How often do you present in front of your coworkers? Depending on your industry and job title, you might give office presentations on a regular basis. Alternatively, you might be unused to public speaking and in need of pointers. Either way, this list can give you a hand!
Office presentations don’t have to feel intimidating or complicated! Use these strategies to help you give an effective presentation. Click To Tweet
Give a Good Presentation
Preparation and presenting both require a decent amount of involvement and planning. However, neither has to completely overwhelm you. With effective strategies and care put into your work, you’re sure to create a compelling presentation for your coworkers. Keep these strategies in mind:
- Organize your points
- Don’t overwhelm your audience with information
- Use good visual aids
- Speak confidently
- Explain just enough
- Communicate with your audience
1) Organize Your Points
Never try to wing your speech based on memory or your own improvisation skills. Write an outline for yourself and sort your thoughts by importance, relation, and logical flow. Give yourself a coherent flow of thought to work with. This will also help your audience understand you and stay engaged.
2) Don’t Overwhelm Your Audience with Information
Don’t feel compelled to present your audience with every possible piece of information you find on your topic. Include only what’s relevant to your presentation. If you present a long list of intricate details, your audience will quickly get confused and lose interest.
Pro Tip: If you feel like your outline has too much information, choose one point and ask yourself what you would lose by removing it. Continue down the line until you’ve determined what information is expendable and which is necessary.
3) Use Good Visual Aids
Whether you use PowerPoint, an AQUOS Board, or some other form of visual aids, make sure your audience can follow along and stay engaged. Slides covered in text or fancy animations are a turn-off for most people, while boring bullet lists cause audience members to get bored. Keep your slides interesting enough to keep their attention without creating a sensory overload.
4) Speak Confidently
One of the most obvious signs of a problem with a presentation is the speaker’s lack of confidence. You worked hard on this presentation and your research. Believe in yourself! As an added bonus, your audience can sense your excitement and will be as drawn into your topic as you are. This will only help them listen to what you have to propose!
5) Explain Just Enough
This principle goes hand in hand with the idea of not using too much information in a speech. This time, however, it applies while you’re actually presenting. Don’t feel the need to read every word off your slides or explain every concept twice. However, don’t swing to the opposite extreme and assume that your audience can always follow you easily. Find the right balance of explanation and stick to it.
6) Communicate with Your Audience
Finally, remember that you’re presenting to a group of people, not just yourself. Make eye contact and speak to each member of the audience. Make everyone feel like you’re having a conversation directly with them. In a way, you kind of are.
An Engaging Presentation
Giving an office presentation is far from a difficult task if you make sure you’re ready for it. Give yourself plenty of time to prepare, practice, and organize long before you stand up to present. Your coworkers will thank you for an easy-to-follow presentation!
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