How to give an effective Presentation at School, College or Work?

A presentation is a source of communicating or interacting with the people.  It is more like presenting yourself or your ideas by making a presentation as a medium. An effective presentation should be compact and understandable enough. To be effective, level by level preparation, ways and means of presenting the ideas, knowledge, information and oneself is required and should be carefully kept in mind throughout.

The basic essential elements of an effective presentation are the three ‘S’.

‘Strategy’ simply refers to the planning and plotting of the ways of delivering the presentation for the targeted audience out there.

‘Style’ is basically the design of the presentation. The more attractive and catchy the presentation will be the more likely it is to be liked by many people. In simpler words, how you present is far more crucial than what you present.

‘Structure’ of the presentation should be very organized and compact.  A flexible and flowing format of the presentation is always preferred and required at the same time.

Presentation Skills are more like bread and butter of a breakfast! Without these 4 basic skills, a presentation can never be called effective presentation.

1. PLAN

Planning is the first stage of any work an individual starts. It is an action plan that helps the people to know what they have to do and how and when they have to do. Planning includes aspects like the following:

• Who is your audience?
• Why are they there?
• What is your goal?
• How long will it be?
• Where will it take place?

2. PREPARE

Preparing is the second and essential stage. It requires the person to prepare himself in advance and it includes the following:

1. Structure
2. Prompt
3. Visual Aid
4. Voice
5. Appearance
6. Style
7. Questions

3. Structure

Structure, the third stage refers to the organization of the presentation as it requires the person to follow the order which includes the following:

• Objective
• Introduction or Beginning
• Main content/ Body
• Summary, Conclusions, Recommendations
• Questions

4. Practice

Practice is one such element that will always benefit you and will never prove to be a disadvantage. Similarly, before presenting yourself practice is a must. Following key points should be kept in mind which are as:

• Rehearse all the points that you have prepared.
• Practice again and again with visual aids and handouts
• Rehearse to manage the time and in front of the mirror to know where you’re lacking.

5. Present

Presenting too plays a vital role in delivering an effective presentation. Presenting yourself is the most important ingredient of presentation which is synonymous as well. Few points that should be kept in mind while presenting yourself are as follows:

• The start should be strong enough to capture the focus of the audience in first 2-3 minutes.
• Never ever hesitate and always maintain eye contact with the audience in order to maintain the interest.
• Show your passion by using suitable movements and gestures.
• Don’t get too serious or nervous that you forget to smile, until and unless your topic is grim.

 No person on the planet is perfect. Everyone has to face some of the other difficulties and when they overcome them, it is the best achievement for them. Many times while presenting, a lot of people also face different difficulties but there are easy ways to overcome these difficulties also which are as follows:

6. PODIUM PANIC

A person who gets nervous while they stand at the podium or have a podium phobia should always try to be confident. They should be themselves and start with what they are comfortable in.  Always begin with your comfort zone and slow well-prepared intro that will eventually boost your self-confidence and lower your podium stress. 

• EYE-CONTACT: If a person hesitates to maintain eye contact with the audience, he/she should always prepare the presentation in front of the mirror. Eye contact allows the audience to be connected with you. While speaking always look into their eyes and never let your audience out of sight.
• BODY LANGUAGE: A body language is one such powerful tool that is way more important than words. Keep your head up and stand tall, your confident body language is spotted by the mind which in turn gives you the confidence within yourself. It enhances your confidence and appearance which simply showcase an attractive side of yours. Most of the people read your body language like a conversation, similarly having a confident body language is just like grammar to English.
• VOICE: The voice should always be clear and understandable. The words should be clear and the person should know what the correct way of pronouncing the words is. There should be vocalized pauses wherever required and at the same time, the person should know how to manage the pitch of the voice and when to emphasize the words.