Scribd
Upload
16 views5 pages

Improvement Skills

The document provides tips on improving presentation skills, emphasizing the importance of knowing your subject and audience, taking your time, and using friendly body language. It suggests practicing regularly, keeping presentations engaging and structured, and using simple slides to reinforce key points. Additionally, it highlights the significance of making eye contact, avoiding filled pauses, and being authentic during presentations.

Uploaded by

mark.steward677
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
16 views5 pages

Improvement Skills

The document provides tips on improving presentation skills, emphasizing the importance of knowing your subject and audience, taking your time, and using friendly body language. It suggests practicing regularly, keeping presentations engaging and structured, and using simple slides to reinforce key points. Additionally, it highlights the significance of making eye contact, avoiding filled pauses, and being authentic during presentations.

Uploaded by

mark.steward677
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 5

Study Experience

How to improve your presentation skills


Fri, 25 Nov 20226min read





Whether you are at university or a workplace, presenting to an audience is
something you will have to do many times throughout your life. At
university, presentations are a common way for your teachers to see how
much you have learned.

Why are good presentation skills important?


From convincing a potential new client to sharing your knowledge with your
peers, presenting helps you get key ideas and beliefs across to a large
audience. However, how you deliver that information is important. It’s one
thing to present information, but presenting it well takes practice; lots of it.
It’s a skill used by many but mastered by few.

Presenting is a skill and something you can improve with time, practice and
patience. If you’re looking to get started in developing effective presentation
skills, these handy tips will allow you to level-up your presentations.

Know your subject and audience well

The first step to improving your presentation skills is to consider what


you’re presenting and who you’re presenting it to. This will influence the
type of presentation you are going to give. A presentation on biology to a
group of university students will have a very different approach than a
business pitch aimed at your company boss.

What you say, how you say it and the level of detail you go into are all
decided by your target audience. Know them, and your subject, inside out.

Take your time

One of the biggest mistakes people make when delivering their


presentation is that they speak too quickly or quietly. There is no rush when
giving your presentation (so long as you are prepared and know when
you’re stopping). Speaking more slowly shows confidence in both yourself
and the subject you’re talking about. If you speak too quickly, people will
find it hard to understand you.

It’s also important to make sure that your voice is loud and clear (known as
projecting your voice). This allows everyone, from the front to the back of
the room, to still hear you. Every member of your audience is important.

Use open, friendly body language

If you want a quick way to improve your presentation skills, open and
friendly body language is a great starting point.
There are more subtle ways to show your confidence and friendliness than
what you say and how it’s said. Do not stand at the front of the room and
cross your arms or keep your hands in your pockets. This body language
suggests that you would rather be somewhere else, which is the last thing
you want your audience to think!

One way to include come across as more friendly is using gestures to keep
your audience engaged. You can use your hands if referring to something
that is big or small, or direct your audience and point to your slides if there
is something you want them to see.

If you have a lot of room to move, consider moving around to create visual
interest.

Practise, practise, practise!

The easiest way to improve your presentation skills is to practise.


Practising alone in front of a mirror, even if a little embarrassing, can help
you identify what you’re doing well and what needs improving. Consider
recording audio of your presentation to give you an idea of how long the
presentation is, or if some sections need changing. Most modern
smartphones allow you to do this and it is a great way to identify areas for
improvement.

You might even feel brave enough to practise in front of a small group of
friends!

Keep it engaging and structured

You may have a great idea for a presentation, but unless you present it in
an engaging, exciting way, people will be less likely to listen to you.

Think about how you’re going to deliver your information. Do you have any
stories to share? A video or images? A joke or two can help relax your
audience and keep them interested.

A good presentation is well-paced, moving forwards before the audience


loses interest. Make sure you ensure each section does not run for too
long.

Keep your presentation slides simple

While not essential, supporting slides (created in an app like Microsoft


PowerPoint) can help reinforce your points, giving audience members a
visual summary of what you’re talking about.
However, too much information on a slide can prove distracting, or even
discourage people from looking at it. Don’t fall into the trap of sharing your
entire script on your slides.

When designing slides to accompany your presentation, stick to bullet


points that cover what is being discussed. Visual aids, like pictures, can
help you reinforce a point you are making.

Make eye contact with your audience

One way to help keep your audience engaged and invested in what you’re
saying is to connect with them on a personal level. Something as simple as
eye contact shows you are engaged and talking to them, not the wall at the
back of the room.

When the people you’re speaking to see that you’re noticing them, they will
pay more attention to what you’re saying. If this makes you uncomfortable,
remember that you don’t have to maintain eye contact for too long!

Avoid filled pauses when speaking

Filled pauses (umm, err) are the sounds we make when we’re talking, but
we’re not sure how to respond. You will use them a lot when you’re with
friends or family, as it gives you time to think of what to say. Using these in
a presentation, however, suggests that you aren’t confident.

Remember: we only use filled pauses when we’re not sure what to say.

If you practise and rehearse your presentation, you’ll know what to say and
when. This will help you come across as confident, knowledgeable, and
charismatic.

Be yourself

The most important thing of all is to be authentic. While it’s good to watch
other presentations to get ideas you can use, don’t become someone
you’re not. Your presentation should be as unique as you, showcasing all
your strengths in a way that nobody else could copy.

You might also like