Preparing to Present

Community Manager — Tue, 10 May 2011 13:38:00 GMT

Few people truly enjoy public speaking, but in the work world presenting goes with the territory. Case in point: there are literally dozens and dozens of books on Amazon on the topic. A round up of the best can be found here but in the interest of brevity, this post looks at three short-and-sweet articles that will elevate your game in short order.

Winning Power Points

Corporate presentations are often accompanied by Power Point and reams of data. Avoid boring your audience to sleep by reading If You Must Use PowerPoint, Here's How To Do It: 5 Tips From Hans Rosling. Tips include not speaking to the slides, speaking with passion and limiting distracting animation effects.

Learn from a Pro

Few business people in the world command the attention of Steve Jobs when he presents. Interested in adopting some of his presentation skills? Read 9 Quick Tips For Successful Presentations From A Steve Jobs Event. Ideas include acknowledging the crowd, using lay people terms rather than industry jargon and having fun with your material.

Fear Not

Finally, for those of you who are deeply leery of presenting, or who feel that excellent presentation skills are out of their reach, read Why We Fear Public Speaking And How To Overcome It. This useful article posits that talented presenters are made not born, and that excellent presentation skills can be honed through practice, just as a skill in sports is learned and improved by coaching and rote practice.

How do you prepare to present? Do you have any tips or strategies for improving your presentation skills? Share your thoughts here and on the Pendaflex Facebook page.

Beyond Folders : presentation skills

Preparing to Present