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What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

• Carmine Gallo

Five tips to set yourself apart.

Never underestimate the power of great communication. It can help you land the job of your dreams, attract investors to back your idea, or elevate your stature within your organization. But while there are plenty of good speakers in the world, you can set yourself apart out by being the person who can deliver something great over and over. Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired together are more memorable); don’t underestimate the power of your voice (raise and lower it for emphasis); give your audience something extra (unexpected moments will grab their attention); rehearse (the best speakers are the best because they practice — a lot).

I was sitting across the table from a Silicon Valley CEO who had pioneered a technology that touches many of our lives — the flash memory that stores data on smartphones, digital cameras, and computers. He was a frequent guest on CNBC and had been delivering business presentations for at least 20 years before we met. And yet, the CEO wanted to sharpen his public speaking skills.

• Carmine Gallo is a Harvard University instructor, keynote speaker, and author of 10 books translated into 40 languages. Gallo is the author of The Bezos Blueprint: Communication Secrets of the World’s Greatest Salesman  (St. Martin’s Press).

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How important is Personal Presentation in the Workplace?

• June 21, 2022

The short answer …VERY!

Personal presentation is how you portray yourself to other people. It includes the way you look, speak and move and is part of your communication skills. Communication is one of the most important life and work skills you need to be successful 🤓

Your personal presentation is made of: 👗Appearance – from wearing well presented clothes. 🗣Body Language – From the way you smile to the way you shake hands and your ability to make eye contact.

🧠Behaviour – your attitudes and behaviours towards situations and people are part of your your personal branding.

Within the first few seconds, we are judged based on our appearance and body language 😬

✨ Tips for making the most out of your Personal Presentation include:

✅ Dressing for the occasion. Don’t change your entire style every time you have to present. This is about adapting your own style to the situation.

✅ Practice power moves – Standing tall, power stances first thing in the morning, shoulders back – these contribute to looking confident.

✅ Affirmations – Make a list of your “I am” statements for those important occasions.

I am currently taking bookings for 1 day corporate workshops on Personal Presentation. If this is something you are interested in please feel free to email me at:  [email protected]

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How to give a good presentation that captivates any audience

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What are the main difficulties when giving presentations?

How to create an effective presentation, after that, how do i give a memorable presentation, how to connect with the audience when presenting.

If you’ve ever heard someone give a powerful presentation, you probably remember how it made you feel. Much like a composer, a good speaker knows precisely when each note should strike to captivate their audience’s attention and leave them with a lasting impression.

No one becomes a great public speaker or presenter without practice. And almost everyone can recall a time one of their presentations went badly — that’s a painful part of the learning process.

Whether you’re working within a small creative team or a large organization, public speaking and presentation skills are vital to communicating your ideas. Knowing how to present your vision can help you pitch concepts to clients, present ideas to your team, and develop the confidence to participate in team meetings.

If you have an upcoming presentation on the horizon and feel nervous, that’s normal. Around 15-30% of the general population experience a fear of public speaking . And, unfortunately, social anxiety is on the rise, with a 12% increase in adults over the last 20 years . 

Learning how to give a good presentation can dismantle your fears and break down these barriers, ensuring you’re ready to confidently share your point of view. 

It’s the week before your presentation, and you’re already feeling nervous . Maybe there’ll be an important mentor in the room you need to impress, or you’re looking for an opportunity to show your boss your value. Regardless of your countless past presentations, you still feel nervous. 

Sharing your vision and ideas with any sized group is intimidating. You’re likely worrying about how you’ll perform as a presenter and whether the audience will be interested in what you offer. But nerves aren’t inherently negative — you can actually use this feeling to fuel your preparation.

It’s helpful to identify where your worries are coming from and address your fears. Here are some common concerns when preparing for an upcoming presentation:

Fear of public speaking: When you share your ideas in front of a group, you’re placing yourself in a vulnerable position to be critiqued on your knowledge and communication skills . Maybe you feel confident in your content, but when you think about standing in front of an audience, you feel anxious and your mind goes blank.

It’s also not uncommon to have physical symptoms when presenting . Some people experience nausea and dizziness as the brain releases adrenaline to cope with the potentially stressful situation . Remember to take deep breaths to recenter yourself and be patient, even if you make a mistake.

Losing the audience’s attention: As a presenter, your main focus is to keep your audience engaged. They should feel like they’re learning valuable information or following a story that will improve them in life or business.

Highlight the most exciting pieces of knowledge and ensure you emphasize those points in your presentation. If you feel passionate about your content, it’s more likely that your audience will experience this excitement for themselves and become invested in what you have to say.

Not knowing what content to place on presentation slides: Overloading presentation slides is a fast way to lose your audience’s attention. Your slides should contain only the main talking points and limited text to ensure your audience focuses on what you have to say rather than becoming distracted by the content on your slides.

Discomfort incorporating nonverbal communication: It’s natural to feel stiff and frozen when you’re nervous. But maintaining effective body language helps your audience stay focused on you as you speak and encourages you to relax.

If you struggle to incorporate body language into your presentations, try starting small by making hand gestures toward your slides. If you’re working with a large audience, use different parts of the stage to ensure everyone feels included. 

Each presenter has their own personal brand and style. Some may use humor to break the ice, while others might appeal to the audience’s emotional side through inspiring storytelling. 

Watching online presentations, such as TED talks, is an excellent way to expose yourself to various presentation styles and develop your own. While observing others, you can note how they carry themselves on stage and learn new ways to keep your audience engaged.

Once you’ve addressed what’s causing your fears, it’s time to prepare for a great presentation. Use your past experience as inspiration and aim to outshine your former self by learning from your mistakes and employing new techniques. Here are five presentation tips to help you create a strong presentation and wow your audience:

1. Keep it simple

Simple means something different to everyone.

Before creating your presentation, take note of your intended audience and their knowledge level of your subject. You’ll want your content to be easy for your intended audience to follow.

Say you’re giving a presentation on improving your company’s operational structure. Entry-level workers will likely need a more straightforward overview of the content than C-suite leaders, who have significantly more experience. 

Ask yourself what you want your audience to take away from your presentation and emphasize those important points. Doing this ensures they remember the most vital information rather than less important supporting ideas. Try organizing these concepts into bullet points so viewers can quickly identify critical takeaways.

2. Create a compelling structure

Put yourself in your audience member’s shoes and determine the most compelling way to organize your information. Your presentation should be articulate , cohesive, and logical, and you must be sure to include all necessary supporting evidence to strengthen your main points.

If you give away all of your answers too quickly, your audience could lose interest. And if there isn’t enough supporting information, they could hit a roadblock of confusion. Try developing a compelling story that leads your audience through your thought processes so they can experience the ups and downs alongside you. 

By structuring your presentation to lead up to a final conclusion, you’re more likely to keep listeners’ attention. Once you’ve reached that conclusion, you can offer a Q&A period to put any of their questions or concerns to rest. 

3. Use visual aids

Appealing to various learning styles is a great way to keep everyone on the same page and ensure they absorb your content. Visual aids are necessary for visual learners and make it easier for people to picture your ideas.

Aim to incorporate a mixture of photos, videos, and props to engage your audience and convey your key points. For instance, if you’re giving a presentation on anthropology subject matter, you could show your audience an artifact to help them understand how exciting a discovery must have been. 

If your presentation is long, including a video for your audience to watch is an excellent way to give yourself a break and create new jumping-off points for your speech.

4. Be aware of design techniques and trends

Thanks to cutting-edge technology and tools, you have numerous platforms at your disposal to create a good presentation. But keep in mind that although color, images, and graphics liven things up, they can cause distraction when misused.

  Here are a few standard pointers for incorporating visuals on your slides: 

• Don’t place blocks of small text on a single slide
• Use a minimalistic background instead of a busy one
• Ensure text stands out against the background color
• Only use high-resolution photos
• Maintain a consistent font style and size throughout the presentation
• Don’t overuse transitions and effects

5. Try the 10-20-30 rule

Guy Kawasaki, a prominent venture capitalist and one of the original marketing specialists for Apple, said that the best slideshow presentations are less than 10 slides , last at most 20 minutes, and use a font size of 30. Following this strategy can help you condense your information, eliminate unnecessary ideas, and maintain your audience’s focus more efficiently.

Once you’re confident in creating a memorable presentation, it’s time to learn how to give one. Here are some valuable tips for keeping your audience invested during your talk: 

Tip #1: Tell stories

Sharing an anecdote from your life can improve your credibility and increase your relatability. And when an audience relates to you, they’re more likely to feel connected to who you are as a person and encouraged to give you their full attention, as they would want others to do the same.

Gill Hicks utilized this strategy well when she shared her powerful story, “ I survived a terrorist attack. Here’s what I learned .” In her harrowing tale, Hicks highlights the importance of compassion, unconditional love, and helping those in need.

If you feel uncomfortable sharing personal stories, that’s okay. You can use examples from famous individuals or create a fictional account to demonstrate your ideas.

Tip #2: Make eye contact with the audience

Maintaining eye contact is less intimidating than it sounds. In fact, you don’t have to look your audience members directly in their eyes — you can focus on their foreheads or noses if that’s easier.

Try making eye contact with as many people as possible for 3–5 seconds each. This timing ensures you don’t look away too quickly, making the audience member feel unimportant, or linger too long, making them feel uncomfortable.

If you’re presenting to a large group, direct your focus to each part of the room to ensure no section of the audience feels ignored. 

Tip #3: Work on your stage presence

Although your tone and words are the most impactful part of your presentation, recall that body language keeps your audience engaged. Use these tips to master a professional stage presence:

• Speak with open arms and avoid crossing them
• Keep a reasonable pace and try not to stand still
• Use hand gestures to highlight important information

Tip #4: Start strong

Like watching a movie trailer, the first seconds of your talk are critical for capturing your audience’s attention. How you start your speech sets the tone for the rest of your presentation and tells your audience whether or not they should pay attention. Here are some ways to start your presentation to leave a lasting impression:

• Use a quote from a well-known and likable influential person 
• Ask a rhetorical question to create intrigue
• Start with an anecdote to add context to your talk 
• Spark your audience’s curiosity by involving them in an interactive problem-solving puzzle or riddle

Tip #5: Show your passion

Don’t be afraid of being too enthusiastic. Everyone appreciates a speaker who’s genuinely excited about their field of expertise. 

In “ Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance ,” Angela Lee Duckworth discusses the importance of passion in research and delivery. She delivers her presentation excitedly to show the audience how excitement piques interest. 

Tip #6: Plan your delivery

How you decide to deliver your speech will shape your presentation. Will you be preparing a PowerPoint presentation and using a teleprompter? Or are you working within the constraints of the digital world and presenting over Zoom?

The best presentations are conducted by speakers who know their stuff and memorize their content. However, if you find this challenging, try creating notes to use as a safety net in case you lose track.

If you’re presenting online, you can keep notes beside your computer for each slide, highlighting your key points. This ensures you include all the necessary information and follow a logical order.

Tip #7: Practice

Practice doesn’t make perfect — it makes progress. There’s no way of preparing for unforeseen circumstances, but thorough practice means you’ve done everything you can to succeed.

Rehearse your speech in front of a mirror or to a trusted friend or family member. Take any feedback and use it as an opportunity to fine-tune your speech. But remember: who you practice your presentation in front of may differ from your intended audience. Consider their opinions through the lens of them occupying this different position.

Tip #8: Read the room

Whether you’re a keynote speaker at an event or presenting to a small group of clients, knowing how to read the room is vital for keeping your audience happy. Stay flexible and be willing to move on from topics quickly if your listeners are uninterested or displeased with a particular part of your speech.

Tip #9: Breathe

Try taking deep breaths before your presentation to calm your nerves. If you feel rushed, you’re more likely to feel nervous and stumble on your words.

The most important thing to consider when presenting is your audience’s feelings. When you approach your next presentation calmly, you’ll put your audience at ease and encourage them to feel comfortable in your presence.

Tip #10: Provide a call-to-action

When you end your presentation, your audience should feel compelled to take a specific action, whether that’s changing their habits or contacting you for your services.

If you’re presenting to clients, create a handout with key points and contact information so they can get in touch. You should provide your LinkedIn information, email address, and phone number so they have a variety of ways to reach you. 

There’s no one-size-fits-all template for an effective presentation, as your unique audience and subject matter play a role in shaping your speech. As a general rule, though, you should aim to connect with your audience through passion and excitement. Use strong eye contact and body language. Capture their interest through storytelling and their trust through relatability.

Learning how to give a good presentation can feel overwhelming — but remember, practice makes progress. Rehearse your presentation for someone you trust, collect their feedback , and revise. Practicing your presentation skills is helpful for any job, and every challenge is a chance to grow.

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Elizabeth Perry, ACC

Elizabeth Perry is a Coach Community Manager at BetterUp. She uses strategic engagement strategies to cultivate a learning community across a global network of Coaches through in-person and virtual experiences, technology-enabled platforms, and strategic coaching industry partnerships. With over 3 years of coaching experience and a certification in transformative leadership and life coaching from Sofia University, Elizabeth leverages transpersonal psychology expertise to help coaches and clients gain awareness of their behavioral and thought patterns, discover their purpose and passions, and elevate their potential. She is a lifelong student of psychology, personal growth, and human potential as well as an ICF-certified ACC transpersonal life and leadership Coach.

6 presentation skills and how to improve them

How to write a speech that your audience remembers, how to make a presentation interactive and exciting, tell a story they can't ignore these 10 tips will teach you how, reading the room gives you an edge — no matter who you're talking to, 3 stand-out professional bio examples to inspire your own, your guide to what storytelling is and how to be a good storyteller, 18 effective strategies to improve your communication skills, writing an elevator pitch about yourself: a how-to plus tips, similar articles, how to pitch ideas: 8 tips to captivate any audience, the 11 tips that will improve your public speaking skills, 30 presentation feedback examples, how to not be nervous for a presentation — 13 tips that work (really), how the minto pyramid principle can enhance your communication skills, 8 clever hooks for presentations (with tips), stay connected with betterup, get our newsletter, event invites, plus product insights and research..

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   Home » Articles & News » Personal Presentation – an Overview

Personal Presentation – an Overview

• Young Professional

What is Personal Presentation and Why is It Important?

Personal presentation is a communication skill , and communication is one of five important life and work skills you can build as a Young Professional .

Personal presentation means the way you present yourself in everyday situations, and more stressful ones like job interviews. How you appear to the world can have a major impact on your ability to get a job. It’s said that an employer will make a judgement about you in the first 30 seconds after meeting you, which is then quite hard to change during the interview (though not impossible!). So it’s important to make a good impression.

You are your own brand, and what you do and say, as well as your appearance, is all part of that. This means dressing smartly, being clean and having good personal hygiene, and carrying yourself well. Presentation means making a strong first impression and appearing professional.

Whilst employers shouldn’t judge you on how you look, appearing neat and confident is important to show that you’ve made an effort. To be a professional you need to dress the part, which means appropriate clothing for your industry. It could be a suit and tie, or for some jobs particularly in the creative industries there’s more of a relaxed vibe. Whatever the dress code presenting yourself well means you’ve done your research and taken the time to fit in. Standing out can be good but you don’t want to be the only person in the office wearing trainers.

Developing and Demonstrating Good Self Presentation.

It’s fairly easy to improve your personal presentation. Start by looking into the sort of clothes people wear in your chosen industry. For an interview it’s good to wear a slightly smarter version of this. If in doubt it’s a safe bet to wear a suit or trousers/skirt and a blouse or smart top for an interview. Even in a casual role you want to show you take the job seriously at the interview. Make sure everything is clean, dry, and not wrinkled. Laying your outfit out the night before is a good idea, especially if you work in an office environment this will help you ensure you look the part every day.

Another part of personal presentation which isn’t as obvious is confidence. If you are confident people will be able to tell when you walk into a room, and will view you as well presented. If you don’t feel confident you can use the ‘fake it ’til you make it’ trick – stand tall, pull your shoulders back, make eye contact and smile. Tell yourself you are confident and you might find that soon you are.

You are a whole person, and as such everything you say or do in public counts towards the impression of you that others create. This includes social media, so make sure your accounts are presenting you in the best possible way. If you’ve got things on there you don’t think are particularly professional change your security settings, or remove them. It’s really important to make sure you’re aware of what you put out there!

Showing you have good personal presentation is as simple as turning up on time, dressed professionally and appropriately, and appearing confident and enthusiastic about the role. If you get that right you’ll make a great first impression, and can go on to talk about your excellent communication , teamwork and people skills – which all go towards presenting you in a positive way. If you use the STARRS method as well you’ll certainly impress.

Further reading:

• How Interviewers Know When To Hire You in 90 Seconds
• What really happens in the opening moments of a job interview
• Self-Presentation in Presentations

Getting life/work ready

Have you thought about boosting your life and work skills .

Developing the 5 most important skills for life and work is something you can do for free, in your own time. You can start building those skills with Youth Employment UK wherever you are on life’s journey. It can be a big help when you don’t know what to do next.

Boosting your Young Professional life and work skills means you can:

• Boost your confidence
• Feel like you’re taking charge of your life
• Find out more about yourself and what you genuinely want/need in life
• Give yourself more options – both now and later down the line

The 5 top life and work skills are:

• Communication
• Problem solving
• Self-management
• Self-belief

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Home Blog Presentation Ideas About Me Slides: How to Introduce Yourself in a Presentation

About Me Slides: How to Introduce Yourself in a Presentation

From conference talks to client demos, it’s always essential to include an About Me slide in any presentation you are giving. Introducing yourself early into the presentation helps build a better rapport with the audience.

You can start with several fun facts about me slide to break the ice or go for a more formal professional bio to explain your background and what makes you qualified to talk about the topic at hand. At any rate, your goal is to get the audience on your side by revealing some of your personality. 

How to Introduce Yourself in a Presentation: 4 Approaches 

It’s a good practice to include self-introduction slides at the beginning of your presentation. If you are looking to answer how to introduce yourself professionally, typically somewhere after the title, opening slide , and the main agenda. However, the presentation structure will be somewhat different depending on whether you are presenting to a new audience or a group of people familiar with (e.g., your team, clients, or business partners). 

Here are four about me slide ideas you can try out, plus an About me template you can use to present yourself in a presentation. 

1. Mention Your Name and Affiliations

Start with the introduction basics. State your name, company, title/position, and several quick facts about who you are and what you do. Even if you present to a familiar audience, a brief recap is always welcome. 

To keep things a bit more engaging, consider adding some lesser-known facts about yourself. For example:

• Your interests 
• Recent accomplishments
• Testimonial/quote from a team member 
• Fun nicknames you got 

The above can be nice ice breakers for less formal team presentations, project updates, or catch-ups with clients. 

Here are several unique About Me examples you can try out:

For a client case study presentation : 

“Hi, I’m Lynda, Chief Customer Success Specialist with Acme Corp. (Also, someone you thought was a chatbot for the first few encounters)

47 NPS | 15% Churn Rate | 40% repeat purchase rate”

For a team after-action review presentation :

Mike, Project Manager at Cool Project

(aka Maximizer)

Personal Project stats:

387 Slack messages answered

56 cups of coffee consumed

Project profit gross margin: $1.2 million 

2. Work On Your Elevator Pitch 

One of the best ways to introduce yourself in a presentation is to share a punchy elevator pitch. This works extra well if you are presenting to a new audience. 

An elevator pitch is a concise statement (1-2 sentences) that summarizes your unique strengths, skills, and abilities and explains how these can benefit your listener. 

It’s nice to have one ready for your presentations and networking in general since it helps you immediately connect with new people and communicate your value. 

Writing a solid elevator pitch may require several attempts and iterations. But the sooner you start — the faster you’ll arrive at the best formula! 

To get your creative juices flowing, here are several elevator pitch ideas you can incorporate in an introduction slide about yourself. 

For professionals: 

“Certified Salesforce Administrator, data visualization specialist, and analytics for top SaaS brands. I help businesses make more sense of their data to drive better outcomes”.

For a mentor :

“Adjunct professor of creative writing at Columbia University, published author, former lifestyle editor at Esquire, the New York Times. I can teach you how to find, shape, pitch, and publish stories for web & print.”

For a student: 

“Third-year Marine Biology student at Denver State Uni. Volunteer at Lake Life Protection NGO, climate change activist, looking to expand my research about water conservation”.

3. Answer Popular Questions or Assumptions 

If you are a frequent presenter , chances are you get asked a lot of the same “About Me questions” after your speeches and during the networking bits. So why not address a roaster of these in your About Me slide? Select 4-5 most common questions and list them as quick FAQs on your slide deck. 

4. Focus on Telling a Story 

Strong introductions are personable. They are meant to offer a sneak-peak into your personality and the passion behind your work. That’s why for less formal presentations, you can (and should!) start with a short personal story. 

Remember: reliability is important to “click” with your audience. 

For instance, neuroscience research of political ads recently found that ads featuring real people performed better than those with genetic stock footage. Among viewers, emotional engagement and memory encoding (recall) increased dramatically when political ads showed relatable people. 

The same holds true for commerce. In 2015, GE launched a viral “What’s the Matter With Owen?” video ad series to attract more young talent to the company. The clips featured a relatable protagonist, struggling to explain what his work at GE entails e.g. that the company isn’t building railroads, but actually does some very innovative pilots. Many engineers related to the promo and work applications to GE shoot up by 800% ! 

As the above examples show, a good relatable story can go a long way. So think about how you can make a PowerPoint presentation about yourself more representative of who you really are as a person. 

How to Give a Presentation About Yourself: 4 Fool-Proof Tips

On other occasions, you may be asked to give a full-length “about me” presentation. Typically, this is the case during a second interview, onboarding , or if you are in attending a training program or workshop where everyone needs to present themselves and their work. 

Obviously, you’ll need more than one good about me slide in this case. So here’s how to prepare a superb presentation about me. 

What to Put in a Presentation About Yourself?

The audience will expect to learn a mix of personal and professional facts about you. Thus, it’s a good idea to include the following information: 

• Your name, contact info, website , social media handles, digital portfolio .
• Short bio or some interesting snippets. 
• Career timeline (if applicable).
• Main achievements (preferably quantifiable).
• Education, special training.
• Digital badging awards , accolades, and other types of recognition.
• Something more personal — an interest, hobby, aspiration. 

The above mix of items will change a bit, depending on whether you are giving an interview presentation about yourself or introduce yourself post-hiring. For example, in some cases a dedicated bio slide may be useful, but other times focusing on main achievements and goals can be better.

That being said, let’s take a closer look at how to organize the above information in a memorable presentation. 

P.S. Grab an about me slide template to make the design process easier! 

1. Create a List of “Facts About Me”

The easiest way to answer the “tell me about yourself” question is by having an array of facts you can easily fetch from your brain. 

When it comes to a full-length about me presentation , it’s best to have a longer list ready. To keep your brainstorming process productive, organize all your ideas in the following buckets: 

• Key skills (soft and hard)
• Educational accolades, training
• Accomplishments and other “bragging rights”
• Personal tidbits (a.k.a. fun facts ) 

Once you have a list, it gets easier to build a series of slides around it. 

2. Think Like Your Audience 

Most likely you’d be asked to make a presentation about yourself by a recruiter. There’s a good reason why many ask this — they want to determine if you are a good “cultural fit” for their organization. 

After all, 33% of people quit within the first 3 months of accepting a new job. Among these:

• 43% of employees quit because their day-to-day role was different than what they were told it would be during the hiring process.
• 32% cite company culture as a factor for leaving within the first three months. 

About me presentations often serve as an extra “filter” helping both parties ensure that they are on the same page expectations- and work style-wise. Thus, when you prepare your slide deck, do some background company research. Then try to align the presentation with it by matching the company tone, communication style, and cultural values. 

3. Include Testimonials and Recommendations

Use the voice of others to back up the claims you are making in your presentation. After all, trumping your own horn is what you are expected to do in such a presentation. But the voices of others can strengthen the claims you are personally making. 

Depending on your role and industry, try to sprinkle some of the following testimonials: 

• LinkedIn recommendations
• Quotes from personal or professional references
• Social media comments 
• Data metrics of your performance
• Funny assessments from your colleagues/friends 

The above not just strengthen your narrative, but also help the audience learn some extras about you and your background. Testimonial slides can be of help for this purpose.

4. Include a Case Study 

One of the best ways to illustrate who you are is to show what you are best in. Remember, an about me presentation often needs to “soft sell” your qualifications, experience, and personality. 

One of the best ways to do that is to showcase how you can feel in a specific need and solve issues the business is facing. 

So if you have the timeframe, use some of the ending slides to deliver a quick case study. You can present: 

• Short retrospective of a past successful project
• Before-after transformations you’ve achieved 
• Spotlight of the main accomplishments within the previous role 
• Main customer results obtained
• Specific solution delivered by you (or the team you’ve worked with) 

Ending your presentation on such a high note will leave the audience positively impressed and wondering what results you could achieve for them.

To Conclude 

It’s easy to feel stumped when you are asked to talk about yourself. Because there are so many things you could mention (but not necessarily should). At the same time, you don’t want to make your introduction sound like a bragging context. So always think from the position of your audience. Do the facts you choose to share benefit them in any way? If yes, place them confidently on your About Me slides! 

1. Personal Self Introduction PowerPoint Template

Use This Template

2. Self Introduction PowerPoint Template

3. Meet the Team PowerPoint Template Slides

4. Introduce Company Profile PowerPoint Template

5. Modern 1-Page Resume Template for PowerPoint

6. Modern Resume Presentation Template

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Introduce Yourself, Introduction, Presentation Ideas Filed under Presentation Ideas

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How Personal Presentation plays an important role in the workplace?

What is personal presentation in the workplace and why is personal presentation important?

What is personal presentation in the workplace?

Personal presentation is how you portray yourself to other people. Your personal presentation includes everything from the way you look , to the way you speak and move . Personal presentation is part of the communication skills, and communication is one of the five important life and work skills you need to build as a professional. Personal presentation means the way you present yourself in everyday situations, including the most stressful ones like job interviews.

Your personal presentation is made of several elements including (but not limited to) the following:

Physical appearance

Your physical appearance is a major part of your personal presentation. It includes everything we can see about you from wearing clean clothes, having clean and brushed hair and being well-groomed to the colour and style of your clothes and accessories.

Body language

Your body language plays an essential part in your personal presentation. From the way you smile to the way you shake hands and your ability to make eye contact, your non-verbal communication significantly impacts your personal presentation.

Attitudes and behaviours

We can consider that your attitudes and behaviours towards situations and people are part of your personal presentation (and your personal branding ) . The way you speak to and get along with others definitely impacts your personal presentation and what people think about you. Are you being friendly, kind and polite every time you can?

Why is personal presentation important?

With the above definition of personal presentation, it seems essential to learn how to give the right impression through how we look, what we say, and what we do .

We know that within the first few seconds, we are judged based on our appearance and body language. No matter how relevant and interesting our message is, if our personal presentation is not appropriate, people will hardly listen to our message. Working on our personal presentation is the first step to develop effective presentation skills .

Our personal presentation is helping us to fit in by following certain codes of conduct and corporate styling principles. When getting ready to facilitate a workshop, I always adapt my personal presentation to the company I visit with a focus on the company’s industry. No matter how comfortable and fashionable my workout outfit looks, it is not relevant or appropriate to my activity.

A few years back, I was helping a client getting back to the workplace as a chef. She was having a multiple of interviews, she had amazing cooking skills but still couldn't find a job. She decided to use my personal branding and image consulting services to boost her success. The first (and last) coaching session was enough to understand what was going wrong and to adjust the situation. My talented coachee came to our session dressed for interviews and I could immediately spot that her issue was based on her personal presentation. She looked beautiful but she was overdressed for the occasion. She was wearing high heels, a lot of make-up, a complicated hairstyle and fake nails. I looked at her from a recruiter’s point of view and understood why nobody would hire her! The only thing a recruiter can think is that she will be late in the morning to get ready, she will then spend hours in the bathroom to stay stunning, she will never be able to stand on those heels all day, and she might lose a nail or two in the cooking pots and plates. My client dressed like that with the best intentions, to give a positive first impression; it was just not appropriate and relevant to the situation. Together, we selected a few appropriate outfits making her look like a chef at work instead of a fashion icon. Immediately after our session, she dared to reapply to her favourite opportunity and successfully got the job. I guess the lesson here is to dress for the occasion .

How to make the most from your personal presentation?

As mentioned above, the best thing to do is to dress for the occasion. Dressing for the occasion doesn’t mean that you need to change your entire style and feel like wearing a Halloween costume every time you get out. Dressing for the occasion is about adapting your own style to the situation . It might mean being more classy, trying to look more serious or professional, or if you are evolving in a creative environment it might mean showing off your creativity.

When feeling lost about the dress code, simply observe people around you; how do people dress on such occasions, what do they wear when working in this company? It will give you some guidance to pick and choose your outfit and accessories.

Because your personal presentation isn’t only about your appearance, you will pay attention to your body language and non-verbal signals as well as your behaviours.

Maud Vanhoutte

Related articles:

Dressing for job interviews: 10 Dos and Don'ts

How to express your style when wearing a medical coat

Why first impression matters

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The Presentation Planning Checklist

By the Mind Tools Content Team

This presentation planning checklist* will help you to deliver successful presentations.

Presentation

• Does your introduction grab participants' attention and explain your objectives?
• Do you follow this by clearly defining the points of the presentation?
• Are these main points in logical sequence?
• Do these flow well?
• Do the main points need support from visual aids?
• Does your closing summarize the presentation clearly and concisely?
• Is the conclusion strong?
• Have your tied the conclusion to the introduction?
• Are you knowledgeable about the topic covered in your presentation?
• Do you have your notes in order?
• Where and how will you present (indoors, outdoors, standing, sitting, etc.)?
• Have you visited the presentation site?
• Have you checked your visual aids to ensure they are working and you know how to use them?

Many people are nervous about speaking in public. If this applies to you, see our article, Managing Presentation Nerves .

• Make sure you are dressed and groomed appropriately and in keeping with the audience's expectations.
• Practice your speech standing (or sitting, if applicable), paying close attention to your body language, even your posture, both of which will be assessed by the audience.

Visual Aids

• Are the visual aids easy to read and easy to understand?
• Are they tied into the points you are trying to communicate?
• Can they be easily seen from all areas of the room?

* Adapted, in part, from Rouse/Rouse, Business Communications: A Cultural and Strategic Approach (ISBN: 9781861525444). © 2002 Cengage Learning

Rouse, M.J. and Rouse, S. (2002). ' Business Communications: A Cultural and Strategic Approach ,' London: Thomson Learning. p173-174.

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Wellness Gaps

Why is Personal Presentation Important at Work?

By Ion Doaga

There are so many obstacles that stop an employee's growth within a company. And one of these obstacles is the employee's poor personal presentation.

Without a good personal presentation, an employee may never receive positive attention. But he will get enough negative attention. 

Without knowing him well, his coworkers make negative assumptions based on his appearance. They'll say things like "He is not professional", "He's a negative person", or He is a bad team player".

The truth is that they express their concern about his poor personal hygiene. They think that he doesn't want to make their life easier while working in the same team.

What if the employee would try to improve his presentation in the workplace? Would his coworkers consider his efforts to be in the team? Would all the negative perceptions about the employee disappear?

May ... but that's not the only benefit of having a good personal presentation at work.

See below which the benefits of aligning your appearance with the company’s standards .

What is a personal presentation at work?

A good personal presentation speaks about the employee as a responsible employee. That's a message that influences his coworkers, supervisors, and managers. 

Dressing, behaving and communicating  appropriately  leave a good first impression. 

It’s a way of telling everybody that you want to be helpful to their working environment rather than being a hurdle . 

The importance of personal hygiene in the workplace

Effects of inappropriate personal presentation in the workplace.

You heard the saying that you have only one chance to make a good impression on yourself. That’s especially important when you build relationships with coworkers or represent the company meeting clients face to face. Let’s imagine the following situations where Jerry is our hero:

• If, while meeting clients, Jerry dresses inappropriately it may result in lost opportunities and sales . Customers judge their service provider reps by their appearance too. They have a hard time trusting a  poorly dressed person.
• Jerry works in a beauty salon where clients come to make themselves beautiful. In this case, clients expect Jerry to have good personal hygiene and appearance. 
• Now, imagine that Jerry is a real estate broker.  In such a case, any poor sign on Jerry’s appearance takes the client's focus from what Jerry tells them about the features of the house . Every time the client is distracted from the employers' words, his chances to sell the house decreases .
• Now, Jerry arrives into the office looking like he rolled out of bed. He didn’t clean his teeth. He didn’t clean his nails, and his hair spikes due to unwashed hair. He just gave his coworkers a reason to be talked behind his back. In the eyes of management, sloppiness is a sign of disrespect for your job.

Which are the most important personal image standards at work?

1. be well-groomed.

To be well-groomed follow the below basic grooming tips: 

• use deodorant without excesses.
• maintain a clean hairstyle.
• trim your nails.
• shave your face. Or if you have a beard, maintain it regularly.
• wear clean and fresh clothes matching the style and color.
• avoid wearing excessive jewelry. 
• 14 Tips for Maintaining Employee Personal Hygiene at Work

2. Maintain a healthy image

Another element of personal presentation is a healthy physical appearance.

A healthy look speaks about practicing healthy habits, eating well, and exercising.

This keeps the employee energized and positive.

A healthy employee is more efficient and takes fewer sick leaves.

While on the other side, poor health speaks about an employee as having a weak character. That tells his boss or coworkers that if he can’t take care of his health then he can't take care of the company as well.

3. Maintain good hygiene 

• maintain a dental hygiene routine to avoid such hygiene issues such as bad breath, caries, teeth yellowing.  
• maintain good body hygiene to avoid releasing embarrassing odors and skin diseases. 
• wear clean and ironed clothes.
• wash your hands often to avoid the spreading of your microorganisms within the office.

4. Show a friendly attitude

Besides maintaining a good workplace personal hygiene and having a pleasant physical look, you must also behave professionally. This means treating your coworkers and clients with a positive and professional attitude:

• greet and welcome guests appropriately.
• use suitable language.
• show good and friendly manners.
• open doors for guests. 
• offer seats.
•  be confident and maintain good posture.
• be punctual.

Your presentation at work plays an important role in your career growth.

Maintaining a professional appearance helps your coworkers and your boss perceive you as a valuable employee in the company while your clients perceive you as a helpful and useful professional at their job.

ABOUT ION DOAGA

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Preparation is the single most important part of making a successful presentation. It is an absolutely crucial foundation, and you should dedicate as much time to it as possible, avoiding short-cuts. Good preparation will ensure that you have thought carefully about the messages that you want (or need) to communicate in your presentation and it will also help boost your confidence.

There are a number of aspects that you need to consider when preparing a presentation. They include the aim of the presentation, the subject matter, the audience, the venue or place, the time of day, and the length of the talk. All these will affect what you say and how you say it, as well as the visual aids that you use to get your point across.

The Objective

Whenever you are asked to give a presentation or speak to a group of people, you need to start by asking the purpose of the presentation.

In other words, what is the presentation expected to achieve, and what outcome(s) do the organisers and the audience expect?

These outcomes will shape your presentation, because it must be designed to achieve the objective and deliver the desired outcomes.

For example, you might be asked to give a talk to a gardening club. You might be told that the purpose of the talk is to fill a regular meeting slot, and that the members of the club have expressed a desire to learn more about pruning. You therefore know that your talk needs to be entertaining, fairly light, but knowledgeable, and that your audience wants to learn something new.

As you prepare your presentation, make sure you keep asking yourself:

“How is saying this going to help to achieve the objective and outcomes?”

The Subject

The subject of your presentation or talk about comes from the objective. They are linked, but they are not necessarily exactly the same thing.

For example:

The subject may be given to you by the organisation that has invited you (such as talking about pruning to the gardening club).

You may be knowledgeable in a particular field (perhaps you have an interest in local history).

The subject may be entirely your choice within certain limitations (you might, for example, be asked to give a presentation at an interview on a project which you feel has particularly developed your skills).

The Audience

Before preparing material for a presentation, it is worth considering your prospective audience.

Tailoring your talk to the audience is important and the following points should be considered:

The size of the group or audience expected.

The age range - a talk aimed at retired people will be quite different from one aimed at teenagers.

Gender - will the audience be predominantly male or female?

Is it a captive audience or will they be there out of interest?

Will you be speaking in their work or leisure time?

Do they know something about your subject already or will it be totally new to them?  Is the subject part of their work?

Are you there to inform, teach, stimulate, or provoke?

Can you use humour and, if so, what would be considered appropriate? If you are in any doubt about this, it is probably best to avoid anything even remotely risqué.

It is important to have as much advance information as possible about the place where you are going to speak.

It can be helpful to arrange to see the venue before the event. It does much to quell fear if you can visualise the place while you are preparing your talk. However, even if you cannot visit, you will probably find it helpful to know:

The size of the room;

The seating arrangements (for example, theatre-style, with rows of seats; or round-table);

The availability of equipment, e.g., microphone, laptop and projector, flip chart;

The availability of power points and if an extension lead is required for any equipment you intend to use;

If the room has curtains or blinds. This is relevant if you intend to use visual aids, and so that you can ensure the correct ambiance for your presentation;

The position of the light switches.  Check if you need someone to help if you are using audio/visual equipment and need to turn off the lights;

The likelihood of outside distractions, e.g., noise from another room; and

The availability of parking facilities so you do not have a long walk carrying any equipment you might need to take.

If this information is not available ahead of time, it will help to get there a bit early, to give you time to set up.

There will often be no flexibility in the time of day that a presentation is made. However, it does affect what you can do, and how you might organise your presentation, because of the likely state of your audience (see box).

How time of day can affect your audience

The morning is the best time to speak because people are generally at their most alert. However, as it gets towards lunch time, people begin to feel hungry and lose concentration. This is particularly true if the event has not included a coffee break.

After lunch, people often feel sleepy and lethargic. If you are given a slot immediately after lunch, it is a good idea to get your audience involved. A discussion or getting your audience moving about will work a lot better than simply presenting a lot of slides. A flip chart may also be a more useful tool than a laptop and projector, especially if it means you can open blinds and use natural light.

Towards the end of the afternoon, people again tend to lose concentration as they start to worry about getting home, the traffic or collecting children from school.

Evening or Weekend:

Outside regular office hours, people are more likely to be present because they want to be rather than because they have to be there.  There is a better chance of audience attention in the evening. However, if the presentation goes on for too long, people may have to leave before you have finished. People will also be less tolerant of a poor presentation because you are in their time, not their employer’s.

Length of Talk

Always find out how long you have to talk and check if this includes or excludes time for questions.

Find out if there are other speakers and, if so, where you are placed in the running order.  Never elect to go last.  Beware of over-running, as this could be disastrous if there are other speakers following you.

It is important to remember that people find it difficult to maintain concentration for long periods of time. This is a good reason for making a presentation succinct, well-structured and interesting. Aim for 45 minutes as a maximum single-session presentation, and preferably leave at least 10 or 15 minutes for questions. Nobody minds finishing a session early.

Providing Information in Advance

Always check what information you will need to provide in advance.

Organisers of big events and conferences often like to have all the PowerPoint presentations several days ahead of the event. This gives them time to load all the presentations, and make sure that they are properly branded for the event.

Some events also need speakers’ biographies ahead of time, to put in conference literature. When you are asked to give the presentation, make sure you ask what is needed by when—and then supply it.

You will not be popular if you turn up on the day and announce that you have completely rewritten your presentation on the train. It is entirely possible that the organisers may even not be able to accommodate that, for example if the audio-visual is being supplied by a separate company or by the venue.

And finally…

Being asked to give a presentation is an honour, not a chore.

You are representing your organisation or yourself, if you are self-employed. You are also not there by right, but by invitation. It is therefore important that you put in the time and effort to ensure that you deliver what your audience wants. That way, you may just be invited back another time.

Continue to: Organising the Presentation Material

See also: Can Presentation Science Improve Your Presentation? Preparing for Oral Presentations Managing the Presentation Event Coping with Presentation Nerves

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10 Slides to use in a Personal Presentation

• Personal branding /
• Presentation design /
• Public speaking

We have encountered so far two uses of personal presentation. One of them became more common in the past years, as the freelancing scene is burgeoning. 

As you guessed, the personal presentation is used by freelancers as an extended business card. It includes the services the freelancers provide, their work process, recommendations, and any relevant information they want to share with potential clients. But we will discuss this in a further article. 

In this article, we will cover the other use of the Personal Presentation, also known as the Interview Presentation, as a part of the hiring process for middle – senior positions. You reached a point in your career when a simple interview or CV is not enough to fully convey your potential. So, this is where a personal presentation comes in. 

Giving a presentation will let you showcase your public speaking skills, knowledge about the position you are applying for, and the field you are working in. This will also help potential employers to better understand the value you are to bring to the company. 

Reaching this level in your career comes with high expectations, and the classic PowerPoint templates won’t do you good. There is always the option of going with solid white background and standard font, but take into consideration the aesthetics of the organization. Or choose to work with a specialist that will highlight your attributes and channel your personality. 

1. Cover slide

The first impression matters and we are not talking only about your physical appearance, but also your digital one. No one is judging you for how you look or how you dress, it all varies from company to company. Yes, you do need to give your best professional appearance and your presentation alike. 

Employers can tell from the cover slide how much interest you put in the presentation. Make a first impression that lasts, get their attention from the beginning, and don’t let go. 

You can also download some cover slide templates from here: 

Cover slide templates

2. About me (similar to CV, the most important info)

Your audience has already seen your application, and your CV, they probably went through your social accounts such as Linkedin. This is the time to paint them a picture of yourself, and how you want them to see you from now on, both on a professional and personal level. 

In a middle-senior position, some personal details are essential to creating a bond, as the employer is looking for someone that they can work with, that they can bring into the team. 

Don’t go into specific details in this part, you are going to talk about your career, achievements, and skills later. 

3. Career (where have you worked and what have you done there)

As in a CV, there is no need to present all the jobs you had had. Choose those who are relevant to the job you are applying and if you are specifically fond of one, you can mention it. 

Pick 3 or 4 previous positions, mention the company you worked for, and from there you can extend to your main responsibilities and key learnings. It is important to present them as part of your story, not just bullets on the slide and we also recommend making a connection between those positions and the one you are applying for. 

4. Achievements and Training

This can be a slide or two slides sections. To differentiate yourself from other candidates, ensure the achievements you are listing focus on the results rather than your duties. Quantify your achievements through specific situations and the results you gained.

You don’t need to brag about yourself, but most people forget that they also need to sell themselves (their results and their knowledge) in this personal presentation. Put out those achievements that would apply to the job and can even enter scenarios on how those situations can help you in the new job. 

5. Skill Set

This is about you, about the skills that you worked to get. Again, it’s not about just listing the skills you have, bringing out examples, and experience, and telling on how you acquired that skill. 

Before making out this list, research a few things about the company, what are they looking for in employees, what the job will require of you and what are the values of the company. This way it will come easier when presenting the skills that you have and that will help you with the new position.  

6. Experience in the position applying 

It’s not just the previous jobs you have, it’s the experiences you got from them. So rather than presenting the old jobs, talk about specific projects/situations that would apply to this one. 

Talk about what happened, how you handled it, what were the results, and what have you learned from there. Ask yourself first how will this help me in the position that I am applying for. When you figured that out, the presentation will go smoother.  

7. Your added value to the company

With all the experience you have and the research done on the company and the job, this is the time to tell your interviewers what is your vision of the company. 

Using the skills you presented, explain how can you be an asset to them and what value will you add to the company. 

8. First actions on the job

All the stories have built up the person standing right now in front of the committee. What they want to know now is what actions you would take if you got the position. Don’t go after some revolutionary actions, keep your feet on the ground and analyze what are the needs of the company and what can you do about them.

For every action you put on the presentation, think of the small steps and the resources you need to do that action. As a follow-up to this slide, have prepared a few notes with the results you are expecting from them. 

9.  Final statement 

The final statement needs to be a strong selling point, you can point out some of the skills and experience. Put all of this in a way that will bring benefits to the company.  

Why you are the best candidate for this position and how will that bring value to the company? 

10. References & Contact Info

Ask a previous employer for a short recommendation, remember to mention the name and the position of the author. The other references can be on your CV, and in this slide have just one written recommendation that is relevant for the job. 

You arrived at the final slide, inviting your audience to a small Q&A while the reference is still displayed. They already have your contact info, but it’s recommended to put it on the final slide. Have the presentation ready to be sent to the committee if necessary. 

Before preparing or delivering a personal presentation, consider these tips:

• As you have seen in the article, we mention a lot that the information you put in the presentation is relevant to the job you are applying for; 
• Research the company and the job;
• Keep in mind that your physical and digital appearance can denote how much you have prepared for this interview and how much you want the position;
• You don’t need to be a presentation designer, you can always keep it simple. Though, avoid using regular templates, and personalize the presentation to your aspect;
• Have the presentation ready to be delivered before the interview.

We can always help you prepare the specific presentation and you can take your time to prepare for the interview. Send us a message and let’s talk about you!

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The Importance of Presentation Skills in the Workplace

I was reminded this week about the importance of presentation skills in the workplace. Three participants in my presentation skills workshop in Detroit taught job placement skills. I noticed a couple of interesting things as the class went on. First, these participants offered tips in their class presentations similar to what I teach. These three class members also developed their presentation skills very quickly. Basically, they had well-developed communication skills that helped them be more successful in business. They developed presentation skills quickly because they already had great communication skills. The opposite is true as well. Presentation skills help you communicate better in the business world. (That is the importance of presentation skills in the workplace!)

Five Ways that Presentation Skills Can Help You in the Workplace

• Leaders Always have Great Presentation Skills

Think of any person who you consider to be a great leader. The moment that you think of this person, an image of that person will often appear in your head. There is a really good chance that the image will be the person speaking in front of a group. If you thought of a President like JFK or Ronald Reagan, you probably thought of a famous speech. “Ask not what your country could do for you..” or “Tear down this wall…” might have actually entered your mind as well. Also, when I think of General Patton, I have an image of George C. Scott standing in front of an American Flag. (He was giving a speech.)

Inspirational Pep Talk from Friday Night Lights

When I played football in college, my position coach was Gary Gaines. If you have seen the movie or read the book Friday Night Lights , you may recognize the name. Coach Gaines is a fantastic leader. He is also a fantastic communicator. Interestingly, when I think of him today, I don’t remember the coaching and reprimands. Instead, I remember the way he used to make us feel during team meetings. Just as an FYI, Billy Bob Thornton did an amazing job portraying him. Although there was a scene in the movie where he yelled at a kid. I never once saw Coach lose his temper or yell at anyone. That’s why we all loved him.

• To Be a Part of the Team, You Have to Speak Up

I was angry at myself. “Why didn’t I say something?” I had an opportunity to help the team and help myself at the same time. The opportunity had passed though. I missed it. So one importance of presentation skills in the workplace is that we gain confidence. When we do, we are more likely to contribute to the team.

• Set Yourself Apart from the Crowd

One major importance of presentation skills in the workplace is the ability to stand out from the crowd. Let’s face it. Most people stink at giving presentations. I sometimes jokingly say in class that you don’t have to be an excellent presenter. You just have to be a little better than the last person that spoke. And in most cases, the bar is set pretty low.

I taught a team-building activity to a department of the Federal Government a couple of weeks ago. As I was teaching, I felt like the energy was a little lower than usual. As I was packing up my stuff, though, one of the participants came up to me. He said, “I’ve been coming to these ‘team meetings’ for almost 25 years. This one was, by far, the best that I’ve ever been to.” He was comparing me to past speakers. Compared to them, it was fantastic. My presentation skills helped me set myself apart from the crowd.

• You Can Create a Team Atmosphere

The manager who took over was very disorganized. There were about 10 of us who were sales reps for the company. We each had to drive almost an hour to each weekly “team meeting.” The new manager droned on and on about irrelevant stuff. His meetings were an absolute chore. Within a few months, the owner had to “transition” him to a new position. That left an opening, and I got the job. When I took over, I just began to copy Scott. It worked really well, and sales and morale improved immediately.

• Open Doors of Opportunity

For instance, I got a random call out of the blue a couple of weeks ago from a police officer who took my class. After taking Fearless Presentations ®, he volunteered for a community outreach position. He has spent the last few years teaching college students how to improve security on their campus. He told me that he has received two promotions as well.

An entrepreneur from a recent class sent me an email saying that she auditioned for Shark Tank. She said that she would have never done something like that before the class.

These are just a few of the intangible benefits of good presentation skills. In many positions, these skills are vital. For instance, if you are in sales, the better your skills, the more sales you will create. If you are a trainer, your presentation skills will allow you to teach others more easily and effectively. Also, managers and supervisors can lead to more productive meetings. Folks who work with customers are less likely to have miscommunication. The benefits are endless. So, if you want to get ahead in the business world, work on your presentation skills!

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