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HOW TO Give a Great Presentation - 7 Presentation Skills and Tips to Leave an Impression

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How I Overcame My Fear of Public Speaking | Danish Dhamani | TEDxKids@SMU

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How to Do a Presentation - 5 Steps to a Killer Opener

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Jerry Seinfeld has a skit where he points out that studies show public speaking is a bigger fear than death. That means, he claims, that if you are going to a funeral you are better off in the casket than doing the eulogy. While there isn't a lot you can do to melt away your anxiety, a the best start is simply to make a better presentation.

Becoming a competent, rather than just confident, speaker requires a lot of practice. But here are a few things you can consider to start sharpening your presentation skills:

1. 10-20-30 Rule - This is a slideshow rule offered by Guy Kawasaki. This rule states that a powerpoint slide should have no more than 10 slides, last no longer than 20 minutes and have no text less than 30 point font. He says it doesn't matter whether your idea will revolutionize the world, you need to spell out the important nuggets in a few minutes minutes, a couple slides and a several words a slide.

2. Be Entertaining - Speeches should be entertaining and informative. I'm not saying you should act like a dancing monkey when giving a serious presentation. But unlike an e-mail or article, people expect some appeal to their emotions. Simply reciting dry facts without any passion or humor will make people less likely to pay attention.

3. Slow Down - Nervous and inexperienced speakers tend to talk way to fast. Consciously slow your speech down and add pauses for emphasis.

4. Eye Contact - Match eye contact with everyone in the room. I've also heard from salespeople that you shouldn't focus all your attention on the decision maker since secretaries and assistants in the room may hold persuasive sway over their boss.

5. 15 Word Summary - Can you summarize your idea in fifteen words? If not, rewrite it and try again. Speaking is an inefficient medium for communicating information, so know what the important fifteen words are so they can be repeated.

6. 20-20 Rule - Another suggestion for slideshows. This one says that you should have twenty slides each lasting exactly twenty seconds. The 20-20 Rule forces you to be concise and to keep from boring people.

7. Don't Read - This one is a no brainer, but somehow Powerpoint makes people think they can get away with it. If you don't know your speech without cues, that doesn't just make you more distracting. It shows you don't really understand your message, a huge blow to any confidence the audience has in you.

8. Speeches are About Stories - If your presentation is going to be a longer one, explain your points through short stories, quips and anecdotes. Great speakers know how to use a story to create an emotional connection between ideas for the audience.

9. Project Your Voice - Nothing is worse than a speaker you can't hear. Even in the high-tech world of microphones and amplifiers, you need to be heard. Projecting your voice doesn't mean yelling, rather standing up straight and letting your voice resonate on the air in your lungs rather than in the throat to produce a clearer sound.

10. Don't Plan Gestures - Any gestures you use need to be an extension of your message and any emotions that message conveys. Planned gestures look false because they don't match your other involuntary body cues. You are better off keeping your hands to your side.

11. "That's a Good Question" - You can use statements like, "that's a really good question," or "I'm glad you asked me that," to buy yourself a few moments to organize your response. Will the other people in the audience know you are using these filler sentences to reorder your thoughts? Probably not. And even if they do, it still makes the presentation more smooth than um's and ah's littering your answer.

12. Breathe In Not Out - Feeling the urge to use presentation killers like 'um,' 'ah,' or 'you know'? Replace those with a pause taking a short breath in. The pause may seem a bit awkward, but the audience will barely notice it.

13. Come Early, Really Early - Don't fumble with powerpoint or hooking up a projector when people are waiting for you to speak. Come early, scope out the room, run through your slideshow and make sure there won't be any glitches. Preparation can do a lot to remove your speaking anxiety.

14. Get Practice - Join Toastmasters and practice your speaking skills regularly in front of an audience. Not only is it a fun time, but it will make you more competent and confident when you need to approach the podium.

15. Don't Apologize - Apologies are only useful if you've done something wrong. Don't use them to excuse incompetence or humble yourself in front of an audience. Don't apologize for your nervousness or a lack of preparation time. Most audience members can't detect your anxiety, so don't draw attention to it.

16. Do Apologize if You're Wrong - One caveat to the above rule is that you should apologize if you are late or shown to be incorrect. You want to seem confident, but don't be a jerk about it.

17. Put Yourself in the Audience - When writing a speech, see it from the audiences perspective. What might they not understand? What might seem boring? Use WIIFM (What's In It For Me) to guide you.

18. Have Fun - Sounds impossible? With a little practice you can inject your passion for a subject into your presentations. Enthusiasm is contagious.

What tips do you have for making killer presentations?

Scroll down to continue reading article

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Jerry Seinfeld has a skit where he points out that studies show public speaking is a bigger fear than death. That means, he claims, that if you are going to a funeral you are better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.

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How can you make a good presentation even more effective?

This page draws on published advice from expert presenters around the world, which will help to take your presentations from merely 'good' to 'great'.

By bringing together advice from a wide range of people, the aim is to cover a whole range of areas.

Whether you are an experienced presenter, or just starting out, there should be ideas here to help you to improve.

1. Show your Passion and Connect with your Audience
It's hard to be relaxed and be yourself when you're nervous.
But time and again, the great presenters say that the most important thing is to connect with your audience, and the best way to do that is to let your passion for the subject shine through.

Be honest with the audience about what is important to you and why it matters.
Be enthusiastic and honest, and the audience will respond.
2. Focus on your Audience's Needs
Your presentation needs to be built around what your audience is going to get out of the presentation.
As you prepare the presentation, you always need to bear in mind what the audience needs and wants to know, not what you can tell them.

While you're giving the presentation, you also need to remain focused on your audience's response, and react to that.
You need to make it easy for your audience to understand and respond.
3. Keep it Simple: Concentrate on your Core Message
When planning your presentation, you should always keep in mind the question:
What is the key message (or three key points) for my audience to take away?

You should be able to communicate that key message very briefly.

Some experts recommend a 30-second 'elevator summary', others that you can write it on the back of a business card, or say it in no more than 15 words.

Whichever rule you choose, the important thing is to keep your core message focused and brief.
And if what you are planning to say doesn't contribute to that core message, don't say it.
4. Smile and Make Eye Contact with your Audience
This sounds very easy, but a surprisingly large number of presenters fail to do it.
If you smile and make eye contact, you are building rapport, which helps the audience to connect with you and your subject. It also helps you to feel less nervous, because you are talking to individuals, not to a great mass of unknown people.

To help you with this, make sure that you don't turn down all the lights so that only the slide screen is visible. Your audience needs to see you as well as your slides.

5. Start Strongly
The beginning of your presentation is crucial. You need to grab your audience's attention and hold it.
They will give you a few minutes' grace in which to entertain them, before they start to switch off if you're dull. So don't waste that on explaining who you are. Start by entertaining them.
Try a story (see tip 7 below), or an attention-grabbing (but useful) image on a slide.
6. Remember the 10-20-30 Rule for Slideshows

This is a tip from Guy Kawasaki of Apple. He suggests that slideshows should:

Contain no more than 10 slides;

Last no more than 20 minutes; and

Use a font size of no less than 30 point.

This last is particularly important as it stops you trying to put too much information on any one slide. This whole approach avoids the dreaded 'Death by PowerPoint'.

As a general rule, slides should be the sideshow to you, the presenter. A good set of slides should be no use without the presenter, and they should definitely contain less, rather than more, information, expressed simply.

If you need to provide more information, create a bespoke handout and give it out after your presentation.

7. Tell Stories
Human beings are programmed to respond to stories.
Stories help us to pay attention, and also to remember things. If you can use stories in your presentation, your audience is more likely to engage and to remember your points afterwards. It is a good idea to start with a story, but there is a wider point too: you need your presentation to act like a story.
Think about what story you are trying to tell your audience, and create your presentation to tell it.
Finding The Story Behind Your Presentation

To effectively tell a story, focus on using at least one of the two most basic storytelling mechanics in your presentation:

1. Focusing On Characters - People have stories; things, data, and objects do not. So ask yourself "who" is directly involved in your topic that you can use as the focal point of your story.

For example, instead of talking about cars (your company's products), you could focus on specific characters like:

The drivers the car is intended for - people looking for speed and adventure

The engineers who went out of their way to design the most cost-effective car imaginable

2. A Changing Dynamic - A story needs something to change along the way. So ask yourself "What is not as it should be?" and answer with what you are going to do about it (or what you did about it).

For example...

Did hazardous road conditions inspire you to build a rugged, all-terrain jeep that any family could afford?

Did a complicated and confusing food labelling system lead you to establish a colour-coded nutritional index so that anybody could easily understand it?

To see 15 more actionable storytelling tips, see Nuts & Bolts Speed Training's post on Storytelling Tips.
8. Use your Voice Effectively

The spoken word is actually a pretty inefficient means of communication, because it uses only one of your audience's five senses. That's why presenters tend to use visual aids, too. But you can help to make the spoken word better by using your voice effectively.

Varying the speed at which you talk, and emphasising changes in pitch and tone all help to make your voice more interesting and hold your audience's attention.

For more about this, see our page on Effective Speaking.

9. Use your Body Too
It has been estimated that more than three quarters of communication is non-verbal.
That means that as well as your tone of voice, your body language is crucial to getting your message across. Make sure that you are giving the right messages: body language to avoid includes crossed arms, hands held behind your back or in your pockets, and pacing the stage.
Make your gestures open and confident, and move naturally around the stage, and among the audience too, if possible.
10. Relax, Breathe and Enjoy
If you find presenting difficult, it can be hard to be calm and relaxed about doing it.
One option is to start by concentrating on your breathing. Slow it down, and make sure that you're breathing fully. Make sure that you continue to pause for breath occasionally during your presentation too.

For more ideas, see our page on Coping with Presentation Nerves.

If you can bring yourself to relax, you will almost certainly present better. If you can actually start to enjoy yourself, your audience will respond to that, and engage better. Your presentations will improve exponentially, and so will your confidence. It's well worth a try.

Improve your Presentation Skills

Follow our guide to boost your presentation skills learning about preparation, delivery, questions and all other aspects of giving effective presentations.

Start with: What is a Presentation?

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Learn how to make a good presentation even more effective with our top tips, drawing on expert advice from around the world.

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In search of blog topics? How about writing a review of a relevant book you've just completed? It's a great way to show that you're staying up on the current literature in your field while being a good sharer of useful information. Here are two easy tools for writing a review:

1. The 5 Big Questions™

This is a more qualitative format that bridges information-sharing and criticism. Using this tool, you can convey the most important things you think the author was trying to convey and their motivation for writing the piece, in addition to critiquing what made it a good read and what would have made it better. You can answer the questions in bullet form and then draft your piece, or answer them in short or long-ish answers and have your draft right off the bat! Here's an example: A review of Chris Brogan & Julien Smith's The Impact Equation.

2. The What-Why-How Strategy™

This is more of a just-the-facts-ma'am format, enabling you to list your take-aways (what you think), establish their relevance to you and others (why you think it) and include excerpts from the original prose (how you know). You can use the same process as above for getting to a draft, this time working across the tool to create paragraphs. ( Download the organizer)

Use these tools to create engaging blog content. Let me know how it goes by leaving a comment below or emailing me directly.

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Blogging: Write a review! - The Word Factory

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In search of blog topics? How about writing a review of a relevant book you've just completed? It's a great way to show that you're staying up on the current literature in your field while being a good sharer of useful information.

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How to Write a Killer Book Review in 5 Easy Steps | YaashaMoriah.com

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Why Book Reviews Matter & How to Write Them

We're always talking with our members and publishers to find out how they use NetGalley, and what is important to them when it comes to finding titles, reading them, providing Feedback. Recently some of you told us that you would like some tips on how to write a book review and what happens once you submit your review to the publisher via NetGalley.

First, I'd like to start with why your reviews are important to the success of the book and the author. Since most titles on NetGalley are pre-pub and not even yet on sale, publishers are making them available for a very specific purpose: to gain feedback and insight from you-professional readers and influencers. These reviews will later help inform consumers, too.

Publishers (and authors!) really love a thoughtful, insightful, meaningful review. They can be used in many ways: as a blurb on the printed galley or final book jacket, in marketing/advertising materials, to help build a blog tour or other online promotions, to spur excitement in-house and with sales reps, etc. Don't take our word for it-here are a few anecdotes straight from our publishers (and scroll down for some tips for meaningful reviews, too!):

Dina Sherman
School & Library Marketing Director
at Disney Book Group

Former Associate Digital Marketing Manager at St. Martin's Press:
"I love exchanging emails with readers at netgalley@stmartins.com, but I have to say we're also very thankful for how conscientious NetGalley readers are about using the Start Feedback button. It is so useful for our publicists and marketers to be able to look back at a particular book and see all the reviews NetGalley readers have submitted in one convenient location. And it makes it much easier for us to contact you directly in the future with books suited to your personal tastes. For example, many of you submitted reviews via NetGalley for Jay Kristoff's fantasy debut Stormdancer. When it comes time to send out egalleys of the next book in the series, Kinslayer, I'll use the NetGalley reviews to guide me as I start to build my contact list."
Pamela Brown
Marketing Director at Mulholland Books:

Lili, Children's Publicity Intern at Bloomsbury USA (read the full post here):
"Submitting reviews is always a good thing! It ups your review ratios which we do see and it shows you're reliable, which makes people more inclined to send you things and if you keep working with them then, who knows, one day you may be auto-approved! ...auto-approved members are mostly those people who have been diligently supporting a house for a while that their name just sticks out."
Tips for Writing Book Reviews:

As important as it is to understand how a review can impact a book, it's also important to know how to write a review. We've asked some of our members, including professional reviewers, bloggers, and publishers, what they think makes a good book review.

Any review that you write should be constructive, whether it's positive or critical of the book. Make sure to tell your readers why you liked or disliked certain aspects of the book vs. just stating your opinion with no evidence.

Be authentic and share your unique voice with the reader through your reviews. Your followers and publishers want to hear what you think of the book, and in your own voice. Treat this as if you're talking with a friend, or stating your case at your book club.

Publishers appreciate critical reviews as well, as long as they are constructive and give thoughtful comments.

Strive to be kind in your brutal honesty. Avoid being hurtful in your constructive criticism-authors are people too!

Engage your reader(s) immediately in your review - use that first sentence to state your opinion.

Do include comments on the plot, character development, setting, theme, the writing style, any artwork or graphics included, extra materials (like a reading guide, glossary, etc.), dialogue, are the facts reported correctly (for nonfiction), does the book fit in its designated genre and age group.

Do include your full review and a link to where it is published online when pressing the Feedback button in NetGalley.

Do let the publisher know if you're also cross-posting your review on retailer websites.
Check the publisher's preferences either in your approval email or on the publisher's page on NetGalley to find out when they'd like reviews to begin appearing online.

Do not include spoilers in your review (no one enjoys spoilers).

Keep in mind that galley copies have not gone through their final stages of copy-editing, so you may spot some grammar or spelling mistakes - but those will likely be corrected before the book goes on sale.

Proofread your review for grammar, spelling mistakes, typos, etc. before publishing it.

Most importantly, focus on your own goals for writing the review.

Do you want people to read this book?
Tell them why they should seek this particular book out and read it. What would makeyou purchase a book you read a review about?

Do you think this is a book your readers should skip?
Let them know why you disliked it - maybe the writing style wasn't up your alley, or the plot didn't quite work?

Do you want your readers to become a loyal follower of a particular author or publisher?
Again, state your case and provide evidence for why they should do this and make sure to provide the book/author/publisher website and social media links so your readers can follow them - the author will thank you!

Are you recommending the book as a group read?
Then let them know what makes this book conversational, why there is a lot to unpack about the characters, plot, etc.

Even if you don't leave a full review, publishers still want to hear from you- see our tips for other types of Feedback that are helpful to the success of a book.
For more tips for writing book reviews visit:
Recipes for Success: 8 Tips for Writing Good Book Reviews
Guest post: Janice Harayda, novelist, award-winning journalist, and founder and editor-in-chief of One-Minute Book Reviews

Recipes for Success: How Publishers Use Your Reviews
Guest post: Cassie Galante at St. Martin's Press
Recipes for Success: 5 Top Tips for Writing a Book Review
Recipes for Success: What Makes a Good Review
Guest post: Cindy Minnich, Nerdy Book Club

I hope you've found this information helpful & and if you have additional questions, feel free to add them to the comments section below! Best, Tarah Theoret

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Why Book Reviews Matter & How to Write Them | NetGalley

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We're always talking with our members and publishers to find out how they use NetGalley, and what is important to them when it comes to finding titles, reading them, providing Feedback. Recently some of you told us that you would like some tips on how to write a book review and what happens once you submit your review to the publisher via NetGalley.

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In How To Write A Great Book Review, Amanda Patterson explains that 'Reviews fall into the categories of Comment, Opinion, and Columns. When writing a review you are expressing your opinion and you should assess the book honestly.'

Here are seven of her tips from the article:

Read the full article here: How To Write A Great Book Review

If you enjoyed this post, click here:

1. 10 Basic Dos And Dont's For Plotting

2. The 24 Most Controversial Books of All Time

3. The Anatomy Of A Best-Selling Book

If you want to learn how to write a book, join our Writers Write course in Johannesburg or sign up for our online course:

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7 Tips For Writing A Great Book Review - Writers Write

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In How To Write A Great Book Review, Amanda Patterson explains that 'Reviews fall into the categories of Comment, Opinion, and Columns. When writing a review you are expressing your opinion and you should assess the book honestly.'

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4_THE TRUTH IS A CAVE IN THE BLACK MOUNTAINS

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26_THE MAIDEN FLIGHT OF MCCAULEY’S Bellerophon