Improving Your Presentation Skills

Presentation skills are one of those assets that any employer would really like to have in an ideal employee.

Essentially, it's the ability to get your point across to other people.

As a recruiter, I have to help prepare people for interviews where they are essentially presenting themselves in front of one or more interviewers. Once they get the job, they might have to regularly present in front of larger groups which only increases the stress and trepidation of presenting.

If you have trouble with presenting or feel that your presentation skills are an area of weakness, here are some tips to help you improve:

1. Practice certainly makes perfect. You won't get better by thinking about it. You really need to practice speaking in front of other people whether it's at work or in social settings. Look for any opportunity - work or social - to speak and gain confidence.

2. Look for opportunities to present topics that you like and feel comfortable discussing. Try to find opportunities outside work to present where you might feel less pressure to perform but will still allow you to practice in front of an audience.

3. Join a Toastmasters club or other organization that will help you improve your presentation skills and will give you the opportunity to speak publicly in front of other people trying to improve their skills and are in the same position you are.

4. Consider signing up for presentation skills training. Not only will you get to learn from someone who knows what they are doing, they will be able to focus on the areas you need help with most.

5. Think of your main strengths and try to incorporate them into your presentations. When appropriate, injecting your sense of humor and personality into presentations can help to build a rapport with your audience while making you more comfortable too. Essentially, try to be yourself when presenting and let your real personality come out.

6. Try not to place undue pressure on yourself before a big presentation. Prepare well in advance and avoid last minute changes that increase your stress. If you have properly prepared and know your topic well, convince yourself that this isn't a big deal and that you have nothing to be scared of. The more opportunities you have to apply your presentation skills, the quicker you'll be able to improve them. Perhaps the biggest obstacle to being a skilled speak is nervousness. The more confident you are, the more comfortable you will be in front of an audience and the less likely you'll be to have to read off of prepared notes.

Practice does make perfect but in cases where you still feel your skills are not improving fast enough, consider training with a professional.

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