Effective Presentation Skills

What is an effective presentation? The fundamentals of effective presentation skills start with walking from the front of the room and taking a seat amongst the audience. Not literally of course, but in your imagination. If you want to learn how to create an effective presentation, before putting pen to paper and writing out your speech, sit down as a virtual audience member and ask yourself the following questions:

• If I were part of this group, what would the speaker do or say that would make me pay attention right from the start, rather than plan my grocery shopping for tomorrow?
• Now you’ve got my attention, why should I be interested or care about what you’re saying?
• What supporting evidence do you have for your ideas?
• Now you’ve got me convinced, what beliefs do you wish me to adopt and/or what action do you want me to take?

Taking the time to ask yourself these questions will have a big impact on how you formulate and structure your presentation and delivery. It will also help you take your attention off yourself and your nerves. This is the key to truly connecting with your listeners.

Making effective presentations is really about forgetting your fears and what kind of mistakes you’re scared of making. It’s about getting into your listeners’ heads, seeing things from their point of view and making the experience memorable and valuable.