Top Tips For Presenting With Confidence
February 27th, 2009. Published under Presentation. No Comments.
Whether it is a sales presentation to a client, an internal interview for a promotion, or a meeting you are chairing, presenting with confidence is an essential quality for success. The common misconception about presentation skills is that they are only applicable when delivering a formal presentation, however the fundamental principles can be applied to any professional situation.
One area of presentation skills that should be tackled right at the beginning is dealing with nerves. Nervous energy often has negative associations. However, nerves can help us excel, providing they are kept under control and the energy is channelled into confidence. This can be achieved with some simple exercises, such as, deep breathing, picturing success and even just smiling. Techniques from Neuro Linguistic Programming (Or NLP) can also be used to increase you levels of confidence.
Portraying confidence is not just about mental preparation, it is also about your physical attributes during the presentation. A confident voice combined with definite gestures, open body language and steady eye contact presents confidence, where indecisive physical presentation will detract from even the best structured key points.
Awareness of your audience is one of the key presentation skills. Remember who the audience is and who you are pitching to. They might need background information on a certain subject, or might view a digression as irrelevant or self indulgent. Think about what will be relevant and engaging for them. Ask yourself, why does this matter for them and how can I show them the link? If you’re presenting to an organisation from a different industry or culture, do your homework to avoid obvious faux-pas.
In many cases simplicity is key to success. Large scale and elaborate presentations can be counterproductive as they divert focus from the core message of the presentation. Clear, concise and simple presentations that are well structured can make the most complex subjects accessible to an audience. The object is to include not alienate an audience. Well-placed and relevant imagery or film though can liven up a presentation and make it more memorable - particularly for those who are more visual.
The simple structure should be based around clear successive points. The presentation should lead somewhere via natural progression. This systematic structure will assist if you’re interrupted with impromptu questions, or an elaboration takes you off point. Each section should be summarised before moving onto the next, creating a succinct narrative through the presentation and embedding your important messages.
Simplicity should not equal boring however. You need to keep your audience awake and engaged. Use relevant examples, stories and anecdotes to bring to life what you are saying. Ask your audience questions to keep them involved. Use direct address in your presentation - use words like ‘you’ and ‘we’ to draw the audience in. Stay away from generalisations and unnecessary formalities.
And our last point is about what you should do first. Perhaps the most essential of presentation skills is preparation. Preparation brings substance, confidence and professionalism. One of the trickiest parts of any presentation is the unknown questions that will be asked and preparation is the only way to safeguard responses. Preparation means, knowing your subject matter, structuring a clear and engaging presentation and practising all the confident gestures mentioned above.
Presentation skills training is the most effective way to ensure confident presenting. These basic principles are general guidelines and much more effective results will be achieved by sourcing a specialist presentation skills training consultant. Becoming a confident presenter is something that can be learnt with the right instruction.
Dominic Donaldson is leading consultant in presentation skills and communication skills training, delivering courses worldwide.