters website has some excellent public speaking tips: https://www.toastmasters.org/Resources/Public-Speaking-Tips
For additional information see this paper from The University of Hull:
http://www2.hull.ac.uk/student/studyadvice.aspx
Presentations skills article: http://www.tutorialspoint.com/management_concepts/effective_presentation_skills.htm
Loughborough University study skills site has much advice on spoken presentation skills: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/library/skills/index.html
Presentations skills article: http://www.tutorialspoint.com/management_concepts/effective_presentation_skills.htm
Presentation skills
source
