Presentation Skills

Have you ever had difficulties in how to give a proper and effective speech? Are you always suffering from too much of stress because the next day is your presentation day? Are you always having the feeling that your heart is beating too fast and you are overly nervous before giving a presentation? No matter what your presentation is, you always want to give your best and put as much effort as you can, so that the audience will have a good impression of you. In doing so, a good speaker must acquire several presentation skills, so that the speech is well-prepared and well-presented. There are some dos and don’ts in giving a speech. The following paragraphs will give you a clear explanation on the dos and don’ts when you are giving your presentation.

First, you must make sure that you are communicating with your audience and not be like a robot reading the content of your script. This is to enable the audience to listen and understand your presentation. Next, you must stand up when giving the presentation, so that the audience will pay attention to your presentation. You are not allowed to sit unless you are forced to do it. In addition, it is advisable to move around for every 3 or 4 minutes and do some hand gestures. However, you are strongly recommended not to over do it because it will distract the audience attention. The audience will instead focus on your hand gestures if you over do it because it is also a kind of non verbal communication.

Furthermore, you are also required to make eye contact with your audience and always face the audience when you are speaking. You are strongly advised not to stare at the podium and ignore the audience when giving the presentation. Eye contact and body language are the non verbal communication methods which are very important during the presentation. An appropriate eye contact and body language will show your non verbal attitude and behavior.

Moreover, you must always vary the pitch of your voice. This is because if you always speak in monotones it can be sleep-inducing. Your speech will not be interesting and entertaining and the audience will easily get bored if you continuously communicate in a single tone. On top of that, the loudness of your voice is also very important when giving the speech. You must make sure the audience can hear your voice. In doing so, you must speak loudly and clearly. Please do not mumble the words. The audience will feel confused and not understand your presentation if you like to mumble the words. Later, the audiences will loss patience with your presentation.

In conclusion, you should always include the above presentation skills in your speech so that it will keeps the attention of the audience.

Compiled by Lai Shu Tiing