Preparation Here is a summary of presentation skills tips and advice for the preparation aspects of a presentation. In order to make the best of these presentation skills it is advised to combine them with a presentation or public speaking course. You Must Practice. Think about who is in you audience and what you want to get across to them in your presentation. Think about what you saying and how you are saying it, both in how you speak, and your choice of words, to what type of presentation you want to give. You may find it useful to practice your presentation in front of a mirror or better yet in front or a friend or colleague, as it is often difficult to judge yourself. Reconnaissance. It is good to get a sense of the room you will be giving your presentation in, go before hand so you are used to the room and are aware of things like how long it will take you to get your equipment prepared and so on. However. Having said this it is also important to not over prepare giving your speech and not actually work on what you are saying. The time you might spend going right through your speech for the 50th time would be far better spent working on your how you want to open and close your presentation. Make Sure Everything Will Work. Before the presentation, test what you are going to use and make sure that it will work and that you know your way around well enough to give your presentation. This is especially the case when working on a PowerPoint presentation or OHPs. Visual Aids. Approach this with caution. Whilst a visual aid can help to give the audience an idea of what you are talking about or show facts in an easily digestible manner, they can also be confusing and disorientating for an audience and only serve to detract attention away from what you are saying. However if they are used wisely, i.e. a graph or pie chart etc, then they can be a powerful allie. We have just published a free comprehensive presentation skills guide We also offer a great presentation skills training course and an advanced presentation skills course
