How To Give Winning Presentations
“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”
— Albert Einstein
73% of people experience anxiety and fear when it comes to giving presentations and speaking in public.
Giving presentations and speeches is one of the most important activities you can do to advance your career and life.
Your ability to deliver a speech or a presentation can significantly impact your life and career.
It is one of the most important career skills you can develop to advance your career.
A repeatable system is the key to eliminating fears and obstacles and delivering world-class speeches and presentations.
Here are 6 steps to help master and develop public speaking skills and remarkable presentations.
1. Create your slide deck or presentation material
Start building out presentation material as soon as possible (at least 1-2 weeks in advance if possible)
This gives you time to improve it and sufficient time to practice.
Begin with listing out key topics you want to cover in the presentation.
Spend the time to do thorough research and study the subject
First, list out key topics you want to cover in the presentation.
Example:
Create your slide deck or presentation material
Create a clear intro, body, and close
Practice, practice, practice
Write down things that could go wrong and come up with a plan
Engage the audience through questions & activities
Create your presentation checklist
Add visuals and images to illustrate your points. Diagrams, infographics, gifs, and videos work well. Use Canva to get presentation templates and build diagrams and infographics.
2. Create a clear intro, body, and close
Break your presentation into three key sections body, intro, and close.
Body
This is the most important part of your presentation.
Come up with 3-6 topics you want to discuss for the body. The number of topics for the body depends on the duration of the presentation.
Create 3-5 key points for each of your topics. Add the most critical points for each topic. Avoid overcrowding your slides.
Spend the time to do proper research on topics and points.
Use visuals, diagrams, examples, and statistics to make your points stand out. Diagrams, infographics, gifs, and videos work well to illustrate your points.
Use Canva to get presentation templates and build diagrams and infographics.
Example:
Create your slide deck or presentation material
Start building out presentation material well in advance
First, identify key topics you want to present
Add the most critical points for each topic
Add visuals and images to illustrations points (gifs work well)
Intro
The introduction sets the mode and the tone for your presentation.
Use a hook (statistic or startling fact) or personal story to attract the audience.
Example: “73% of people experience anxiety and fear when it comes to giving presentations and speaking in public.
Outline the issue ad discuss the key benefits of resolving the problem.
Example: “While there, public speaking and giving presentations may be challenging. There are many benefits associated with it. Some of those benefits include career advancement, more ways to earn income, networking, and business opportunities.”
Tell them what you will teach or share with them.
Example: “In this presentation, I am going show 6 techniques to help you build confidence and give highly engaging presentations that provide lots of value to the audience”
Close
For the close, provide a bulleted summary of the topics discussed.
Example:
Create your slide deck or presentation material.
Create a clear intro, body, and close
Practice, practice, practice
Write down things that could go wrong and come up with a plan
Engage the audience through questions & activities
Create your presentation checklist
Provide a call to action that directs the audience to take your recommended action.
Example: Thank you for joining me in this presentation! Join me in my next course to learn how to write effectively.
3. Practice, practice, and practice
Practice is the ultimate solution to the fear of public speaking.
Practice and repetition is the most important thing you can do to improve public speaking and give world-class presentations.
Practice 6-7 times before the presentation. Start 15-20 minutes at a time. Practice topic by topic until the presentation content flows to you naturally.
I sometimes practiced 10-15 times to ensure proficiency and flow for my presentations.
Ensure that the presentation stays within the set time duration.
Remember that the actual presentation tends to be longer than the practiced durations.
Ideally, it would be best to record yourself and review to see where you can better.
Don't worry if you are making mistakes. We all need to get better in this area. The more you can face your mistakes, the better you will be at correcting and overcoming them.
4. Create a Presentation Backup Plan
One of the main things that make us fearful of presentations is the uncertainty of events that can occur during the presentation.
Make a complete list of things that could go wrong before or during your presentation.
Next, come up with steps to resolve them in advance.
Examples:
Delays arriving at the venue
Plan to come to the venue 1-2 hours earlier
Going over the allotted time
Practice in advance and ensure it's below the allotted time
Visuals are not loading
Load and check the slides and material before the presentation
Audio/visual equipment not working
Get in touch with the tech team prior
Bring your own equipment
5. Engage the audience through stories & activities
Presentations are not about what you say but how you make them feel.
Engaging your audience is key to delivering a winning presentation. Plan in advance how you will engage your audience.
Here are some ways to engage your audience.
Bring out stories from your life.
Ask “Raise your hand if you’ve ever…" questions.
Provide the audience with the slide to interact.
Ask questions from your audience as you go along.
Use your hands to point at the board.
Use props and physical items.
Don't put your hands in your pockets or behind your back.
6. Create your Presentation Success Checklist
Identify all necessary activities to deliver a great presentation in advance.
Create your checklist to ensure you take all of the key actions.
Example Presentation Delivery Checklist:
Create the slide deck
Create intro, body, and conclusion
Practice 6-7 times
Confirm audio and video equipment is working
Pack necessary equipment and tools
Successfully travel to the location
Load up slides and check audio equipment
Greet people as they arrive
Start a presentation on time
Start the intro or/and icebreaker
Discuss the key topics and points
Engage the audience with questions
Provide your close
Key steps:
1. Create your slide deck or presentation material
2. Create a clear intro, body, and close
3. Practice, practice, and practice
4. Create a Presentation backup plan
5. Engage the audience through stories and activities
6. Create your presentation checklist
