Giving effective presentations

Effective Presentations

Welcome to another edition of English that works: developing communication skills for everyday interactions by the British Council. We hope you are finding the series useful. This week we will look at giving effective presentations.

Giving presentations is a great opportunity to put your communication skills to use for your own and your organisation’s benefit. However, since they are usually ‘high stakes’ communication, it is natural to feel nervous. Some people find it particularly difficult to face an audience. The purpose of this article is to consider four areas that can really boost your presentation and confidence!

Let’s begin with planning. Keep asking yourself ‘what will my audience gain from this?’ until you are able to articulate it clearly. Now your job is to deliver those ‘take away’ points succinctly and clearly. This shift in focus from ‘presenter’ to ‘audience’ will help you stay more focused and less self-conscious.

Next, we’ll explore how we can use our voice and speech effectively. Once again, focus on the audience. How can you help them concentrate and focus on the key messages? Taking brief pauses before and after key information and stressing keywords can help here. Practise pausing in different places and stressing different words and phrases until you find the best way to deliver your message.

It is also important to maintain a normal pace of speech, or even a little slower than normal, to allow your audience the time they need to process the information. Don’t rush through or go dead slow!

Moving on, let’s discuss non-verbal communication. Briefly, this refers to the gestures, postures and facial expressions that accompany our speech. Keep a relaxed posture and smile naturally to appear confident and approachable. You can use gestures to supplement your interaction with the audience. The key is to find what comes naturally to you and using it to your advantage.

So far, we have discussed planning and verbal and non-verbal communication. Finally, we’ll look at the need to practise with somebody who can provide constructive feedback. Do a mock presentation to a peer or senior colleague and ask for their honest feedback. You could also record yourself for self-evaluation and reflection. Reflecting on your performance can help you identify strengths and action points to improve further.

My final tip is to use language that helps the audience understand where you are in the presentation and when you are moving on to the next point. We call this signposting language and you can see examples of this in bold above. Signposting helps the audience mentally prepare for what’s coming and revisit key points.

Good luck with your next presentation! Write to us with your top tips for giving effective presentations at: [e-mail].

Danish Abdullah