How To Improve Your Presentation Skills by Isabelle Greiner
There are many aspects that come into play when organizing a presentation. From visuals to speeches, all small details come together to assure a prominent delivery. While my team’s presentation focus was geared around language, and aids to help present content, we learned from incorporating other groups’ lessons into our own. That was the good thing about being the third group to present: we benefited from learning other aspects of presenting from previous teams that help me in my performance.
1. Know Your Topic
Make sure you research and gather as much information about your topic as you can. Listeners are looking to you to have all the knowledge and answer all their questions on the topic. Even if you feel like you are not, pretend you are the expert in all things related to your presentation topic.
Like they say: fake it ‘till you make it…but we’ll come back to this later on in this post.
As we learned from my teammate John, delivery is very crucial. Making sure you know what you will talk about keeps your on track, and leads to an effective presentation where your audience knows what to look out for. Like he said, there are many modes of presenting including memorized, extemporaneous, manuscript, impromptu, and q and a modes.
My suggestion would be to have an outline of what you will discuss during your time, but also stay open to keeping it conversational. A slightly less formal presentation makes not only your audience more comfortable but you as well. In TV class, we are taught to pretend the camera is a friend, with who you are just having an informative conversation. Apply the same to your presentations.
Sticking to a script makes you afraid to mess up and limited to what you practiced. A conversational presentation shows a presenter's personality, therefore humanizing them to the audience. It also shows confidence.
2. Know Your Audience
When forming your presentation and deciding what to say, it is important to know your audience like group 2 taught us. Keeping in mind your target audience, and what appeals to them will make all the difference in your presentation.
Using the proper presentation aids that connect to them will lead to more interaction with the topic, and make the audience more intrigued to know what you are talking about.
3. Language Use
The first thing you thought, I bet, when seeing the word “language” was related more to what tongue you speak in. However, language can refer to both body language which can help an audience feel more welcomed or referring to what words you choose.
Like I was taught in the newspaper, and Katelyn mentioned, it is best to keep it simple stupid (K.I.S.S). Using common vocabulary allows audiences of all ages and backgrounds to connect and understand what you are explaining. As well as going into further detail about something you spoke about, that not all may be aware of.
Keeping that in mind, since the vast majority of the class is around my same age, I used proper connections, word usage, current trends, etc. that would help them connect with the topic and engage with it better.
While some will argue that using slang and slightly informal language is unprofessional, let's take a look at several companies using current trends to promote their products. For example, Duolingo, E! News, Tinder, and even The Washington Post are some I see doing this the most. Using TikTok and its trends to connect with the new generation. Making captivating videos while using Taylor Swift audios and commenting on influencers’ posts to express why consumers should rely on their products and what they have to offer.
Slight informality in the form of TikTok trends are truly the future. The other day I received a LinkedIn match for a high-paying job as a company’s TikTok and Twitter content creator, which blew my mind away but I digress.
Even though it is quite silly, as a gen Z-er myself, I find it fun and appealing that companies are using modern media to market their products, so why not do the same in a presentation. Creating the perfect transition as we dive into sensory aids in a presentation, a topic I quite enjoyed presenting about.
4. How To Grab Your Audience’s Attention.
Use sensory aids. This refers to anything that appeals to, well, your senses. The most commonly used are visual aids of course because it is not often easy or practical to bring something edible that is related to your presentation, although I’m everyone would love it. Visual aids refer to pictures, charts, text, videos, GIFs and more. These can spice up your presentation, just like this image below.
Visual aids can help you learn and remember what you have learned by engraving a specific image in your mind that connects to the message. Like when your math teacher made you visualize division as a house, or knowing how to understand greater than symbols by associating it with an alligator eating the smaller number and visualizing it by having you do motions with your arms.
Like I said in the presentation, visual aids can often help explain and even explain what you can not in your short time. And relating it back to knowing your audience, using visuals that connect with your audience will help them learn.
Even though you just received these tips on how to give a more effective presentation, you still might doubt your presentation abilities and fear talking to a large crowd. Do not worry, it happens to us all.
Let's go back to the “fake it ‘till you make it,” bit.
When my advisor told me I had to take public speaking this semester, my heart actually skipped a beat in fear. After spending so long locked up in our homes, the idea of talking in front of a large audience…I felt the anxiety rush through. With that said, I ran to find a class that did not meet in person.
I am a communications/ journalism major, and know I am somewhat expected to be more talkative; the reality of it is I am a very shy person. When I joined the call on my first day of class, I felt bombarded to discover we already had a presentation assignment to work on.
Luckily I was given a great team that made me feel comfortable while speaking during our practice runs. But that is the key: practice. Practicing what you will talk about with others, in front of the mirror, or with your parents, even if you do not say the same thing every time, it will help you learn your topic and feel confident with what you know.
It is easy to say, “don’t care about what others think,” see it this way: everyone ins your class has to do the same thing and present to the same people you are, and odds are you all feel the same fear of embarrassment in saying the wrong thing. My point is, there is find comfort in knowing you are not alone in this feeling.
Great! I totally agree that comfort comes from your group and the other people in this class. I also hope that I provide some comfort for you also.
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