Important Presentation Skills for Workplace Success

Important Presentation Skills for Workplace SuccessImportant Presentation Skills for Workplace SuccessWhether youre a high-level executive or an administrative assistant, developing your presentation skills is one key way to climb in an office-based job. Leaders make decisions based upon information passed in a presentation format, and hardly any business changes its mind without first seeing a persuasive presentation. Not all presentation skills exist in a formal meeting. Many presentation skills are relevant to one-on-one consults or sales calls. It is important for any office employee to know what steps go into creating an effective presentation and what presentation skills are most important to employers. Highlighting these skills will also help you stand out during your job search. What Are Presentation Skills? Presentation skills refer to all the qualities you need to create and deliver a clear and effective oral presentation. Your prospective employer may want you to deliv er briefings and reports to colleagues, conduct training sessions, present information to clients, or any number of other tasks that involve speaking before an audience. Giving engaging and easy-to-understand talks is a major component of the strongoral communication skillsthat are ajob requirementfor many positions. Presentation Phases Any presentation has three phases preparation, delivery, and follow-up. All presentation skills fit into one of these three phases. Preparationinvolves research and building the presentation. This may mean crafting the entire text (or at least writing notes) and creating any slides and other supportive visual/audio materials. You will also have to make aya that the appropriate venue is available and properly set up beforehand, that the projector works (if youll need one) and connects with your laptop. Youll also want to practice your presentation as many times as you need tofeel comfortable to deliver it with ease and confidence within the set am ount of time allotted. Skills related to preparation include Conducting research related to your presentation topicDevising charts and graphs depicting your research findingsLearning about your audience to better tailor your presentation to their needsCreating digital slidesBreaking up a presentation into parts of reasonable lengthUsing statistics effectively to persuade an audienceIncorporating concrete examples and stories to illustrate points and maintain audience attentionPreparing handouts or digital references so the audience isnt preoccupied with note taking Promoting presentations effectively to generate an appropriate audience Deliveryis the part the audience sees. A good delivery depends on careful preparation and confident presentation, and requires its own distinctiveskill set. Skills related to delivery include Delivering an attention-grabbing opening for a talkProviding a summary of what will be covered to introduce a presentation and provide contextUsingbody languagea nd eye contact to convey energy and confidencePausing to emphasize key pointsModulating vocal tone for emphasisArticulating clearly and smoothlyInterjecting humorSpeaking with enthusiasm and animationProjecting confidenceSummarizing key points at the conclusionFielding questions to clarify points Follow-upincludes properly breaking down and storing any equipment, contacting any audience members with whom you agreed to communicate further, and soliciting, collecting, and analyzing feedback. In some presentations, you may collect information from audience members, like names and contact information or completed surveys, which you also must collect, organize, and store. Skills related to follow-up include Creating an evaluation form to solicit feedback from attendeesInterpreting feedback from evaluations and modifying content and or delivery for future presentationsOrganizing a database of attendees for future presentationsInterviewing key attendees to gain additional feedbackEmailing presentation slides to attendees Types of Presentation Skills Analytical The best presenters are constantly improving their skills. To get better, you must be able to look honestly at your performance, assess the feedback you get, and figure out what you need to do to improve. That takesanalytical thinking. More importantly, you need to have a firm grasp of the information that you are about to communicate to others. You need to analyze your audience and be prepared to think quickly if asked questions that force you to demonstrate that you are fully aware of the material and its implications. Problem SensitivityReportingSurveyingOptimizationPredictive ModelingProblem-solvingRestructuringStrategic PlanningIntegrationProcess ManagementOngoing ImprovementDiagnosticsDissectingEvaluatingJudgment Organization You do not want to be that person spending half of your presentation time trying to find a cable to connect your laptop to the projector. Many things can go wrong just b efore a presentation, and they probably will, unless you areorganized. Additionally, presentation preparation also means keeping track of notes, information, and start/stop times. Finally, you will want to proofread and fine tune all materials you plan to use for the presentation. veranstaltung PlanningAuditingBenchmarkingPrioritizationRecordkeepingSchedulingAttention to DetailQuick Thinking Nonverbal Communication When speaking to an audience, the way you present yourself can be just as important as how you present your information. You want to appear confident and engaging. You can do this through good posture, through the use of hand gestures, and through eye contact with the audience. Practice yournonverbal communicationby filming yourself doing a practice presentation and observing your body language carefully. Active ListeningBearingPoiseConfidenceEmotional IntelligenceRespectFacilitating Group DiscussionAwareness for Diversity of Ethnicity, Politics, and Religion Prese ntation Software Microsoft PowerPoint is the dominant software used to create visual aids for presentations. Learn to use it well, including the special features outside of basic templates that can really bring a presentation to life. Even if someone else is preparing your slideshow for you, it will help to know how to use the software in case of last-minute changes. Microsoft OfficeDesignKeynoteGoogle SlidesAdobe Presenter Public Speaking You need to appear to be comfortable and engaging when speaking before a live audience, even if youre not. This can take years of practice, and sometimespublic speakingjust isnt for certain people. An uncomfortable presenter is a challenge for everyone.Fortunately, public speaking skills can improve with practice. ArticulationEngagementAssessing the Needs of the AudienceConsultingHandling Difficult QuestionsControlling Performance AnxietyMemorizationModulating Vocal Tone Research Research is the first step in preparing most presentations and could range from a multi-year process to spending 20 minutes online, depending on context and subject matter. At the very least, you must be able to clearly frame research questions, identify appropriate information sources, and organize your results. BrainstormingCollaborationBig Data AnalyticsBusiness IntelligenceCalculatingCase AnalysisCausal RelationshipsClassifyingComparative AnalysisData InterpretationDeductive ReasoningInductive ReasoningSearch Engine Research Verbal Communication Public speaking is one form ofverbal communication, but you will need other forms to give a good presentation. Specifically, you must know how to answer questions. You should be able to understand questions asked by your audience (even if theyre strange or poorly worded) and provide respectful, honest, correct answers without getting off-topic. Active ListeningFocusEmpathyHandling Difficult QuestionsAssertivenessAdvisingAffirmationEnunciation Writing You may or may not need a written scr ipt, but you do need to pre-plan what you are going to say, in what order, and at what level of detail. If you can write a cohesive essay, you can plan a presentation. GrammarSpellingVocabularyProofreadingBuilding OutlinesNote TakingDocument Markups More Presentation Skills SummarizingSalesPersuasionProviding Anecdotes to Illustrate a PointHumorTrainingRehearsingDesigning HandoutsRecognizing and Countering ObjectionsPosing Probing Questions to Elicit More Detail About Specific IssuesReceiving Criticism Without DefensivenessRefraining from Speaking Too Often or Interrupting OthersAnticipating the Concerns of OthersProduct KnowledgeSWOT Analysis FormatSupporting Statements with EvidenceMultilingualContractsWorking with ReviewersConsistencyDevelop and Maintain Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) Developing a aussage StatementCreativityLogicCreating and Managing ExpectationsMotivationCoaching How to Make Your Skills Stand Out Include Skills on Your ResumeIf applicable, you might me ntion these words in yourresume summaryorheadline.Highlight Skills in Your Cover LetterMention one or two specific presentation skills and give examples of instances when you demonstrated these traits in the workplace.Show Your Presentation Skills in Job InterviewsDuring the interview process, you may also be asked to give a sample presentation. In this case, you will want to embody these skills during the presentation. For example, you will want to demonstrate your oral communication skills by speaking clearly and concisely throughout the presentation.