Why are presentation skills so critical in a leadership role?

The ability to deliver a compelling presentation is an important skill that all leader require, to some extent at least.  You must build your capabilities, confidence and technique to present in front of a group of people, formally and informally, because inability to do so affects your credibility.

Every time you make a presentation, you practice your general communication skills and develop your assertiveness and self-confidence, so you should seek to present to others as often as you can.

For many people, even experienced professionals, public speaking to any group, be it small or large, can be quit stressful; it is common fear. But, with a bit structure, some basic techniques and lots of practice, there is no reason why anything should go wrong.

Many of the causes of failed presentations are easily avoided – often, they are due to shortcomings in two areas: lack of preparation and poor delivery.

Preparation

When preparing for a presentation, ask yourself.

• What message do I want to convey?  (Content)
• Why am I conveying this message?  (Purpose)
• Who will I be making the presentation to? What do they know already about the subject?  (Audience)
• How am I going to get my point across?  (Delivery)
• When will the presentation take place and how long do I have?  (Timing)
• Where will I be making the presentation? (Location)

These questions will help you to clarify your thoughts. Always begin your preparation by defining a clear objective for the talk; how you then structure, and indeed deliver, that talk should be geared totally towards achieving your objective.

The following structure can help to map out the content of your talk:

Introduction

the initial impression you create during your talk is very important, so you should keep that in mind as you prepare. You will gain or lose the attention of your introduction, plan to tell them:

• What you are going to talk about.
• The key points you will cover.
• How long your talk will last.
• How you propose to deal with their questions (during or after?).
• Highlight whether you have supporting documentation to give them or whether they need to take notes.

Some presenters like to include an attention-grabbing statement, or use humor early in their presentation to attract the audience. This can be a good idea, depending upon the nature of the presentation of course, and only if you can pull it off. If you are not comfortable with humor, do not think you suddenly can turn into a comedian.

Development

as you sit down to prepare the main part of your presentation, think first about all the information you could give the audience on the topic (you might use a ‘buzz map’, or brainstorming to help you with this). Then consider your objective, what they might know already and narrow down your points by thinking about what you must and should tell them in order to achieve that objective.

Also keep in mind the time available to you, as this naturally impacts on what you can include. As you lay out the points, the main body should always follow a logical sequence, so give some thought to how you will structure your points in clear stages to give an overall ‘flow’ to the talk. Also, consider the use of visual aids such as PowerPoint, whiteboards or flipcharts; whatever you use, it is important not to have too many visual aids and to ensure that they are of good quality, easy to understand, and easy to read. In a long talk, add in some re-caps as part of the main body.

Conclusion

your presentation should always include a summary at the end, as it is important to refresh all the key points for your audience. Once you have summarized your key points, when delivering your presentation, you should thank your audience and allow them to ask you questions.

Allocate time to each of the three sections roughly along these lines: Introduction (10%), Development (80%), Conclusion (10%).  If questions are included in the overall time, then adjust these timings somewhat.

Delivery

Having a structure, quality but brief notes and appropriate visual aids prepared will give you confidence that you know what you want to say. Then, it is a matter of practice, practice, practice;   run through the presentation in front of colleagues, family or friends and even in front of the mirror at home. 

This will help you to be more relaxed on the day and you will also find out whether you have got the timing right.

For more formal presentations, keep these tips in mind:

Before you present

• Remember the importance of your appearance when communicating.  Make sure you look your best and choose clothes that are appropriate for the expected formality of the occasion.
• If you are unfamiliar with the venue for the presentation, visit it in advance (if you can). Also check out the audio-visual facilities, making sure they can accommodate your needs.
• Ensure that any notes you have prepared are easy to read, perhaps even written on small cards; but do not have too many notes either, as they will detract from your interaction with the audience.
• Arrive early on the day, set up in plenty of time to do a dry-run.
• Once you have set up and completed your dry-run, spend some time on your own. Get some fresh air and try to think of something else. Try to replace any negative thoughts with positive ones.
• About 15 minutes before you are due to start, do a quick double check that everything is ready – remember Murphy’s Law. Take all coins, keys, pens, etc. out of your pockets at this point – to prevent you jangling them during the presentation. Give a final check to your appearance – make sure you look the part.
• Take some deep breaths, and sip some cold water.  Also make sure that you have some water close to you during the presentation, in case your mouth dries up; if that happens, stop and take a sip.

During the presentation

• Continuously make good eye contact with all your audience; do not just focus on one area.
• Speak clearly, and at an even pace, but do not shout.  Vary the tone of your voice and emphasize key words. If you use a microphone, match the pitch of your voice to the power of the sound system.
• Movement can be good during the presentation, but avoid moving too quickly, rocking side-to-side or other nervous movements.
• Use positive hand gestures to support your message, but make sure they support what you say, and do not distract from it.
• When using your visual aids, look at the audience and do not turn your back to face the screen.
• Keep your hands away from your mouth when you are talking.
• Do not fiddle with your pen, notes, pointers, etc.  This will distract people and highlight your nervousness.
• Again, if you use humour during the talk, make sure it is appropriate and, more importantly, make sure it is funny.
• Remember, even if you think you appear very nervous, it is rarely as bad as you imagine.  If you have prepared well, you will do well.

These simple points will help you to prepare and deliver a winning presentation. As soon as you can after the presentation, review your own performance. Think about how you could improve for the next one.  Also, if you know some of the audience well, ask them for their opinion. Constructive feedback helps to enhance future performance.