Tips for doing an effective presentation

Sometimes while in the process of trying to get a graduate job you may be asked by an employer to give a presentation. To make sure it goes smoothly read our top tips here.

Always be prepared!

You will have heard this before but the essential ingredient to the success of any presentation is thorough preparation. Effective preparation can limit almost every daunting aspect of your presentation and will reduce your uncertainty of those nagging questions, such as;

- Will I appear fluent and confident
- Will they be interested
- And, will I be able to hold their attention

The five essential rules when making a presentation are;
1. Know your subject
2. Be sincere
3. Be convinced that your message is worthwhile and that your audience will benefit from it
4. Be enthusiastic
5. Be self-confident

These are all things that will result from thorough preparation. The more you rehearse your presentation the more familiar you will become with the content. You will have continually made improvements so that you know the final version is good and should therefore feel you have the enthusiasm and confidence with which to present it.

However, knowing how and what to prepare is often part of the problem.

Put yourself in the position of the audience. Be selective with the material you include. What are the main points that they most want to hear' Emphasise these points through your intonation as it is easier to attract attention by the way you say things rather than what you are saying.

Practice your intonation and facial gestures to convey enthusiasm. If you don't appear interested in what you're speaking about, your audience won't either.

Write down key words in your notes that mean something to you and will jog your memory, but don't be tempted to simply write out your whole speech. This makes your notes difficult to follow and tempts you to simply 'read aloud' making you sound mono-toned, allowing no eye contact with the audience, so you appear unconfident.

If appropriate, encourage audience participation as this will give an extra dimension to your presentation and increase the attention span of your audience.

Familiarise yourself with any equipment and visual aids you may be using. Test out the slide projector, make sure the OHP is clearly focussed, and ensure the video is rewound to the right place. If any technical hitches occur, they may not be your fault but they will cause you delays and embarrassment.

When writing your notes, try to divide your presentation into sections to make them easier to follow. Highlight the key words you have chosen to aid your memory, so that you can see them quickly and clearly.

You should aim to be able to give your presentation without any notes, but have them there simply as a back up. This will enable you to maintain eye contact with the audience and use hand and facial gestures, demonstrating your subject knowledge, confidence and professionalism.

Before you make the presentation, practise. Ask someone to listen to you. What you believe to be a logical argument may need clarification or adjustment to appear so to others.

Consider the factors that may lead people to 'switch off', these include;
Boredom: what is said is neither relevant nor interesting
Depth of content: depth given by the presentation is more/less than audience expected. Understanding: content of the presentation is too advanced/too basic for the audience.

You therefore need to determine questions such as;
- Is the content completely relevant to the subject on which I am presenting
- What is the purpose of the presentation
- How much information does the audience require
- What will the audience understand - should I use jargon or not

Critically evaluate your performance after the event and consider what changes you would make if you were to do the presentation again.

Try to think about good presentations you've seen other people give. What factors made them so impressive' How could you incorporate these elements into your presentation'.