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Presentation Skills 101: A Guide to Presentation Success

Getting the perfect presentation design is just a step toward a successful presentation. For the experienced user, building presentation skills is the answer to elevating the power of your message and showing expertise on any subject. Still, one can ask: is it the same set of skills, or are they dependable on the type of presentation?

In this article, we will introduce the different types of presentations accompanied by the skillset required to master them. The purpose, as always, is to retain the audience’s interest for a long-lasting and convincing message.

Table of Contents

The Importance of Presentation Skills

Persuasive presentations, instructional presentations, informative presentations, inspirational presentations, basic presentation skills, what are the main difficulties when giving a presentation, recommendations to improve your presentation skills, closing statement.

Effective communication is the answer to reaching business and academic goals. The scenarios in which we can be required to deliver a presentation are as diverse as one can imagine. Still, some core concepts apply to all presentations.

 We define presentation skills as a compendium of soft skills that directly affect your presentation performance and contribute to creating a great presentation. These are not qualities acquired by birth but skills you ought to train and master to delve into professional environments.

You may ask: is it really that evident when a presenter is not prepared? Here are some common signs people can experience during presentations:

• Evasive body language: Not making eye contact with the audience, arms closed tightly to the body, hands in pockets all the time.
• Lack of interest in the presenter’s voice: dull tone, not putting an effort to articulate the topics.
• Doubting when asked to answer a question
• Irksome mood

The list can go on about common presenter mistakes , and most certainly, it will affect the performance of any presented data if the lack of interest by the presenter is blatantly obvious.  Another element to consider is anxiety, and according to research by the National Institute of Mental Health, 73% of the population in the USA is affected by glossophobia , which is the fear of public speaking, judgment, or negative evaluation by other people.

Therefore, presentation skills training is essential for any business professional who wants to achieve effective communication . It will remove the anxiety from presentation performance and help users effectively deliver their message and connect with the audience.

Archetypes of presentations

Persuasive presentations aim to convince the audience – often in short periods – to acquire a product or service, adhere to a cause, or invest in a company. For business entrepreneurs or politicians, persuasive presentations are their tool for the trade.

Unless you aim to be perceived as an imposter, a proper persuasive presentation has the elements of facts, empathy, and logic, balanced under a well-crafted narrative. The central pillar of these presentations is to identify the single factor that gathered your audience: it could be a market need, a social cause, or a revolutionary concept for today’s society. It has to be something with enough power to gather critiques – both good and bad.

That single factor has to be backed up by facts. Research that builds your hypothesis on how to solve that problem. A deep understanding of the target audience’s needs , concerns, and social position regarding the solution your means can offer. When those elements are in place, building a pitch becomes an easy task. 

Graphics can help you introduce information in a compelling format, lowering the need for lengthy presentations. Good presentation skills for persuasive presentations go by the hand of filtering relevant data and creating the visual cues that resonate with what your audience demands.

One powerful example of a persuasive presentation is the technique known as the elevator pitch . You must introduce your idea or product convincingly to the audience in a timeframe between 30 seconds and less than 2 minutes. You have to expose:

• What do you do 
• What’s the problem to solve
• Why is your solution different from others 
• Why should the audience care about your expertise

For that very purpose, using engaging graphics with contrasting colors elevates the potential power of your message. It speaks professionalism, care for details, and out-of-the-box thinking. Knowing how to end a presentation is also critical, as your CTAs should be placed with care.

Therefore, let’s resume the requirements of persuasive presentations in terms of good presentation skills:

• Identifying problems and needs
• Elaborating “the hook” (the element that grabs the audience’s attention)
• Knowing how to “tie” your audience (introducing a piece of information related to the hook that causes an emotional impact)
• Broad knowledge of body language and hand gestures to quickly convey your message
• Being prepared to argue a defense of your point of view
• Handling rejection
• Having a proactive attitude to convert opportunities into new projects
• Using humor, surprise, or personal anecdotes as elements to sympathize with the audience
• Having confidence
• Be able to summarize facts and information in visually appealing ways

You can learn more about persuasive presentation techniques by clicking here .

In the case of instructional presentations, we ought to differentiate two distinctive types:

• Lecture Presentations : Presentations being held at universities or any other educative institution. Those presentations cover, topic by topic, and the contents of a syllabus and are created by the team of teachers in charge of the course.
• Training Presentations : These presentations take place during in-company training sessions and usually comprise a good amount of content that is resumed into easy-to-take solutions. They are aimed to coach employees over certain topics relevant to their work performance. The 70-20-10 Model is frequently used to address these training situations.

Lecture presentations appeal to the gradual introduction of complex concepts, following a structure set in the course’s syllabus. These presentations often have a similar aesthetic as a group of professors or researchers created to share their knowledge about a topic. Personal experience does tell that course presentations often rely on factual data, adequately documented, and on the theoretical side.

An example of a presentation that lies under this concept is a Syllabus Presentation, used by the teaching team to introduce the subject to new students, evaluation methods, concepts to be learned, and expectations to pass the course.

On the other hand, training presentations are slide decks designed to meet an organization’s specific needs in the formal education of their personnel. Commonly known as “continuous education,” plenty of companies invest resources in coaching their employees to achieve higher performance results. These presentations have the trademark of being concise since their idea is to introduce the concepts that shall be applied in practice sessions. 

Ideally, the training presentations are introduced with little text and easy-to-recognize visual cues. Since the idea is to summarize as much as possible, these are visually appealing for the audience. They must be dynamic enough to allow the presenter to convey the message.

Those key takeaways remind employees when they revisit their learning resources and allow them to ruminate on questions that fellow workers raise. 

To sum up this point, building presentation skills for instructional presentations requires:

• Ability to put complex concepts into simpler words
• Patience and a constant learning mindset
• Voice training to deliver lengthy speeches without being too dense
• Ability to summarize points and note the key takeaways
• Empathizing with the audience to understand their challenges in the learning process

The informative presentations take place in business situations, such as when to present project reports from different departments to the management. Another potential usage of these presentations is in SCRUM or other Agile methodologies, when a sprint is completed, to discuss the advance of the project with the Product Owner.

As they are presentations heavily dependent on data insights, it’s common to see the usage of infographics and charts to express usually dense data in simpler terms and easy to remember. 

Informative presentations don’t just fall into the business category. Ph.D. Dissertation and Thesis presentations are topics that belong to the informative presentations category as they condense countless research hours into manageable reports for the academic jury. 

Since these informational presentations can be perceived as lengthy and data-filled, it is important to learn the following professional presentation skills:

• Attention to detail
• Be able to explain complex information in simpler terms
• Creative thinking
• Powerful diction
• Working on pauses and transitions
• Pacing the presentation, so not too much information is divulged per slide

The leading inspirational platform, TEDx, comes to mind when talking about inspirational presentations. This presentation format has the peculiarity of maximizing the engagement with the audience to divulge a message, and due to that, it has specific requirements any presenter must meet.

This presentation format usually involves a speaker on a stage, either sitting or better standing, in which the presenter engages with the audience with a storytelling format about a life experience, a job done that provided a remarkable improvement for society, etc.

Empathizing with the audience is the key ingredient for these inspirational presentations. Still, creativity is what shapes the outcome of your performance as people are constantly looking for different experiences – not the same recipe rephrased with personal touches. The human factor is what matters here, way above data and research. What has your experience to offer to others? How can it motivate another human being to pursue a similar path or discover their true calling?

To achieve success in terms of communication skills presentation, these inspirational presentations have the following requirements:

• Focus on the audience (engage, consider their interests, and make them a part of your story)
• Putting ego aside
• Creative communication skills
• Storytelling skills
• Body language knowledge to apply the correct gestures to accompany your story
• Voice training
• Using powerful words

After discussing the different kinds of presentations we can come across at any stage of our lives, a group of presentation skills is standard in any type of presentation. See below what makes a good presentation and which skills you must count on to succeed as a presenter.

Punctuality

Punctuality is a crucial aspect of giving an effective presentation. Nothing says more about respect for your audience and the organization you represent than delivering the presentation on time . Arriving last minute puts pressure on the tech team behind audiovisuals, as they don’t have enough preparation to test microphones, stage lights, and projector settings, which can lead to a less powerful presentation Even when discussing presentations hosted in small rooms for a reduced audience, testing the equipment becomes essential for an effective presentation.

A solution for this is to arrive at least 30 minutes early. Ideally, one hour is a sweet spot since the AV crew has time to check the gear and requirements for your presentation. Another benefit of this, for example, in inspirational presentations, is measuring the previous presenter’s impact on the audience. This gives insights about how to resonate with the public, and their interest, and how to accommodate your presentation for maximum impact.

Body Language

Our bodies can make emotions transparent for others, even when we are unaware of such a fact. Proper training for body language skills reduces performance anxiety, giving the audience a sense of expertise about the presented topic. 

Give your presentation and the audience the respect they deserve by watching over these potential mistakes:

• Turning your back to the audience for extended periods : It’s okay to do so when introducing an important piece of information or explaining a graph, but it is considered rude to give your back to the audience constantly.
• Fidgeting : We are all nervous in the presence of strangers, even more, if we are the center of attention for that moment. Instead of playing with your hair or making weird hand gestures, take a deep breath to center yourself before the presentation and remember that everything you could do to prepare is already done. Trust your instincts and give your best.
• Intense eye contact : Have you watched a video where the presenter stared at the camera the entire time? That’s the feeling you transmit to spectators through intense eye contact. It’s a practice often used by politicians to persuade.
• Swearing : This is a no-brainer. Even when you see influencers swearing on camera or in podcasts or live presentations, it is considered an informal and lousy practice for business and academic situations. If you have a habit to break when it comes to this point, find the humor in these situations and replace your swear words with funny alternatives (if the presentation allows for it). 

Voice Tone plays a crucial role in delivering effective presentations and knowing how to give a good presentation. Your voice is a powerful tool for exposing your ideas and feelings . Your voice can articulate the message you are telling, briefing the audience if you feel excited about what you are sharing or, in contrast, if you feel the presentation is a burden you ought to complete.

Remember, passion is a primary ingredient in convincing people. Therefore, transmitting such passion with a vibrant voice may help gather potential business partners’ interest.  

But what if you feel sick prior to the presentation? If, by chance, your throat is sore minutes before setting foot on the stage, try this: when introducing yourself, mention that you are feeling a bit under the weather. This resonates with the audience to pay more attention to your efforts. In case you don’t feel comfortable about that, ask the organizers for a cup of tea, as it will settle your throat and relax your nerves.

Tech Skills

Believe it or not, people still feel challenged by technology these days. Maybe that’s the reason why presentation giants like Tony Robbins opt not to use PowerPoint presentations . The reality is that there are plenty of elements involved in a presentation that can go wrong from the tech side:

• A PDF not opening
• Saving your presentation in a too-recent PowerPoint version
• A computer not booting up
• Mac laptops and their never-ending compatibility nightmare
• Not knowing how to change between slides
• Not knowing how to use a laser pointer
• Internet not working
• Audio not working

We can come up with a pretty long list of potential tech pitfalls, and yet more than half of them fall in presenters not being knowledgeable about technology.

If computers aren’t your thing, let the organization know about this beforehand. There is always a crew member available to help presenters switch between slides or configure the presentation for streaming. This takes the pressure off your shoulders, allowing you to concentrate on the content to present. Remember, even Bill Gates can get a BSOD during a presentation .

Presentations, while valuable for conveying information and ideas, can be daunting for many individuals. Here are some common difficulties people encounter when giving presentations:

Public Speaking Anxiety

Glossophobia, the fear of public speaking, affects a significant portion of the population. This anxiety can lead to nervousness, trembling, and forgetfulness during a presentation.

Lack of Confidence

Many presenters struggle with self-doubt, fearing that they may not be knowledgeable or skilled enough to engage their audience effectively.

Content Organization

Organizing information in a coherent and engaging manner can be challenging. Presenters often grapple with how to structure their content to make it easily digestible for the audience. Artificial Intelligence can help us significantly reduce the content arrangement time when you work with tools like our AI Presentation Maker (made for presenters by experts in presentation design). 

Audience Engagement

Keeping the audience’s attention and interest throughout the presentation can be difficult. Distractions, disengaged attendees, or lack of interaction can pose challenges.

Technical Issues

Technology glitches, such as malfunctioning equipment, incompatible file formats, or poor internet connectivity, can disrupt presentations and increase stress.

Time Management

Striking the right balance between providing enough information and staying within time limits is a common challenge. Going over or under the allotted time can affect the effectiveness of the presentation.

Handling Questions and Challenges

Responding to unexpected questions, criticism, or challenges from the audience can be difficult, especially when presenters are unprepared or lack confidence in their subject matter.

Visual Aids and Technology

Creating and effectively using visual aids like slides or multimedia can be a struggle for some presenters. Technical competence is essential in this aspect.

Language and Articulation

Poor language skills or unclear articulation can hinder effective communication. Presenters may worry about stumbling over words or failing to convey their message clearly.

Maintaining appropriate and confident body language can be challenging. Avoiding nervous habits, maintaining eye contact, and using gestures effectively requires practice.

Overcoming Impersonal Delivery

In virtual presentations, maintaining a personal connection with the audience can be difficult. The absence of face-to-face interaction can make it challenging to engage and read the audience.

Cultural and Diversity Awareness

Presenting to diverse audiences requires sensitivity to cultural differences and varying levels of familiarity with the topic.

In this section, we gathered some tips on how to improve presentation skills that can certainly make an impact if applied to your presentation skills. We believe these skills can be cultivated to transform into habits for your work routine.

Tip #1: Build a narrative

One memorable way to guarantee presentation success is by writing a story of all the points you desire to cover. This statement is based on the logic behind storytelling and its power to connect with people .

Don’t waste time memorizing slides or reading your presentation to the audience. It feels unnatural, and any question that diverts from the topic in discussion certainly puts you in jeopardy or, worse, exposes you as a fraud in the eyes of the audience. And before you ask, it is really evident when a presenter has a memorized speech. 

Build and rehearse the presentation as if telling a story to a group of interested people. Lower the language barrier by avoiding complex terms that maybe even you aren’t fully aware of their meaning. Consider the ramifications of that story, what it could lead to, and which are the opportunities to explore. Then, visualize yourself giving the presentation in a natural way.

Applying this technique makes the presentation feel like second nature to you. It broadens the spectrum in which you can show expertise over a topic or even build the basis for new interesting points of view about the project.

Tip #2: Don’t talk for more than 3 minutes per slide

It is a common practice of presenters to bombard the audience with facts and information whilst retaining the same slide on the screen. Why can this happen? It could be because the presenter condensed the talk into very few slides and preferred to talk. The reality is that your spectators won’t retain the information you are giving unless you give visual cues to help that process. 

Opt to prepare more slides and pace your speech to match the topics shown on each slide. Don’t spend more than 3 minutes per slide unless you have to introduce a complex piece of data. Use visual cues to direct the spectators about what you talk about, and summarize the principal concepts discussed at the end of each section.

Tip #3: Practice meditation daily

Anxiety is the number one enemy of professional presenters. It slowly builds without you being aware of your doubts and can hinder your performance in multiple ways: making you feel paralyzed, fidgeting, making you forget language skills or concepts, affecting your health, etc.

Meditation is an ancient practice taken from Buddhist teachings that train your mind to be here in the present. We often see the concepts of meditation and mindfulness as synonyms, whereas you should be aware that meditation is a practice that sets the blocks to reach a state of mindfulness. For presenters, being in the here and now is essential to retain focus, but meditation techniques also teach us to control our breathing and be in touch with our body signals when stress builds up. 

The customary practice of meditation has an impact on imagination and creativity but also helps to build patience – a skill much needed for connecting with your audience in instructional presentations.

Having the proper set of presentation skills can be quite subjective. It goes beyond presentation tips and deepens into how flexible we can be in our ability to communicate ideas.

Different presentations and different audiences shape the outcome of our efforts. Therefore, having a basic understanding of how to connect, raise awareness, and empathize with people can be key ingredients for your career as a presenter. A word of advice: success doesn’t happen overnight. It takes dedication and patience to build communication skills . Don’t condition your work to believe you will be ready “someday”; it’s best to practice and experience failure as part of the learning process.

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• PRESENTATION SKILLS

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Presentation Skills:

• A - Z List of Presentation Skills
• Top Tips for Effective Presentations
• General Presentation Skills
• What is a Presentation?
• Preparing for a Presentation
• Organising the Material
• Writing Your Presentation
• Deciding the Presentation Method
• Managing your Presentation Notes
• Working with Visual Aids
• Presenting Data
• Managing the Event
• Coping with Presentation Nerves
• Dealing with Questions
• How to Build Presentations Like a Consultant
• Self-Presentation in Presentations
• Specific Presentation Events
• Remote Meetings and Presentations
• Giving a Speech
• Presentations in Interviews
• Presenting to Large Groups and Conferences
• Giving Lectures and Seminars
• Managing a Press Conference
• Attending Public Consultation Meetings
• Managing a Public Consultation Meeting
• Crisis Communications
• Elsewhere on Skills You Need:
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• Facilitation Skills
• Teams, Groups and Meetings
• Effective Speaking
• Question Types

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Presentation Skills

Presenting information clearly and effectively is a key skill in getting your message across. Today, presentation skills are required in almost every field, and most of us are required to give presentations on occasions. While some people take this in their stride, others find it much more challenging.

It is, however, possible to improve your presentation skills with a bit of work. This section of SkillsYouNeed is designed to help.

Many people feel terrified when asked to talk in public, especially to bigger groups. However, these fears can be reduced by good preparation, which will also lay the groundwork for making an effective presentation.

There are Different Types of Presentations, but They’re All Presentations

There are any number of occasions when you may be asked to speak in public or to a group of people. They include:

• Presenting or making a speech at a conference or event.
• Objecting to a planning proposal at a council meeting.
• Making a speech at a wedding.
• Proposing a vote of thanks to someone at a club or society.
• On behalf of a team, saying goodbye and presenting a gift to a colleague who is leaving.
• Seeking investment or a loan to help you set up a new business.

These can all be considered presentations.

They do not, however, all require the same approach. You would not, for example, use PowerPoint to thank a colleague who was leaving. It would be unusual (though it has been done) to use it in a speech at a wedding. However, a conference audience would be somewhat surprised NOT to see slides projected onto a screen.

It follows, therefore, that there is no single set of rules that apply to all presentations. There are, however, some things that every presentation opportunity has in common. These include:

You will present better if you have prepared effectively . This does NOT necessarily mean that you have written out your speech verbatim and rehearsed it until you know it off by heart—although that might work for some people. It does, however, mean that you have to be confident that you are saying the right thing, in the right way, to the right people.

You need to be clear about your audience and your message . Every presentation will be better if you have clearly considered the message that you want or need to convey, and how best to convey it to your audience. These two pieces of information drive your style, structure, content, and use of visual aids.

You must never overrun your allocated time .  In other words, don’t outstay your welcome. Almost every speech or presentation is better if it is shorter. Nobody minds going for coffee early or finishing before they expected to do so. Everybody minds being held up.

Generally speaking, your audience starts on your side. As a rule, your audience is there (more or less) voluntarily. They have chosen to listen to you, and they want to enjoy your presentation. The occasion is yours to lose.

An Important Point

There is one very important point to remember: if what you’re doing or saying is not working, do something else.

One of the worst feelings as a presenter is that you have lost your audience. You know that’s happened, but you continue to stumble through your remaining PowerPoint slides for the next 15 minutes, as your audience checks their phones and wishes it was coffee time. You think you have no choice, but that’s not actually true.

When you present, you are in charge of the room . The audience has effectively handed you control and is sitting back waiting for you to do something. You may have prepared a specific talk, but if you see that isn’t working, you can always change it. You are, after all, the expert.

You can, for example:

• Skip through some slides to a section that they may find more interesting;
• Ask your audience whether there is particular information that they were expecting that you are not providing;
• Suggest that everyone looks a bit sleepy, and maybe it would be better to start questions early, or have a discussion; or
• Ask the audience at the start of the presentation what they are expecting and what they want you to cover. That way, you can tailor the presentation to fit their expectations.

Just as when you are facilitating, you want to help your audience get the most out of your presentation. The best way to do that is to accept feedback—which may include smiles, nods of interest, or people getting their phones out.

Quick Guide to Effective Presentations

If you need to improve your presentation skills quickly, then a really good place to start is with our Top Tips for Effective Presentations .

This will give you some ‘quick wins’ that will help you improve your presentations. If you’re already an experienced presenter, this page should be a useful refresher, or even take your skills from good to great.

Our tips include general ideas about connecting with your audience, information about the importance of voice and body language, and detailed tips about preparing slide-shows.

The most important tip of all, however, is to remember that it's all about your audience.

Keep that in mind, and your presentation skills will almost instantly improve.

If you have more time to develop your presentation skills…

…then the Presentation Skills section of SkillsYouNeed is designed to help.

Our Presentation Skills section is split into two parts.

• The first gives you a step-by-step guide to putting together and delivering a professional and effective presentation .
• The second provides more detailed information about presenting and communicating in particular circumstances .

You can either use our step-by-step guide to walk you through the presentation preparation and delivery process, or you can focus on particular areas that are an issue for you.

Preparing for Your Presentation

The guide starts by explaining What is a Presentation?

We define a presentation as a means of communication that can be adapted to various speaking situations, such as talking to a group, addressing a meeting or briefing a team. Effective presentations usually require careful thought and preparation—although this preparation need not take very long.

Preparation is the most important part of making a successful presentation.  Our page on Preparing For A Presentation explains what information you need before you can really start to plan your presentation and decide what you are going to say. The most important aspects include the objective of the presentation, the subject, and the audience.

Irrespective of whether the occasion is formal or informal, you should always aim to give a clear, well-structured delivery. To do so, you need to organise your presentation material . You can either do this in your head, or use a technique like mind-mapping to help you identify links and good flow.

By the time you come to write your presentation , you should know exactly what you want to say and the order in which you want to say it. You may want to use one of the standard presentation structures, such as ‘What, Why, How?’. You will also find it helpful to consider how to tell your story most effectively, and to use stories in your presentation to illustrate points. There is more about this in our page on writing your presentation .

You also need to decide on your presentation method . Presentations range from the formal to the informal. Your choice of presentation method will depend on many factors, including the audience, the venue, the facilities, and your own preferences.

Visual aids can add another dimension to your presentation, helping to hold your audience’s attention, and also act as a reminder of what you wanted to say. However, they need handling with care. Only use visual aids if they are necessary to maintain interest and assist comprehension . If visual aids are not used well, they can ruin a presentation.

See Working with Visual Aids to avoid falling into the trap of the dreaded ‘ Death by PowerPoint’ .

A particular case of visual aids is the use of data in a presentation.

There are times when using data in a presentation can really help you to tell the story better. It is, however, important not to blind your audience with statistics. You also need to remember that many people find numbers difficult to understand. Our page on Presenting Data gives some hints and tips about using data effectively in a presentation situation.

On the Day of the Presentation

There are a number of aspects to delivering your presentation on the day.

The practicalities of how you manage your presentation can make a significant difference to its success, and to your nerves! For example, turning up early means that you have will have a chance to see the room, and ensure that you can operate all the necessary equipment. There is more about how to cope, including managing sound systems, audio-visual equipment and lecterns in our page on Managing the Presentation Event .

Many people also feel very nervous before and during a presentation. This is entirely normal, and can even be helpful if you can channel it in the right way. There are some tried and tested strategies and techniques to manage your nerves so that you can concentrate on delivering an effective and engaging presentation.

See Coping with Presentation Nerves for some ideas that will help.

How you present yourself can also affect how your audience responds to your presentation.

You need to fit with your audience's expectations if they are not going to spend quite a large chunk of your presentation dealing with the differences between expectations and reality.

For more about aspects of self-presentation, see our page on Self-Presentation in Presentations .

You also need to consider how to manage your presentation notes .

Few people are able to give a presentation without notes. You will need to know your own abilities and decide how best to make the presentation. You might manage your talk by using full text, notes on cue cards, keywords on cue cards, or mind maps. There is more about this in our page on Managing your Presentation Notes .

After the presentation, you may be faced with a question-and-answer session. For many people, this is the worst part of the event.

Decide in advance how and when you wish to handle questions. Some speakers prefer questions to be raised as they arise during the presentation whilst others prefer to deal with questions at the end. At the start of your presentation, you should make clear your preferences to the audience. See our page on Dealing with Questions for more ideas about how to make the question session pleasant and productive, rather than something to dread.

Presenting Under Particular Circumstances

You may find that you need to give a presentation under certain circumstances, where your previous experience is less helpful.

Circumstances that may be new to you include:

• Giving a Speech , for example, at a wedding.

One particular special case is attending public consultation meetings.

Our pages on Attending Public Consultation Meetings , and Managing Public Consultation Meetings provide information to help whether you are a concerned member of the public, or responsible for organising a public meeting.

You may also find yourself required to organise or manage a press conference.

Although this may not strictly be what you would describe as a ‘presentation’, it is nonetheless an event at which you are required to present your organisation in a particular light.

Our page on Managing a Press Conference gives some ideas about how best to do that.

Finally, should you be unlucky enough to be involved in a serious crisis or disaster that affects your organisation, our page on Crisis Communications gives some ideas about how to manage press and public relations on these occasions.

Start with: What is a Presentation? Top Tips for Effective Presentations

See also: Personal Appearance Interpersonal Communication Skills

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6 presentation skills and how to improve them

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What are presentation skills?

The importance of presentation skills, 6 presentation skills examples, how to improve presentation skills.

Tips for dealing with presentation anxiety

Learn how to captivate an audience with ease

Capturing an audience’s attention takes practice. 

Over time, great presenters learn how to organize their speeches and captivate an audience from start to finish. They spark curiosity, know how to read a room , and understand what their audience needs to walk away feeling like they learned something valuable.

Regardless of your profession, you most likely use presentation skills on a monthly or even weekly basis. Maybe you lead brainstorming sessions or host client calls. 

Developing effective presentation skills makes it easier to contribute ideas with confidence and show others you’re someone to trust. Although speaking in front of a crowd sometimes brings nerves and anxiety , it also sparks new opportunities.

Presentation skills are the qualities and abilities you need to communicate ideas effectively and deliver a compelling speech. They influence how you structure a presentation and how an audience receives it. Understanding body language , creating impactful visual aids, and projecting your voice all fall under this umbrella.

A great presentation depends on more than what you say. It’s about how you say it. Storytelling , stage presence, and voice projection all shape how well you express your ideas and connect with the audience. These skills do take practice, but they’re worth developing — especially if public speaking makes you nervous. 

Engaging a crowd isn’t easy. You may feel anxious to step in front of an audience and have all eyes and ears on you.

But feeling that anxiety doesn’t mean your ideas aren’t worth sharing. Whether you’re giving an inspiring speech or delivering a monthly recap at work, your audience is there to listen to you. Harness that nervous energy and turn it into progress.

Strong presentation skills make it easier to convey your thoughts to audiences of all sizes. They can help you tell a compelling story, convince people of a pitch , or teach a group something entirely new to them. And when it comes to the workplace, the strength of your presentation skills could play a part in getting a promotion or contributing to a new initiative.

To fully understand the impact these skills have on creating a successful presentation, it’s helpful to look at each one individually. Here are six valuable skills you can develop:

1. Active listening

Active listening is an excellent communication skill for any professional to hone. When you have strong active listening skills, you can listen to others effectively and observe their nonverbal cues . This helps you assess whether or not your audience members are engaged in and understand what you’re sharing. 

Great public speakers use active listening to assess the audience’s reactions and adjust their speech if they find it lacks impact. Signs like slouching, negative facial expressions, and roaming eye contact are all signs to watch out for when giving a presentation.

2. Body language

If you’re researching presentation skills, chances are you’ve already watched a few notable speeches like TED Talks or industry seminars. And one thing you probably noticed is that speakers can capture attention with their body language. 

A mixture of eye contact, hand gestures , and purposeful pacing makes a presentation more interesting and engaging. If you stand in one spot and don’t move your body, the audience might zone out.

3. Stage presence

A great stage presence looks different for everyone. A comedian might aim for more movement and excitement, and a conference speaker might focus their energy on the content of their speech. Although neither is better than the other, both understand their strengths and their audience’s needs. 

Developing a stage presence involves finding your own unique communication style . Lean into your strengths, whether that’s adding an injection of humor or asking questions to make it interactive . To give a great presentation, you might even incorporate relevant props or presentation slides.

4. Storytelling

According to Forbes, audiences typically pay attention for about 10 minutes before tuning out . But you can lengthen their attention span by offering a presentation that interests them for longer. Include a narrative they’ll want to listen to, and tell a story as you go along. 

Shaping your content to follow a clear narrative can spark your audience’s curiosity and entice them to pay careful attention. You can use anecdotes from your personal or professional life that take your audience along through relevant moments. If you’re pitching a product, you can start with a problem and lead your audience through the stages of how your product provides a solution.

5. Voice projection

Although this skill may be obvious, you need your audience to hear what you’re saying. This can be challenging if you’re naturally soft-spoken and struggle to project your voice.

Remember to straighten your posture and take deep breaths before speaking, which will help you speak louder and fill the room. If you’re talking into a microphone or participating in a virtual meeting, you can use your regular conversational voice, but you still want to sound confident and self-assured with a strong tone.

If you’re unsure whether everyone can hear you, you can always ask the audience at the beginning of your speech and wait for confirmation. That way, they won’t have to potentially interrupt you later.

Ensuring everyone can hear you also includes your speed and annunciation. It’s easy to speak quickly when nervous, but try to slow down and pronounce every word. Mumbling can make your presentation difficult to understand and pay attention to.

6. Verbal communication 

Although verbal communication involves your projection and tone, it also covers the language and pacing you use to get your point across. This includes where you choose to place pauses in your speech or the tone you use to emphasize important ideas.

If you’re giving a presentation on collaboration in the workplace , you might start your speech by saying, “There’s something every workplace needs to succeed: teamwork.” By placing emphasis on the word “ teamwork ,” you give your audience a hint on what ideas will follow.

To further connect with your audience through diction, pay careful attention to who you’re speaking to. The way you talk to your colleagues might be different from how you speak to a group of superiors, even if you’re discussing the same subject. You might use more humor and a conversational tone for the former and more serious, formal diction for the latter.

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses when it comes to presenting. Maybe you’re confident in your use of body language, but your voice projection needs work. Maybe you’re a great storyteller in small group settings, but need to work on your stage presence in front of larger crowds. 

The first step to improving presentation skills is pinpointing your gaps and determining which qualities to build upon first. Here are four tips for enhancing your presentation skills:

1. Build self-confidence

Confident people know how to speak with authority and share their ideas. Although feeling good about your presentation skills is easier said than done, building confidence is key to helping your audience believe in what you’re saying. Try practicing positive self-talk and continuously researching your topic's ins and outs.

If you don’t feel confident on the inside, fake it until you make it. Stand up straight, project your voice, and try your best to appear engaged and excited. Chances are, the audience doesn’t know you’re unsure of your skills — and they don’t need to.

Another tip is to lean into your slideshow, if you’re using one. Create something colorful and interesting so the audience’s eyes fall there instead of on you. And when you feel proud of your slideshow, you’ll be more eager to share it with others, bringing more energy to your presentation.

2. Watch other presentations

Developing the soft skills necessary for a good presentation can be challenging without seeing them in action. Watch as many as possible to become more familiar with public speaking skills and what makes a great presentation. You could attend events with keynote speakers or view past speeches on similar topics online.

Take a close look at how those presenters use verbal communication and body language to engage their audiences. Grab a notebook and jot down what you enjoyed and your main takeaways. Try to recall the techniques they used to emphasize their main points, whether they used pauses effectively, had interesting visual aids, or told a fascinating story.

3. Get in front of a crowd

You don’t need a large auditorium to practice public speaking. There are dozens of other ways to feel confident and develop good presentation skills.

If you’re a natural comedian, consider joining a small stand-up comedy club. If you’re an avid writer, participate in a public poetry reading. Even music and acting can help you feel more comfortable in front of a crowd.

If you’d rather keep it professional, you can still work on your presentation skills in the office. Challenge yourself to participate at least once in every team meeting, or plan and present a project to become more comfortable vocalizing your ideas. You could also speak to your manager about opportunities that flex your public speaking abilities.

4. Overcome fear

Many people experience feelings of fear before presenting in front of an audience, whether those feelings appear as a few butterflies or more severe anxiety. Try grounding yourself to shift your focus to the present moment. If you’re stuck dwelling on previous experiences that didn’t go well, use those mistakes as learning experiences and focus on what you can improve to do better in the future.

Tips for dealing with presentation anxiety 

It’s normal to feel nervous when sharing your ideas. In fact, according to a report from the Journal of Graduate Medical Education, public speaking anxiety is prevalent in 15–30% of the general population .

Even though having a fear of public speaking is common, it doesn’t make it easier. You might feel overwhelmed, become stiff, and forget what you were going to say. But although the moment might scare you, there are ways to overcome the fear and put mind over matter.

Use these tactics to reduce your stress when you have to make a presentation:

1. Practice breathing techniques

If you experience anxiety often, you’re probably familiar with breathing techniques for stress relief . Incorporating these exercises into your daily routine can help you stop worrying and regulate anxious feelings. 

Before a big presentation, take a moment alone to practice breathing techniques, ground yourself, and reduce tension. It’s also a good idea to take breaths throughout the presentation to speak slower and calm yourself down .

2. Get organized

The more organized you are, the more prepared you’ll feel. Carefully outline all of the critical information you want to use in your presentation, including your main talking points and visual aids, so you don’t forget anything. Use bullet points and visuals on each slide to remind you of what you want to talk about, and create handheld notes to help you stay on track.

3. Embrace moments of silence

It’s okay to lose your train of thought. It happens to even the most experienced public speakers once in a while. If your mind goes blank, don’t panic. Take a moment to breathe, gather your thoughts, and refer to your notes to see where you left off. You can drink some water or make a quick joke to ease the silence or regain your footing. And it’s okay to say, “Give me a moment while I find my notes.” Chances are, people understand the position you’re in.

4. Practice makes progress

Before presenting, rehearse in front of friends and family members you trust. This gives you the chance to work out any weak spots in your speech and become comfortable communicating out loud. If you want to go the extra mile, ask your makeshift audience to ask a surprise question. This tests your on-the-spot thinking and will prove that you can keep cool when things come up.

Whether you’re new to public speaking or are a seasoned presenter, you’re bound to make a few slip-ups. It happens to everyone. The most important thing is that you try your best, brush things off, and work on improving your skills to do better in your next presentation.

Although your job may require a different level of public speaking than your favorite TED Talk , developing presentation skills is handy in any profession. You can use presentation skills in a wide range of tasks in the workplace, whether you’re sharing your ideas with colleagues, expressing concerns to higher-ups, or pitching strategies to potential clients.

Remember to use active listening to read the room and engage your audience with an interesting narrative. Don’t forget to step outside your comfort zone once in a while and put your skills to practice in front of a crowd. After facing your fears, you’ll feel confident enough to put presentation skills on your resume.

If you’re trying to build your skills and become a better employee overall, try a communications coach with BetterUp. 

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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.

The 11 tips that will improve your public speaking skills

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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 to make a great presentation

Stressed about an upcoming presentation? These talks are full of helpful tips on how to get up in front of an audience and make a lasting impression.

The secret structure of great talks

The beauty of data visualization

TED's secret to great public speaking

How to speak so that people want to listen

How great leaders inspire action

Ideas and insights from Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning

Powerful and Effective Presentation Skills: More in Demand Now Than Ever

When we talk with our L&D colleagues from around the globe, we often hear that presentation skills training is one of the top opportunities they’re looking to provide their learners. And this holds true whether their learners are individual contributors, people managers, or senior leaders. This is not surprising.

Effective communications skills are a powerful career activator, and most of us are called upon to communicate in some type of formal presentation mode at some point along the way.

For instance, you might be asked to brief management on market research results, walk your team through a new process, lay out the new budget, or explain a new product to a client or prospect. Or you may want to build support for a new idea, bring a new employee into the fold, or even just present your achievements to your manager during your performance review.

And now, with so many employees working from home or in hybrid mode, and business travel in decline, there’s a growing need to find new ways to make effective presentations when the audience may be fully virtual or a combination of in person and remote attendees.

Whether you’re making a standup presentation to a large live audience, or a sit-down one-on-one, whether you’re delivering your presentation face to face or virtually, solid presentation skills matter.

Even the most seasoned and accomplished presenters may need to fine-tune or update their skills. Expectations have changed over the last decade or so. Yesterday’s PowerPoint which primarily relied on bulleted points, broken up by the occasional clip-art image, won’t cut it with today’s audience.

The digital revolution has revolutionized the way people want to receive information. People expect presentations that are more visually interesting. They expect to see data, metrics that support assertions. And now, with so many previously in-person meetings occurring virtually, there’s an entirely new level of technical preparedness required.

The leadership development tools and the individual learning opportunities you’re providing should include presentation skills training that covers both the evergreen fundamentals and the up-to-date capabilities that can make or break a presentation.

So, just what should be included in solid presentation skills training? Here’s what I think.

The fundamentals will always apply When it comes to making a powerful and effective presentation, the fundamentals will always apply. You need to understand your objective. Is it strictly to convey information, so that your audience’s knowledge is increased? Is it to persuade your audience to take some action? Is it to convince people to support your idea? Once you understand what your objective is, you need to define your central message. There may be a lot of things you want to share with your audience during your presentation, but find – and stick with – the core, the most important point you want them to walk away with. And make sure that your message is clear and compelling.

You also need to tailor your presentation to your audience. Who are they and what might they be expecting? Say you’re giving a product pitch to a client. A technical team may be interested in a lot of nitty-gritty product detail. The business side will no doubt be more interested in what returns they can expect on their investment.

Another consideration is the setting: is this a formal presentation to a large audience with questions reserved for the end, or a presentation in a smaller setting where there’s the possibility for conversation throughout? Is your presentation virtual or in-person? To be delivered individually or as a group? What time of the day will you be speaking? Will there be others speaking before you and might that impact how your message will be received?

Once these fundamentals are established, you’re in building mode. What are the specific points you want to share that will help you best meet your objective and get across your core message? Now figure out how to convey those points in the clearest, most straightforward, and succinct way. This doesn’t mean that your presentation has to be a series of clipped bullet points. No one wants to sit through a presentation in which the presenter reads through what’s on the slide. You can get your points across using stories, fact, diagrams, videos, props, and other types of media.

Visual design matters While you don’t want to clutter up your presentation with too many visual elements that don’t serve your objective and can be distracting, using a variety of visual formats to convey your core message will make your presentation more memorable than slides filled with text. A couple of tips: avoid images that are cliched and overdone. Be careful not to mix up too many different types of images. If you’re using photos, stick with photos. If you’re using drawn images, keep the style consistent. When data are presented, stay consistent with colors and fonts from one type of chart to the next. Keep things clear and simple, using data to support key points without overwhelming your audience with too much information. And don’t assume that your audience is composed of statisticians (unless, of course, it is).

When presenting qualitative data, brief videos provide a way to engage your audience and create emotional connection and impact. Word clouds are another way to get qualitative data across.

Practice makes perfect You’ve pulled together a perfect presentation. But it likely won’t be perfect unless it’s well delivered. So don’t forget to practice your presentation ahead of time. Pro tip: record yourself as you practice out loud. This will force you to think through what you’re going to say for each element of your presentation. And watching your recording will help you identify your mistakes—such as fidgeting, using too many fillers (such as “umm,” or “like”), or speaking too fast.

A key element of your preparation should involve anticipating any technical difficulties. If you’ve embedded videos, make sure they work. If you’re presenting virtually, make sure that the lighting is good, and that your speaker and camera are working. Whether presenting in person or virtually, get there early enough to work out any technical glitches before your presentation is scheduled to begin. Few things are a bigger audience turn-off than sitting there watching the presenter struggle with the delivery mechanisms!

Finally, be kind to yourself. Despite thorough preparation and practice, sometimes, things go wrong, and you need to recover in the moment, adapt, and carry on. It’s unlikely that you’ll have caused any lasting damage and the important thing is to learn from your experience, so your next presentation is stronger.

How are you providing presentation skills training for your learners?

Manika Gandhi is Senior Learning Design Manager at Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning. Email her at [email protected] .

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21 Ways To Improve Your Presentation Skills

Published: April 07, 2023

You know the feeling of sitting through a boring presentation. A text distracts you. A noise outside pulls your gaze. Your dog begs for attention. By the time the presentation ends, you question why you needed to sit and listen in the first place.

Effective presentation skills can stop you from boring an audience to oblivion. Delivering strong presentations can help you stand out as a leader, showcase your expertise, and build confidence.

Table of contents:

• Presentation skills definition
• Importance of presentation skills
• How to improve presentation skills
• Effective presentation skills
• Presentation skills for executives

Presentation Skills Definition

Presentation skills include anything you need to create and deliver clear, effective presentations to an audience. This includes creating a compelling set of slides , ensuring the information flows, and keeping your audience engaged.

Speakers with strong presentation skills can perform the following tasks:

• Bring together different sources of information to form a compelling narrative
• Hook audiences with a strong beginning and end
• Ensure audiences engage with their content through questions or surveys
• Understand what their audience wants and needs from their presentation

Importance of Presentation Skills

At some point in your career, you will present something. You might pitch a startup to a group of investors or show your research findings to your manager at work. Those in leading or executive roles often deliver presentations on a weekly or monthly basis.

Improving your presentation skills betters different aspects of your working life, including the following:

Communication: Improving your presentation skills can make you a better communicator with your co-workers and friends.

Confidence: 75% of people fear public speaking. By working on your presentation skills, you can gain confidence when speaking in front of a crowd.

Creativity: You learn to understand how to use imagery and examples to engage an audience.

Management: Presentations involve pulling together information to form a succinct summary, helping you build project and time management skills.

How To Improve Presentation Skills

1. create an outline.

Before designing slides and writing a script, outline your presentation. Start with your introduction, segue into key points you want to make, and finish with a conclusion.

2. Practice, Practice, Practice

Almost 8 in 10 professionals practice their presentations for at least an hour. So, practice your presentation in the mirror or to a close friend.

3. Start With a Hook

When presenting, grab your audience with a hook. Consider starting with a surprising statistic or a thoughtful question before diving into the core information.

4. Stay Focused on Your Topic

You might want to cover everything under the sun, but information overload can overwhelm your audience. Instead, stay focused on what you want to cover. Aim for key points and avoid including unnecessary details.

5. Remember To Introduce Yourself

At the beginning of the presentation, introduce yourself. Kill any tension in the room by mentioning your name, your role, and any other helpful details. You could even mention a fun fact about yourself, putting the audience at ease.

6. Work on Your Body Language

55% of people look to nonverbal communication when judging a presentation. Straighten your back, minimize unnecessary gestures, and keep your voice confident and calm. Remember to work on these aspects when practicing.

7. Memorize Structure, Not Words

You might feel better knowing exactly what you want to say. But skip the script and stick to memorizing the key points of your presentation. For example, consider picking three to four phrases or insights you want to mention for each part of your presentation rather than line-by-line memorization.

8. Learn Your Audience

Before crafting a killer outline and slide deck, research your audience. Find out what they likely already know, such as industry jargon, and where they might need additional information. Remember: You're presenting for them, not you.

9. Reframe Your Anxiety as Excitement

A study conducted by Harvard Business School demonstrates that reframing your anxiety as excitement can improve performance. For example, by saying simple phrases out loud, such as “I’m excited,” you then adopt an opportunity-oriented mentality.

10. Get Comfortable With the Setting

If you plan to present in person, explore the room. Find where you’re going to stand and deliver your presentation. Practice looking into the seats. By decreasing the number of unknowns, you can clear your head and focus on the job.

11. Get Familiar With Technology

Presenting online has unique challenges, such as microphone problems and background noise. Before a Zoom presentation, ensure your microphone works, clean up your background, test your slides, and consider any background noise.

12. Think Positively

Optimistic workers enjoy faster promotions and happier lives. By reminding yourself of the positives — for example, your manager found your last presentation impressive — you can shake off nerves and find joy in the process.

13. Tell a Story

To engage your audience, weave storytelling into your presentation — more than 5 in 10 people believe stories hold their focus during a presentation. Consider ways to connect different parts of your slides into a compelling narrative.

14. Prepare for Questions

At the end of your presentation, your audience will likely have questions. Brainstorm different questions and potential answers so you’re prepared.

15. Maintain Eye Contact

Eye contact signals honesty. When possible, maintain eye contact with your audience. For in-person presentations, pay attention to each audience member. For online ones, stare at your camera lens as you deliver.

16. Condense Your Presentation

After you finish the first draft of your outline, think about ways to condense it. Short and sweet often keeps people interested instead of checking their phones.

17. Use Videos

Keep your audience’s attention by incorporating video clips when relevant. For example, videos can help demonstrate examples or explain difficult concepts.

18. Engage With Your Audience

Almost 8 in 10 professionals view presentations as boring. Turn the tide by engaging with your audience. Encourage audience participation by asking questions or conducting a live survey.

19. Present Slowly and Pause Frequently

When you get nervous, you talk faster. To combat this, remember to slow yourself down when practicing. Place deep pauses throughout your presentation, especially when transitioning between slides, as it gives you time to breathe and your audience time to absorb.

20. Start and End With a Summary

A summary at the start of a presentation can pique your audience’s interest. One at the end brings everything together, highlighting key points your audience should take with them.

21. Ask for Feedback

You will never deliver the perfect presentation, so ask for feedback. Talk to your managers about where you could improve. Consider surveying your audience for an unbiased look into your presentation skills.

Effective Presentation Skills

Effective presentation skills include communicating clearly, presenting with structure, and engaging with the audience.

As an example, say a content manager is presenting a quarterly review to their team. They start off with a summary. Their introduction mentions an unprecedented 233% growth in organic traffic — numbers their team has not seen in years. Immediately, the presenter grabs their team’s attention. Now, everyone wants to know how they achieved that in one quarter.

Alternatively, think of an entrepreneur delivering their pitch to a group of investors. They start with a question: How many of you struggle to stay awake at work? They then segue into an exciting product designed to improve the sleep quality of working professionals. Their presentation includes videos demonstrating the science behind sleep and surprising statistics about the demand for their product.

Both examples demonstrate effective presentation skills. They incorporate strong attention grabbers, summaries, and attempts to engage the audience.

Think back to strong presentations you viewed as an audience member. Ask yourself: What made them so memorable, and how can I incorporate those elements into my presentations?

Presentation Skills for Executives

Presentations take up a significant portion of an executive’s workload. Executives regularly showcase key company initiatives, team changes, quarterly and annual reviews, and more. Improving your presentation skills as a leader can help with different parts of your job, such as:

Trust: Delivering great, effective presentations can build trust between you and your team.

Confidence: Most people dread presentations — so a strong presenter projects the confidence needed by a leader.

Emotional intelligence: A great presentation taps into the audience’s perspectives, helping executives improve their emotional intelligence .

Expertise: Presentations help executives display their subject-matter expertise, making employees safe in their hands.

Delegation: At times, executives might need to pull information from different sources for a presentation — improving their ability to delegate as managers.

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Presentation skills

Techniques to develop your skills and confidence as a presenter.

Overcoming presentation worries

Standing up in front of other people and sharing your ideas can be a stressful experience, but also extremely rewarding intellectually.

In formal presentations, you make both the strength of your knowledge and any gaps in it immediately and publicly visible.

This is risky and rewarding because it means you are both teaching others and learning from them. That is, you are doing what education is all about.

In addition, the way you communicate and how you present yourself will influence the response of the audience, and that can make you feel self-conscious.

But, by learning more about the best strategies and techniques for formal presentations in academic settings, you can make the most of this valuable learning environment.

301 Recommends:

Our workshop on Planning and Delivering Presentations examines what makes a presentation effective, and what things to consider when preparing for delivery. You will learn a planning technique which will lead to clear and concise delivery, so you can go into your presentations feeling confident and well-prepared. The workshop will also provide you with tips on getting your message across.

This short  Study Skills Hacks video  offers tips and suggestions on preparing for a presentation and getting it right on the day.

Planning your presentation

Three main focus points.

The more you plan your presentation, the more confidence you will have in the information you are delivering. You need to consider three things throughout this process: topic, time limit, and audience.

1. Your topic

Your topic is what your presentation should be about.

This seems obvious, but unless you keep a clear idea of the message you are trying to convey, it's easy to go off on a tangent. You will then lose the clarity of your presentation.

2. Your time limit

Again, this seems obvious, but you will be kept to time and you need to prepare for this.

If you're asked to deliver a short presentation, keep this in mind as you do your background research, to avoid doing unnecessary amounts of reading. You only have a certain amount of time you can spend on your preparation, so make sure you use your time wisely.

3. Your audience

Your audience is key to how you deliver your presentation.

You need to consider what they already know, what they need to know, and the type of language that is appropriate for your delivery.

Unlike a written piece of work, an audience only gets one chance to engage with the content of a presentation.

With this in mind, your presentation should follow a very simple structure of reinforcement:

• Tell your audience what you are going to tell them.
• Tell them again what you told them.

This may sound repetitive, but that's exactly what you want: to repeat the key points so that they are clear to your audience and provide a take-home message.

Having a clear structure not only helps your audience to follow your presentation but helps you to keep track of what it is you are trying to explain.

301 Recommends: Horizontal Planning

Use the  Horizontal Planning Template (google doc)  to organise your presentation. Start from the middle with roughly three main points, before moving out to complete a plan for your introduction and conclusion.

Starting in the middle is essential as it will allow you to pin down the main areas of your message, before moving on to identify how to introduce these main points to your audience and summarise them again at the end.

Individual presentations

Spoken reports detailing your work can take place in a range of settings: the small group classroom, in a one-to-one tutorial, in the workplace or at an academic conference. 

Presentations take different forms, from a read-out mini-lecture to an improvised explanation or elaboration of a series of key points, a question-and-answer session, an audience-activity workshop, or a blend of all of these.

An individual presentation can feel intense as you take centre stage. However, the advantage of this is that you have complete control over your preparation (see below), content and timing.

If you are finding the prospect of a solo presentation in front of an audience stressful, there are a number of strategies you can use to build confidence and overcome the nerves:

• Think about how to organise your presentation. Are you planning to present using the slides as a prompt (in which case be sure to look up from the screen to engage your audience)? Or are you planning to use notes or flash cards? Flash cards can be a great way to give yourself some key prompts and something to do with your hands. 
• If you are finding it difficult to engage with your audience directly, try focusing on a point at the back of the room. This will encourage you to look up and present to the room, while avoiding the pressure of direct eye contact.
• Think about your physical presence. There is evidence that standing tall can help to increase confidence and can make the audience perceive the speaker as more confident. 

Group presentations

Group presentations share many of the demands of the individual format, but collaboration brings its own benefits and challenges. Strength in numbers can provide a sense of comradeship and relieve individual pressure. But working together means you need to find ways to share the burden of work equally and incorporate the efforts and skills of each group member.

The additional pressures of a group presentation can be particularly significant when a presentation forms part of university coursework.

Like any form of group work, group presentations rely on sharing responsibility and developing strategies to manage group disagreements or imbalances. Remember to take time to understand one another's strengths and areas of confidence so that tasks and responsibilities can be divided up in a way that makes the most of individual skills and abilities. 

And just like an individual presentation, making sure you find the time to practice and rehearse the presentation together as a group can be decisive to its success on the day. Consider the following points and build them into your rehearsal time:

• What order are you presenting in?
• Who is taking over from whom? Can you stand in a logical order to cut down on transition times?
• Who is advancing the slides, or are you taking it in turns?
• Who is managing time and how are you going to warn group members to speed up?
• Don't forget to build in time for transitions between presenters!

Read more about group work and collaboration here .

Presenting online

Whilst the fundamentals of good in-person presenting remain true when presenting online, there are some important considerations that are unique to presenting remotely.  Read tips on online presentations here.

Preparation

Most importantly, for all kinds of presentations, allow time to practice! Make sure you think about how you are going to deliver your presentation and make it engaging.

This is especially important if you are presenting in a group, as transitions can be costly time-wise if unrehearsed. Make sure you have time to revise and edit your presentation, with enough time to rehearse the final edit too.

Make sure you have your ending prepared! Do not simply stop, think about how you will signal to your audience that you are done and ready for questions (if appropriate).

Finally, make sure that you are as comfortable as possible on the day. Plan out what you are going to wear the night before, arrive early to check equipment, and have a bottle of water with you.

The majority of your confidence will come from having a well-researched, structured and practised presentation, so don't worry, take a deep breath, and you will now be ready to go!

Once you have delivered your presentation, seek feedback from your peers or tutors, to help you develop your skills further. Think reflectively about the whole presentation process, as you continue to build this skill.

Learn more about how to use feedback here.

• Preparation is key! You need to consider your topic, time limit, and audience. If you are working as a group, be organised in allocating how this preparation will be done.
• A strong structure will help your presentation to flow. Signpost and wrap up for your audience, make it easy for them to follow, and easy for yourself too.
• Practise! Think about what you are going to say, time how long it takes you to say it. Make sure you are fully comfortable and confident before you need to present. If you are presenting as a group, decide who will say what, and practice transitions.
• Think about yourself as the presenter: plan what you'll wear, take some water with you
• Build-in contingency plans: know where you can cut things out or add bits in to keep to time, and plan how you will deal with difficult questions.

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 Academic Presentations

Academic presentations are an integral part of university study and assessment. Academic presentations may be presented individually or as a group activity but both require the key skills of planning and structuring key information. The key difference between an academic presentation and a general presentation is that it is usually quite formal and includes academic research to evidence the ideas presented. The presentation will include references to credible sources and demonstrate clearly your knowledge and familiarity of the topic.

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Giving a good academic presentation

• Think about the aim of your presentation and what you want to achieve.
• Concentrate on your audience: who   they are and  what   they (want to) know.
• Choose the topic that interests you: involvement and motivation are key to confidence.
• Give your presentation a  clear   and  logical   organization so that everyone can follow.
• Present information  visually : this adds interest to your talk and makes it easier to follow.
• Practise giving your presentation until you are familiar with the key points; this way you may discover any potential problems and check the timing. Besides, practice will also make you feel more confident.

Basic outline / structure

• Introduction: introduce the topic, some basic background, thesis (your stance or argument).
• Outline: provide basic bullet points on the key parts of the presentation.
• Main body: divide the main body into sections.
• Evaluation: always include evaluation. This can be a separate section or part of the main body.
• Conclusion: summarise key points, restate the thesis and make a recommendation / suggestion / prediction.
• Reference list: create one slide with all your sources.
• Questions : be prepared to answer questions.
• Cope with nerves: breathe deeply; it calms you down and stops you from talking too quickly.
• Control your voice: speak clearly and try to sound interesting by changing intonation and rhythm.
• Watch your body language: try to give the impression that you are relaxed and confident.
• Maintain eye contact with your audience: it keeps them interested in what you are saying. For this reason, you should not read.
• Provide visual information, but do not give too many facts at a time. Give your audience enough time to take them in.
• Keep attention by asking rhetorical questions.

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Teaching Effective Presentation Skills in English Language Arts Classrooms

March 27, 2023 //  by  Lindsay Ann //   Leave a Comment

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Presentation skills are a worry for most people . And, let’s face it… public speaking is a part of life (even if it’s just life in middle school or high school). 

In fact, according to a Gallup poll, 40% of Americans indicated public speaking as their biggest fear . Snakes came in first place at 51%. 

Now, I speak in front of a classroom full of teenagers five days a week, and my audience is arguably one of the toughest audiences out there.

While I wouldn’t want to be trapped in a room full of snakes (pythons in particular), I don’t mind the thought of presenting or delivering information in front of others. 

But based on how often I’ve seen students get up in front of the class in order to present a project, idea, or understanding, only to turn red, mumble through their slide decks, or freeze altogether, I’m betting many of my students would consider their chances with boa constrictors as a presentation looms.

Public speaking and presenting can be tough for anyone .

There are some days when I don’t even I don’t want to have to do it, but regardless of how we feel about it, it’s an integral part of postsecondary life and it’s important for our students to be able to do well and feel confident when speaking in small or large groups, whether they are participating in a discussion or sharing their ideas more formally.

Today we’re going to explore presentation skills , why they’re important , classroom activities that can make everyone feel less miserable, and how to support students who are struggling to overcome their public speaking anxiety. Let’s jump in! 

What are Presentation Skills?

First things first, let’s define what I mean by presentation skills.

To define it simply, presentation skills are the ability to effectively communicate a message to an audience. Speaking can be done in a variety of ways, such as through oral presentations, multimedia presentations (which are very popular with students, but more on that later!), and even written reports.

Presentation skills are not just defined by the clarity of the message, but also by the delivery .

Body language, vocal inflection and tone, audience engagement, and creativity are also important nonverbal characteristics and presentation skills. 

Why are Presentation Skills Important?

In today’s world, communication skills are more valuable than ever. No matter your students’ path in life, they will need to be able to effectively communicate with others.

I don’t know about you, but when I think of presentation skills, I think about boardroom presentations and closing big deals. Ya know the kind with big posters of arrows going up? 

This vision may be a by-product of my age and TV shows in the 80s and 90s, but our world is more connected than ever before, and we’re communicating more than ever in ways that weren’t even possible for my beloved 80s and 90s TV characters. 

Our students may never grow up to present in a boardroom, but they’ll likely need to communicate with their own child’s teacher, present at a city council meeting, share their findings with members of their HOA, or even go live on Instagram. We need to make sure our students are prepared for this reality. 

What are Some Examples of Presentation Skills?

Before I share some ideas on how to help your students improve their presentation skills, I want to take a moment to look at what good presentation skills look like. 

Here are some examples:

• Clear and concise messaging: A good presenter can take complex ideas and explain them in easy to understand, plain language.
• Engaging visuals: Strategic use of visuals is important when public speaking. A good presenter will keep their presentation clean and free from clutter (sorry to Mrs. Smith who had to endure my 7th grade PowerPoint presentations that used all of the transitions…I didn’t know what I was doing).
• Confident body language: Confident body language, including making eye contact, standing up straight, and using gestures to emphasize important points are tell tale signs of a good presenter.
• Effective use of tone and pace: Knowing how to vary one’s tone and pace when presenting is an essential presentation skill. A good presenter knows when to speed up to build excitement and how to use tone and pacing to emphasize important points.

How to Improve Presentation Skills

Now that we’ve looked at some examples of good presentation skills, let’s explore some tips and tricks to help your students improve their own presentation skills.

• Practice, practice, practice: The more your students practice presenting, the more comfortable and confident they will become. Build in public speaking to your lessons as often as possible. Even if it’s not a full-length presentation, students can practice this presentation skills by engaging in think, pair, shares , chalk talks, gallery walks, etc.
• Focus on the audience: Remind your students that their presentation is not about them, it’s about the audience. Encourage them to think about what the audience wants to hear and tailor their message accordingly. Passion projects and other activities that allow students choice and authentic engagement can help them focus on the audience rather than the task at hand.
• Use storytelling: People love stories, so storytelling is an essential presentation skill. Encourage your students to use storytelling in their presentations, and demonstrate this skill for them by infusing your own lessons with stories. This can be as simple as starting with a personal anecdote or using case studies to illustrate their points. Ted Talks make great mentor texts to show students how professional presenters use storytelling to connect to their audience.
• Manage anxiety: It’s natural to feel anxious when presenting, but there are things your students can do to manage their anxiety . Encourage them to take deep breaths, practice relaxation techniques, and visualize themselves giving a successful presentation. As students have more experience (and more success!) with public speaking and presenting, their anxiety will decrease. Focus on helping students practice coping skills and manage their anxiety while providing multiple (and fun) opportunities for them to work through their jitters.
• Use visuals: Multimedia presentations are a favorite for our Digital Natives. Students love to create and embed memes and gifs, videos, songs, and things you and I probably don’t even know exist into their presentations. Creating these things feels natural for most of our students, and visual aids are an important presentation skill, so encourage them to use their existing skills and get creative!
• Get feedback: Feedback is essential to improving presentation skills. Encourage your students to ask for feedback from their peers or even record themselves and watch it back to see where they can improve. As students are practicing their public speaking skills, have them use Flip to record themselves. Students can post their Flip on the classroom grid (that you have total control over) to provide feedback and encouraging words to their classmates. 

Public Speaking Exercises and Games

Okay, so we’re all in agreement that public speaking is tough but necessary and that presentation skills are important. So…how do we make it more fun and less…like a room full of snakes?

There are some really fun (like, legit fun, I know this because high schoolers told me they’re fun and after all, they’re the kings and queens of cool) exercises and games to help practice public speaking skills and shake off the jitters. 

Here are some to try:

• Impromptu speeches: Have your students pick a random topic and give a two-minute impromptu speech on it. This will help them practice thinking on their feet and organizing their thoughts quickly.
• Campfire story: You start a story. Something like, “Two friends are hiking in the woods when they lose track of the trail…” and each student takes turns adding to it. The last student must provide a satisfying ending to the story. To lessen student anxiety, this works in pairs and groups of three, too!
• Photo story: Show students a photo online (the New York Times Learning Network has a great section for this type of exercise) without any context. Students will share what they think the backstory is, who the people are, their dreams, their motivations, conflicts, and anything else that’ll tell a compelling story about them.
•   What grinds my gears: Have students take the spotlight to share about their biggest pet peeves. What really grinds their gears?
• Gush about a basic object: On the opposite end of the spectrum from sharing about what annoys them, have students pick a basic, everyday object they’re indifferent about. Something like a blender, pencil, a chair in the classroom. The challenge is they have to develop a speech to deliver in which they absolutely gush about that object. What makes it so great? This particular exercise really challenges students to use body language and voice to accomplish the task.
• Minute to Win It: Want to create a little friendly competition in your public speaking practice? Minute to Win It improv debates will up the ante for your students. The gist is this: Students are given one minute to plead their case in front of the class on a topic given to them only when the timer starts. The audience votes for the best case, so their arguments better be good .
• Commercial: Students can make a commercial for an object of their choosing. This allows them to be serious or playful, to bring in props and other visual aids, and to practice with body language and vocal inflection. This exercise works well for groups, which can really help ease student anxiety when speaking in front of the class.
• Balderdash: Students write made up words on slips of paper. Place the slips with the made up words in a bin for students to blindly grab from. Taking turns pulling a slip from the bin, students must on the fly create a definition for that word and share it with the class. 

Wrapping Up

I hope you’ve been inspired to bring some fun ways to practice important presentation and public speaking skills into your curriculum. The speaking and listening standards in the ELA curriculum present a unique challenge for us to prepare students for life after high school while still honoring that public speaking is difficult (and downright terrifying for some). We know our students can do difficult things, and we can help them do so with confidence! 

About Lindsay Ann

Lindsay has been teaching high school English in the burbs of Chicago for 19 years. She is passionate about helping English teachers find balance in their lives and teaching practice through practical feedback strategies and student-led learning strategies. She also geeks out about literary analysis, inquiry-based learning, and classroom technology integration. When Lindsay is not teaching, she enjoys playing with her two kids, running, and getting lost in a good book.

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10 Presentation Skills That Every Great Presenter Must Have

It’s no secret that effective presentations can help you get ahead in business. After all, what better way to show off your knowledge and expertise than by delivering a well-crafted presentation? The right presentation skills give you the ability to share your ideas with an audience convincingly and engagingly.

Unfortunately, not everyone is born a natural presenter. If you’re not used to standing up in front of an audience, the prospect of doing so can be daunting. Fortunately, there are a few simple things you can do to improve your presentation skills.

In this article, we’ll share some tips on how to do just that, allowing you to deliver an effective presentation.

Let’s get right into it.

What are Presentation Skills?

Presentation skills are the abilities you need to deliver a clear and effective presentation. After all, a good presenter is someone who can communicate their ideas in a way that engages and motivates their audience.

There are many different aspects to presentation skills, from knowing how to structure your talk to using visuals effectively, to dealing with nerves.

Developing strong presentation skills will help you to communicate your ideas more effectively and make a positive impression on your audience.

Presentation skills are important because they can help you to communicate your ideas clearly and effectively. A good presentation can make a big impact on your audience and can help to persuade them of your point of view.

Presentation skills are also important in other areas of life, such as job interviews, sales pitches, and networking events. Being able to present your ideas clearly and concisely can give you a big advantage over others who are not as confident in their presentation skills.

Why Is it Important To Recognize Presentation Skills & Their Benefits?

One of the most important reasons to recognize presentation skills is because they are a valuable skill for any profession. Good presentation skills can help you in your career by making it easier to sell your ideas, get promoted, and be successful in business.

In addition, good presentation skills can also help you in your personal life by making it easier to give speeches, make presentations, and teach classes.

In addition, recognizing presentation skills can also help you improve your presentations. If you are not aware of the importance of presentation skills, you may not be using them to their full potential.

By taking the time to learn about presentation skills and how to use them effectively, you can make your presentations more effective and persuasive.

Here’s a list of benefits that come with good presentation skills:

• Increased confidence
• The ability to think on your feet
• Improved public speaking skills
• Enhanced written communication skills
• The ability to lead and motivate others
• Enhanced problem-solving abilities
• Improved negotiation skills
• Stronger time management skills
• Greater creativity
• The opportunity to make a positive impact on others

10 Examples of Presentation Skills

Let’s now explore some practical examples of presentation skills that will help you ace your next big presentation.

A Clear And Confident Voice

One of the most important aspects of a great presentation is having a clear and confident voice. If you’re mumbling or speaking too quietly, your audience is going to have a hard time understanding you.

On the other hand, if you’re shouting or speaking too fast, they’re going to get overwhelmed and tune out. So, it’s important to find that happy medium where your voice is audible and easy to understand.

The Ability To Engage With Your Audience

Another key presentation skill is the ability to engage with your audience. This means making eye contact, using gestures, and speaking in a way that is relatable and easy to understand.

If you’re just standing there reading off a slide, chances are your audience is going to get bored pretty quickly. But if you can find ways to keep them engaged, they’ll be more likely to listen to what you have to say.

Good Eye Contact

One of the best ways to engage with your audience is through eye contact. When you make eye contact with someone, it shows that you’re interested in what they have to say and that you’re engaged in the conversation. It also helps to build trust and rapport.

So, if you can find ways to make eye contact with your audience members, it will go a long way in keeping them engaged.

Natural Gestures

Another great way to engage with your audience is through natural gestures. Using your hands and arms to gesture can help emphasize points and keep your audience engaged. Just be sure not to go overboard – too much gesturing can be distracting.

Positive Body Language

Your body language is also important when it comes to presentations. If you’re slouching or looking down at your feet, it’s going to show that you’re not confident in what you’re saying.

On the other hand, if you’re standing up straight and making strong eye contact, it’s going to give off a positive impression. So, be aware of your body language and try to project confidence through it.

The Use Of Visual Aids

Visual aids can be a great way to engage your audience and make your points more clear. Using slides, charts, and graphs can help illustrate your ideas and make them easier to understand. Similar to using gestures, just be sure not to overdo it – too many visuals can be overwhelming and confusing.

The Ability To Handle Questions

At some point during your presentation, you’re likely going to get questions from your audience; how you handle those questions can make or break your presentation. If you’re able to answer them confidently and without getting flustered, it’ll show that you know your stuff.

But if you start to get tongue-tied or defensive, it’s going to reflect poorly on you. So, be prepared for questions and try to stay calm when answering them.

An Organized Structure

Another important presentation skill is having a well-organized structure. This means having an introduction, main body, and conclusion to your presentation.

It also means using transitions between sections to help your audience follow along. If your presentation is all over the place, it’s going to be hard for your audience to stay engaged and they’ll quickly tune out.

The Use Of Storytelling

Storytelling is a great way to engage your audience and make your points more memorable. And while it might not seem like a traditional presentation skill, it can be extremely effective. So, if you can find ways to weave stories into your presentation, it’ll go a long way in captivating your audience.

Last but not least, confidence is one of the most important presentation skills you can have. If you’re not confident in what you’re saying, it’s going to show – and your audience is going to pick up on it.

So, even if you’re not feeling 100% sure of yourself, try to project confidence. It’ll make a big difference in how your audience perceives you and your message.

How To Identify & Master Presentation Skills

The good news is that presentation skills are not rocket science. Anyone can develop and master them with the right guidance.

Here’s a 5-step process to help you identify and master presentation skills.

Determine The Purpose Of Your Presentation

Are you trying to inform, persuade, or entertain your audience? Knowing the purpose of your presentation will help you focus on the right content and delivery.

Know Your Audience

Who will be watching or listening to your presentation? What are their needs, wants, and concerns? The better you understand your audience, the more effectively you can address their needs.

Structure Your Content

Organize your thoughts into an introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction should grab your audience’s attention and set the stage for the rest of your presentation. The body should contain the meat of your argument, and the conclusion should drive home your main points.

Choose Your Delivery Method

Will you be using slides, props, or other visual aids? Will you be speaking extemporaneously or reading from a script? Choose a delivery method that best suits your content and audience.

Practice, Practice, Practice

The only way to become a master presenter is to practice, practice, practice! Experiment with different techniques and find what works best for you. Then keep practicing until it becomes second nature.

Also, consider that the right strengths test can help you understand your presentation skills better – both the strong ones and the ones to get better at. To this extent, the High5test.com strengths test is a great resource.

How To Improve Presentation Skills in The Workplace

The workplace is one of the most important places to hone your presentation skills. After all, in the business world, first impressions are key, and being able to deliver a polished and professional presentation can make all the difference in whether or not you’re successful.

Here are a few tips to help you improve your presentation skills in the workplace:

Preparation Is Key

This may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s worth repeating. When you’re preparing for a presentation, take the time to do your research and gather all of the necessary information. This will help ensure that your presentation is well-organized and flows smoothly.

Be Aware Of Your Body Language

Your body language speaks volumes, so it’s important to be aware of what you’re communicating with your nonverbal cues. Make sure you’re standing up straight, making eye contact, and using gestures appropriately. These small tweaks can make a big difference in how your audience perceives you.

One of the best ways to improve your presentation skills is simply to practice as much as you can. The more you present, the more comfortable you’ll become and the better you’ll be at thinking on your feet and handling questions from the audience.

Seek Feedback

After each presentation, take some time to reflect on what went well and what could be improved. If possible, seek feedback from your colleagues or boss. This will help you learn from your mistakes and continue to improve.

By following these tips, you can start to improve your presentation skills and make a positive impression in the workplace.

How To Highlight Presentation Skills In Resume & Job Interview

Another important skill that is often overlooked is the ability to highlight presentation skills in both a resume and a job interview. This can be the difference between getting the job and not.

When you are applying for a job, your resume is often the first thing that potential employers will look at. It is important to make sure that your resume includes any relevant presentation skills that you may have.

You can do this by including any experience you have in public speaking, leading presentations, or teaching courses. If you do not have any experience in these areas, consider listing any other relevant skills that could transfer over into presenting, such as customer service or sales experience.

In addition to your resume, it is also important to be able to highlight your presentation skills during a job interview. This is often done through behavioral interviewing, where you will be asked to describe specific examples of times when you have presented in the past. It is important to be prepared for this type of question and to have a few examples ready to go.

When you are highlighting your presentation skills, it is important to focus on any successes that you have had. This could be anything from getting positive feedback from an audience to successfully teaching a new course.

No matter what the specific example is, it is important to focus on how you were able to positively impact the situation. This will show potential employers that you can effectively present information and that you are someone they would want on their team.

Bonus Tip: How to Improve Presentation Skills in School As a Student

School students often have to present in front of their classmates and teachers. This can be a daunting experience, especially if you don’t feel confident in your abilities. However, there are some things you can do to improve your presentation skills while you’re still in school.

Join A Club Or Organization That Requires Presentations

This will force you to get up in front of people regularly and hone your skills. If no club or organization at your school requires presentations, start one!

Give speeches in front of the mirror.

Practicing in front of a mirror can help you identify any nervous habits you have (like fidgeting or pacing) and correct them before you have to give a real speech.

Use Note Cards Instead Of A Script

Reading from a script can make you sound robotic and unauthentic. Note cards will help you stay on track without sounding like you’re reciting memorized lines.

Record Yourself Giving A Presentation

Then, watch the recording back to see how you can improve. This exercise can be painful, but it’s one of the best ways to identify your weaknesses and work on them.

Find A Mentor

Ask a teacher or another adult you trust to give you feedback on your presentations. They can offer helpful tips and criticism that will help you improve.

By following these tips, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a great presenter in no time!

Presentation Skills FAQs

What are the 7 presentation skills.

The 7 presentation skills are:

• Eye contact

What are the 4 types of presentation skills?

The 4 types of presentation skills are:

• Verbal communication
• Visual aids
• Non-verbal communication
• Listening skills

What is the rule of presentation?

The rule of presentation is to always keep the audience in mind. This means knowing who your audience is, what they want to hear, and how to best deliver your message so that they will listen and be able to understand it.

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English & Enterprise: Presentation Skills

In this week's Premier Skills English Podcast , Jack and Rich continue with a mini-series of podcasts called English & Enterprise . The topic in this episode is presentation skills and the language focus is on phrases we use to structure presentations. Your task is to talk about a presentation that you have given at school, work or university. Don't forget to listen to the end of the podcast because we have a new football phrase for you to guess, too. Enjoy!

Welcome - English & Enterprise  - Presentation Skills 

Jack : Hello my name’s Jack

Rich : and I’m Rich and welcome to this week’s Premier Skills English podcast

Jack : Where we talk about football and help you with your English.

Rich : We recommend that you listen to this podcast on the Premier Skills English website because that is where we have the transcript, language examples, activities, quizzes and a discussion page to help you understand everything we talk about.

Jack : However, if you’re listening on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, you can leave answers to our questions in the review section. We do read all the reviews and would love to hear from you. 

Rich : In this week’s podcast, we’re continuing with our mini-series of podcasts that focus on enterprise skills. These are skills that will help you with your English at work or in the workplace.

Jack : In our last podcast, we spoke about the language you need when trying to solve a problem - problem-solving skills.  We looked at phrases we might use to suggest and discuss solutions to problems such as ‘We’d be better off trying something totally different’, ‘Our best bet would be to try this’ and ‘I’m not sure that would be a smart move’. 

Rich : We also looked at lots of phrases with the word ‘chance’ that focused on the likelihood or possibility of something happening. These were phrases such as ‘It’s a million to one chance’, ‘You don’t stand a chance’ and ‘the chances of that happening are somewhere between slim and none’.

Jack : If you want to go back and do this lesson you can find it on the Premier Skills English website by clicking skills > listen >podcasts. If you are on Spotify or Apple Podcasts you’ll find it in the playlist, it’s called ‘English & Enterprise: Problem Solving’.

Rich : In this podcast, we are going to focus on presentation skills. In the workplace or at work, we often have to give presentations to our boss, our work colleagues or external customers.

Jack : We will focus on some of the words and phrases you need to give a successful presentation and we will give you our top presentation tips.

Rich : Later in the podcast, we will have a roleplay for you that continues from the previous roleplays in our English and Enterprise podcasts.

Jack : If you remember, we have a new idea for a football product - hair moulds in the shape of footballers.

Rich : It was our idea but the boss’ daughter has stolen it and taken the credit for it.

Jack : In this week’s roleplay, we will present the product to the boss who will realise that it was our idea, not his daughter’s.

Rich : After the roleplay, we will have a task for you to do, which is when we ask you to use your English. This week we’re going to ask you to tell us about a presentation at work, school or university that you have given in English.

Jack : And, don’t forget to listen to the end of the podcast because we have another football phrase for you to guess.

Football Phrase 1 

Jack : But, before we look at all that, let’s look at last week’s football phrase. If you didn’t hear it last week we’ll give you one more chance to guess and give you the correct answer at the end of the show when we give you a new football phrase.

Rich : The phrase was _______. This phrase is used when a referee or more recently VAR decides that a goal should not be given because of a foul or offside.

Jack :  Well done if you got the right answer last week. A special well done to Lakerwang from China,  Liubomyr from Ukraine, Coreuser from Saudi Arabia, Elghoul from Algeria, and Idzingirai from Zimbabwe. All of you got the right answer and wrote the correct answer on the Premier Skills English website

Rich : We’ll tell you the answer to this football phrase and we’ll have a new one at the end of the show. Introduction to Roleplay

Rich : You are now going to listen to a roleplay. 

Jack : In the last podcast, you heard that the boss’s daughter had stolen the idea for a new product from two employees of a tech company (me and Rich).

Rich : If you remember, this fantastic new product are hair moulds in the shape of famous footballers that fans can wear in their hair. The boss thinks it’s going to be a big hit.

Jack : In this roleplay, we are going to give a presentation about the product and after the roleplay, we will look at some of the important language to use when giving presentations.

Rich : While you listen, try to answer these two questions: question one: What happens to Maria? And question two: Why does Jack think the product will be successful? 

Boss : A big welcome to everyone who has come today. We are very happy to see so many familiar faces in the audience. After the presentation of our exciting new football product, I will hope to have conversations with all potential partners and customers. I’m sure you will all be very interested. 

Boss : I’d like to welcome to the stage the brains behind the product my daughter Maria and two of our employees Jack and Rich.

Jack : Hello everybody. We’re very happy that you could join us here today. The main focus of this presentation is to give you more details about our product. Maria - Maybe you could give a brief overview of the product and its USP?

Maria : No, I can’t.

Jack : Maybe Maria hasn’t got her notes with her.

Jack : Not to worry everyone, I’d like to hand over to Rich, who has been working on the development of the product and will be happy to give you an overview.

Rich : Thank you, Jack, and everybody here today. First of all, I’m going to tell you a little bit about the product. Secondly,  I will hand over to Jack who is going to tell you why this product will be a success and finally we will hand back over to Maria who will present a cost-benefit analysis.

Jack : Psst. I think Maria’s gone.

Rich : Sorry, and last of all we will take a look at the kinds of profits you could be making.

Jack : We have both been hard at work crunching the numbers to show you how profitable this product will be. Rich - over to you.

Rich : As you’re aware, the football tech industry is booming. The sector was worth 45 billion dollars last year alone. And based on our findings we believe our new product can add a further 10% to the sector in the coming year. Our product is Premier League hair moulds. Let me elaborate further. This product would allow anybody with hair - our data shows this is 98% of the global population - to have the shape of their favourite footballer cut into their hair. Production costs would be minimal so, to put it simply, if we got major football leagues involved, profits could be astronomical.  Let me hand back to my colleague, Jack, who will expand on this a little.

Jack : Thanks, Rich. Let’s move on to why the hair mould idea will be a success. The reasons are threefold. Firstly, affordability. As Rich said earlier, hair moulds are cheap to make. Production costs are low which also means a low final sale price. Everybody will be able to buy one. Secondly, simplicity, hair moulds are easy to make and easy to use. And, thirdly, popularity, football is a world game - anything and everything connected to football sells.

Rich : Thanks for that, Jack. Before we sum up, we’d like to talk numbers. As you can see in the chart, the profit on a small number of units is quite small, however, if you look at the numbers we hope to sell, as illustrated in this second chart, you can see the kind of figures we are aiming for. The handout on your desk gives a further breakdown of all the costs.

Jack : So, in conclusion, we believe that this product could be the next global craze and will be very profitable for all involved. Thank you all for your attention and we’re now very happy to take any questions you may have.

Roleplay Questions 

Jack : Before we take a look at the language we used in the roleplay, let’s give you the answers to those questions we asked.

Rich : The first question was: What happens to Maria? Well, she disappeared! She refused to speak because she didn’t know what to say. Remember, she had stolen the product idea from us so didn’t have any of the information. 

Jack : That’s right. And the second question was: Why do I think the product will be successful?

Rich : He gave three reasons: affordability, simplicity and popularity. 

Jack : Now, let’s look at some of the language we used in the roleplay. Language Focus

Jack : In the roleplay, you heard me and Rich give a presentation. We are now going to look at some language that will help you give better presentations. When we’ve done that we’ll give you our top tips for giving presentations.

Rich : Let’s start with introducing a presentation. You might want to start by saying something like ‘hello everybody’ or ‘thanks for coming today’ but then you need to state the purpose of your presentation.

Jack : In the roleplay, Rich said ‘The main focus of this presentation is to give you more details about our product.’

Rich : The useful bit of language here is ‘the main focus of this presentation is ...’ You could use some other phrases to introduce the purpose of your presentation.

Jack : These include simple phrases such as ‘Today, I’m going to talk about ...’ or ‘This afternoon, I’d like to talk about …’ or more complex phrases such as ‘Let me start this presentation by …’ or ‘As you may be aware …’.

Rich : We used this last phrase in the roleplay. I said ‘As you’re aware, the football tech industry is booming’. This phrase is used to introduce a topic that your audience already knows about.

Jack : It’s important to give a presentation order and structure. At the beginning of a presentation, you should tell your audience what you are going to speak about and when.

Rich : In the roleplay, I used the phrases ‘first of all’, ‘secondly’ and ‘finally’ to tell my audience what I was going to speak about and when.

Jack : I did something similar when I gave three reasons why the product would be a success. I used the words ‘firstly’, ‘secondly and ‘thirdly’.

Rich : There are also some phrases you can use at the end of your presentation or when you are saying what you re going to speak about at the end. As I mentioned ‘finally’ is a useful word here but we can also say things like ‘in conclusion ...’, ‘last of all …’ and ‘summing up ...’ or ‘to sum up ...’.

Jack : At the very end of a presentation it can be useful to thank the audience for listening and answer questions. In the roleplay, I said ‘Thank you all for your attention and we’re now very happy to take any questions you may have’. 

Rich : So those are probably the most useful phrases for giving your presentation a basic structure but there are lots of other phrases we use in presentations.

Jack : In the roleplay, you heard ‘let’s move on to …’ which is a common phrase to change the topic in a presentation, you heard ‘our data shows’ and ‘based on our findings’ which are phrases that are used to make reference to other information.

Rich : You also heard ‘let me elaborate further’ and ‘let me expand on this a little’ which are phrases used to give more details about something. The phrases ‘as you can see in this chart’ and ‘as illustrated in this chart’ and ‘in the handout you will see a breakdown of all the costs’ are all used to explain visual information.

Jack : We will look at these phrases in a little bit more detail on the Premier Skills English website. There will be more explanations and activities for you to do on the website page for this podcast.

Rich : It’s totally free to use and you will find this lesson on the homepage or under skills > listen > podcasts.

Presentation Tips

Jack : Many of you may have to give a presentation at work, school or university so we thought we would share with you five of our top tips for giving presentations in English.

Rich : We hope you find them useful.

Jack : Tip Number one.

Rich : Plan your presentation and use notes.

Jack : Prepare what you are going to say by making some notes. This doesn’t mean writing down everything you are going to say. Maybe have a few keywords on five or six small pieces of card to help you remember what to say.

Rich : Tip number two.

Jack : Don’t hold a piece of paper.

Rich : Write your notes on card. If you use paper and you’re nervous, your hand and paper will shake and everyone will see.

Jack : Tip number three.

Rich : Don’t read your visuals. 

Jack : If you use a powerpoint presentation or something similar, don’t read exactly what is written on it. Give your audience a minute to read it and then make the points you want to make.

Rich : Tip number four.

Jack : Practise your presentation.

Rich : This might seem obvious but practise as much as possible. Practise with friends and get them to ask questions. This will give you confidence when you do it for real.

Rich : Tip number five.

Jack : Smile and make eye contact.

Rich : Look at your audience when you are speaking to them. Remember they are listening to you and they are interested in what you have to say!

Jack : This week’s task is to tell us about a presentation that you have given in English or your own language. 

Rich : We want you to answer these questions.

Jack : Question one: Where was your presentation?

Rich : Question two: Who did you give your presentation to? How many people were there?

Jack : Question three: What was the topic of your presentation?

Rich : Question four: How did you feel about giving the presentation? Did other people find it useful?

Jack : Question five: Have you given presentations in English and your own language? What are the main differences?

Rich : Write your answers in the comments section at the bottom of the page on the Premier Skills English website or in the review section on Apple Podcasts.

This week’s football phrase:

Jack : The final section this week is our football phrase. 

Rich : The football phrase this week is * ***-***** ****. In a football context, the phrase means that there are only two teams that can win a competition. The Premier League is * ***-***** **** between Manchester City and Liverpool. The phrase was originally used in a sport that involves animals.

Jack : If you can guess the animal, you should be able to get the phrase. Let’s see who can get it right! If you know the answer, write it in the comments section at the bottom of the page. We will announce your name in next week’s podcast if you get it right.

Rich : We also need to give you the answer to the football phrase we set at the beginning of the show. The answer as you may already know was a disallowed goal.

Jack : Right, that’s all we have time for this week. Bye for now and enjoy your football!

How much did you understand?

In the podcast, Rich and Jack used some words and phrases that might be new for you. Do you know the words  in bold ?

I’d like to welcome to the stage the brains behind the product , my daughter Maria and two of our employees  - Jack and Rich. Maybe you could give a brief overview of the product and its USP ? I’d like to hand over to Rich, who has been working on the development of the product. We have both been hard at work crunching the numbers to show you how profitable this product will be. The football tech industry is booming .

There were a few more tricky words and phrases in the podcast. Do you know what they all mean? Try the activity below, then, listen to the podcast again to hear how we used the words. This can really help your understanding.

Giving Presentations

In the roleplay, you heard Jack and Rich giving a presentation. We often have to give presentations at work, school or university. 

The structure of a presentation is very important. If a presentation has a good structure, you will know what you have to say and when and your audience will be able to understand your presentation much more easily. Here are some phrases we used in the podcast that you can help structure your presentations. Do you know the phrases  in bold ?

Introducing your presentation

The main focus of this presentation is to give you more details about our product. Today, I’m going to talk about ... This afternoon, I’d like to talk about … Let me start this presentation by  explaining/saying/offering ... As you’re aware , the football tech industry is booming.

The first three of the phrases above are quite simple and can be used to introduce the topic of your presentation in a direct way. The other two phrases are used less directly. ' Let me start this presentation by ...' is usually followed by the gerund form (-ing) and is often used when the speaker wants to talk about the purpose of a presentation.  The phrase ' as you are aware, ... ' is used to introduce a topic that your audience already knows about.

Signposting your presentation

At the beginning of your presentation and during the presentation it's a good idea to signpost your presentation; say what you are going to talk about and when. There are some specific words and phrases we use to do this. We used some of these in the podcast. Do you understand the words and phrases in bold ? 

First of all , I’m going to tell you a little bit about the product. Secondly ,  I will hand over to Jack who is going to tell you why this product will be a success. Finally, we will hand back over to Maria who will present a cost-benefit analysis. Sorry, and last of all we will take a look at the kinds of profits you could be making.

All of the words and phrases in bold help the speaker give their presentation and help the audience follow the presentation. You can also use ' firstly ', ' secondly ', and ' thirdly ' but beyond the third point we usually use phrases such as ' the next point ' or ' following this '.

Finishing your presentation

When we finish a presentation, we often give a conclusion, which involves giving our opinion or recommendation, or we give a summary which involves repeating the main points you have spoken about. In reality, there is not usually much difference between a conclusion or a summary. Have a look at the phrases below. Do you know the words in bold ?

So, in conclusion , we believe that this product could be the next global craze and will be very profitable for all involved.  Last of all , I would like to ... So, to sum up my main points, I ... Summing up the main ideas from the meeting, I'd like to repeat ...

Try the activity below, you need to read the dialogues and write the correct words in the gaps. All of the words were used in this podcast.

Changing the topic

When we introduce a presentation we probably mention three or four topics or points that we will mention in our presentation. We need to make it clear when we are changing the topic or moving on to a new point. In the roleplay, Rich said:

 Let’s move on to why the hair mould idea will be a success.

Here are some other phrases you can use when moving from one point to another:

I’d now like to move on to the next part … This leads me to my next point, which is … Turning our attention now to … Let’s now turn to …

Giving more information

Before we move onto a new point we might want to give some extra information about something. In the roleplay, we used these phrases:

Our product is Premier League hair moulds. Let me elaborate further . This product would Let me hand back to my colleague, Jack, who will expand on this a little.

Here are some simple phrases you can use when moving from one point to another:

In addition, ... What’s more, ... Also, ... Added to this, ...

Referring to data

When giving a presentation, we often need to talk about data or statistics that we have collected or that is from other sources. In the podcast, we used some phrases to do this:

Based on our findings, we believe our new product can add a further 10% to the sector in the coming year. This product would allow anybody with hair - our data shows this is 98% of the global population.

Here are some other phrases you can use when referring to other sources:

According to (some recent statistics/various studies/our sources), … Our data indicates …

Referring to visual information

When we give presentations, we often use powerpoints, handouts or other visual elements to improve our presentations and make them simpler to understand. We used some specific phrases when referring to these images. Do you know the words  in bold ?

As you can see in the chart , the profit on a small number of units is quite small. If you look at the numbers we hope to sell, as illustrated in this second chart , you can see the kind of figures we are aiming for.  The handout on your desk gives a further breakdown of all the costs.

Here are some further phrases that we can use when presenting visual information:

I’d like to illustrate this point by showing you… I think the graph perfectly shows how/that… If you look at this graph/image/table, you can see that…

Try the activity below, then, listen to the podcast again to hear how we used the words. This can really help your understanding.

Please login to take this quiz.

Presentations

This week’s task is to tell us about a presentation that you have given at work, school or university. 

These questions will help you with your answer:

• Where was your presentation?
• Who did you give your presentation to? How many people were there?
• What was the topic of your presentation?
• How did you feel about giving the presentation? Did other people find it useful?
• Have you given presentations in English and your own language? What are the main differences?

Write your answers in the comments section below and don't forget to  make a guess at our football phrase.

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Task 1-At work and it was one of city of my country. 2-Businesswomen/men. About five hundred. 3-About financial facilities are provided by my company to the SMEs. 4-I was a little bit nervous but afterwards I got calm. They thanked me after presantation. 5-Only in my own language.I’ve no English presantation experience. Phrases • The smart move would be staying at home and keep off from crowded areas in the pandemic days. • Every leader /governor/manager have to know right time to leave desk. This means handover authority to the next person. • As you’re aware glass bottles should hand back to the store to get deposit. • Talkative people should first of all say what she/he will last of all say in order to save time.--:) • I've been crunching and elaborating numbers as well as analysing cost-benefit state to see how could I change my old car-:) • A brief overview of issues in the agenda before starting meeting is more beneficial. Notes • When I meet a family company's members as a financier I always try to find out the brain behind this organization.

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This week's football phrase is ( a two-horse race )

One of the most memorable presentations I have ever had was when I started working at a new big school and it was a must for every teacher to have a presentation about themselves with some points as family , background , experience and teaching motivations. I felt a bit nervous in the beginning because I am not used to giving a speech in front of that massive number as the audience were all my colleagues and managers so it was about 70 persons at the school theatre I spent the earlier 3 days practicing and I wrote some main points to talk about. I made a powerpoint with headlines and photos to make it simpler and more interesting The exciting point here that it was by English and it was recoreded by a friend of mine. When I saw it later , I think actually I did a fantastic job , speaking like a CEO of a big company , just joking , I mean it was very good regarding confidence and fluency and it lasted for about 10 minutes

One of my best presentation was at high school. I was racing against three students to became the new high school's leader as we were coursing the last year. I gave my presentation to all the students, so there were almost 700 students. The main topic was explain the students why I should became their leader by showing them a plan on which I was offering them different alternatives to enjoy our pass through the school. I offered them the chance to create and build a bigger library for investigation, buying more books of their interest, I offered them the chance to be included in different sport's team after class with an affordability cost, I was going to create a musical group by making auditions for all whose played instruments so they could have the chance to perform their talents at especial days that I chosed to release concerts. Last of all, I promised them, they could have six parties along the year; which it was the boom. I felt so nervous as I started talking to them by the microphone since it sounded rare the eco, and I subconciously thought they were not hearing me clear, but it was in the first joke I made when I felt relax and I could perform my plan as I expexted to. Of course, yes, absolutely, they found it useful since I won the race thanks to my presentation. Unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity of giving a real presentation in English, just once, in an English class when my teacher asked me to explain two verbs in front of my classmates but it is not compared because I just had three people staring at me. I hope that day comes soon .

- An iteresting lesson.

2- In 2016 I deliverd a presentation, and it was in the university it considered the second in my educationel career, my audience was that big there were about 5o persons including the jury, the topic was the impact of climate change on food safety, it was very important issue to discuss especialy in continet rely on foreign AIDS, the most import in the presentation is I used English language for the first time during disscussing an issue.

3- Football phrase: A two horse race.

Wasn't it a horsal-race between....?

My presentation was given when I was chief accounter in a bank.

The meeting focused on the differents ways of establishing the foreign money balance.

More than twelve people attended the event as I welcomed them and explained my aims through the day.

I speaked in French our working langage although we used often some popular idioms. The data show and the slides were very helpful.

First of all I detailed the purpose of this new method to evaluate financial assets. Secondly we began in detailing what would the effect on the taxing result. In conclusion every one gives his opinion on the delays of this operation.

football phrase, a two-horse race.

I am used to give a presentation at work twice at year and my next one will be next month. I'm going to give that to an auditor who is coming from another plant of the company I'm working for, and usually there are more than 30 people. The topics of the presentation are for the most, related to the way I used to do my activities everyday and involving subjects like safety, quality, people development, cost deployment and environment. The first few time I gave my presentation I was very nervous because I wasn't used to do that but now I'm feel safer. Sincerely I don't know if my presentation may help someone else in their work but I hope so. Unfortunatly and how you can well see my english is very bad and therefore I'm forced to speak in Italian. Anyway thanks also to you I'm learning English and I'm aware I'm making progress even if they are slow. Sorry but this week football phrase is quite difficult for me

I think that the phrase is '* ***-***** ****'.

Leaderboard

Skills : Listening

Language : Phrases to structure a presentation

Language : Phrases to reference information

Language : Phrases to explain visual information

Task : A presentation you have given

Matchweek 36: Cleared off the line

Liverpool on fire against Huddersfield and Manchester City scrape past Burnley.

English & Enterprise: Problem-solving

In this week's podcast, we focus on phrases to solve problems in the workplace.

English & Enterprise: Brainstorming

In this week's podcast, we focus on the language you need in the workplace.

English & Enterprise: Negotiation Skills

In this week's podcast, we look at the language of negotiating business deals.

Cup Finals: Wins for Liverpool & Chelsea!

Liverpool are European Champions for the sixth time and Chelsea win the Europa League.

Enterprise English - A New Leader

Rowan needs a new captain so asks Jack for advice about who to pick. After the roleplay, Rowan and Jack discuss vocabulary related to leadership.

Topic: Presentation Skills

As you can see in the slide (giving presentations)

Step into the world of presentations with this handy lesson! Students explore vocabulary for structuring presentations, read the text of a presentation and watch a video on how to communicate ideas clearly.

Presentation: putting skills into action

With this lesson plan, students practise giving a presentation in English by doing a lot of different speaking activities. The lesson is the third of the three-part series of lessons about delivering presentations. 

Moving through your presentation

With this lesson plan, students learn plenty of useful phrases for presentations in English. They also prepare presentation excerpts, and learn how to start a presentation. The lesson is the second of the three-part series of lessons about delivering presentations. 

How to nail that presentation

In this lesson about business presentations in English, students discuss presentation structures in depth, watch a video with tips on giving presentations, and learn useful words and phrases related to the topic. The lesson is the first of the three-part series of lessons about delivering presentations. 

The city of the future is here

With this lesson plan based on a video about Toyota’s city of the future students learn some useful language for presentations and then practise their presentation skills.

The chair that conquered the world

This lesson plan about the chair that conquered the world includes a variety of tasks for students to learn new vocabulary related to describing furniture design and practise their presentation skills. 

How do you like your milk?

In this lesson, students will learn advanced cooking verbs, discuss different types of milk and do an English class project.

Apple’s legendary keynotes

The objective of this lesson plan is to teach students some adjectives for describing products and show them a video analysing Apple’s legendary keynotes.

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Advancing social justice, promoting decent work ILO is a specialized agency of the United Nations

Migrated Content

Presentation of the FMCS Commissioners: Jimmy Valentine dan Liz Brenner

Date of publication

4 November 2022

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