Good presentation skills

• Communication, whether verbal or written, is about getting the idea from your mind into someone else’s mind.

  • You do that by making it easy for them to understand.

• Slides

  • One idea per slide.
  • But don’t be too afraid of text-heavy slides. They are frequently shared before or after the meeting.

• Speaking

  • Say one ‘thing’ per slide.

  • Try not to speak continuously for more than a minute at a time.

  • Your first words should be the memorable point you are trying to make. Most people start a stream of words.

  • Read out the headline word for word. That’s the one thing you need to get into their head. After that you know you’re safe.

  • Pause after you’ve said the thing.

    • For example: “France is our biggest expansion opportunity.”
    • Not: “Okay so I’ve done a lot of research into the countries we could expand into and by comparing revenue and competition I’ve identified France as our biggest opportunity.”

  • Read out the slide’s headline word for word. That’s the ‘one thing’ you need to get into their head. Once you’ve got the takeaway into their heads you know they’re on board.

  • Pause after you’ve said ‘the thing’. Let it sink in with your audience. Watch their facial expressions (if you can).

  • If the takeaway doesn’t seem to have sunk in then ask the audience if they have questions.

  • ‘Signpost’. Tell the audience where they are, where they’ve been and where they’re going.

    • For example: “We’ve already seen the size of the opportunity to expand in France. Later I’ll show you the alternatives to France. But now I want to show you what we would need to do to take the opportunity in France.”