How to Improve Your Presentation Skills
By Sarah Kessler, published on Inc., 02/22/2010
Your presentations skills are just as important as the information you are presenting. This guide will help you prepare for a presentation and polish your speaking skills for a successful pitch.
The opportunity to pitch your services to a potential client, spell out your business plan to a potential business partner, or promote your business at an event may require that you give a presentation. Whether or not your presentation achieves its desired outcome can be affected by your skills as a speaker, so it's important to step in front of your audience with your best foot forward. The following guide explains how to prepare, deliver, and answer questions about a stellar presentation. How to Improve Your Presentation Skills: Preparation Research your audience. Knowing the needs of your audience can help you tailor your presentation to target their interests and explain how your company can be of use in their specific situation. If you're going to be giving a presentation at an event, Santa Barbara, California-based public speaking coach Lisa Braithwaite suggests sending a questionnaire to a handful of people who will be in the audience before you start writing. Mike Aguilera, a communication expert who has given more than 1,000 presentations on effective communication, says that if he doesn't have time to do research beforehand, he will talk to the audience at his presentation or will even ask them what they're interested in during his speech. 1. Research your audience. Knowing the needs of your audience can help you tailor your presentation to target their interests and explain how your company can be of use in their specific situation. If you're going to be giving a presentation at an event, Santa Barbara, California-based public speaking coach Lisa Braithwaite suggests sending a questionnaire to a handful of people who will be in the audience before you start writing. Mike Aguilera, a communication expert who has given more than 1,000 presentations on effective communication, says that if he doesn't have time to do research beforehand, he will talk to the audience at his presentation or will even ask them what they're interested in during his speech. 2. Structuring your presentation. 'The classic format is to tell them what you're going to say, present, and then tell them what you told them,' says Aguilera. 'What I advise is to start off with the benefits of what you're going to say, the benefits to the audience, and then present and review.' Braithwaite says that most presentations can benefit from using this simple structure:
3. Practice, practice, practice…but don't memorize. 'It's different for everybody, but I will say one thing: If you practice your speech only once, you're going to stink,' Braithwaite says. She recommends starting to rehearse your presentation about a month in advance. You can talk into a mirror, talk to a wall, or ask a family member to listen. Some people volunteer to speak at church or join their local toastmaster club for practice speaking in public. Do whatever works for you, but make sure it includes practicing out loud so that you can get a sense of timing.
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