Blog
How to Prepare for a Successful Presentation
3rd November 2017
No matter what the occasion, presentations can be nerve wracking, read on to help to say goodbye to those pre-presentation nerves.
Preparation
Presentations can appear in all different forms and can vary massively! The way you prepare can depend on the type of presentation you are doing, so you may want to consider asking yourself these questions:
- Who am I presenting to?
- How many people am I presenting to?
- Where am I presenting?
- Does my audience know much about the topic I’m presenting?
- Can my audience relate to it?
Once you have considered these questions you are one step closer to ensuring your presentation is successful and nerve free.
Think about what you are presenting, if it is a PowerPoint for example think about how it looks. If you want the audience’s attention to be on you, it could be a good idea to make your presentation tidy, consistent and key word driven.
Research
Consider if you have done enough research, if you are presenting on the topic you should probably know what you are talking about, so ensure you feel comfortable and confident on the topic you are talking about! Do you feel like you could answer questions about things you may not have covered in your presentation? If not, consider doing more research as you could possibly have to answer questions at the end. If this is an interview presentation, you may be able to predict some of the questions your audience may ask, especially if it is job related!Content
Now you have done your research it would be a good time to consider what you were asked to do, how long is your presentation supposed to be? Is there anything that could support what you are speaking about? For example, if you are doing a work presentation you could use charts and statistics or if you were talking about a personal topic for example, climbing Mount Everest you could have pictures to help illustrate what you are explaining. Consider making your slides fun, if appropriate you could add things like photos or videos to make it visual and interesting.Think about what you are presenting, if it is a PowerPoint for example think about how it looks. If you want the audience’s attention to be on you, it could be a good idea to make your presentation tidy, consistent and key word driven.
