Put Your Best Business Foot Forward: Powerful Presentation Skills

Regardless of the setting, the key to an effective presentation is to have satisfied the needs of your audience.

Put Your Best Business Foot Forward: Powerful Presentation Skills

As a business owner, you must get used to public speaking in groups, videos, podcasts, or even during interviews with local media. Stage fright is not an option.

Solid preparation does a lot to relieve the jitters. Focus on the benefits your audience will glean from your presentation rather than what you want to say. People naturally listen when you speak to their needs and interests. In turn, their attention will give you confidence and self-assurance.

Group Presentations

Here are the basics of delivering a great presentation, such as a sales proposal or an employee meeting:

  • Be prepared. Why should your audience pay attention or care if you do not appear to have taken your presentation seriously enough to be prepared? Understand your audience and the appropriate key messages for them well.
  • Use visuals wisely. If a chart, graphic, or photo does not enhance your message, don’t include it. Your entire presentation should be geared to maximize audience understanding, with visuals supporting key messages. In addition, always use well-designed graphics, infographics, and messages. Don’t crowd a bunch of words on one page of a presentation.
  • Use handouts wisely. Pass around the handout at the beginning of your talk to avoid distractions. The audience should focus on you, not the papers you hand out. Most audiences like to receive slide copies from your presentation as well.
  • Stay on schedule. Begin promptly. Starting or running late implies you do not respect your audience’s time. Identify portions of your presentation you can cut if you feel you will run out of time. Organize the presentation to incorporate the most crucial information at the beginning.
  • Involve the audience. The best presentations feel like conversations between the audience and the presenter. Ask questions. Invite comments. Pause occasionally to gather your thoughts and allow the audience to jump in.
  • Be willing to say, "I don’t know." Standing in front of a group makes many people feel must know everything – and if they don’t, they lose credibility. The only way to lose credibility is to answer a question incorrectly. If you don’t know the answer, say so. Always offer to provide the information later.
  • Close with a brief summary and a call to action. If you can’t quickly summarize what you want the audience to know or do, you don’t have a presentation; You have a speech. Identify your purpose, and close by summarizing that purpose. Then, ask your audience to follow through on your message. If you intend to inspire, close with a motivational message.
  • Rehearse and speak from notes. You won’t inspire anyone by reading your speech, even using slides. Know your topic and presentation well enough to stand before the group and share your message comfortably. By practicing, you will be less nervous and become a fluent expert on your topic.
  • Tell stories. Real testimonials and illustrations bring your presentation to life.
  • Always present on topics where you are an expert. The more you know about a topic, the more fluent and credible you appear. Study up and be sure you know more than your audience on a given topic.

Dealing with the Media

Radio, television, and print interviews are forms of presentation, even if you are speaking to an audience of one, so prepare accordingly. Plan to anticipate media questions and rehearse in advance of the actual interview. Depending on the media type, you can vary your approach.

Print: Interviews with print journalists are usually most manageable for the average person. While you may be more relaxed, your message should still be on-point and carefully delivered. Take a moment to make sure you understand the question. Think about how to best frame your answer. If you are interviewed by phone, stand while you talk. You’ll naturally feel more confident and energetic.

Radio: Radio is a more personal medium than most others. While on air, you speak to a collection of individuals; each person listens to you as if hearing a one-way conversation. You should be friendly, relaxed, and approachable. Over the airways, being too formal is off-putting. You can’t use visual aids, so craft your words to deliver a powerful message. Pretend you are speaking to one person, not a group. Speak in 30-second sound bites to allow for editing.

Television: On television, how you look and act is as important as what you say. Keep your movements slow and controlled. Hold your head and body relatively still so the camera does not have to follow your movement. Speak clearly, and remember that most television interviews are heavily edited. Try to answer all questions in one or two sentences.

Finally, remember that regardless of the medium or the setting, the key to delivering an effective presentation is good preparation and focus on the audience. Satisfy their needs, and your presentations will always be successful.