Best Ways To Improve Your Presentation Skills This Year
Great presentation skills can be valuable to list on your resume. How can you improve your presentation skills?
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Presentation skills
Many people dread giving presentations. If presentations are a big part of your job, however, or you’re looking for a new position, good presentation skills can allow you to move forward more quickly. Use these tips to improve your presentation skills and add them to your skills set on your resume.
Build my resumeWhat are presentation skills?
Presentation skills are the skills you draw on to create effective presentations, but they also speak to how well you can communicate with and lead others. These are a few of the skills you might use to create a great presentation:
- Body language
- Hand gestures
- Communication skills (verbal and written)
- Eye contact
- Creation of visual aids
- Self-confidence
- Public speaking skills
- Self-confidence
- Memorization
As you can see, there are a number of different skills you can group under the field of “presentation skills.” You need to be able to impress with all of them in order to give great presentations.
Types of presentations
There are many different types of presentations you can give as part of your job, and understanding these types of presentations could help you learn how to prepare and present them. These types of presentations include:
Persuasive presentations
Persuasive presentations, where you’re attempting to persuade someone to change something (e.g., a presentation to a boss about getting a new printer)
Instructional presentations
Instructional presentations, where you’re teaching someone how to do something (e.g., a presentation to general employees about how to use the new printer)
Informative presentations
Informative presentations, where you’re teaching someone new information (e.g., a presentation to general employees about new requirements for what you can and can’t print)
Inspiring presentations
Inspiring presentations, where you’re trying to inspire your audience (e.g., a charismatic presentation to a startup company about goals or workplace benefits)
All of these types of presentations have similarities, but it’s important to become familiar with them because you will need to choose the right type for your presentation every time you write one. Writing a presentation is easier when you understand that these four end goals are the most common ones.
Build my resumeHow to improve your presentation skills
Just knowing that you’re writing a persuasive presentation isn’t enough to help you write a better one. It’s all about understanding the skills that go into a presentation. Here are a few presentation tips to give you a better chance of acing the presentation:
- Work on your visual aids
- Practice body language
- Consider memorizing part of the presentation
- Give yourself plenty of time to develop the presentation
- Do many presentations over time
Rehearsing individual presentations is often enough to create a single good presentation. The more you do this, the better you’ll be at creating a successful presentation every time you write one. Compelling presentations don’t happen overnight, but these tips can help you develop good presentation skills to help you with all kinds of presentations.
FAQ: Presentation Skills
Have questions? We’re here to help.
How can I get over a fear of public speaking?
There are many ways to get over this fear. Deep breathing is a great way to get over a single presentation if you find yourself stuck with this fear and you haven’t prepared enough. Relying on the quality of your presentation can also be helpful; when you use visual elements that are robust and interesting, you don’t have to rely as much on the way you’re talking in front of an audience. However, the best way to work on a fear of public speaking is to consistently present in front of others. The more often you present, the better you’ll feel about doing it in the future.
Where can I find good examples of public speaking?
Looking at the way other people present is the best way to understand what an audience needs to stay engaged and interested. Look at the way other people in your office present, look into TED Talks, watch presentations online, and generally watch the similarities in the ways these different people present to different audiences. These are the things that generally attract audience attention, and they’re the things you should be mimicking to do great presentations.
What if I don’t have many opportunities to practice public speaking?
Your best option is to try and create your own opportunities. You can give presentations to your friends, colleagues, family members and anyone else who wants to listen. You may also want to join public speaking clubs in your area, like Toastmasters. These groups may be able to help you become better at giving presentations in general. If you feel like you don’t get any opportunities to practice, it may just be that you haven’t looked around and found the audience members who would be interested in hearing your presentations.
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