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6 presentation skills and how to improve them

smiling-woman-introducing-her-presentation-to-her-team-at-work-presentation-skills

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What are presentation skills?

The importance of presentation skills, 6 presentation skills examples, how to improve presentation skills.

Tips for dealing with presentation anxiety

Learn how to captivate an audience with ease

Capturing an audience’s attention takes practice. 

Over time, great presenters learn how to organize their speeches and captivate an audience from start to finish. They spark curiosity, know how to read a room , and understand what their audience needs to walk away feeling like they learned something valuable.

Regardless of your profession, you most likely use presentation skills on a monthly or even weekly basis. Maybe you lead brainstorming sessions or host client calls. 

Developing effective presentation skills makes it easier to contribute ideas with confidence and show others you’re someone to trust. Although speaking in front of a crowd sometimes brings nerves and anxiety , it also sparks new opportunities.

Presentation skills are the qualities and abilities you need to communicate ideas effectively and deliver a compelling speech. They influence how you structure a presentation and how an audience receives it. Understanding body language , creating impactful visual aids, and projecting your voice all fall under this umbrella.

A great presentation depends on more than what you say. It’s about how you say it. Storytelling , stage presence, and voice projection all shape how well you express your ideas and connect with the audience. These skills do take practice, but they’re worth developing — especially if public speaking makes you nervous. 

Engaging a crowd isn’t easy. You may feel anxious to step in front of an audience and have all eyes and ears on you.

But feeling that anxiety doesn’t mean your ideas aren’t worth sharing. Whether you’re giving an inspiring speech or delivering a monthly recap at work, your audience is there to listen to you. Harness that nervous energy and turn it into progress.

Strong presentation skills make it easier to convey your thoughts to audiences of all sizes. They can help you tell a compelling story, convince people of a pitch , or teach a group something entirely new to them. And when it comes to the workplace, the strength of your presentation skills could play a part in getting a promotion or contributing to a new initiative.

To fully understand the impact these skills have on creating a successful presentation, it’s helpful to look at each one individually. Here are six valuable skills you can develop:

1. Active listening

Active listening is an excellent communication skill for any professional to hone. When you have strong active listening skills, you can listen to others effectively and observe their nonverbal cues . This helps you assess whether or not your audience members are engaged in and understand what you’re sharing. 

Great public speakers use active listening to assess the audience’s reactions and adjust their speech if they find it lacks impact. Signs like slouching, negative facial expressions, and roaming eye contact are all signs to watch out for when giving a presentation.

2. Body language

If you’re researching presentation skills, chances are you’ve already watched a few notable speeches like TED Talks or industry seminars. And one thing you probably noticed is that speakers can capture attention with their body language. 

A mixture of eye contact, hand gestures , and purposeful pacing makes a presentation more interesting and engaging. If you stand in one spot and don’t move your body, the audience might zone out.

two-women-talking-happily-on-radio-presentation-skills

3. Stage presence

A great stage presence looks different for everyone. A comedian might aim for more movement and excitement, and a conference speaker might focus their energy on the content of their speech. Although neither is better than the other, both understand their strengths and their audience’s needs. 

Developing a stage presence involves finding your own unique communication style . Lean into your strengths, whether that’s adding an injection of humor or asking questions to make it interactive . To give a great presentation, you might even incorporate relevant props or presentation slides.

4. Storytelling

According to Forbes, audiences typically pay attention for about 10 minutes before tuning out . But you can lengthen their attention span by offering a presentation that interests them for longer. Include a narrative they’ll want to listen to, and tell a story as you go along. 

Shaping your content to follow a clear narrative can spark your audience’s curiosity and entice them to pay careful attention. You can use anecdotes from your personal or professional life that take your audience along through relevant moments. If you’re pitching a product, you can start with a problem and lead your audience through the stages of how your product provides a solution.

5. Voice projection

Although this skill may be obvious, you need your audience to hear what you’re saying. This can be challenging if you’re naturally soft-spoken and struggle to project your voice.

Remember to straighten your posture and take deep breaths before speaking, which will help you speak louder and fill the room. If you’re talking into a microphone or participating in a virtual meeting, you can use your regular conversational voice, but you still want to sound confident and self-assured with a strong tone.

If you’re unsure whether everyone can hear you, you can always ask the audience at the beginning of your speech and wait for confirmation. That way, they won’t have to potentially interrupt you later.

Ensuring everyone can hear you also includes your speed and annunciation. It’s easy to speak quickly when nervous, but try to slow down and pronounce every word. Mumbling can make your presentation difficult to understand and pay attention to.

microphone-presentation-skills

6. Verbal communication 

Although verbal communication involves your projection and tone, it also covers the language and pacing you use to get your point across. This includes where you choose to place pauses in your speech or the tone you use to emphasize important ideas.

If you’re giving a presentation on collaboration in the workplace , you might start your speech by saying, “There’s something every workplace needs to succeed: teamwork.” By placing emphasis on the word “ teamwork ,” you give your audience a hint on what ideas will follow.

To further connect with your audience through diction, pay careful attention to who you’re speaking to. The way you talk to your colleagues might be different from how you speak to a group of superiors, even if you’re discussing the same subject. You might use more humor and a conversational tone for the former and more serious, formal diction for the latter.

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses when it comes to presenting. Maybe you’re confident in your use of body language, but your voice projection needs work. Maybe you’re a great storyteller in small group settings, but need to work on your stage presence in front of larger crowds. 

The first step to improving presentation skills is pinpointing your gaps and determining which qualities to build upon first. Here are four tips for enhancing your presentation skills:

1. Build self-confidence

Confident people know how to speak with authority and share their ideas. Although feeling good about your presentation skills is easier said than done, building confidence is key to helping your audience believe in what you’re saying. Try practicing positive self-talk and continuously researching your topic's ins and outs.

If you don’t feel confident on the inside, fake it until you make it. Stand up straight, project your voice, and try your best to appear engaged and excited. Chances are, the audience doesn’t know you’re unsure of your skills — and they don’t need to.

Another tip is to lean into your slideshow, if you’re using one. Create something colorful and interesting so the audience’s eyes fall there instead of on you. And when you feel proud of your slideshow, you’ll be more eager to share it with others, bringing more energy to your presentation.

2. Watch other presentations

Developing the soft skills necessary for a good presentation can be challenging without seeing them in action. Watch as many as possible to become more familiar with public speaking skills and what makes a great presentation. You could attend events with keynote speakers or view past speeches on similar topics online.

Take a close look at how those presenters use verbal communication and body language to engage their audiences. Grab a notebook and jot down what you enjoyed and your main takeaways. Try to recall the techniques they used to emphasize their main points, whether they used pauses effectively, had interesting visual aids, or told a fascinating story.

woman-looking-at-video-from-tablet-while-cooking-dinner-presentation-skills

3. Get in front of a crowd

You don’t need a large auditorium to practice public speaking. There are dozens of other ways to feel confident and develop good presentation skills.

If you’re a natural comedian, consider joining a small stand-up comedy club. If you’re an avid writer, participate in a public poetry reading. Even music and acting can help you feel more comfortable in front of a crowd.

If you’d rather keep it professional, you can still work on your presentation skills in the office. Challenge yourself to participate at least once in every team meeting, or plan and present a project to become more comfortable vocalizing your ideas. You could also speak to your manager about opportunities that flex your public speaking abilities.

4. Overcome fear

Many people experience feelings of fear before presenting in front of an audience, whether those feelings appear as a few butterflies or more severe anxiety. Try grounding yourself to shift your focus to the present moment. If you’re stuck dwelling on previous experiences that didn’t go well, use those mistakes as learning experiences and focus on what you can improve to do better in the future.

Tips for dealing with presentation anxiety 

It’s normal to feel nervous when sharing your ideas. In fact, according to a report from the Journal of Graduate Medical Education, public speaking anxiety is prevalent in 15–30% of the general population .

Even though having a fear of public speaking is common, it doesn’t make it easier. You might feel overwhelmed, become stiff, and forget what you were going to say. But although the moment might scare you, there are ways to overcome the fear and put mind over matter.

Use these tactics to reduce your stress when you have to make a presentation:

1. Practice breathing techniques

If you experience anxiety often, you’re probably familiar with breathing techniques for stress relief . Incorporating these exercises into your daily routine can help you stop worrying and regulate anxious feelings. 

Before a big presentation, take a moment alone to practice breathing techniques, ground yourself, and reduce tension. It’s also a good idea to take breaths throughout the presentation to speak slower and calm yourself down .

2. Get organized

The more organized you are, the more prepared you’ll feel. Carefully outline all of the critical information you want to use in your presentation, including your main talking points and visual aids, so you don’t forget anything. Use bullet points and visuals on each slide to remind you of what you want to talk about, and create handheld notes to help you stay on track.

3. Embrace moments of silence

It’s okay to lose your train of thought. It happens to even the most experienced public speakers once in a while. If your mind goes blank, don’t panic. Take a moment to breathe, gather your thoughts, and refer to your notes to see where you left off. You can drink some water or make a quick joke to ease the silence or regain your footing. And it’s okay to say, “Give me a moment while I find my notes.” Chances are, people understand the position you’re in.

men-giving-conference-sitting-on-a-chair-with-microphone-presentation-skills

4. Practice makes progress

Before presenting, rehearse in front of friends and family members you trust. This gives you the chance to work out any weak spots in your speech and become comfortable communicating out loud. If you want to go the extra mile, ask your makeshift audience to ask a surprise question. This tests your on-the-spot thinking and will prove that you can keep cool when things come up.

Whether you’re new to public speaking or are a seasoned presenter, you’re bound to make a few slip-ups. It happens to everyone. The most important thing is that you try your best, brush things off, and work on improving your skills to do better in your next presentation.

Although your job may require a different level of public speaking than your favorite TED Talk , developing presentation skills is handy in any profession. You can use presentation skills in a wide range of tasks in the workplace, whether you’re sharing your ideas with colleagues, expressing concerns to higher-ups, or pitching strategies to potential clients.

Remember to use active listening to read the room and engage your audience with an interesting narrative. Don’t forget to step outside your comfort zone once in a while and put your skills to practice in front of a crowd. After facing your fears, you’ll feel confident enough to put presentation skills on your resume.

If you’re trying to build your skills and become a better employee overall, try a communications coach with BetterUp. 

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Elizabeth Perry, ACC

Elizabeth Perry is a Coach Community Manager at BetterUp. She uses strategic engagement strategies to cultivate a learning community across a global network of Coaches through in-person and virtual experiences, technology-enabled platforms, and strategic coaching industry partnerships. With over 3 years of coaching experience and a certification in transformative leadership and life coaching from Sofia University, Elizabeth leverages transpersonal psychology expertise to help coaches and clients gain awareness of their behavioral and thought patterns, discover their purpose and passions, and elevate their potential. She is a lifelong student of psychology, personal growth, and human potential as well as an ICF-certified ACC transpersonal life and leadership Coach.

8 tips to improve your public speaking skills

The significance of written communication in the workplace, 9 signs that you’re being pushed out of your job, the 11 tips that will improve your public speaking skills, what is an entrepreneur understanding the different types and examples of entrepreneurship, get smart about your goals at work and start seeing results, goal-setting theory: why it’s important, and how to use it at work, the importance of good speech: 5 tips to be more articulate, empathic listening: what it is and how to use it, how to write a speech that your audience remembers, impression management: developing your self-presentation skills, 30 presentation feedback examples, your guide to what storytelling is and how to be a good storyteller, how to give a good presentation that captivates any audience, 8 clever hooks for presentations (with tips), how to make a presentation interactive and exciting, stay connected with betterup, get our newsletter, event invites, plus product insights and research..

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Home Blog Education Presentation Skills 101: A Guide to Presentation Success

Presentation Skills 101: A Guide to Presentation Success

Getting the perfect presentation design is just a step toward a successful presentation. For the experienced user, building presentation skills is the answer to elevating the power of your message and showing expertise on any subject. Still, one can ask: is it the same set of skills, or are they dependable on the type of presentation?

In this article, we will introduce the different types of presentations accompanied by the skillset required to master them. The purpose, as always, is to retain the audience’s interest for a long-lasting and convincing message.

cover for presentation skills guide

Table of Contents

The Importance of Presentation Skills

Persuasive presentations, instructional presentations, informative presentations, inspirational presentations, basic presentation skills, what are the main difficulties when giving a presentation, recommendations to improve your presentation skills, closing statement.

Effective communication is the answer to reaching business and academic goals. The scenarios in which we can be required to deliver a presentation are as diverse as one can imagine. Still, some core concepts apply to all presentations.

 We define presentation skills as a compendium of soft skills that directly affect your presentation performance and contribute to creating a great presentation. These are not qualities acquired by birth but skills you ought to train and master to delve into professional environments.

You may ask: is it really that evident when a presenter is not prepared? Here are some common signs people can experience during presentations:

  • Evasive body language: Not making eye contact with the audience, arms closed tightly to the body, hands in pockets all the time.
  • Lack of interest in the presenter’s voice: dull tone, not putting an effort to articulate the topics.
  • Doubting when asked to answer a question
  • Irksome mood

The list can go on about common presenter mistakes , and most certainly, it will affect the performance of any presented data if the lack of interest by the presenter is blatantly obvious.  Another element to consider is anxiety, and according to research by the National Institute of Mental Health, 73% of the population in the USA is affected by glossophobia , which is the fear of public speaking, judgment, or negative evaluation by other people.

Therefore, presentation skills training is essential for any business professional who wants to achieve effective communication . It will remove the anxiety from presentation performance and help users effectively deliver their message and connect with the audience.

Archetypes of presentations

Persuasive presentations aim to convince the audience – often in short periods – to acquire a product or service, adhere to a cause, or invest in a company. For business entrepreneurs or politicians, persuasive presentations are their tool for the trade.

Unless you aim to be perceived as an imposter, a proper persuasive presentation has the elements of facts, empathy, and logic, balanced under a well-crafted narrative. The central pillar of these presentations is to identify the single factor that gathered your audience: it could be a market need, a social cause, or a revolutionary concept for today’s society. It has to be something with enough power to gather critiques – both good and bad.

That single factor has to be backed up by facts. Research that builds your hypothesis on how to solve that problem. A deep understanding of the target audience’s needs , concerns, and social position regarding the solution your means can offer. When those elements are in place, building a pitch becomes an easy task. 

Graphics can help you introduce information in a compelling format, lowering the need for lengthy presentations. Good presentation skills for persuasive presentations go by the hand of filtering relevant data and creating the visual cues that resonate with what your audience demands.

One powerful example of a persuasive presentation is the technique known as the elevator pitch . You must introduce your idea or product convincingly to the audience in a timeframe between 30 seconds and less than 2 minutes. You have to expose:

  • What do you do 
  • What’s the problem to solve
  • Why is your solution different from others 
  • Why should the audience care about your expertise

presentation skills an elevator pitch slide

For that very purpose, using engaging graphics with contrasting colors elevates the potential power of your message. It speaks professionalism, care for details, and out-of-the-box thinking. Knowing how to end a presentation is also critical, as your CTAs should be placed with care.

Therefore, let’s resume the requirements of persuasive presentations in terms of good presentation skills:

  • Identifying problems and needs
  • Elaborating “the hook” (the element that grabs the audience’s attention)
  • Knowing how to “tie” your audience (introducing a piece of information related to the hook that causes an emotional impact)
  • Broad knowledge of body language and hand gestures to quickly convey your message
  • Being prepared to argue a defense of your point of view
  • Handling rejection
  • Having a proactive attitude to convert opportunities into new projects
  • Using humor, surprise, or personal anecdotes as elements to sympathize with the audience
  • Having confidence
  • Be able to summarize facts and information in visually appealing ways

skills required for persuasive presentations

You can learn more about persuasive presentation techniques by clicking here .

In the case of instructional presentations, we ought to differentiate two distinctive types:

  • Lecture Presentations : Presentations being held at universities or any other educative institution. Those presentations cover, topic by topic, and the contents of a syllabus and are created by the team of teachers in charge of the course.
  • Training Presentations : These presentations take place during in-company training sessions and usually comprise a good amount of content that is resumed into easy-to-take solutions. They are aimed to coach employees over certain topics relevant to their work performance. The 70-20-10 Model is frequently used to address these training situations.

Lecture presentations appeal to the gradual introduction of complex concepts, following a structure set in the course’s syllabus. These presentations often have a similar aesthetic as a group of professors or researchers created to share their knowledge about a topic. Personal experience does tell that course presentations often rely on factual data, adequately documented, and on the theoretical side.

An example of a presentation that lies under this concept is a Syllabus Presentation, used by the teaching team to introduce the subject to new students, evaluation methods, concepts to be learned, and expectations to pass the course.

using a course syllabus presentation to boost your instructional presentation skills

On the other hand, training presentations are slide decks designed to meet an organization’s specific needs in the formal education of their personnel. Commonly known as “continuous education,” plenty of companies invest resources in coaching their employees to achieve higher performance results. These presentations have the trademark of being concise since their idea is to introduce the concepts that shall be applied in practice sessions. 

Ideally, the training presentations are introduced with little text and easy-to-recognize visual cues. Since the idea is to summarize as much as possible, these are visually appealing for the audience. They must be dynamic enough to allow the presenter to convey the message.

presentation skills example of a training presentation

Those key takeaways remind employees when they revisit their learning resources and allow them to ruminate on questions that fellow workers raise. 

To sum up this point, building presentation skills for instructional presentations requires:

  • Ability to put complex concepts into simpler words
  • Patience and a constant learning mindset
  • Voice training to deliver lengthy speeches without being too dense
  • Ability to summarize points and note the key takeaways
  • Empathizing with the audience to understand their challenges in the learning process

skill requirements for instructional presentations

The informative presentations take place in business situations, such as when to present project reports from different departments to the management. Another potential usage of these presentations is in SCRUM or other Agile methodologies, when a sprint is completed, to discuss the advance of the project with the Product Owner.

As they are presentations heavily dependent on data insights, it’s common to see the usage of infographics and charts to express usually dense data in simpler terms and easy to remember. 

a SCRUM process being shown in an informative slide

Informative presentations don’t just fall into the business category. Ph.D. Dissertation and Thesis presentations are topics that belong to the informative presentations category as they condense countless research hours into manageable reports for the academic jury. 

an example of a thesis dissertation template

Since these informational presentations can be perceived as lengthy and data-filled, it is important to learn the following professional presentation skills:

  • Attention to detail
  • Be able to explain complex information in simpler terms
  • Creative thinking
  • Powerful diction
  • Working on pauses and transitions
  • Pacing the presentation, so not too much information is divulged per slide

skill requirements for informational presentations

The leading inspirational platform, TEDx, comes to mind when talking about inspirational presentations. This presentation format has the peculiarity of maximizing the engagement with the audience to divulge a message, and due to that, it has specific requirements any presenter must meet.

This presentation format usually involves a speaker on a stage, either sitting or better standing, in which the presenter engages with the audience with a storytelling format about a life experience, a job done that provided a remarkable improvement for society, etc.

using a quote slide to boost inspirational presentation skills

Empathizing with the audience is the key ingredient for these inspirational presentations. Still, creativity is what shapes the outcome of your performance as people are constantly looking for different experiences – not the same recipe rephrased with personal touches. The human factor is what matters here, way above data and research. What has your experience to offer to others? How can it motivate another human being to pursue a similar path or discover their true calling?

To achieve success in terms of communication skills presentation, these inspirational presentations have the following requirements:

  • Focus on the audience (engage, consider their interests, and make them a part of your story)
  • Putting ego aside
  • Creative communication skills
  • Storytelling skills
  • Body language knowledge to apply the correct gestures to accompany your story
  • Voice training
  • Using powerful words

skills required for inspirational presentations

After discussing the different kinds of presentations we can come across at any stage of our lives, a group of presentation skills is standard in any type of presentation. See below what makes a good presentation and which skills you must count on to succeed as a presenter.

Punctuality

Punctuality is a crucial aspect of giving an effective presentation. Nothing says more about respect for your audience and the organization you represent than delivering the presentation on time . Arriving last minute puts pressure on the tech team behind audiovisuals, as they don’t have enough preparation to test microphones, stage lights, and projector settings, which can lead to a less powerful presentation Even when discussing presentations hosted in small rooms for a reduced audience, testing the equipment becomes essential for an effective presentation.

A solution for this is to arrive at least 30 minutes early. Ideally, one hour is a sweet spot since the AV crew has time to check the gear and requirements for your presentation. Another benefit of this, for example, in inspirational presentations, is measuring the previous presenter’s impact on the audience. This gives insights about how to resonate with the public, and their interest, and how to accommodate your presentation for maximum impact.

Body Language

Our bodies can make emotions transparent for others, even when we are unaware of such a fact. Proper training for body language skills reduces performance anxiety, giving the audience a sense of expertise about the presented topic. 

Give your presentation and the audience the respect they deserve by watching over these potential mistakes:

  • Turning your back to the audience for extended periods : It’s okay to do so when introducing an important piece of information or explaining a graph, but it is considered rude to give your back to the audience constantly.
  • Fidgeting : We are all nervous in the presence of strangers, even more, if we are the center of attention for that moment. Instead of playing with your hair or making weird hand gestures, take a deep breath to center yourself before the presentation and remember that everything you could do to prepare is already done. Trust your instincts and give your best.
  • Intense eye contact : Have you watched a video where the presenter stared at the camera the entire time? That’s the feeling you transmit to spectators through intense eye contact. It’s a practice often used by politicians to persuade.
  • Swearing : This is a no-brainer. Even when you see influencers swearing on camera or in podcasts or live presentations, it is considered an informal and lousy practice for business and academic situations. If you have a habit to break when it comes to this point, find the humor in these situations and replace your swear words with funny alternatives (if the presentation allows for it). 

Voice Tone plays a crucial role in delivering effective presentations and knowing how to give a good presentation. Your voice is a powerful tool for exposing your ideas and feelings . Your voice can articulate the message you are telling, briefing the audience if you feel excited about what you are sharing or, in contrast, if you feel the presentation is a burden you ought to complete.

Remember, passion is a primary ingredient in convincing people. Therefore, transmitting such passion with a vibrant voice may help gather potential business partners’ interest.  

But what if you feel sick prior to the presentation? If, by chance, your throat is sore minutes before setting foot on the stage, try this: when introducing yourself, mention that you are feeling a bit under the weather. This resonates with the audience to pay more attention to your efforts. In case you don’t feel comfortable about that, ask the organizers for a cup of tea, as it will settle your throat and relax your nerves.

Tech Skills

Believe it or not, people still feel challenged by technology these days. Maybe that’s the reason why presentation giants like Tony Robbins opt not to use PowerPoint presentations . The reality is that there are plenty of elements involved in a presentation that can go wrong from the tech side:

  • A PDF not opening
  • Saving your presentation in a too-recent PowerPoint version
  • A computer not booting up
  • Mac laptops and their never-ending compatibility nightmare
  • Not knowing how to change between slides
  • Not knowing how to use a laser pointer
  • Internet not working
  • Audio not working

We can come up with a pretty long list of potential tech pitfalls, and yet more than half of them fall in presenters not being knowledgeable about technology.

If computers aren’t your thing, let the organization know about this beforehand. There is always a crew member available to help presenters switch between slides or configure the presentation for streaming. This takes the pressure off your shoulders, allowing you to concentrate on the content to present. Remember, even Bill Gates can get a BSOD during a presentation .

Presentations, while valuable for conveying information and ideas, can be daunting for many individuals. Here are some common difficulties people encounter when giving presentations:

Public Speaking Anxiety

Glossophobia, the fear of public speaking, affects a significant portion of the population. This anxiety can lead to nervousness, trembling, and forgetfulness during a presentation.

Lack of Confidence

Many presenters struggle with self-doubt, fearing that they may not be knowledgeable or skilled enough to engage their audience effectively.

Content Organization

Organizing information in a coherent and engaging manner can be challenging. Presenters often grapple with how to structure their content to make it easily digestible for the audience. Artificial Intelligence can help us significantly reduce the content arrangement time when you work with tools like our AI Presentation Maker (made for presenters by experts in presentation design). 

Audience Engagement

Keeping the audience’s attention and interest throughout the presentation can be difficult. Distractions, disengaged attendees, or lack of interaction can pose challenges.

Technical Issues

Technology glitches, such as malfunctioning equipment, incompatible file formats, or poor internet connectivity, can disrupt presentations and increase stress.

Time Management

Striking the right balance between providing enough information and staying within time limits is a common challenge. Going over or under the allotted time can affect the effectiveness of the presentation.

Handling Questions and Challenges

Responding to unexpected questions, criticism, or challenges from the audience can be difficult, especially when presenters are unprepared or lack confidence in their subject matter.

Visual Aids and Technology

Creating and effectively using visual aids like slides or multimedia can be a struggle for some presenters. Technical competence is essential in this aspect.

Language and Articulation

Poor language skills or unclear articulation can hinder effective communication. Presenters may worry about stumbling over words or failing to convey their message clearly.

Maintaining appropriate and confident body language can be challenging. Avoiding nervous habits, maintaining eye contact, and using gestures effectively requires practice.

Overcoming Impersonal Delivery

In virtual presentations, maintaining a personal connection with the audience can be difficult. The absence of face-to-face interaction can make it challenging to engage and read the audience.

Cultural and Diversity Awareness

Presenting to diverse audiences requires sensitivity to cultural differences and varying levels of familiarity with the topic.

In this section, we gathered some tips on how to improve presentation skills that can certainly make an impact if applied to your presentation skills. We believe these skills can be cultivated to transform into habits for your work routine.

Tip #1: Build a narrative

One memorable way to guarantee presentation success is by writing a story of all the points you desire to cover. This statement is based on the logic behind storytelling and its power to connect with people .

Don’t waste time memorizing slides or reading your presentation to the audience. It feels unnatural, and any question that diverts from the topic in discussion certainly puts you in jeopardy or, worse, exposes you as a fraud in the eyes of the audience. And before you ask, it is really evident when a presenter has a memorized speech. 

Build and rehearse the presentation as if telling a story to a group of interested people. Lower the language barrier by avoiding complex terms that maybe even you aren’t fully aware of their meaning. Consider the ramifications of that story, what it could lead to, and which are the opportunities to explore. Then, visualize yourself giving the presentation in a natural way.

Applying this technique makes the presentation feel like second nature to you. It broadens the spectrum in which you can show expertise over a topic or even build the basis for new interesting points of view about the project.

Tip #2: Don’t talk for more than 3 minutes per slide

It is a common practice of presenters to bombard the audience with facts and information whilst retaining the same slide on the screen. Why can this happen? It could be because the presenter condensed the talk into very few slides and preferred to talk. The reality is that your spectators won’t retain the information you are giving unless you give visual cues to help that process. 

Opt to prepare more slides and pace your speech to match the topics shown on each slide. Don’t spend more than 3 minutes per slide unless you have to introduce a complex piece of data. Use visual cues to direct the spectators about what you talk about, and summarize the principal concepts discussed at the end of each section.

Tip #3: Practice meditation daily

Anxiety is the number one enemy of professional presenters. It slowly builds without you being aware of your doubts and can hinder your performance in multiple ways: making you feel paralyzed, fidgeting, making you forget language skills or concepts, affecting your health, etc.

Meditation is an ancient practice taken from Buddhist teachings that train your mind to be here in the present. We often see the concepts of meditation and mindfulness as synonyms, whereas you should be aware that meditation is a practice that sets the blocks to reach a state of mindfulness. For presenters, being in the here and now is essential to retain focus, but meditation techniques also teach us to control our breathing and be in touch with our body signals when stress builds up. 

The customary practice of meditation has an impact on imagination and creativity but also helps to build patience – a skill much needed for connecting with your audience in instructional presentations.

Having the proper set of presentation skills can be quite subjective. It goes beyond presentation tips and deepens into how flexible we can be in our ability to communicate ideas.

Different presentations and different audiences shape the outcome of our efforts. Therefore, having a basic understanding of how to connect, raise awareness, and empathize with people can be key ingredients for your career as a presenter. A word of advice: success doesn’t happen overnight. It takes dedication and patience to build communication skills . Don’t condition your work to believe you will be ready “someday”; it’s best to practice and experience failure as part of the learning process.

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Business Presentations, Presentation Approaches, Presentation Skills Filed under Education

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presentation of the skills

14 Practical Tips to Improve Your Presentation Skills

  • The Speaker Lab
  • May 11, 2024

Table of Contents

Ever felt complete dread and fear at the thought of stepping up to deliver a presentation? If so, you’re not alone. The fear of public speaking is more common than you might think, but with the right presentation skills , it’s a hurdle that can be overcome.

In this article, we’ll help you master basic confidence-building techniques and conquer advanced communication strategies for engaging presentations. We’ll explore how body language and eye contact can make or break your connection with your audience; delve into preparation techniques like dealing with filler words and nervous habits; discuss tailoring content for different audiences; and much more.

Whether you’re prepping for job interviews or gearing up for big presentations, being prepared is key. With adequate practice and the proper attitude, you can crush your speech or presentation!

Mastering the Basics of Presentation Skills

Presentation skills are not just about speaking in front of a crowd. It’s also about effective communication, audience engagement, and clarity. Mastering these skills can be transformative for everyone, from students to corporate trainers.

Building Confidence in Presentations

Becoming confident when presenting is no small feat. But fear not. Even those who feel jittery at the mere thought of public speaking can become masters with practice and patience. Just remember: stage fright is common and overcoming it is part of the process towards becoming an effective presenter.

Taking deep breaths before you start helps calm nerves while visualizing success aids in building confidence. Also, know that nobody minds if you take a moment to gather your thoughts during your presentation—everybody minds more if they cannot understand what you’re saying because you’re rushing.

The Role of Practice in Enhancing Presentation Skills

In line with old wisdom, practice indeed makes perfect, especially when improving presentation skills. Consistent rehearsals allow us to fine-tune our delivery methods like maintaining eye contact or controlling body language effectively.

You’ll learn better control over filler words through repeated drills. Plus, the extra practice can help you troubleshoot any technical glitches beforehand, saving you the sudden panic during your actual presentations.

Remember that great presenters were once beginners too. Continuous effort will get you there sooner rather than later.

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Body Language and Eye Contact in Presentations

The effectiveness of your presentation can hinge on more than just the words you say. Just as important is your body language .

Impact of Posture on Presentations

Your posture speaks volumes before you utter a word. Standing tall exudes confidence while slouching could signal nervousness or lack of preparation.

If there’s one lesson to take away from our YouTube channel , it’s this: good presenters know their message but great ones feel it through every fiber (or muscle) of their being. The audience can sense that energy when they see open body language rather than crossed arms.

Maintaining Eye Contact During Your Presentation

Eyes are often called windows to the soul for a reason. They’re communication powerhouses. Making eye contact helps build trust with your audience members and keeps them engaged throughout your speech.

Avoid staring at note cards or visual aids too much as this might give an impression that you’re unprepared or uncertain about your chosen topic. Instead, aim to maintain eye contact between 50% of the time during presentations. This commonly accepted “50/70 rule” will help you exhibit adequate confidence to your audience.

If stage fright has gotten a hold on you, take deep breaths before you start speaking in order to stay calm. Make sure that fear doesn’t disrupt your ability to maintain eye-contact during presentations.

If body language and eye contact still feel like a lot to manage during your big presentation, remember our golden rule: nobody minds small mistakes. It’s how you handle questions or mishaps that truly makes a difference—so stay positive and enthusiastic.

Preparation Techniques for Successful Presentations

Presentation skills are like a craft that requires meticulous preparation and practice. Aspects like visual aids and time management contribute to the overall effectiveness of your delivery.

The first step towards delivering an impactful presentation is research and organization. The content should be well-researched, structured logically, and presented in simple language. This will make sure you deliver clear messages without any room for misinterpretation.

Dealing with Filler Words and Nervous Habits

Nervous habits such as excessive use of filler words can distract from your message. Luckily, there are plenty of strategies that can address these issues. For instance, try taking deep breaths before speaking or using note cards until fluency is achieved. In addition, practice regularly to work on eliminating these verbal stumbling blocks.

Avoiding Distractions During Presentations

In a digital age where distractions abound, maintaining focus during presentations has become an even more crucial part of the preparation process. This video by motivational speaker Brain Tracy provides insights on how one could achieve this level of focus required for effective presentations.

Maintaining Confidence Throughout Your Presentation

Confidence comes from thorough understanding of the chosen topic combined with regular practice sessions before the big day arrives. Make use of note cards or cue cards as needed but avoid reading from them verbatim.

Taking control over stage fright starts by arriving early at the venue so that you familiarize yourself with the surroundings, which generally calms nerves down considerably. So next time you feel nervous before a big presentation, remember—thorough preparation can make all the difference.

Engaging Your Audience During Presentations

Connecting with your audience during presentations is an art, and mastering it can take your presentation skills to the next level. Making the message conveyed reach an emotional level is essential, not just conveying facts.

Understanding Your Target Audience

The first step towards engaging your audience is understanding them. Tailor the content of your presentation to their needs and interests. Speak in their language—whether that be professional jargon or everyday slang—to establish rapport and ensure comprehension.

An effective presenter understands who they’re speaking to, what those individuals care about, and how best to communicate complex ideas understandably.

Making Complex Information Understandable

Dense data or complicated concepts can lose even the most interested listener if presented ineffectively. Breaking your key points down into manageable chunks helps maintain attention while promoting retention. Analogies are especially useful for this purpose as they make unfamiliar topics more relatable.

Audience Participation & Questions: A Two-Way Street

Incorporating opportunities for audience participation encourages engagement at another level. It allows listeners to become active participants rather than passive receivers of knowledge.

Consider techniques like live polls or interactive Q&A sessions where you invite questions from attendees mid-presentation instead of saving all queries until the end.

This gives you a chance not only engage but also address any misunderstandings right on spot.

  • Treat each question asked as an opportunity—it’s evidence someone has been paying attention. Even challenging questions should be welcomed as they demonstrate an engaged, thoughtful audience.
  • Encourage participation. It can be as simple as a show of hands or the use of interactive technologies for live polling during your presentation. This keeps your audience active and invested in the content.

Remember, your presentation isn’t just about putting on a show—it’s about meaningful interaction.

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Presentation Skills in Specific Contexts

Whether you’re nailing your next job interview, presenting an exciting marketing campaign, or delivering insightful educational content, the context matters. Let’s take a look.

The Art of Job Interviews

A successful job interview often hinges on effective communication and confidence. Here, the target audience is usually small but holds significant influence over your future prospects. Body language plays a crucial role; maintain eye contact to show sincerity and interest while open body language communicates approachability.

Bullet points summarizing key experiences are also helpful for quick recall under pressure. This allows you to present your chosen topic with clarity and positive enthusiasm without relying heavily on note or cue cards.

Pitching in Public Relations & Marketing

In public relations (PR) and marketing contexts, presentations need to capture attention quickly yet hold it long enough to deliver key messages effectively. Visual aids are valuable tools here—they help emphasize points while keeping the audience engaged.

Your aim should be highlighting presentation benefits that resonate with potential clients or partners, making them feel as though ignoring such opportunities would mean missing out big time.

Educational Presentations

An educational setting demands its own unique set of presentation skills where deep understanding trumps flashy visuals. You must make complex information understandable without oversimplifying essential details—the use of analogies can be beneficial here.

Keeping the audience’s attention is critical. Encourage questions and participation to foster a more interactive environment, enhancing learning outcomes for all audience members.

Tips for Becoming a Great Presenter

No single method is suitable for everyone when it comes to speaking in public. However, incorporating continuous improvement and practice into your routine can make you an exceptional presenter.

Tailor Your Presentation to Your Audience

Becoming an excellent speaker isn’t just about delivering information; it’s also about making a connection with the audience. So make sure that you’re taking setting, audience, and topic into consideration when crafting your presentation. What works for one audience may not work for another, so be sure to adapt your presentation styles according to the occasion in order to be truly effective.

The Power of Practice

The art of mastering public speaking skills requires practice —and lots of it . To become a great presenter, focus on improving communication skills through practice and feedback from peers or mentors. Try to seek feedback on every speech delivered and incorporate those pointers in your future presentations. Over time, this cycle of delivery-feedback-improvement significantly enhances your ability to connect with audiences and convey ideas effectively.

If you’re looking for examples of good speakers, our speech breakdowns on YouTube provide excellent examples of experienced presenters who masterfully utilize speaking techniques. Analyzing their strategies could give you great ideas for enhancing your own style.

Finding Your Style

A crucial part of captivating any audience lies in how you deliver the message rather than the message itself. Developing a unique presentation style lets you stand out as an engaging speaker who commands attention throughout their talk. Through — you guessed it — practice, you can develop a personal presentation style that resonates with listeners while showcasing your expertise on the chosen topic.

Your body language plays a pivotal role here: open gestures communicate confidence and enthusiasm towards your subject matter, two qualities essential for keeping audiences hooked. Similarly, using vocal variety adds dynamism to speeches by emphasizing points when needed or creating suspense during storytelling parts of your talk.

Cultivating Passion & Enthusiasm

Showcasing genuine passion for the subject helps keep listeners engaged throughout even lengthy presentations. Sharing stories related to the topic or expressing excitement about sharing knowledge tends to draw people in more than mere data recitation ever could.

Recognize that everybody is distinctive; don’t expect identical results from every speaker. The path to becoming a great presenter involves recognizing your strengths and working tirelessly on areas that need improvement.

FAQs on Presentation Skills

What are good presentation skills.

Good presentation skills include a clear message, confident delivery, engaging body language, audience understanding, and interaction. They also involve effective preparation and practice.

What are the 5 steps of presentation skills?

The five steps of presenting include: planning your content, preparing visual aids if needed, practicing the delivery aloud, performing it with confidence, and finally post-presentation reflection for improvements.

What are the 5 P’s of presentation skills?

The five P’s stand for Preparation (researching your topic), Practice (rehearsing your talk), Performance (delivering with confidence), Posture (standing tall), and Projection (using a strong voice).

What are your presentation skills?

Your personal set of abilities to deliver information effectively is what we call your presentation skill. It can encompass public speaking ability, clarity in speech or writing as well as visual communication talent.

Mastering presentation skills isn’t an overnight process, but practice and perseverance will put you well on your way to becoming an effective speaker.

You’ve learned that confidence plays a crucial role in effective presentations, so take deep breaths, make eye contact, and keep your body language open. As always, preparation is key. Tackle filler words head-on and get comfortable with visual aids for impactful storytelling.

Remember the importance of audience engagement — it’s all about understanding their needs and tailoring your content accordingly. This way, complex information turns into digestible insights.

Above all else: practice! After all, nothing beats experience when it comes to improving public speaking abilities.

  • Last Updated: May 9, 2024

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Ideas and insights from Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning

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Powerful and Effective Presentation Skills: More in Demand Now Than Ever

presentation of the skills

When we talk with our L&D colleagues from around the globe, we often hear that presentation skills training is one of the top opportunities they’re looking to provide their learners. And this holds true whether their learners are individual contributors, people managers, or senior leaders. This is not surprising.

Effective communications skills are a powerful career activator, and most of us are called upon to communicate in some type of formal presentation mode at some point along the way.

For instance, you might be asked to brief management on market research results, walk your team through a new process, lay out the new budget, or explain a new product to a client or prospect. Or you may want to build support for a new idea, bring a new employee into the fold, or even just present your achievements to your manager during your performance review.

And now, with so many employees working from home or in hybrid mode, and business travel in decline, there’s a growing need to find new ways to make effective presentations when the audience may be fully virtual or a combination of in person and remote attendees.

Whether you’re making a standup presentation to a large live audience, or a sit-down one-on-one, whether you’re delivering your presentation face to face or virtually, solid presentation skills matter.

Even the most seasoned and accomplished presenters may need to fine-tune or update their skills. Expectations have changed over the last decade or so. Yesterday’s PowerPoint which primarily relied on bulleted points, broken up by the occasional clip-art image, won’t cut it with today’s audience.

The digital revolution has revolutionized the way people want to receive information. People expect presentations that are more visually interesting. They expect to see data, metrics that support assertions. And now, with so many previously in-person meetings occurring virtually, there’s an entirely new level of technical preparedness required.

The leadership development tools and the individual learning opportunities you’re providing should include presentation skills training that covers both the evergreen fundamentals and the up-to-date capabilities that can make or break a presentation.

So, just what should be included in solid presentation skills training? Here’s what I think.

The fundamentals will always apply When it comes to making a powerful and effective presentation, the fundamentals will always apply. You need to understand your objective. Is it strictly to convey information, so that your audience’s knowledge is increased? Is it to persuade your audience to take some action? Is it to convince people to support your idea? Once you understand what your objective is, you need to define your central message. There may be a lot of things you want to share with your audience during your presentation, but find – and stick with – the core, the most important point you want them to walk away with. And make sure that your message is clear and compelling.

You also need to tailor your presentation to your audience. Who are they and what might they be expecting? Say you’re giving a product pitch to a client. A technical team may be interested in a lot of nitty-gritty product detail. The business side will no doubt be more interested in what returns they can expect on their investment.

Another consideration is the setting: is this a formal presentation to a large audience with questions reserved for the end, or a presentation in a smaller setting where there’s the possibility for conversation throughout? Is your presentation virtual or in-person? To be delivered individually or as a group? What time of the day will you be speaking? Will there be others speaking before you and might that impact how your message will be received?

Once these fundamentals are established, you’re in building mode. What are the specific points you want to share that will help you best meet your objective and get across your core message? Now figure out how to convey those points in the clearest, most straightforward, and succinct way. This doesn’t mean that your presentation has to be a series of clipped bullet points. No one wants to sit through a presentation in which the presenter reads through what’s on the slide. You can get your points across using stories, fact, diagrams, videos, props, and other types of media.

Visual design matters While you don’t want to clutter up your presentation with too many visual elements that don’t serve your objective and can be distracting, using a variety of visual formats to convey your core message will make your presentation more memorable than slides filled with text. A couple of tips: avoid images that are cliched and overdone. Be careful not to mix up too many different types of images. If you’re using photos, stick with photos. If you’re using drawn images, keep the style consistent. When data are presented, stay consistent with colors and fonts from one type of chart to the next. Keep things clear and simple, using data to support key points without overwhelming your audience with too much information. And don’t assume that your audience is composed of statisticians (unless, of course, it is).

When presenting qualitative data, brief videos provide a way to engage your audience and create emotional connection and impact. Word clouds are another way to get qualitative data across.

Practice makes perfect You’ve pulled together a perfect presentation. But it likely won’t be perfect unless it’s well delivered. So don’t forget to practice your presentation ahead of time. Pro tip: record yourself as you practice out loud. This will force you to think through what you’re going to say for each element of your presentation. And watching your recording will help you identify your mistakes—such as fidgeting, using too many fillers (such as “umm,” or “like”), or speaking too fast.

A key element of your preparation should involve anticipating any technical difficulties. If you’ve embedded videos, make sure they work. If you’re presenting virtually, make sure that the lighting is good, and that your speaker and camera are working. Whether presenting in person or virtually, get there early enough to work out any technical glitches before your presentation is scheduled to begin. Few things are a bigger audience turn-off than sitting there watching the presenter struggle with the delivery mechanisms!

Finally, be kind to yourself. Despite thorough preparation and practice, sometimes, things go wrong, and you need to recover in the moment, adapt, and carry on. It’s unlikely that you’ll have caused any lasting damage and the important thing is to learn from your experience, so your next presentation is stronger.

How are you providing presentation skills training for your learners?

Manika Gandhi is Senior Learning Design Manager at Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning. Email her at [email protected] .

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What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

  • Carmine Gallo

presentation of the skills

Five tips to set yourself apart.

Never underestimate the power of great communication. It can help you land the job of your dreams, attract investors to back your idea, or elevate your stature within your organization. But while there are plenty of good speakers in the world, you can set yourself apart out by being the person who can deliver something great over and over. Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired together are more memorable); don’t underestimate the power of your voice (raise and lower it for emphasis); give your audience something extra (unexpected moments will grab their attention); rehearse (the best speakers are the best because they practice — a lot).

I was sitting across the table from a Silicon Valley CEO who had pioneered a technology that touches many of our lives — the flash memory that stores data on smartphones, digital cameras, and computers. He was a frequent guest on CNBC and had been delivering business presentations for at least 20 years before we met. And yet, the CEO wanted to sharpen his public speaking skills.

presentation of the skills

  • Carmine Gallo is a Harvard University instructor, keynote speaker, and author of 10 books translated into 40 languages. Gallo is the author of The Bezos Blueprint: Communication Secrets of the World’s Greatest Salesman  (St. Martin’s Press).

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21 Ways To Improve Your Presentation Skills

Bailey Maybray

Published: April 07, 2023

You know the feeling of sitting through a boring presentation. A text distracts you. A noise outside pulls your gaze. Your dog begs for attention. By the time the presentation ends, you question why you needed to sit and listen in the first place.

Presentation Skills: A woman speaks before a crowd.

Effective presentation skills can stop you from boring an audience to oblivion. Delivering strong presentations can help you stand out as a leader, showcase your expertise, and build confidence.

Table of contents:

  • Presentation skills definition
  • Importance of presentation skills
  • How to improve presentation skills
  • Effective presentation skills
  • Presentation skills for executives

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Presentation Skills Definition

Presentation skills include anything you need to create and deliver clear, effective presentations to an audience. This includes creating a compelling set of slides , ensuring the information flows, and keeping your audience engaged.

Speakers with strong presentation skills can perform the following tasks:

  • Bring together different sources of information to form a compelling narrative
  • Hook audiences with a strong beginning and end
  • Ensure audiences engage with their content through questions or surveys
  • Understand what their audience wants and needs from their presentation

Importance of Presentation Skills

At some point in your career, you will present something. You might pitch a startup to a group of investors or show your research findings to your manager at work. Those in leading or executive roles often deliver presentations on a weekly or monthly basis.

Improving your presentation skills betters different aspects of your working life, including the following:

Communication: Improving your presentation skills can make you a better communicator with your co-workers and friends.

Confidence: 75% of people fear public speaking. By working on your presentation skills, you can gain confidence when speaking in front of a crowd.

Creativity: You learn to understand how to use imagery and examples to engage an audience.

Management: Presentations involve pulling together information to form a succinct summary, helping you build project and time management skills.

How To Improve Presentation Skills

1. create an outline.

Before designing slides and writing a script, outline your presentation. Start with your introduction, segue into key points you want to make, and finish with a conclusion.

2. Practice, Practice, Practice

Almost 8 in 10 professionals practice their presentations for at least an hour. So, practice your presentation in the mirror or to a close friend.

3. Start With a Hook

When presenting, grab your audience with a hook. Consider starting with a surprising statistic or a thoughtful question before diving into the core information.

4. Stay Focused on Your Topic

You might want to cover everything under the sun, but information overload can overwhelm your audience. Instead, stay focused on what you want to cover. Aim for key points and avoid including unnecessary details.

5. Remember To Introduce Yourself

At the beginning of the presentation, introduce yourself. Kill any tension in the room by mentioning your name, your role, and any other helpful details. You could even mention a fun fact about yourself, putting the audience at ease.

6. Work on Your Body Language

55% of people look to nonverbal communication when judging a presentation. Straighten your back, minimize unnecessary gestures, and keep your voice confident and calm. Remember to work on these aspects when practicing.

7. Memorize Structure, Not Words

You might feel better knowing exactly what you want to say. But skip the script and stick to memorizing the key points of your presentation. For example, consider picking three to four phrases or insights you want to mention for each part of your presentation rather than line-by-line memorization.

8. Learn Your Audience

Before crafting a killer outline and slide deck, research your audience. Find out what they likely already know, such as industry jargon, and where they might need additional information. Remember: You're presenting for them, not you.

9. Reframe Your Anxiety as Excitement

A study conducted byHarvard Business School demonstrates that reframing your anxiety as excitement can improve performance. For example, by saying simple phrases out loud, such as “I’m excited,” you then adopt an opportunity-oriented mentality.

10. Get Comfortable With the Setting

If you plan to present in person, explore the room. Find where you’re going to stand and deliver your presentation. Practice looking into the seats. By decreasing the number of unknowns, you can clear your head and focus on the job.

11. Get Familiar With Technology

Presenting online has unique challenges, such as microphone problems and background noise. Before a Zoom presentation, ensure your microphone works, clean up your background, test your slides, and consider any background noise.

12. Think Positively

Optimistic workers enjoy faster promotions and happier lives. By reminding yourself of the positives — for example, your manager found your last presentation impressive — you can shake off nerves and find joy in the process.

13. Tell a Story

To engage your audience, weave storytelling into your presentation — more than 5 in 10 people believe stories hold their focus during a presentation. Consider ways to connect different parts of your slides into a compelling narrative.

14. Prepare for Questions

At the end of your presentation, your audience will likely have questions. Brainstorm different questions and potential answers so you’re prepared.

15. Maintain Eye Contact

Eye contact signals honesty. When possible, maintain eye contact with your audience. For in-person presentations, pay attention to each audience member. For online ones, stare at your camera lens as you deliver.

16. Condense Your Presentation

After you finish the first draft of your outline, think about ways to condense it. Short and sweet often keeps people interested instead of checking their phones.

17. Use Videos

Keep your audience’s attention by incorporating video clips when relevant. For example, videos can help demonstrate examples or explain difficult concepts.

18. Engage With Your Audience

Almost 8 in 10 professionals view presentations as boring. Turn the tide by engaging with your audience. Encourage audience participation by asking questions or conducting a live survey.

19. Present Slowly and Pause Frequently

When you get nervous, you talk faster. To combat this, remember to slow yourself down when practicing. Place deep pauses throughout your presentation, especially when transitioning between slides, as it gives you time to breathe and your audience time to absorb.

20. Start and End With a Summary

A summary at the start of a presentation can pique your audience’s interest. One at the end brings everything together, highlighting key points your audience should take with them.

21. Ask for Feedback

You will never deliver the perfect presentation, so ask for feedback. Talk to your managers about where you could improve. Consider surveying your audience for an unbiased look into your presentation skills.

Effective Presentation Skills

Effective presentation skills include communicating clearly, presenting with structure, and engaging with the audience.

As an example, say a content manager is presenting a quarterly review to their team. They start off with a summary. Their introduction mentions an unprecedented 233% growth in organic traffic — numbers their team has not seen in years. Immediately, the presenter grabs their team’s attention. Now, everyone wants to know how they achieved that in one quarter.

Alternatively, think of an entrepreneur delivering their pitch to a group of investors. They start with a question: How many of you struggle to stay awake at work? They then segue into an exciting product designed to improve the sleep quality of working professionals. Their presentation includes videos demonstrating the science behind sleep and surprising statistics about the demand for their product.

Both examples demonstrate effective presentation skills. They incorporate strong attention grabbers, summaries, and attempts to engage the audience.

Think back to strong presentations you viewed as an audience member. Ask yourself: What made them so memorable, and how can I incorporate those elements into my presentations?

Presentation Skills for Executives

Presentations take up a significant portion of an executive’s workload. Executives regularly showcase key company initiatives, team changes, quarterly and annual reviews, and more. Improving your presentation skills as a leader can help with different parts of your job, such as:

Trust: Delivering great, effective presentations can build trust between you and your team.

Confidence: Most people dread presentations — so a strong presenter projects the confidence needed by a leader.

Emotional intelligence: A great presentation taps into the audience’s perspectives, helping executives improve their emotional intelligence .

Expertise: Presentations help executives display their subject-matter expertise, making employees safe in their hands.

Delegation: At times, executives might need to pull information from different sources for a presentation — improving their ability to delegate as managers.

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Blog Beginner Guides 9 Tips for Improving Your Presentation Skills For Your Next Meeting

9 Tips for Improving Your Presentation Skills For Your Next Meeting

Written by: Hannah Tow Feb 03, 2020

Improve Presentation Skills Blog Header

Presenting to an audience is one thing, but presenting ideas in a persuasive manner to the key stakeholders of your business is a whole other ball game.

The fact of the matter is that successfully presenting to a room full of people is a skill that’s mastered by very few. It takes practice, practice, and even more practice to start feeling comfortable with everyone’s eyes focused on you so you can effectively get your point across. 

The reality of presenting is that you can’t escape it. Especially as you start to move up in your career. If you’re yearning to improve, this article will walk you through the top nine tips to use to enhance your presentation skills for your next big meeting as well as throughout your life. Let’s get started.

Improve Presentation Skills List Infographic Venngage

9 top tips for improving your presentation skills:

  • Practice speaking in front of others
  • Use less text and more visuals in your presentation
  • Leverage your personality
  • Welcome questions and comments during
  • Be passionate and engaging
  • Maintain eye contact with your audience
  • Obsess over your listeners
  • Focus on confident body language
  • Keep it as short as possible

Constantly practicing, refining and improving upon your presentation skills will not only make you a more confident individual, but you will find that you rise quicker to success in your career. However, having great presentation skills does not just affect your work-life. Great presentation skills are truly life skills that you should integrate into more areas than just the conference room.

1. Practice speaking in front of others 

Presentation Skills Tip 1

Practice always makes perfect. 

It doesn’t matter how well you know what you’re talking about, the moment you have to persuade, engage, or teach in front of an audience, you will probably stumble a bit. This is a natural reaction that affects pretty much everyone when all eyes are pointed in one direction and the anxiety sets in. 

It’s important to remember that the overwhelming feeling of stress you probably feel is the result of your unfamiliarity with the situation, not from your lack of preparedness. The more comfortable you are with taking the stage and having everyone’s attention on you, the less nervous you’ll get. 

The greater confidence you have in your presentation skills will allow you to focus on what actually matters–which is the material that you’re presenting. 

The best way to implement this practice is by starting off small. Prepare a presentation to give to your friends, family, or closest co-workers. This sounds easy, but you will learn that it’s not necessarily who is listening to you that causes nerves, but it’s the fact that all of the attention is on you. 

You’ll become more comfortable with the attention when you begin practicing in front of others more often, which will allow you to effectively present your ideas next time it’s your turn to speak in the conference room.

RELATED: Learn the top ten public speaking tips to better prepare you for your practice sessions. 

2. Use less text and more visuals in your presentation

Presentation Skills Tip 2

We’ve all been there before: sitting at the conference table trying our very best to stay interested and engaged with the presentation before us. The presentation lacks color, images, and all sense of creativity while containing an over-abundance of text and long-form paragraphs. 

These types of presentations are horrible for two reasons: 

The first reason being that the minute you have words on the screen, your audience will direct their attention away from you to begin reading and completely tune you out. 

The second reason is if your presentation skills are poor, not only will your presentation be dull to listen to, but it will be unbelievably boring to look at as well. You’ll quickly find out how easy it is to lose most of the room’s attention when you create a lackluster presentation. 

If you feel lost attempting to design your slides into an exciting work of art, try using creative presentation templates . PowerPoint templates make it simple to produce something beautiful, and they can also make you feel like an accomplished designer after seeing the outcome, such as this business presentation example . 

Business Pitch Deck Template

In addition to nicely designed slides, you should always try to use infographics and charts to help you better summarize the complex information you’re relaying to your audience. It will be much easier for your listeners to understand what you’re explaining when they have something to visualize it with. Plus, there are plenty of resources out there to help you craft these visuals.

Learn how to make an infographic in five easy steps or produce an impressive graph .

If you feel worried that your presentation doesn’t hold enough content, you must remember the main reason for visual aids: 

They are to enhance what you’re speaking about, not lead it! 

If you’ve done enough practicing, you should feel confident in your presentation skills to thoroughly explain your main ideas and you won’t need to rely on the screen anyhow.

TIP: If you’re looking for even more ways to engage your audience with your visuals, check out 120+ presentation ideas that are sure to wow and delight! 

3. Leverage your personality

Presentation Skills Tip 3

As cliche as it sounds, you should always be true to who you are, especially if when you’re presenting. 

It’s incredibly easy to tell if someone is faking it for the sake of their audience, so you should never pretend to act in a way that you don’t typically do. Not only will you feel unnatural and uncomfortable doing it, but you can also risk embarrassment when you try to tell a forced joke and no one laughs or your new-found trait of sarcasm doesn’t sit well with your boss. 

It should bring you comfort knowing that most everyone in your meeting knows who you are. Use this to your advantage and start the presentation by playing up your best personality traits. Use your humor if you’re known to crack jokes or throw in your typical mannerisms.

Funny Slide Template

These little additions will make your presentation feel much more relaxed for everyone involved. In addition to your own unique quirks, you should also bring a level of personability to your meeting.

Be empathetic, smile more, and look around the room.  Doing so will improve your presentation skills, make you more likable, and allow your audience to be more receptive to you. 

In many cases, you may be presenting virtually, rather than in person. You can still allow your personality to shine through and energize your virtual presentation. Lisa Schneider, Chief Growth Officer at Merriam-Webster, wrote for Venngage on how to adapt an in-person presentation into a virtual presentation . Check it out.

4. Welcome questions and comments during your presentation

Presentation Skills Tip 4

Be flexible throughout your presentation. Answer questions and respond to any comments your audience may have either through hand raising or an audience response tool . Don’t worry if it veers you off your script. Chances are if one person has a question or comment, the others in the room are thinking it too. 

Use this as an opportunity to prove how well you understand the material you’re presenting–your audience will take notice.

Also, take some time out at the start or your presentation to ask your audience some icebreaker questions and slowly transition into the more important stuff. 

Taking this minute to talk through anything that your audience is thinking of is a good thing because it means they are engaged with you and really paying attention to the words coming out of your mouth. Doing so will also relax the format of your presentation, allowing you to feel more confident and relaxed as well.

5. Be passionate and engaging 

Presentation Skills Tip 5

When creating your presentation, craft it in such a way that makes your audience curious and makes them have questions for you. A persuasive presentation is the best way to get the positive reactions you are looking for, so be as passionate as you can be about your subject matter to seal the deal. 

Remember that questions and comments during your presentation are a good thing, especially if you’re the one prompting them! 

The more excited you are to present your ideas and show off your expertise, the more excited and engaged your audience will be. Own your subject matter and know what you’re talking about, it’s one of the most important presentation skills to have.

6. Maintain eye contact with your audience

Presentation Skills Tip 6

This is a very obvious tip that will go a long way with your audience. 

When the people you’re speaking to feel like you’re taking notice of them, they are much more likely to take notice of you and pay better attention to everything that you’re saying. 

It’s important to remember that losing eye contact and looking everywhere but at the people that you’re presenting to is a common nervous behavior. Pay extra close attention to whether or not you’re guilty of that, and work to ensure you have your eyes on at least one person.

7. Obsess over your listeners 

Presentation Skills Tip 7

Be receptive to your listeners. You can’t forget that what you’re presenting is for the audience, and it has nothing to do about you! 

Focus on the value you can provide to the people in the room. The more serving you are to them, the greater chance you have at driving your point home and nailing your presentation. 

It’s also important not to forget about those listening to you remotely over video conferencing . Make sure they know you’re aware of them and engage them as well! 

8. Focus on confident body language 

Presentation Skills Tip 8

Smiling, hand gestures, eye contact, and a powerful stance all exude confidence. 

If you don’t have strong body language and are showing physical signs of nervousness (ie. tapping, bouncing, shaking, darting eyes, and more) your audience will have a hard time focusing on the material you’re presenting and hone in on the fact that you’re nervous and probably don’t know what you’re talking about as much as you say you do.

No matter how nervous you are, take a deep breath and pretend otherwise. You might actually start to believe it!

9. Keep it as short as possible

Presentation Skills Tip 9

Every single person’s time is valuable ( especially at work), so don’t waste precious meeting time. If you can say everything you need to in half of the time that is allotted, you should do so. 

Ensure that you’re only sharing the most important information. All of the extra fluff will bore your audience and you will lose their attention very quickly.

It’s a great idea to wrap up your presentation with key takeaways and action items. Doing so will ensure that no matter how quickly your meeting ended, your team understands their next steps. You can send out a quick, summarizing slide deck or an easy to read one-pager for their reference later. These visuals will make sure all of your bases are covered and that everyone is on the same page upon leaving the meeting.

A good presentation makes all the difference. Check out the top qualities of awesome presentations and learn all about how to make a good presentation to help you nail that captivating delivery.

  

Never stop refining your presentation skills 

Possessing great presentation skills doesn’t come naturally to most people–it’s something that’s learned and practiced over time. As with most things in life, you must continuously work on refining your skills to get better and better. 

Use these nine proven presentation tips that we covered in this article to improve your presentation skills and ace different presentation styles . By doing so, you will find that presenting at your key meetings becomes easier and easier and you’ll begin to nail it every single time.

More presentation guides:

How to Make a Persuasive Presentation

120+ Best Presentation Ideas, Design Tips & Examples

33 Presentation Templates and Design Tips to Hold Your Audience’s Attention

Presentation Design Guide: How to Summarize Information for Presentations

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  • Presentation Skills
  • Skills & Tools

Presentation skills can be defined as a set of abilities that enable an individual to: interact with the audience; transmit the messages with clarity; engage the audience in the presentation; and interpret and understand the mindsets of the listeners. These skills refine the way you put forward your messages and enhance your persuasive powers.

The present era places great emphasis on good presentation skills. This is because they play an important role in convincing the clients and customers. Internally, management with good presentation skills is better able to communicate the mission and vision of the organization to the employees.

Importance of Presentation Skills

Interaction with others is a routine job of businesses in today’s world. The importance of good presentation skills is established on the basis of following points:

  • They help an individual in enhancing his own growth opportunities. In addition, it also grooms the personality of the presenter and elevates his levels of confidence.
  • In case of striking deals and gaining clients, it is essential for the business professionals to understand the audience. Good presentation skills enable an individual to mold his message according to the traits of the audience. This increases the probability of successful transmission of messages.
  • Lastly, business professionals have to arrange seminars and give presentations almost every day. Having good presentation skills not only increases an individual’s chances of success, but also enable him to add greatly to the organization.

How to Improve Presentation Skills

Development of good presentation skills requires efforts and hard work. To improve your presentation skills, you must:

  • Research the Audience before Presenting: This will enable you to better understand the traits of the audience. You can then develop messages that can be better understood by your target audience. For instance, in case of an analytical audience, you can add more facts and figures in your presentation.
  • Structure your Presentation Effectively: The best way to do this is to start with telling the audience, in the introduction, what you are going to present. Follow this by presenting the idea, and finish off the presentation by repeating the main points.
  • Do a lot of Practice: Rehearse but do not go for memorizing the presentation. Rehearsals reduce your anxiety and enable you to look confident on the presentation day. Make sure you practice out loud, as it enables you to identify and eliminate errors more efficiently. Do not memorize anything as it will make your presentation look mechanical. This can reduce the degree of audience engagement.
  • Take a Workshop: Most medium and large businesses allow their employees to take employee development courses and workshops, as well-trained employees are essential to the success of any company. You can use that opportunity to take a workshop on professional presentation skills such as those offered by Langevin Learning Services , which are useful for all business professionals, from employees to business trainers and managers.

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Most Important Presentation Skills (With Examples)

  • Most Common Skills
  • What Are Soft Skills?
  • What Are Leadership Skills?
  • What Are What Are Hybrid Skills?
  • What Are Teamwork Skills?
  • What Are Communication Skills?
  • What Are Organizational Skills?
  • What Are Personal Skills?
  • What Are Interpersonal Skills?
  • What Are Decision Making Skills?
  • What Are Negotiation Skills?
  • How To Multitask
  • What Are Creative Thinking Skills?
  • What Are Adaptability Skills?
  • What Are Internal Analysis?
  • What Are Multitasking Skills?
  • What Is Professional Networking?
  • What Is Nonverbal Communication?
  • What Are Critical Thinking Skills?
  • Presentation Skills
  • What Is Accountability?
  • What Is Emotional Intelligence?
  • Verbal Communication Skills

Find a Job You Really Want In

Presentation skills are important to your professional and personal life. Effective presentation skills can help you get ahead in your career. With the proper presentation skills, you’ll open up new doors for professional growth and be a more confident individual overall. Whether you want to know the different types of presentation skills or improve your presentation skills, we’ll cover what presentation skills are, how to improve your ability to present, and showcase your new skills. Key Takeaways: Presentation skills are important in the workplace because they can be used for meetings, interviews, and conferences. Some presentation skills examples include research, organization, and adaptability Practice as much as possible before a presentation so that it becomes muscle memory, however, to engage the audience, be flexible with your presentation’s performance. Good presentations are informative, engaging, and precise. In This Article    Skip to section Different types of presentation skills How to improve your presentation skills Examples of using presentation skills Presentation skills FAQ Final thoughts References Sign Up For More Advice and Jobs Show More Different types of presentation skills

Being a skilled presenter requires a constellation of hard and soft skills . Some different types of presentation skills include research, planning, and organization.

Below are more common types of presentation skills. As you read through this list, think about where you’re naturally strong and where you could do with some improvement:

Research. The first step of any successful presentation is the research and preparation phase. First and foremost, you have to become an expert on the content you hope to deliver. It’s also essential to research your audience to know which information is most pertinent for them.

Planning. Once you’ve completed your research, it’s time to develop a plan. During this phase, you’ll prioritize which information gets put front-and-center, and which is less vital for your ultimate goal.

Before you start drafting your presentation, it’s crucial to keep your goal at the forefront: what do you want the audience to do after listening to your presentation?

Organization . Audiences prefer presentations that are well-thought-out and delivered in a logical order. Before you even step foot in the room, you should know what you need to do to set up, have all your notes in order, and be aware of your allotted time.

Verbal communication. No surprises here, verbal communication skills are downright essential for an effective presentation. Even if you have very rigid notes to follow, being quick on your feet to answer questions or alter your content for the audience’s benefit will serve you well during presentations.

Nonverbal communication . Good body language means standing up straight, not fidgeting too much, and maintaining eye contact with your audience members.

Public speaking . Some people get nervous just thinking about speaking publicly. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it is crucial to keep your nerves under wraps for delivering the most effective presentation possible. Audiences are less likely to trust presenters who don’t appear confident.

Memorization. We’ve all seen presentations where the presenter is just reading directly off his Powerpoint slides – we don’t need to tell you that those presentations are unequivocally bad. It’s fine to have notes as a reference, but the more time you can spend looking at your audience rather than the sheet in front of you, the better.

Writing. Being a good writer will help keep your presentation organized and give a boost to your credibility. Before you can commit your content to memory, you need to develop that content.

Story-telling. Not all presentations require story-telling, but it can be a very effective method of grabbing your listeners’ attention. It can be a hypothetical story that presents a question or problem, a real story that leads into your main argument, or a story that continues throughout to illustrate the duller facts your presentation covers.

Rhetorical skills . Rhetoric is all about persuasion: how are your words going to induce action from the listener(s)? Rhetorical appeals are classified under three headings: ethos, logos, and pathos.

Ethos establishes credibility in the speaker and trust in the listeners through confident delivery and expert testimony. Logos covers your presentation’s logical thrust through statistics, models, comparisons, analogies, etc. Pathos is your presentation’s emotional appeal, supported by vivid language and stories that promote certain values.

Active listening . Pay attention to which parts of your presentation are grabbing listeners and which are falling flat. If your audience’s eyes start glazing over or phones start coming out, you know you’re losing them.

Adaptability . Like the above point, being able to adapt on the fly sets top-tier presenters apart from merely good ones. For instance, if you can tell your presentation isn’t working, you can open up the floor and ask questions as a way of determining your audience’s priorities.

Delivery. We bet you’ve heard some of the same Dad jokes multiple times in your life. Sometimes they’re hilarious, and sometimes they induce an eye-roll. The difference? Delivery. Pace, timing, tone, and enunciation/inflection are all important elements of good delivery.

Technical skills . All right, you’re all set with the perfect presentation, you walk into the room, and the A/V setup isn’t what you were expecting. Well, if you followed our advice above, you showed up a bit early and had time to fix it.

Analysis . Phew, your presentation is done. Time to forget about presenting until the next one comes up, right? No siree – now is the time for you to take a step back and evaluate your performance.

How to improve your presentation skills

To improve your presentation skills, you should watch and learn what works and doesn’t work from others and practice with an audience of friends. Here are more ways to improve your presentation skills:

Watch and learn. You’ve seen presentations before, but to prepare for your own, try watching presentations to learn what works and what doesn’t. If you’re presenting at a conference, attend other presentations and pay attention to how the audience responds. Your audience probably won’t be much different.

Practice. Practice makes perfect, as the saying goes. Rehearse what you want to say, either on your own or with an audience of friends. You can even record yourself speaking and pinpoint weak areas and strengths . The more you perform your presentation, the more comfortable you’ll be delivering the real thing.

Visualize success. What speakers often forget is that audiences want you to do well. They’re there (more or less) of their own volition, and they want to hear what you have to say. Take that nervousness you’re feeling and transform it into excitement.

Exercise/drink water beforehand. The human body responds to stressful situations with a whole host of unwelcome physical side effects. If you stay hydrated and get some light exercise in beforehand, you’ll flush the adrenaline and cortisol (stress hormones) right out of your body.

Adopt a power stance and smile. Just as exercise and hydration help keep your body regulated, so does powerful body language . Standing straight with shoulders squared and a smile on your face, and your body will be tricked into thinking you’re in a confident and commanding position.

Engage your audience. The best presenters are also first-class entertainers. Don’t go overboard and start practicing your comedy routine, but lightening the mood with a joke or two can go a long way. Be sure to greet your audience enthusiastically.

Don’t get defensive if you’re stumped. There might be moments when an audience member asks a question, and you don’t have an answer . Don’t try to equivocate or dodge the question because people will see what you’re doing. It’s okay not to know everything, but pretending you do will only deteriorate your listeners’ faith in you.

Keep it concise. People won’t be upset if you wrap up earlier than expected, but they might be a little peeved if you start running over your allotted time. Cut irrelevant information, and your audience will thank you .

Take your time. All right, so we just suggested keeping things short, and now we’re telling you to take your time. What gives? Well, you should always include a bit of padding in your presentation. For example, if your presentation is meant to be a half-hour, try to get it down to 25 minutes, so you have some wiggle room.

Examples of using presentation skills

Presentation skills cover a range of abilities that allow one to effectively engage their audience and get information across in a clear way. In today’s world, the persuasive power of presentations is more important than ever.

There are many different example scenarios in which you might give a presentation:

Delivering a presentation to colleagues, employees, or subordinates about new technology, processes, goals, etc.

Drumming up investor interest, either for a new business or for your current business’s expansion.

Teaching your team a new skill.

Deciding between two or more alternative options or solving a problem with a current system.

Progress reports.

Selling a product or service to a client.

Motivational speech

Interviewing for a new job or promotion

Saying goodbye to a colleague (or introducing a new one )

Giving a speech at a family function, like a wedding.

Presentation skills FAQ

What are the four types of presentation?

The four types of presentation are: informative, instructional, arousing, and persuasive. Informative presentations briefly educate your audience on a specific topic. Instructional presentations teach your audience more thoroughly and generally come with more details and/or directions.

Arousing presentations are meant to evoke some kind of emotion in the audience. Persuasive presentations are designed to convince the audience of a particular viewpoint.

What are the four P’s of presentation?

The four P’s of presentation are planning, preparation, practice, and performance. As the four P’s imply, you need to plan and prepare your presentation, as well as practice. Finally, you need to be aware of your performance during your presentation to make sure you use your skills in an engaging manner.

What is the 10-20-30 rule of presentation?

The 10-20-30 rule is for a slide presentation and means you should use no more than 10 slides, present no longer than 20 minutes, and use no less than 30-point font. Considering these factors helps make a presentation efficient with its time. Remember you want to take your time and be direct with your information. Using the 10-20-30 rule helps you find a balance between these needs.

What is the most important part of using presentation skills?

An important part of using presentation skills would be speaking the language of the audience. Knowing your audience helps you get your point across. To help speak the language of the audience, you can use appropriate analogies and anecdotes and avoid any foreign words.

For example, if you are presenting a topic to a group of college freshmen about a topic you’re an expert in, try to use language that they would understand. Using language the audience will understand helps you get your point across better.

Final thoughts

Whether you’re a natural showman or a super-shy introvert , keep the above tips in mind to improve your presentation skills. Because the chances are, you’ll have to give a presentation at some point in your life. With a little practice, you’ll have audiences clamoring for more.

Johns Hopkins Carey Business School – Presentation Skills

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Matthew Zane is the lead editor of Zippia's How To Get A Job Guides. He is a teacher, writer, and world-traveler that wants to help people at every stage of the career life cycle. He completed his masters in American Literature from Trinity College Dublin and BA in English from the University of Connecticut.

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11 Tips for Improving Your Presentation Skills (& Free Training)

11 Tips for Improving Your Presentation Skills (& Free Training)

Written by: Heleana Tiburca

presentation of the skills

Are you looking for ways to completely level up your presentation skills? We’ve rounded up a list of the 10 best tips to help you deliver and create an effective presentation .

Here’s a sneak peek at some of the tips you’ll find inside:

  • Create an audience journey roadmap
  • Use proper and confident body language
  • Meet your audience before presenting to better connect with them
  • Focus on your presentation design to engage your audience

... and a whole lot more!

So, if you want to take your presentation skills to the next level, then this list will show you exactly how to do so.

Let’s get into it.

Table of Contents

Tip #1: define the purpose of your presentation., tip #2: create an audience journey map., tip #3: keep your slides short and sweet., tip #4: focus on your presentation design., tip #5: visualize boring numbers and data., tip #6: practice in front of a live audience., tip #7: meet your audience before presenting., tip #8: channel nervous energy into enthusiastic energy., tip #9: use proper and confident body language., tip #10: allow your personality to shine through., tip #11: take courses to improve your presentation skills., free presentation skills training.

Behind every successful presentation, there was carefully crafted planning that went into it beforehand. To ensure that you’ll have a powerful presentation, you need to consider your message.

The very first step to any good presentation is to define its purpose. This goes on in the very beginning during the planning process where you consider your message.

Your presentation’s end goal can be any of the following:

  • To entertain
  • To persuade

Your presentation’s end goal might even be a combination of the four purposes above. Consider the fact that you may need to inform buyers of your product and what problem it solves for them, but you also need to persuade them into buying it.

This is where engaging storytelling and proper visual aids will come into play to help you achieve your goal, and will either make or break your presentation.

Once you pinpoint the purpose of your presentation, you can then begin to work on the subject matter and your audience journey map.

An audience journey map is a visual representation of all the steps you need to take your audience members through, from first to last and everything in between, to achieve the goal of your presentation.

There are a few steps to creating your audience journey map.

presentation of the skills

First, you need to start your explanation at a low point — the current state of an issue. Maybe there’s a problem that you are able to solve. Describe the current situation before you lay out the undertaking ahead.

Once you lay out the problem, you can then start showing your audience the process of solving this problem. To not overwhelm your crowd, give them an actionable roadmap to follow.

With great verbal communication skills, you can tell them how you plan to take the first step.

This is many times the hardest part of the presentation, but once you have the foundation for your first step, you can easily lay out the next stepping stones and take them to your end goal with ease.

Creating an audience journey map will be a major success factor in a compelling presentation and needs to be done before writing and creating your slides.

Having a clear audience journey map will also help ensure you take your audience on a smooth journey with all your main points in line and achieve your end goal with no bumps in the road.

When giving a presentation, make sure that you keep it short, sweet and as informationally-condensed as possible. All of your slides should be easy to digest and understandable at a glance.

Let's take a look at an example. The slide below is part of Visme's simple presentation theme , which is designed to have maximum impact with minimal text.

presentation of the skills

You can customize this slide and others like it in Visme's presentation software . Or, you can apply the same concept of minimalism to any other presentation tool, such as PowerPoint.

To make sure that you stay on topic and won’t overwhelm your crowd with too much information, you need to have a plan. When you have a solid plan to go by, you won’t go off track and begin rambling about things unrelated to your presentation.

Another practical way you can stay on topic and not overwhelm your audience with too much information is to have your main points written in bold somewhere on your slides.

Here's another example of a Visme slide template that does that well:

presentation of the skills

As you can see above, you don’t need to write out all the information surrounding the main points, as this will cause your audience too much confusion.

An experienced presenter will be able to quickly glance over at their own presentation slides, see the main points and continue on with their presentation, engaging their audience without going off course.

This, of course, comes with a lot of rehearsing out loud, which we will cover more in tip number six .

Another great way to keep your presentation short is to set a specific time for asking questions.

By reserving a few minutes during your presentation for your audience to ask questions, you can present your main points and achieve your goals, without going into too much detail.

Your audience can then ask for clarity on anything that interests them and you can answer their questions in however much detail you need.

Picture this: you’re gathered around the conference table with all your colleagues early Monday morning and your manager pulls up a lifeless, colorless, text-filled Microsoft PowerPoint presentation.

You’re trying your best to pay attention and understand what he’s trying to convey, but staring deep into your coffee cup seems much more interesting at this point.

Sound familiar?

This is why it’s so crucial to understand how your presentation design will affect the outcome.

By having a messy and overloaded presentation, you’ll lose your audience almost immediately. On the flip side, if it’s so mundane and boring, you will also lose their attention.

One design presentation tip that we suggest you implement is to make sure you don’t overcrowd your slides with too much text.

This is a risky thing to do because the moment you flip to the next slide, your audience’s attention goes from what you’re saying, to your slide.

They’ll begin to read everything presented on the slide and completely tune you out. This is why a minimal text approach with a maximum of 2-3 different yet complementary fonts on your slides will be ideal, like in the example below.

presentation of the skills

You can use visual aids like images, animated graphic design elements, videos and more to convey the same message that boring text would.

It’s not everyone’s cup of tea to design a presentation from scratch, and that’s why it can be incredibly helpful to use a tool that offers presentation templates to help you get started.

Visme has hundreds of handcrafted presentation templates for public speakers to use for any occasion. Each presentation template is fully customizable and you’ll be able to add your branded content to your slides to make it your own.

Presenting your data can be an incredibly tricky and difficult task.

Instead of adding a bunch of tables and numbers to your slides, try switching things up by using charts, graphs and other data visualization types .

When creating a chart for your presentation, you need to be mindful of several things.

First, you need to choose the right chart to begin with. Not every type of graph is suitable for all data sets. The chart you choose will depend on the nature of your data and your unique purpose of using that chart.

Here's an infographic to help you understand what type of chart to use depending on your unique needs and nature of data.

presentation of the skills

Image Source

For example, if you're drawing a comparison between two or more items, a bar graph might be suitable. But if you're breaking down composition, a pie chart might be a better idea.

Also, make sure that you can fit all of your information into a chart without overcrowding the visual and also have your audience understand that information at a glance, like in the example below.

presentation of the skills

Other data visualization tips to keep in mind include choosing a pleasant, cohesive color scheme, sticking to max 2-3 fonts, incorporating a legend, and keeping your data as simple as possible.

Learn more about data visualization best practices to help you create engaging charts for your presentations and reports.

If you're using Visme, you can also import your data directly from Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel, Survey Monkey, Google Analytics and more.

Practice, practice and practice again.

Some would argue that writing up and designing a presentation from scratch is the easiest part. Delivering the presentation in a way that it engages your audience — that's the tricky part.

When it comes to public speaking, it’s only natural that one would get a little nervous and stumble upon their words.

That’s why practicing your public speaking skills in front of others will be vital to how well you present and connect with your crowd during your actual presentation.

It’s one thing to practice in front of the mirror, but it’s something completely different when people are waiting for you to deliver information that will improve their business or life.

So gather up some friends, family members or even your pets, and present your presentation from start to finish as many times as you need.

By presenting your slides out loud, you might even catch some mistakes in your presentation or find you need to add in some missing information.

By shaking your attendee’s hand before a meeting, you’ll begin to make connections and become more approachable and likable by your audience.

Meeting your audience will help break the ice and make them more likely to listen to what you have to say. They will also feel more comfortable asking you questions later, which will increase the value they get out of your presentation.

Plus, you’ll also feel more relaxed speaking to your audience if you've met them already. When you can put a name to a face, you’ll automatically feel a sense of comfort when you make eye contact with them while presenting.

Even the most famous movie stars and popular public speakers will still get nervous before a public presentation.

It’s human nature to get butterflies and perspire a bit before having tons of eyes on you, critiquing every word you have to say.

So, if you’re feeling nervous before a presentation, instead of emotionally shutting down, take that nervous energy and transform it into enthusiastic energy.

Before getting up on stage, listen to your favorite hype music, maybe have a coffee (if it won’t make you jittery) or get a pep talk from a friend.

By being confident and using your enthusiasm to your advantage, you’ll have your crowd on the edge of their seats, completely engaged, following every word you say.

Enthusiastic presentations will much better received by listeners, rather than monotone informational presentations. So, as important as your presentation design is, the way you present it will determine a big part of the outcome.

According to Allan Pease , an Honorary Professor of Psychology at ULIM International University, you can convince almost anyone to do anything for you if you use proper body language.

He has an entire Ted Talk dedicated to the subject, which you can watch below.

The proper use of hand gestures, a power stance, a confident smile and an authoritative yet kind voice are all techniques that you can leverage to get your crowd listening to and agreeing with what you’re saying.

According to Allan Pease, when using hand gestures, you’ll want to make sure that you’re using open palm gestures. This makes you look like a great leader that is right there with the team, ready to lead and take charge.

By using open palm gestures, people will automatically be inclined to listen to you.

The moment you turn your hand over and start using your pointer finger, you will lose your audience. They won’t accept any information from you and they will believe you have an authoritative and hostile attitude.

Body language is everything, so make sure to use open hand gestures, smile, take a deep breath and believe that you’re not nervous, even if you are.

As soon as you believe that you’re not nervous, your brain and body will follow suit and you’ll feel more confident on stage with your presentation, which will make your audience trust you more.

We’re convinced that with the right tone of voice and allowing your personality to shine through, you can take any boring presentation, and turn it into an entertaining and engaging one for your audience.

While it is good to meet your audience where they are, it’s never good to fake your personality for the sake of a presentation.

Everyone can tell when someone isn’t genuine, and if you’re trying to suppress your personality, you’re only hurting yourself and your presentation by doing so, as what you’re saying can then begin to sound disingenuous.

So, don’t be afraid to use your personality to your advantage. Let a joke out and entertain your audience. By making your audience laugh, you’ll have them more in tune with what you’re saying.

Chances are if you’re giving a business presentation, many of your peers will be there and they'd want you to let your personality show. So, be yourself and use that to your advantage!

Finally, our best tip that we can offer you in all areas of life is to never stop learning.

The only way to improve is to continue learning and practicing. That’s why we recommend you take presentation courses that will help improve your communication skills and presentation skills.

You can brush up on your presentation, communication and public speaking tips by taking online courses on Udemy or Coursera . Look for specific courses on storytelling, body language and more to focus on your problem areas.

Or, if you're looking for a free course that packs all the good stuff at zero cost, our team at Visme has put together an incredible presentation course that will help you smash your next presentation!

When it comes to creating and giving presentations, many times it seems like it’s just something that’s expected of us to do, without receiving any type of proper training or qualifications.

Here at Visme, we want to see everyone succeed.

That’s why we combined our years of knowledge and experience to create a free course to give everyone the tools and confidence they need in order to create effective and successful presentations.

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There are dozens of benefits and skills you’ll gain in these training sessions. You'll learn how to:

  • Effectively brainstorm and create audience personas and audience journey maps
  • Use visual communication to inform, engage, inspire and persuade your audience
  • Design your presentation as a professional designer would in minutes
  • Use colors, fonts, pictures and videos to increase the impact of your speech
  • Present your data through compelling charts and graphs that tell a story

You’ll also receive a Visme Versity certificate of completion once you complete the online course — you can add this to your LinkedIn profile to set yourself up for success.

If any of these benefits sound like something you want to add to your tool belt, then you can take our free presentation skills course for professional development right now.

This course is broken down into easily digestible sections, yet it’s jam-packed full of readily applicable information. The best part is you can take the course and complete it at your own pace.

There are engaging educational videos for you to watch and learn from, informational content for you to read and at the end of each session, there is a quiz for you to take to assess your progress.

By the end of this course, you’ll have an abundance of skills that will help you succeed in all types of presentations.

Sign up today and learn how to become a great presenter in no time!

Level Up Your Presentation Skills

You’ve now learned 11 amazing tips on how to improve your presentation skills, but there’s still so much more to uncover and learn in the realm of presentations skills.

If you want to overcome your fear of public speaking, improve on your business presentations, become a better communicator and transform good presentations into great presentations, then this free presentation course by Visme is for you.

Want to create stunning presentations of your own? Sign up for our presentation software and start using hundreds of pre-made slides, animated effects, free graphics, charts and more.

Create beautiful presentations faster with Visme.

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presentation of the skills

17 Presentation Skills That Every Effective Presenter Must Develop

  • Written by HIGH5 Content & Review Team
  • August 8, 2024
  • Professional skills

It’s no secret that effective presentations can help you get ahead in business. After all, what better way to show off your knowledge and expertise than by delivering a well-crafted presentation? The right presentation skills give you the ability to share your ideas with an audience convincingly and engagingly.

Unfortunately, not everyone is born a natural presenter. If you’re not used to standing up in front of an audience, the prospect of doing so can be daunting. Fortunately, understanding your unique strengths can help you overcome these challenges and improve your presentation skills. The HIGH5 strengths assessment is a powerful tool that can provide valuable insights into your natural abilities, allowing you to leverage your strengths and develop strategies to address areas for improvement.

With the right guidance, there are a few simple things you can do to enhance your presentation skills and become a more confident and effective communicator. In this article, we’ll share some tips on how to do just that, allowing you to deliver an effective presentation. Let’s get right into it.

What are presentation skills?

Presentation skills are the abilities you need to deliver a clear and effective presentation. After all, a good presenter is someone who can communicate their ideas in a way that engages and motivates their audience.

There are many different aspects to presentation skills, from knowing how to structure your talk to using visuals effectively, to dealing with nerves. Developing strong presentation skills will help you to communicate your ideas more effectively and make a positive impression on your audience.

Presentation skills are important because they can help you to communicate your ideas clearly and effectively. A good presentation can make a big impact on your audience and can help to persuade them of your point of view. Presentation skills are also important in other areas of life, such as job interviews, sales pitches, and networking events. Being able to present your ideas clearly and concisely can give you a big advantage over others who are not as confident in their presentation skills.

Importance and benefits of presentation skills

One of the most important reasons to recognize presentation skills is because they are a valuable asset for any profession. Good presentation skills can help you in your career by making it easier to sell your ideas, get promoted, and be successful in business. Identifying your unique strengths through the HIGH5 assessment can provide invaluable insights into your natural communication abilities, allowing you to leverage your strengths and develop targeted strategies to enhance your presentation skills. By understanding your strengths, you can tailor your approach to deliver more impactful and persuasive presentations, increasing your chances of success in any professional setting.

In addition, good presentation skills can also help you in your personal life by making it easier to give speeches, make presentations, and teach classes. In addition, recognizing presentation skills can also help you improve your presentations. If you are not aware of the importance of presentation skills, you may not be using them to their full potential. By taking the time to learn about presentation skills and how to use them effectively, you can make your presentations more effective and persuasive.

Here’s a list of benefits that come with good presentation skills:

  • Increased confidence
  • The ability to think on your feet
  • Improved public speaking skills
  • Enhanced written communication skills
  • The ability to lead and motivate others
  • Enhanced problem-solving abilities
  • Improved negotiation skills
  • Stronger time management skills
  • Greater creativity
  • The opportunity to make a positive impact on others

Pro Tip From HIGH5 Take the HIGH5 strengths assessment to gain a deeper understanding of your natural communication style and preferences. Use this knowledge to play to your strengths when preparing and delivering presentations, such as leveraging your creativity for engaging visuals or your analytical skills for structured content.

17 crucial presentation skills

Let’s now explore some practical examples of presentation skills that will help you ace your next big presentation.

17 crucial presentation skills

Body language

Effective body language, including posture and gestures, enhances your message and engages your audience.

Active listening

Active listening helps you respond appropriately and adjust your presentation based on audience feedback.

Storytelling

Storytelling is a great way to engage your audience and make your points more memorable. And while it might not seem like a traditional presentation skill, it can be extremely effective. If you possess strengths like creativity, communication, or persuasion, you may find it easier to weave captivating stories into your presentations.

The HIGH5 strengths assessment can help you identify these natural storytelling abilities and provide strategies for leveraging them to captivate your audience. So, if you can find ways to weave stories into your presentation, it’ll go a long way in captivating your audience and making your message more impactful.

  • Verbal communication

Clear and concise verbal communication ensures your message is understood and retained by your audience.

Voice projection

Projecting your voice confidently ensures that your message is heard clearly by everyone in the room.

Stage presence

Good stage presence involves commanding attention through confident movement and engagement with the audience.

Self-awareness

Being self-aware helps you identify your strengths and weaknesses, allowing for continuous improvement in your presentation skills.

Facial expressions

Using appropriate facial expressions adds emotion and clarity to your spoken words, making your message more impactful.

Avoid filler words

Minimizing filler words like “um” and “uh” helps maintain your credibility and keeps your audience focused on your message.

Choose the right angle for standing

Standing at the right angle, typically facing the audience while occasionally turning to your visuals, keeps the audience engaged and ensures they follow along with your presentation.

Engagement with your audience

Another key presentation skill is the ability to engage with your audience. This means making eye contact, using gestures, and speaking in a way that is relatable and easy to understand.

If you’re just standing there reading off a slide, chances are your audience is going to get bored pretty quickly. But if you can find ways to keep them engaged, they’ll be more likely to listen to what you have to say.

Good eye contact

One of the best ways to engage with your audience is through eye contact. When you make eye contact with someone, it shows that you’re interested in what they have to say and that you’re engaged in the conversation. It also helps to build trust and rapport. So, if you can find ways to make eye contact with your audience members, it will go a long way in keeping them engaged.

Natural gestures

Another great way to engage with your audience is through natural gestures. Using your hands and arms to gesture can help emphasize points and keep your audience engaged. Just be sure not to go overboard – too much gesturing can be distracting.

The use of visual aids

Visual aids can be a great way to engage your audience and make your points more clear. Using slides, charts, and graphs can help illustrate your ideas and make them easier to understand. Similar to using gestures, just be sure not to overdo it – too many visuals can be overwhelming and confusing.

The ability to handle questions

At some point during your presentation, you’re likely going to get questions from your audience; how you handle those questions can make or break your presentation. If you’re able to answer them confidently and without getting flustered, it’ll show that you know your stuff.

But if you start to get tongue-tied or defensive, it’s going to reflect poorly on you. So, be prepared for questions and try to stay calm when answering them.

An organized structure

Another important presentation skill is having a well-organized structure. This means having an introduction, main body, and conclusion to your presentation. It also means using transitions between sections to help your audience follow along. If your presentation is all over the place, it’s going to be hard for your audience to stay engaged and they’ll quickly tune out.

Last but not least, confidence is one of the most important presentation skills you can have. If you’re not confident in what you’re saying, it’s going to show – and your audience is going to pick up on it. So, even if you’re not feeling 100% sure of yourself, try to project confidence. It’ll make a big difference in how your audience perceives you and your message.

Pro Tip From HIGH5 Use the HIGH5 assessment to understand your unique storytelling style and preferences. Incorporate personal anecdotes, analogies, or case studies that align with your strengths to make your presentations more engaging and memorable.

How to identify presentation skills?

To identify your presentation skills you will need the help of self-assessment tools and feedback from your colleagues or friends. One of the self-assessment tools that we recommend is the HIGH5 strengths test which will help you discover your strengths and talents. From there you can connect your strengths with presentation skills to see which strength boosts your skill.

The second way is also called peer feedback. Ask your colleagues, friends or close family members to give you feedback on your presentation skills. From there you can identify what presentation skills you have and what skills you need to improve.

How to improve presentation skills in the workplace?

The workplace is one of the most important places to hone your presentation skills. After all, in the business world, first impressions are key, and being able to deliver a polished and professional presentation can make all the difference in whether or not you’re successful. Here are a few tips to help you improve your presentation skills in the workplace:

Preparation is key

This may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s worth repeating. When you’re preparing for a presentation, take the time to do your research and gather all of the necessary information. This will help ensure that your presentation is well-organized and flows smoothly.

Be aware of your body language

Your body language speaks volumes, so it’s important to be aware of what you’re communicating with your nonverbal cues. Make sure you’re standing up straight, making eye contact, and using gestures appropriately. These small tweaks can make a big difference in how your audience perceives you.

Practice, practice and practice

One of the best ways to improve your presentation skills is simply to practice as much as you can. The more you present, the more comfortable you’ll become and the better you’ll be at thinking on your feet and handling questions from the audience.

Seek feedback

After each presentation, take some time to reflect on what went well and what could be improved. Seek feedback from your colleagues or boss, and consider taking the HIGH5 strengths assessment to gain insights into your natural abilities and areas for growth. This will help you learn from your mistakes, leverage your strengths, and continue to improve.

By understanding your unique strengths, you can develop targeted strategies to enhance your presentation skills and make a more significant impact in the workplace. By following these tips, you can start to improve your presentation skills and make a positive impression in the workplace.

Pro Tip From HIGH5 After receiving feedback on your presentation, use the HIGH5 strengths assessment to identify areas where you excelled and areas for improvement. Develop an action plan that leverages your strengths while addressing your weaknesses, such as practicing more storytelling techniques if you have strong communication abilities or focusing on visual aids if you have strong creativity.

How do you highlight presentation skills in a resume and job interview?

Another important skill that is often overlooked is the ability to highlight presentation skills in both a resume and a job interview. This can be the difference between getting the job and not. When you are applying for a job, your resume is often the first thing that potential employers will look at. It is important to make sure that your resume includes any relevant presentation skills that you may have.

You can do this by including any experience you have in public speaking, leading presentations, or teaching courses. If you do not have any experience in these areas, consider listing any other relevant skills that could transfer over into presenting, such as customer service or sales experience.

In addition to your resume, it is also important to be able to highlight your presentation skills during a job interview. This is often done through behavioral interviewing, where you will be asked to describe specific examples of times when you have presented in the past. It is important to be prepared for this type of question and to have a few examples ready to go.

When you are highlighting your presentation skills, it is important to focus on any successes that you have had. This could be anything from getting positive feedback from an audience to successfully teaching a new course. No matter what the specific example is, it is important to focus on how you were able to positively impact the situation. This will show potential employers that you can effectively present information and that you are someone they would want on their team.

How to improve presentation skills in school as a student?

School students often have to present in front of their classmates and teachers, which can be a daunting experience, especially if you don’t feel confident in your abilities. However, understanding your unique strengths can help you approach presentations with greater confidence and effectiveness. The HIGH5 strengths assessment is a valuable tool that can provide insights into your natural abilities, allowing you to leverage your strengths and develop strategies to address areas for improvement. With the right guidance, there are some things you can do to improve your presentation skills while you’re still in school.

Join a club or organization that requires presentations

This will force you to get up in front of people regularly and hone your skills. If no club or organization at your school requires presentations, start one! Give speeches in front of the mirror. Practicing in front of a mirror can help you identify any nervous habits you have (like fidgeting or pacing) and correct them before you have to give a real speech.

Use note cards instead of a script

Reading from a script can make you sound robotic and unauthentic. Note cards will help you stay on track without sounding like you’re reciting memorized lines.

Record yourself giving a presentation

Then, watch the recording back to see how you can improve. This exercise can be painful, but it’s one of the best ways to identify your weaknesses and work on them.

Find a mentor

Ask a teacher or another adult you trust to give you feedback on your presentations. They can offer helpful tips and criticism that will help you improve. By following these tips, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a great presenter in no time!

Pro Tip From HIGH5 As a student, take the HIGH5 strengths assessment to identify your natural communication and leadership abilities. Use this knowledge to play to your strengths when preparing and delivering presentations, such as leveraging your analytical skills for structured content or your creativity for engaging visuals.

Presentation skills FAQ

What are the 7 presentation skills.

The 7 presentation skills are:

  • Eye contact

What are the 4 types of presentation skills?

The 4 types of presentation skills are:

  • Visual aids
  • Non-verbal communication
  • Listening skills

What is the rule of presentation?

The rule of presentation is to always keep the audience in mind. This means knowing who your audience is, what they want to hear, and how to best deliver your message so that they will listen and be able to understand it.

What are the 5 presentation skills?

The five essential presentation skills are clear communication, audience engagement, confident delivery, effective use of visuals, and proper body language.

What are 10 qualities of a good presentation?

A good presentation is clear, concise, engaging, well-structured, visually appealing, confident, interactive, relevant, well-paced, and memorable.

Every great presenter must have the majority of presenting skills already learned. It is beneficial for each individual to have some level of presentation skills, to be able to showcase and demonstrate their project, ideas and plans to their friends, family members and colleagues.

Not at all Likely Extremely Likely

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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:

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

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?

Continue to: How to Give a Speech Self Presentation

See also: Five Ways You Can Do Visual Marketing on a Budget Can Presentation Science Improve Your Presentation? Typography – It’s All About the Message in Your Slides

12 Ways to Improve Your Presentation Skills [for Work & Life]

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According to research by the National Institute of Mental Health, around 75% of people list public speaking as their number one fear , even higher than their fear of death! 

At the same time, though, presentation skills are among the most in-demand skills for just about any job out there . 

Want to get over your fear of public speaking, improve your presentation skills, and give your career a huge boost?

You’re in the right place! This article is here to tell you everything you need to know about presentation skills from A to Z: 

  • 9 Types of Presentations and Delivery Methods
  • 12 Steps to Giving Better Presentations
  • 5 Ways to Improve Your Presentation Skills

How to Add Your Presentation Skills to Your Resume

And more! Let’s dive in. 

What Are Presentation Skills?

Presentation skills are soft skills that allow you to present information clearly in front of an audience.

As such, these skills come in handy in all kinds of situations, including:

  • Work. For example, giving a presentation in front of your team, pitching a new idea, etc.
  • School or university. E.g., giving an oral presentation about a subject or presenting a master's thesis.
  • Personal life. E.g. giving a speech at your best friend’s wedding or a toast at a restaurant.

No matter the situation, people with strong presentation skills typically possess the following skills:

  • Body language
  • Public speaking
  • Communication skills
  • Emotional intelligence

Why Are Presentation Skills Important?

But, what exactly makes presentation skills so important in basically every life area? 

Here are their most noteworthy benefits: 

  • Increased employability. Presentation skills come in handy for many positions across all industries. 70% of respondents in a Prezi study said that presentation skills are critical for career success. As such, presentation skills are transferable skills that can instantly make you more employable.
  • Higher academic performance. In the US, most university classes involve a presentation assignment or two. As such, being good at presenting is essential if you want to succeed academically.
  • Effective networking. Having great presentation skills translates into great communication skills, which, in turn, helps you get better at professional networking .
  • Improved confidence. Being able to speak in front of an audience can be a serious confidence booster, easily translating to other areas in life.

9 Types of Presentation and Delivery Methods

There are several types of presentations out there. 

Some presentations are meant to inspire the audience (such as motivational talks), while others are simply meant to instruct or inform (HR giving a presentation about company policies to new employees). 

Here are the five most common types of presentations, explained: 

  • Persuasive presentations are meant to persuade the audience to make a decision, support a cause, side with a particular argument, and so on. A salesman pitching a product to a potential customer is an example of a persuasive presentation.
  • Informative presentations aim to inform the audience about a topic, procedure, product, benefit, etc. An example of an informative presentation is a weatherman reading the weather report on TV.
  • Inspirational presentations are meant to inspire the audience and potentially boost their confidence or morale. In a business setting, inspirational presentations are meant to motivate employees to perform better or get through tough times. In day-to-day life, on the other hand, an inspirational presentation could be trying to motivate a friend to do better at school.
  • Educational presentations , just like the name implies, aim to educate the audience. Professors giving a lecture or tour guides speaking to museum visitors are examples of educational presentations.
  • Instructional presentations are about instructing or guiding the audience on a set of guidelines, a new policy, a certain law, etc. An example of an instructional presentation is a flight attendant instructing passengers on what to do in case of an emergency.

On the same note, there are also 4 common ways presentations are delivered: 

  • Extemporaneous presentations. These presentations are planned, but you deliver them without preparation.
  • Manuscript presentations are presentations you deliver based on a script or notes.
  • Impromptu presentations aren’t planned but rather delivered on the spot.
  • Memorized presentations are those you learn by heart from start to finish.

11 Tips on How to Give Better Presentations

Looking to improve your presentation skills?

There’s good news and bad news.

The good news is that, with enough practice, you can get really good at delivering presentations.

The bad news, though, is that just like any other soft skill, in order to get good at delivering presentations, you’ll have to practice a lot.

To help get you started, below, we’re going to cover 12 of our best tips on how to improve your presentation skills, starting with:

#1. Prepare your presentation in advance

Impromptu presentations don’t happen that often in real life. Most times, you’ll have enough time to prepare for your presentation. 

Needless to say, you should use that time to your advantage. Don’t just make mental notes of what you’ll say during your presentation and call it a day, but actually plan it out from start to finish. 

When preparing your presentation in advance, make sure to consider the following points:

  • What type of presentation are you making?
  • What is your speech delivery method?
  • How are you going to grab the audience’s attention from the get-go?
  • What are the main points you need to cover?
  • What is the best way to make the conclusion memorable?
  • How much time do you have at your disposal?
  • What visual aids and multimedia can you use?
  • What does the audience expect to see/hear?

#2. Practice as much as possible

Just like with any other soft skill, the best way to hone your presentation skills is to practice as much as possible.

Some ways you can practice your presentation skills are:

  • In front of a mirror or in front of your friends and family.
  • Watch TED talks to get inspired and learn what good presentation skills look like.
  • Read books on communication, presentation, and public speaking.
  • Take extensive notes of what you need to improve. 
  • Record and time yourself when doing presentations.
  • Hire a public speaking coach on Fiverr or another platform.
  • Take a public speaking course at your local community college.

The more you practice, the better your presentation skills are going to get.

Also, when practicing, make sure to pay attention to your tonality, body language, and whether you’re using a lot of crutch words .

#3. Exercise

Yes, really.

Exercise can help improve your presentation skills!

Some ways it does so are:

  • It boosts the levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and noradrenaline, all of which are known to improve your mood and regulate your anxiety. 
  • It improves your ability to focus and pay attention, benefits which can last for up to two hours after your workout .
  • It strengthens and protects your memory, making it easy to recall words. 

Now, when it comes to how much you should exercise, that can differ from one person to the next.

We say - find a golden mean that works best for you. If you’re not big on exercising, you can always start small with something casual like biking to work or playing a sport once or twice a week. 

#4. Arrive early

By arriving early for your presentation, you can deal with any possible setbacks (e.g. mic not working, USB failure, wardrobe malfunction, etc). 

This will give you plenty of time to start your presentation on your terms, instead of running around trying to fix things at the last minute. 

Not to mention, in certain situations arriving early can also help you to prepare mentally and emotionally for the upcoming presentation. 

Obviously, a casual presentation in front of coworkers won’t require much emotional preparation. But if you have to, say, pitch a marketing idea to your clients or address a room full of strangers, getting to exchange some words with them before the presentation could break the ice and make it easier to engage with them later on. 

#5. Know your audience

You should always keep your audience in mind when making (and delivering) a presentation. 

At the end of the day, if your message is not tailored to its audience, chances are, it’s going to fall flat.

If your audience is a group of 50-somethings, high-level executives, chances are they won’t get your Rick and Morty references or appreciate any attempts to keep the presentation light, casual, and humorous. 

Instead, stick to talking about facts and figures without any joking around, use straightforward language, and avoid over-the-top body language while delivering the presentation. 

If on the other hand, you’re delivering a presentation to your class of 20-somethings, then you’re a lot more likely to make an impact if you joke around, make references, and make the presentation more casual.

In short, if you want your presentation to carry as much impact as possible, make sure to think about who you’re presenting to. 

#6. Use Relaxation Techniques

Even the most seasoned public speakers experience some level of anxiety before giving a presentation.

To make sure nerves and anxiety don’t throw you off your A-game, you can take advantage of relaxation techniques. 

One of the simplest (and most effective) ways to relax before a presentation is to breathe.  

When we say breathing, though, we don’t mean the automatic in-and-out we do to stay alive. We mean taking deep, relaxing breaths from your stomach while being mindful of what you’re doing. 

Here’s how breathing mindfully before your presentation can help you give a better presentation: 

  • Calms your nerves
  • Reduces stress 
  • Helps with anxiety 

To practice mindful breathing, focus on breathing from your stomach and push your stomach out each time you inhale. When you’re inhaling and exhaling, count to at least three for each breath. 

Keep doing this and you’ll soon start feeling more relaxed. 

#7. Acknowledge That You’re Nervous

People appreciate honesty. 

If you go on stage feeling extremely nervous, use this neat little trick:

Instead of trying to play it cool, simply acknowledge that you’re feeling nervous by straight-up saying it.

Chances are, a very large chunk of your audience feels exactly the same way about public speaking, and you’ll build up some rapport just like that!

This same exact tip even applies to job interviews. You can simply tell the recruiters that you’re feeling nervous and need a minute - that’s totally acceptable!

Unless you’re applying for a job in sales, the job interviewer is not going to be evaluating you on how good you are at passing interviews.

#8. Tell stories

Storytelling is a powerful presentation tool. According to the Guardian, 63% of presentation attendees remember stories , while only 5% remember statistics.

That’s because a good story can take the audience on a journey, intrigue them, inspire them, and motivate them. In turn, they’re much more likely to remember your presentation.

There are several ways you can go about incorporating stories into your presentation. 

One is to tie your own stories, along with what you experienced, learned, or observed, to make your argument more impactful and relatable. Alternatively, you can also create a story for the sake of the presentation that can be just as impactful in driving your point across. 

Keep in mind, though, that not every presentation requires storytelling. If your presentation is packed with data and stats showing how you managed to improve profits by 20% in the last quarter, for example, then you don’t really need to include a story in there to make it impactful. 

#9. Be humorous

This one’s quite self-explanatory; as much as you can, be humorous during your presentation. It helps ease tension, get the attention of everyone in the room, and connect with them more effectively. 

Now, some people are born with humor. If you’re one of them, cracking a joke here and there should come very naturally to you. 

Otherwise, you can practice your presentation in front of your friends and family and prepare your jokes in advance. If your mock audience laughs at your jokes, chances are, so will your real audience!

#10. Use visual aids and media

Using visuals and other media forms (e.g. music, videos, infographics, etc.), can make your presentation significantly more engaging, memorable, and striking. 

Say, for example, that your presentation consists entirely of numbers and data. You can use data visualization (e.g. charts, graphs, and maps), to make the data stick with your audience better. 

Or, if you’re a lecturer at a university, you’ll want to use as many pictures, videos, and even music to help your students remember the information you’re transmitting. 

Some of the most popular ways to make your presentations as visual as possible involve using:

  • Whiteboards
  • Presentation applications 

#11. Engage the audience

To give a truly memorable presentation, engage your audience as much as possible. 

Instead of speaking to your audience, try to speak with your audience.

What we mean by this is that you should be very proactive in getting your audience involved in your presentation. Ask questions, get them to share stories, and so on. 

Some examples of how you can effectively engage an audience are: 

  • Asking a random audience member to share their experience on a topic.
  • Doing a count of hands (e.g. “Has anyone done X? Can I see a count of hands?” or “Which one of you guys likes Y? Raise your hands.” )
  • Do an on-the-spot poll (e.g. “How many of you guys do X?” or “how many of you guys think Y?” )
  • Making time for a Q&A at the end of your presentation. 

6 Ways to Improve Your Presentation Skills

Just like any other skill, presentation skills can be learned and improved. So, if you’re looking to improve your presentation skills, follow the tips below: 

  • Take every public speaking opportunity you get. The best way to learn presentation skills is by doing it. So, take every opportunity you get. E.g. volunteer to present a project, say a toast at your friend's wedding, etc.
  • Check these TED talks. Is there anything TED talks haven’t covered? Check out these talks that can teach you how to give awesome presentations: “ Giving Presentations Worth Listening To ”, “ the secret structure of great talks ,” and “ the science of stage fright (and how to overcome it) ”. 
  • Take public speaking classes. Udemy, Coursera, and LinkedIn all have great public speaking courses. Or, even better, take a class at your local college. This way, you’ll get a lot more practice than by taking an online class. 
  • Attend other presentations. This one’s pretty self-explanatory. The more presentations you attend, the more you can learn from others’ successes or failures. 
  • Grow your confidence. Speak in front of friends and family, film yourself, and accept constructive criticism. Soon enough, you’ll be confident enough to give excellent presentations!
  • Ask for feedback. How can you improve your presentation skills if you don’t know where you’re lacking? After your presentation, ask one or two members of your audience for personal, one-on-one feedback on how you did. 

If you want to show a potential employer that you’ve got presentation skills, you’ll need to highlight them on your resume.

And in this section, we’ll teach you just how to do that!

Before you do that, though, make sure to grab one of our free resume templates!

free resume templates

#1. List Your Presentation Skills Under Your Soft Skills 

The first and most obvious place to list your presentation skills is under your skills section . 

This part is pretty straightforward. Your skills section should be divided into “soft skills” and “hard skills” and look something like this: 

presentation skills on resume

Simply add “Presentation Skills” under the “Soft Skills” section, and you’re good to go.

#2. Mention Your Presentation Skills in Your Resume Summary 

If presentation skills are super important for the role you’re applying for, you can also include them in your resume summary : 

resume summary presentation skills

In a nutshell, the resume summary is a short paragraph on top of your resume that typically mentions: 

  • Your title and years of experience 
  • Your most noteworthy achievements
  • Your top skills and qualifications

Done right, this section should highlight all your strong points right from the get-go and get the hiring manager to go through the rest of your resume in more detail. 

Here’s an example of a resume summary that effectively mentions the candidate’s presentation skills: 

  • Sales professional with 7 years of experience in sales presentations and lead generation. Excellent public speaking skills. Track record of converting prospects into loyal customers.

#3. Prove Presentation Skills Through Your Work Experience 

Lastly (and most importantly), you should use your work experience section to prove that you’ve got the presentation skills you mentioned in your skills section.

Here’s exactly how you can do that: 

  • Keep your work experience section relevant. List recent and relevant positions. Omit outdated and irrelevant ones. For example, if you’re applying for a customer service position, you can mention the time you worked, say, as a receptionist. Your teen job mowing lawns, on the other hand? Not as important. 
  • Focus on achievements instead of responsibilities. Instead of telling the hiring manager what they already know (your responsibilities), focus on showing them how you made an impact with your achievements. A way to do that is to write down a couple of achievements for every presentation skill that you include under your soft skills. 
  • Make your achievements quantifiable . Adding numbers to your achievements makes them significantly more impressive. “Delivered a presentation that closed a 6-figure client” is a lot more powerful than “Delivered client presentations,” right?
  • Use action verbs and power words. Presentation skills are also about how you present yourself in your resume. Avoid dry and unimaginative language and go for these action verbs and power words instead.

Key Takeaways 

And that’s about all you need to know to improve your presentation skills!

Before you go, though, here’s a quick recap of everything we covered in this article:

  • Presentation skills are soft skills that allow you to present information clearly and convey your message effectively. 
  • Some important presentation skills include public speaking, communication, persuasion, creativity, humor, and emotional intelligence. 
  • Presentation skills can increase your employability, improve your academic performance, make it easier to network, and help you grow professionally. 
  • Some steps you can take to give better presentations are to prepare in advance, practice as much as possible, exercise regularly, be humorous, use visual aids and multimedia, engage the audience, and accept that you’re nervous. 
  • To improve your presentation skills, watch videos that teach you how to give great presentations, attend public speaking classes and other presentations, and grow your confidence. 
  • List your presentation skills under your skills section, mention them in your resume summary, and prove them with your achievements in the work experience section.

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  • Career Planning
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Important Presentation Skills for Workplace Success

presentation of the skills

  • What Are Presentation Skills?

Steps To Create a Presentation

Skills that help make an effective presentation, how to make your skills stand out.

xavierarnau / Getty Images

Whether you’re a high-level executive or an administrative assistant, developing your presentation skills is one key way to climb in an office-based job. Leaders make decisions based on information shared in presentation format, and hardly any business changes its mind without first seeing a persuasive presentation.

It is important for any office employee to know what steps go into creating an effective presentation and what presentation skills are most important to employers. Highlighting these skills will also help you stand out during your job search.

Key Takeaways

  • Presentation skills are what you need to know to be able to give an engaging, effective presentation.
  • The steps to creating a successful presentation are preparation, delivery, and follow-up.
  • Employers want to know you have the necessary skills to research, analyze, and create a presentation, plus the communication skills needed to deliver it and field questions afterward.
  • You can highlight your skills to employers through your resume, cover letter, and interview.

What Are Presentation Skills? 

Presentation skills refer to all the qualities you need to create and deliver a clear and effective presentation. While what you say during a presentation matters, employers also value the ability to create supporting materials, such as slides.

Your prospective employer may want you to deliver briefings and reports to colleagues, conduct training sessions, present information to clients, or perform any number of other tasks that involve speaking before an audience.

Giving engaging and easy-to-understand talks is a major component of the strong  oral communication skills  that are a  job requirement  for many positions. Not all presentations take place in a formal meeting. Many presentation skills are relevant to one-on-one consults or sales calls.

Any presentation has three phases: preparation, delivery, and follow-up. All presentation skills fit into one of these three phases.

Preparation 

Preparation involves research and building the presentation. Consider the audience you'll be presenting to and what most interests them. This may mean crafting the entire text (or at least writing notes) and creating any slides and other supporting audio/visual materials.

You will also have to make sure that the appropriate venue is available, properly set up beforehand, and ensure the projector (if you'll need one) works and connects with your laptop.

You'll also want to practice your presentation as many times as you need to to feel comfortable delivering it with ease and confidence within the time allotted for the presentation.

Skills related to preparation include conducting research related to your presentation topic, devising charts and graphs depicting your research findings, and learning about your audience to better tailor your presentation to their needs. You'll also need to create digital slides, using statistics, examples, and stories to illustrate your points and effectively to persuade the audience.

Preparing handouts or digital references is an added courtesy that will help the audience pay attention because they won't be preoccupied with note-taking.

Your delivery is the part of the presentation that the audience sees. A good delivery depends on careful preparation and confident presentation and requires its own distinctive  skill set . 

Skills related to delivery include giving an attention-grabbing opening for a talk, providing a summary of what will be covered to introduce the presentation and provide context, and using  body language  and eye contact to convey energy and confidence.

Make sure you pause to emphasize key points, modulate your vocal tone for emphasis, and articulate your speech clearly and smoothly.

Don't be afraid of injecting humor or speaking with enthusiasm and animation—these techniques can help you in projecting confidence to your audience.

Summarize key points at the conclusion of the presentation, and be sure to have a plan for how you'll field any audience questions.

Presentation follow-up includes properly breaking down and storing any equipment, contacting any audience members with whom you agreed to communicate further, and soliciting, collecting, and analyzing feedback.

In some presentations, you may collect information from audience members—such as names and contact information or completed surveys—that you also must organize and store.

Skills related to follow-up include creating an evaluation form to solicit feedback from attendees, interpreting feedback from evaluations, and modifying the content and/or delivery for future presentations. Other follow-up skills include organizing a database of attendees for future presentations, interviewing key attendees to gain additional feedback, and emailing presentation slides to attendees.

To create and deliver the most effective presentation takes a variety of skills, which you can always work to improve.

You must be able to look honestly at your performance, assess the feedback you get, and figure out what you need to do to get better. That takes  analytical thinking .

More importantly, you need to have a firm grasp of the information you are about to communicate to others. You need to analyze your audience and be prepared to think quickly if asked questions that force you to demonstrate that you are fully aware of the material and its implications.

The kind of analytical skills you need to be an effective presenter include problem sensitivity, problem-solving , reporting and surveying, optimization, and predictive modeling. It also helps to be adept at strategic planning, integration, process management, and diagnostics. With these skills, you'll be better able to objectively analyze, evaluate, and act on your findings.

Organization

You do not want to be the person who spends half of their presentation time trying to find a cable to connect their laptop to the projector. Many things can and do go wrong just before a presentation unless you are  organized .

Presentation preparation also means keeping track of notes, information, and start/stop times. You will want to proofread and fine-tune all the materials you plan to use for the presentation to catch any mistakes. Make sure you time yourself when you rehearse so you know how long it will take to deliver the presentation.

A presentation that's finished in half the time allotted is as problematic as one that's too long-winded.

Some key organizational skills to work on include event planning, auditing, benchmarking, prioritization, and recordkeeping. Make sure your scheduling is on point and pay close attention to detail. Quick thinking is an important skill to have for when things inevitably go wrong.

Nonverbal Communication

When speaking to an audience, the way you present yourself can be just as important as how you present your information. You want to appear confident and engaging. You can do this through good posture, the use of hand gestures, and making eye contact with the audience.

Practice your  nonverbal communication  by filming yourself doing a practice presentation and observing your body language carefully. Your physical bearing and poise should convey a degree of comfort and confidence in front of an audience, while active listening , respect, and emotional intelligence will help you in facilitating group discussions.

Presentation Software

Microsoft PowerPoint is the dominant software used to create visual aids for presentations. Learn to use it well, including the special features outside of basic templates that can really bring a presentation to life. Even if someone else is preparing your slideshow for you, it will help to know how to use the software in case of last-minute changes.

Other software that is good to learn includes Microsoft Office, Apple Keynote, Google Slides, and Adobe Presenter.

Public Speaking

You need to appear comfortable and engaging when speaking before a live audience, even if you're not. This can take years of practice, and sometimes  public speaking  just isn't for certain people. An uncomfortable presenter is a challenge for everyone. Fortunately, public speaking skills can improve with practice . Some skills to work on include articulation, engagement, and memorization. You should be able to assess the needs of the audience and handle difficult questions. Controlling your performance anxiety will help you communicate more effectively.

Research is the first step in preparing most presentations and could range from a multi-year process to spending 20 minutes online, depending on context and subject matter. At the very least, you must be able to clearly frame research questions, identify appropriate information sources, and organize your results. Other useful skills include brainstorming, collaboration , comparative analysis, data interpretation, and deductive and inductive reasoning. Business intelligence is a skill that will help you evaluate what information you need to support the bottom line, while case analysis and causal relationships will help you parse and evaluate meaning.

Verbal Communication

Public speaking is one form of  verbal communication , but you will need other forms to give a good presentation. Specifically, you must know how to answer questions. You should be able to understand questions asked by your audience (even if they're strange or poorly worded) and provide respectful, honest, and accurate answers without getting off-topic. Use active listening, focus, and empathy to understand your audience. Skills such as assertiveness, affirmation, and enunciation will help you restate and clarify your key points as it relates to their questions or concerns.

You may or may not need a written script, but you do need to pre-plan what you are going to say, in what order you will say it, and at what level of detail. If you can write a cohesive essay, you can plan a presentation.

Typical writing skills apply to your presentation just as they do to other forms of writing, including grammar, spelling, vocabulary, and proofreading. The ability to build outlines, take notes, and mark up documents will also be useful.

More Presentation Skills

In addition to the skills previously mentioned, there are other important skills that can apply to your presentation. The other skills you need will depend on what your presentation is about, your audience, and your intended results. Some of these additional skills include:

  • Summarizing
  • Providing anecdotes to illustrate a point
  • Designing handouts
  • Recognizing and countering objections
  • Posing probing questions to elicit more detail about specific issues
  • Awareness of ethnic, political, and religious diversity
  • Receiving criticism without defensiveness
  • Refraining from speaking too often or interrupting others
  • Anticipating the concerns of others
  • Product knowledge
  • SWOT analysis format
  • Supporting statements with evidence
  • Multilingual
  • Working with reviewers
  • Consistency
  • Developing and maintaining standard operating procedures (SOPs)
  • Developing a proposition statement
  • Creating and managing expectations

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Presentation Skills

This course is designed to help professionals improve their presentation skills. Participants will learn how to structure their presentations, engage their audience, and deliver their message with confidence and clarity.

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Lisa Keslar

Lisa Keslar has over three decades of professional entrepreneurial experience across a diverse spectrum of industries. Presently, she serves as the co-founder and co-owner of Keslar Insurance Agency, an independent insurance agency deeply rooted in the local communities of Newmarket and Rochester, NH. The agency specializes in delivering comprehensive home, auto, and business insurance solutions throughout New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts.

Throughout her career, Lisa has occupied diverse leadership roles encompassing marketing, human resources, operations, and finance. These varied responsibilities have equipped her with a comprehensive insight into the multifaceted requirements of emerging enterprises, predominantly within the manufacturing and distribution domains.

Lisa's academic foundation comprises a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Communications from Babson College, where she honed her skills and knowledge. She furthered her academic journey at the same institution, earning an MBA with a specialized focus on Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management.

Lisa's commitment to education is underscored by her extensive involvement in academia. Over the past four years, she has played an instrumental faculty role in UNH's entrepreneurial program and has dedicated twelve years as faculty and team lead to the marketing program at SNHU. Beyond the classroom, Lisa has demonstrated her dedication to fostering vibrant business ecosystems by assuming leadership positions. Notably, she served as the President of the Newmarket Business Association, held the position of Secretary at the Exeter Area Chamber of Commerce, and contributed to the Communications Committee of the New Hampshire Women's Foundation among holding several other board-level positions at various nonprofits.

Presentation Skills Fall 2024

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  • Published: 31 August 2024

Effects of pecha kucha presentation pedagogy on nursing students’ presentation skills: a quasi-experimental study in Tanzania

  • Setberth Jonas Haramba 1 ,
  • Walter C. Millanzi 1 &
  • Saada A. Seif 2  

BMC Medical Education volume  24 , Article number:  952 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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Introduction

Ineffective and non-interactive learning among nursing students limits opportunities for students’ classroom presentation skills, creativity, and innovation upon completion of their classroom learning activities. Pecha Kucha presentation is the new promising pedagogy that engages students in learning and improves students’ speaking skills and other survival skills. It involves the use of 20 slides, each covering 20 seconds of its presentation. The current study examined the effect of Pecha Kucha’s presentation pedagogy on presentation skills among nursing students in Tanzania.

The aim of this study was to establish comparative nursing student’s presentation skills between exposure to the traditional PowerPoint presentations and Pecha Kucha presentations.

The study employed an uncontrolled quasi-experimental design (pre-post) using a quantitative research approach among 230 randomly selected nursing students at the respective training institution. An interviewer-administered structured questionnaire adopted from previous studies to measure presentation skills between June and July 2023 was used. The study involved the training of research assistants, pre-assessment of presentation skills, training of participants, assigning topics to participants, classroom presentations, and post-intervention assessment. A linear regression analysis model was used to determine the effect of the intervention on nursing students’ presentation skills using Statistical Package for Social Solution (SPSS) version 26, set at a 95% confidence interval and 5% significance level.

Findings revealed that 63 (70.87%) participants were aged ≤ 23 years, of which 151 (65.65%) and 189 (82.17%) of them were males and undergraduate students, respectively. Post-test findings showed a significant mean score change in participants’ presentation skills between baseline (M = 4.07 ± SD = 0.56) and end-line (M = 4.54 ± SD = 0.59) that accounted for 0.4717 ± 0.7793; p  < .0001(95%CI) presentation skills mean score change with a medium effect size of 0.78. An increase in participants’ knowledge of Pecha Kucha presentation was associated with a 0.0239 ( p  < .0001) increase in presentation skills.

Pecha Kucha presentations have a significant effect on nursing students’ presentation skills as they enhance inquiry and mastery of their learning content before classroom presentations. The pedagogical approach appeared to enhance nursing students’ confidence during the classroom presentation. Therefore, there is a need to incorporate Pecha Kucha presentation pedagogy into nursing curricula and nursing education at large to promote student-centered teaching and learning activities and the development of survival skills.

Trial registration

It was not applicable as it was a quasi-experimental study.

Peer Review reports

The nursing students need to have different skills acquired during the learning process in order to enable them to provide quality nursing care and management in the society [ 1 ]. The referred nursing care and management practices include identifying, analyzing, synthesizing, and effective communication within and between healthcare professionals [ 1 ]. Given an increasing global economy and international competition for jobs and opportunities, the current traditional classroom learning methods are insufficient to meet such 21st - century challenges and demands [ 2 ]. The integration of presentation skills, creativity, innovation, collaboration, information, and media literacy skills helps to overcome the noted challenges among students [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]. The skills in question constitute the survival skills that help the students not only for career development and success but also for their personal, social and public quality of life as they enable students to overcome 21st challenges upon graduation [ 2 ].

To enhance the nursing students’ participation in learning, stimulating their presentation skills, critical thinking, creativity, and innovation, a combination of teaching and learning pedagogy should be employed [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. Among others, classroom presentations, group discussions, problem-based learning, demonstrations, reflection, and role-play are commonly used for those purposes [ 5 ]. However, ineffective and non-interactive learning which contribute to limited presentation skills, creativity, and innovation, have been reported by several scholars [ 9 , 10 , 11 ]. For example, poor use and design of student PowerPoint presentations led to confusing graphics due to the many texts in the slides and the reading of about 80 slides [ 12 , 13 , 14 ]. Indeed, such non-interactive learning becomes boring and tiresome among the learners, and it is usually evidenced by glazing eyes, long yawning, occasional snoring, the use of a phone and frequent trips to the bathroom [ 12 , 14 ].

With an increasing number of nursing students in higher education institutions in Tanzania, the students’ traditional presentation pedagogy is insufficient to stimulate their presentation skills. They limit nursing student innovation, creativity, critical thinking, and meaningful learning in an attempt to solve health challenges [ 15 , 16 ].These hinder nursing students ability to communicate effectively by being able to demonstrate their knowledge and mastery of learning content [ 17 , 18 ]. Furthermore, it affects their future careers by not being able to demonstrate and express their expertise clearly in a variety of workplace settings, such as being able to present at scientific conferences, participating in job interviews, giving clinic case reports, handover reports, and giving feedback to clients [ 17 , 18 , 19 ].

Pecha Kucha presentation is a new promising approach for students’ learning in the classroom context as it motivates learners’ self-directed and collaborative learning, learner creativity, and presentation skills [ 20 , 21 , 22 ]. It encourages students to read more materials, enhances cooperative learning among learners, and is interesting and enjoyable among students [ 23 ].

Pecha Kucha presentation originated from the Japanese word “ chit chat , ” which represents the fast-paced presentation used in different fields, including teaching, marketing, advertising, and designing [ 24 , 25 , 26 ]. It involves 20 slides, where each slide covers 20 s, thus making a total of 6 min and 40 s for the whole presentation [ 22 ]. For effective learning through Pecha Kucha presentations, the design and format of the presentation should be meaningfully limited to 20 slides and targeted at 20 s for each slide, rich in content of the presented topic using high-quality images or pictures attuned to the content knowledge and message to be delivered to the target audiences [ 14 , 16 ]. Each slide should contain a primordial message with well-balanced information. In other words, the message should be simple in the sense that each slide should contain only one concept or idea with neither too much nor too little information, thus making it easy to be grasped by the audience [ 14 , 17 , 19 ].

The “true spirit” of Pecha Kucha is that it mostly consists of powerful images and meaningful specific text rather than the text that is being read by the presenter from the slides, an image, and short phrases that should communicate the core idea while the speaker offers well-rehearsed and elaborated comments [ 22 , 28 ]. The presenter should master the subject matter and incorporate the necessary information from classwork [ 14 , 20 ]. The audience’s engagement in learning by paying attention and actively listening to the Pecha Kucha presentation was higher compared with that in traditional PowerPoint presentations [ 29 ]. The creativity and collaboration during designing and selecting the appropriate images and contents, rehearsal before the presentation, and discussion after each presentation made students satisfied by enjoying Pecha Kucha presentations compared with traditional presentations [ 21 , 22 ]. Time management and students’ self-regulation were found to be significant through the Pecha Kucha presentation among the students and teachers or instructors who could appropriately plan the time for classroom instruction [ 22 , 23 ].

However, little is known about Pecha Kucha presentation in nursing education in Sub-Saharan African countries, including Tanzania, since there is insufficient evidence for the research(s) that have been published on the description of its effects on enhancing students’ presentation skills. Thus, this study assessed the effect of Pecha Kucha’s presentation pedagogy on enhancing presentation skills among nursing students. In particular, the study largely focused on nursing students’ presentation skills during the preparation and presentation of the students’ assignments, project works, case reports, or field reports.

The study answered the null hypothesis H 0  = H 1, which hypothesized that there is no significant difference in nursing students’ classroom presentation skills scores between the baseline and end-line assessments. The association between nursing students’ presentation skills and participants’ sociodemographic characteristics was formulated and analyzed before and after the intervention. This study forms the basis for developing new presentation pedagogy among nursing students in order to stimulate effective learning and the development of presentation skills during the teaching and learning process and the acquisition of 21st - century skills, which are characterized by an increased competitive knowledge-based society due to changing nature and technological eruptions.

The current study also forms the basis for re-defining classroom practices in an attempt to enhance and transform nursing students’ learning experiences. This will cultivate the production of graduates nurses who will share their expertise and practical skills in the health care team by attending scientific conferences, clinical case presentations, and job interviews in the global health market. To achieve this, the study determined the baseline and end-line nursing students’ presentation skills during the preparation and presentation of classroom assignments using the traditional PowerPoint presentation and Pecha Kucha presentation format.

Methods and materials

This study was conducted in health training institutions in Tanzania. Tanzania has a total of 47 registered public and private universities and university colleges that offer health programs ranging from certificate to doctorate degrees [ 24 , 25 ]. A total of seven [ 7 ] out of 47 universities offer a bachelor of science in nursing, and four [ 4 ] universities offer master’s to doctorate degree programs in nursing and midwifery sciences [ 24 , 26 ]. To enhance the representation of nursing students in Tanzania, this study was conducted in Dodoma Municipal Council, which is one of Tanzania’s 30 administrative regions [ 33 ]. Dodoma Region has two [ 2 ] universities that offer nursing programs at diploma and degree levels [ 34 ]. The referred universities host a large number of nursing students compared to the other five [ 5 ] universities in Tanzania, with traditional students’ presentation approaches predominating nursing students’ teaching and learning processes [ 7 , 32 , 35 ].

The two universities under study include the University of Dodoma and St. John’s University of Tanzania, which are located in Dodoma Urban District. The University of Dodoma is a public university that provides 142 training programs at the diploma, bachelor degree, and master’s degree levels with about 28,225 undergraduate students and 724 postgraduate students [ 26 , 27 ]. The University of Dodoma also has 1,031 nursing students pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and 335 nursing students pursuing a Diploma in Nursing in the academic year 2022–2023 [ 33 ]. The St. John’s University of Tanzania is a non-profit private university that is legally connected with the Christian-Anglican Church [ 36 ]. It has student enrollment ranging from 5000 to 5999 and it provides training programs leading to higher education degrees in a variety of fields, including diplomas, bachelor degrees, and master’s degrees [ 37 ]. It hosts 766 nursing students pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and 113 nursing students pursuing a Diploma in Nursing in the academic year 2022–2023 [ 30 , 31 ].

Study design and approach

An uncontrolled quasi-experimental design with a quantitative research approach was used to establish quantifiable data on the participants’ socio-demographic profiles and outcome variables under study. The design involved pre- and post-tests to determine the effects of the intervention on the aforementioned outcome variable. The design involved three phases, namely the baseline data collection process (pre-test via a cross-sectional survey), implementation of the intervention (process), and end-line assessment (post-test), as shown in Fig.  1 [ 7 ].

figure 1

A flow pattern of study design and approach

Target population

The study involved nursing students pursuing a Diploma in nursing and a bachelor of science in nursing in Tanzania. The population was highly expected to demonstrate competences and mastery of different survival and life skills in order to enable them to work independent at various levels of health facilities within and outside Tanzania. This cohort of undergraduate nursing students also involved adult learners who can set goals, develop strategies to achieve their goals, and hence achieve positive professional behavioral outcomes [ 7 ]. Moreover, as per annual data, the average number of graduate nursing students ranges from 3,500 to 4,000 from all colleges and universities in the country [ 38 ].

Study population

The study involved first- and third-year nursing students pursuing a Diploma in Nursing and first-, second-, and third-year nursing students pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Dodoma. The population had a large number of enrolled undergraduate nursing students, thus making it an ideal population for intervention, and it approximately served as a good representation of the universities offering nursing programs [ 11 , 29 ].

Inclusion criteria

The study included male and female nursing students pursuing a Diploma in nursing and a bachelor of science in nursing at the University of Dodoma. The referred students included those who were registered at the University of Dodoma during the time of study. Such students live on or off campus, and they were not exposed to PK training despite having regular classroom attendance. This enhanced enrollment of adequate study samples from each study program, monitoring of study intervention, and easy control of con-founders.

Exclusion criteria

All students recruited in the study were assessed at baseline, exposed to a training package and obtained their post-intervention learning experience. None of the study participants, who either dropped out of the study or failed to meet the recruitment criteria.

Sample size determination

A quasi-experimental study on Pecha Kucha as an alternative to traditional PowerPoint presentations at Worcester University, United States of America, reported significant student engagement during Pecha Kucha presentations compared with traditional PowerPoint presentations [ 29 ]. The mean score for the classroom with the traditional PowerPoint presentation was 2.63, while the mean score for the Pecha Kucha presentation was 4.08. This study adopted the formula that was used to calculate the required sample size for an uncontrolled quasi-experimental study among pre-scholars [ 39 ]. The formula is stated as:

Where: Zα was set at 1.96 from the normal distribution table.

Zβ was set at 0.80 power of the study.

Mean zero (π0) was the mean score of audiences’ engagement in using PowerPoint presentation = 2.63.

Mean one (π1) was the mean score of audience’s engagement in using Pecha Kucha presentation = 4.08.

Sampling technique

Given the availability of higher-training institutions in the study area that offer undergraduate nursing programs, a simple random sampling technique was used, whereby two cards, one labelled “University of Dodoma” and the other being labelled “St. Johns University of Tanzania,” were prepared and put in the first pot. The other two cards, one labelled “yes” to represent the study setting and the other being labelled “No” to represent the absence of study setting, were put in the second pot. Two research assistants were asked to select a card from each pot, and consequently, the University of Dodoma was selected as the study setting.

To obtain the target population, the study employed purposive sampling techniques to select the school of nursing and public health at the University of Dodoma. Upon arriving at the School of Nursing and Public Health of the University of Dodoma, the convenience sampling technique was employed to obtain the number of classes for undergraduate nursing students pursuing a Diploma in Nursing and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. The study sample comprised the students who were available at the time of study. A total of five [ 5 ] classes of Diploma in Nursing first-, second-, and third-years and Bachelor of Science in Nursing first-, second-, and third-years were obtained.

To establish the representation for a minimum sample from each class, the number of students by sex was obtained from each classroom list using the proportionate stratified sampling technique (sample size/population size× stratum size) as recommended by scholars [ 40 ]. To recruit the required sample size from each class by gender, a simple random sampling technique through the lottery method was employed to obtain the required sample size from each stratum. During this phase, the student lists by gender from each class were obtained, and cards with code numbers, which were mixed with empty cards depending on the strata size, were allocated for each class and strata. Both labeled and empty cards were put into different pots, which were labeled appropriately by their class and strata names. Upon arriving at the specific classroom and after the introduction, the research assistant asked each nursing student to pick one card from the respective strata pot. Those who selected cards with code numbers were recruited in the study with their code numbers as their participation identity numbers. The process continued for each class until the required sample size was obtained.

To ensure the effective participation of nursing students in the study, the research assistant worked hand in hand with the facilitators and lecturers of the respective classrooms, the head of the department, and class representatives. The importance, advantages, and disadvantages of participating in the study were given to study participants during the recruitment process in order to create awareness and remove possible fears. During the intervention, study participants were also given pens and notebooks in an attempt to enable them to take notes. Moreover, the bites were provided during the training sessions. The number of participants from each classroom and the sampling process are shown in Fig.  2 [ 7 ].

figure 2

Flow pattern of participants sampling procedures

Data collection tools

The study adapted and modified the students’ questionnaire on presentation skills from scholars [ 20 , 23 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 ]. The modification involved rephrasing the question statement, breaking down items into specific questions, deleting repeated items that were found to measure the same variables, and improving language to meet the literacy level and cultural norms of study participants.

The data collection tool consisted of 68 question items that assessed the socio-demographic characteristics of the study participants and 33 question items rated on a five-point Likert scale, which ranges from 5 = strongly agree, 4 = agree, 3 = not sure, 2 = disagree, and 1 = strongly disagree. The referred tool was used to assess the students’ skills during the preparation and presentation of the assignments using the traditional PowerPoint presentation and Pecha Kucha presentation formats.

The students’ assessment specifically focused on the students’ ability to prepare the presentation content, master the learning content, share presentation materials, and communicate their understanding to audiences in the classroom context.

Validity and reliability of research instruments

Validity of the research instrument refers to whether the instrument measures the behaviors or qualities that are intended to be measured, and it is a measure of how well the measuring instrument performs its function [ 41 ]. The structured questionnaire, which intends to assess the participants’ presentation skills was validated for face and content validity. The principal investigator initially adapted the question items for different domains of students’ learning when preparing and presenting their assignment in the classroom.

The items were shared and discussed by two [ 2 ] educationists, two [ 2 ] research experts, one [ 1 ] statistician, and supervisors in order to ensure clarity, appropriateness, adequacy, and coverage of the presentation skills using Pecha Kucha presentation format. The content validity test was used until the saturation of experts’ opinions and inputs was achieved. The inter-observer rating scale on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 5-points = very relevant to 1-point = not relevant was also used.

The process involved addition, input deletion, correction, and editing for relevance, appropriateness, and scope of the content for the study participants. Some of the question items were broken down into more specific questions, and new domains evolved. Other question items that were found to measure the same variables were also deleted to ease the data collection and analysis. Moreover, the grammar and language issues were improved for clarity based on the literacy level of the study participants.

Reliability of the research instruments refers to the ability of the research instruments or tools to provide similar and consistent results when applied at different times and circumstances [ 41 ]. This study adapted the tools and question items used by different scholars to assess the impact of PKP on student learning [ 12 , 15 , 18 ].

To ensure the reliability of the tools, a pilot study was conducted in one of the nursing training institutions in order to assess the complexity, readability, clarity, completeness, length, and duration of the tool. Ambiguous and difficult (left unanswered) items were modified or deleted based on the consensus that was reached with the consulted experts and supervisor before subjecting the questionnaires to a pre-test.

The study involved 10% of undergraduate nursing students from an independent geographical location for a pilot study. The findings from the pilot study were subjected to explanatory factor analysis (Set a ≥ 0.3) and scale analysis in order to determine the internal consistency of the tools using the Cronbach alpha of ≥ 0.7, which was considered reliable [ 42 , 43 , 44 ]. Furthermore, after the data collection, the scale analysis was computed in an attempt to assess their internal consistency using SPPSS version 26, whereby the Cronbach alpha for question items that assessed the participants’ presentation skills was 0.965.

Data collection method

The study used the researcher-administered questionnaire to collect the participants’ socio-demographic information, co-related factors, and presentation skills as nursing students prepare and present their assignments in the classroom. This enhanced the clarity and participants’ understanding of all question items before providing the appropriate responses. The data were collected by the research assistants in the classroom with the study participants sitting distantly to ensure privacy, confidentiality, and the quality of the information that was provided by the research participants. The research assistant guided and led the study participants to answer the questions and fill in information in the questionnaire for each section, domain, and question item. The research assistant also collected the baseline information (pre-test) before the intervention, which was then compared with the post-intervention information. This was done in the first week of June 2023, after training and orientation of the research assistant on the data collection tools and recruitment of the study participants.

Using the researcher-administered questionnaire, the research assistant also collected the participants’ information related to presentation skills as they prepared and presented their given assignments after the intervention during the second week of July 2023. The participants submitted their presentations to the principle investigator and research assistant to assess the organization, visual appeal and creativity, content knowledge, and adherence to Pecha Kucha presentation requirements. Furthermore, the evaluation of the participants’ ability to share and communicate the given assignment was observed in the classroom presentation using the Pecha Kucha presentation format.

Definitions of variables

Pecha kucha presentation.

It refers to a specific style of presentation whereby the presenter delivers the content using 20 slides that are dominated by images, pictures, tables, or figures. Each slide is displayed for 20 s, thus making a total of 400 s (6 min and 40 s) for the whole presentation.

Presentation skills in this study

This involved students’ ability to plan, prepare, master learning content, create presentation materials, and share them with peers or the audience in the classroom. They constitute the learning activities that stimulate creativity, innovation, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.

Measurement of pecha kucha preparation and presentation skills

The students’ presentation skills were measured using the four [ 4 ] learning domains. The first domain constituted the students’ ability to plan and prepare the presentation content. It consisted of 17 question items that assessed the students’ ability to gather and select information, search for specific content to be presented in the classroom, find out the learning content from different resources, and search for literature materials for the preparation of the assignment using traditional PowerPoint presentations and Pecha Kucha formats. It also aimed to ascertain a deeper understanding of the contents or topic, learning ownership and motivation to learn the topics with clear understanding and the ability to identify the relevant audience, segregate, and remove unnecessary contents using the Pecha Kucha format.

The second domain constituted the students’ mastery of learning during the preparation and presentation of their assignment before the audience in the classroom. It consisted of six [ 6 ] question items that measured the students’ ability to read several times, rehearse before the classroom presentation, and practice the assignment and presentation harder. It also measures the students’ ability to evaluate the selected information and content before their actual presentation and make revisions to the selected information and content before the presentation using the Pecha Kucha format.

The third domain constituted the students’ ability to prepare the presentation materials. It consisted of six [ 6 ] question items that measured the students’ ability to organize the information and contents, prepare the classroom presentation, revise and edit presentation resources, materials, and contents, and think about the audience and classroom design. The fourth domain constituted the students’ ability to share their learning. It consisted of four [ 4 ] question items that measured the students’ ability to communicate their learning with the audience, present a new understanding to the audience, transfer the learning to the audience, and answer the questions about the topic or assignment given. The variable was measured using a 5-point Likert scale. The average scores were computed for each domain, and an overall mean score was calculated across all domains. Additionally, an encompassing skills score was derived from the cumulative scores of all four domains, thus providing a comprehensive evaluation of the overall skills level.

Implementation of intervention

The implementation of the study involved the training of research assistants, sampling of the study participants, setting of the venue, pre-assessment of the students’ presentation skills using traditional PowerPoint presentations, training and demonstration of Pecha Kucha presentations to study participants, and assigning the topics to study participants. The implementation of the study also involved the participants’ submission of their assignments to the Principal Investigator for evaluation, the participants’ presentation of their assigned topic using the Pecha Kucha format, post-intervention assessment of the students’ presentation skills, data analysis, and reporting [ 7 ]. The intervention involved Principal Investigator and two [ 2 ] trained research assistants. The intervention in question was based on the concept of multimedia theory of cognitive learning (MTCL) for enhancing effective leaning in 21st century.

Training of research assistants

Two research assistants were trained with regard to the principles, characteristics, and format of Pecha Kucha presentations using the curriculum from the official Pecha Kucha website. Also, research assistants were oriented to the data collection tools and methods in an attempt to guarantee the relevancy and appropriate collection of the participants’ information.

Schedule and duration of training among research assistants

The PI prepared the training schedule and venue after negotiation and consensus with the research assistants. Moreover, the Principle Investigator trained the research assistants to assess the learning, learn how to collect the data using the questionnaire, and maintain the privacy and confidentiality of the study participants.

Descriptions of interventions

The intervention was conducted among the nursing students at the University of Dodoma, which is located in Dodoma Region, Tanzania Mainland, after obtaining their consent. The participants were trained regarding the concepts, principles, and characteristics of Pecha Kucha presentations and how to prepare and present their assignments using the Pecha Kucha presentation format. The study participants were also trained regarding the advantages and disadvantages of Pecha Kucha presentations. The training was accompanied by one example of an ideal Pecha Kucha presentation on the concepts of pressure ulcers. The teaching methods included lecturing, brainstorming, and small group discussion. After the training session, the evaluation was conducted to assess the participants’ understanding of the Pecha Kucha conceptualization, its characteristics, and its principles.

Each participant was given a topic as an assignment from the fundamentals of nursing, medical nursing, surgical nursing, community health nursing, mental health nursing, emergency critical care, pediatric, reproductive, and child health, midwifery, communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases, orthopedics and cross-cutting issues in nursing as recommended by scholars [ 21 , 38 ]. The study participants were given 14 days for preparation, rehearsal of their presentation using the Pecha Kucha presentation format, and submission of the prepared slides to the research assistant and principle investigator for evaluation and arrangement before the actual classroom presentation. The evaluation of the participants’ assignments involved the number of slides, quality of images used, number of words, organization of content and messages to be delivered, slide transition, duration of presentation, flow, and organization of slides.

Afterwards, each participant was given 6 min and 40 s for the presentation and 5 min to 10 min for answering the questions on the topic presented as raised by other participants. An average of 4 participants obtained the opportunity to present their assignments in the classroom every hour. After the completion of all presentations, the research assistants assessed the participant’s presentation skills using the researcher-administered questionnaire. The collected data were entered in SPSS version 26 and analyzed in an attempt to compare the mean score of participants’ presentation skills with the baseline mean score. The intervention sessions were conducted in the selected classrooms, which were able to accommodate all participants at the time that was arranged by the participant’s coordinators, institution administrators, and subject facilitators of the University of Dodoma, as described in Table  1 [ 7 ].

Evaluation of intervention

During the classroom presentation, there were 5 to 10 min for classroom discussion and reflection on the content presented, which was guided by the research assistant. During this time, the participants were given the opportunity to ask the questions, get clarification from the presenter, and provide their opinion on how the instructional messages were presented, content coverage, areas of strength and weakness for improvement, and academic growth. After the completion of the presentation sessions, the research assistant provided the questionnaire to participants in order to determine their presentation skills during the preparation of their assignments and classroom presentations using the Pecha Kucha presentation format.

Data analysis

The findings from this study were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) computer software program version 26. The percentages, frequencies, frequency distributions, means, standard deviations, skewness, and kurtosis were calculated, and the results were presented using the figures, tables, and graphs. The mean score analysis was computed, and descriptive statistical analysis was used to analyze the demographic information of the participants in an attempt to determine the frequencies, percentages, and mean scores of their distributions. A paired sample t-test was used to compare the mean score differences of the presentation skills within the groups before and after the intervention. The mean score differences were determined based on the baseline scores against the post-intervention scores in order to establish any change in terms of presentation skills among the study participants.

The association between the Pecha Kucha presentation and the development of participants’ presentation skills was established using linear regression analysis set at a 95% confidence interval and 5% (≤ 0.05) significance level in an attempt to accept or reject the null hypothesis.

However, N-1 dummy variables were formed for the categorical independent variables so as to run the linear regression for the factors associated with the presentation skills. The linear regression equation with dummy variables is presented as follows:

Β 0 is the intercept.

Β 1 , Β 2 , …. Β k-1 are the coefficients which correspond to the dummy variables representing the levels of X 1 .

Β k is the coefficient which corresponds to the dummy variable representing the levels of X 2 .

Β k+1 is the coefficient which corresponds to the continuous predictor X 3 .

X 1,1 , X 1,2 ,……. X 1,k-1 are the dummy variables corresponding to the different levels of X 1 .

ε represents the error term.

The coefficients B1, B2… Bk indicate the change in the expected value of Y for each category relative to the reference category. If the Beta estimate is positive for the categorical or dummy variables, it means that the corresponding covariate has a positive impact on the outcome variable compared to reference category. However, if the beta estimate is positive for the case of continuous covariates, it means that the corresponding covariate has direct proportion effect on the outcome variables.

The distribution of the outcome variables was approximately normally distributed since the normality of the data is one of the requirements for parametric analysis. A paired t test was performed to compare the presentation skills of nursing students before and after the intervention.

Social-demographic characteristics of the study participants

The study involved a total of 230 nursing students, of whom 151 (65.65%) were male and the rest were female. The mean age of study participants was 23.03 ± 2.69, with the minimum age being 19 and the maximum age being 37. The total of 163 (70.87%) students, which comprised a large proportion of respondents, were aged less than or equal to 23, 215 (93.48%) participants were living on campus, and 216 (93.91) participants were exposed to social media.

A large number of study participants (82.17%) were pursuing a bachelor of Science in Nursing, with the majority being first-year students (30.87%). The total of 213 (92.61%) study participants had Form Six education as their entry qualification, with 176 (76.52%) participants being the product of public secondary schools and interested in the nursing profession. Lastly, the total of 121 (52.61%) study participants had never been exposed to any presentation training; 215 (93.48%) students had access to individual classroom presentations; and 227 (98.70%) study participants had access to group presentations during their learning process. The detailed findings for the participants’ social demographic information are indicated in Table  2 [ 46 ].

Baseline nursing students’ presentation skills using traditional powerPoint presentations

The current study assessed the participant’s presentation skills when preparing and presenting the materials before the audience using traditional PowerPoint presentations. The study revealed that the overall mean score of the participants’ presentation skills was 4.07 ± 0.56, including a mean score of 3.98 ± 0.62 for the participants’ presentation skills during the preparation of presentation content before the classroom presentation and a mean score of 4.18 ± 0.78 for the participants’ mastery of learning content before the classroom presentation. Moreover, the study revealed a mean score of 4.07 ± 0.71 for participants’ ability to prepare presentation materials for classroom presentations and a mean score of 4.04 ± 0.76 for participants’ ability to share the presentation materials in the classroom, as indicated in Table  3 [ 46 ].

Factors Associated with participants’ presentation skills through traditional powerPoint presentation

The current study revealed that the participants’ study program has a significant effect on their presentation skills, whereby being the bachelor of science in nursing was associated with a 0.37561 (P value < 0.027) increase in the participants’ presentation skills.The year of study also had significant effects on the participants’ presentation skills, whereby being a second-year bachelor student was associated with a 0.34771 (P value < 0.0022) increase in the participants’ presentation skills compared to first-year bachelor students and diploma students. Depending on loans as a source of student income retards presentation skills by 0.24663 (P value < 0.0272) compared to those who do not depend on loans as the source of income. Furthermore, exposure to individual presentations has significant effects on the participants’ presentation skills, whereby obtaining an opportunity for individual presentations was associated with a 0.33732 (P value 0.0272) increase in presentation skills through traditional PowerPoint presentations as shown in Table  4 [ 46 ].

Nursing student presentation skills through pecha kucha presentations

The current study assessed the participant’s presentation skills when preparing and presenting the materials before the audience using Pecha Kucha presentations. The study revealed that the overall mean score and standard deviation of participants’ presentation skills using the Pecha Kucha presentation format were 4.54 ± 0.59, including a mean score of 4.49 ± 0.66 for participant’s presentation skills during preparation of the content before classroom presentation and a mean score of 4.58 ± 0.65 for participants’ mastery of learning content before classroom presentation. Moreover, the study revealed a mean score of 4.58 ± 0.67 for participants ability to prepare the presentation materials for classroom presentation and a mean score of 4.51 ± 0.72 for participants ability to share the presentation materials in the classroom using Pecha Kucha presentation format as indicated in Table  5 [ 46 ].

Comparing Mean scores of participants’ presentation skills between traditional PowerPoint presentation and pecha kucha Presentation

The current study computed a paired t-test to compare and determine the mean change, effect size, and significance associated with the participants’ presentation skills when using the traditional PowerPoint presentation and Pecha Kucha presentation formats. The study revealed that the mean score of the participants’ presentation skills through the Pecha Kucha presentation was 4.54 ± 0.59 (p value < 0.0001) compared to the mean score of 4.07 ± 0.56 for the participants’ presentation skills using the traditional power point presentation with an effect change of 0.78. With regard to the presentation skills during the preparation of presentation content before the classroom presentation, the mean score was 4.49 ± 0.66 using the Pecha Kucha presentation compared to the mean score of 3.98 ± 0.62 for the traditional PowerPoint presentation. Its mean change was 0.51 ± 0.84 ( p  < .0001) with an effect size of 0.61.

Regarding the participants’ mastery of learning content before the classroom presentation, the mean score was 4.58 ± 0.65 when using the Pecha Kucha presentation format, compared to the mean score of 4.18 ± 0.78 when using the traditional power point presentation. Its mean change was 0.40 ± 0.27 ( p  < .0001) with an effect size of 1.48. Regarding the ability of the participants to prepare the presentation materials for classroom presentations, the mean score was 4.58 ± 0.67 when using the Pecha Kucha presentation format, compared to 4.07 ± 0.71 when using the traditional PowerPoint presentation. Its mean change was 0.51 ± 0.96 ( p  < .0001) with an effect size of 0.53.

Regarding the participants’ presentation skills when sharing the presentation material in the classroom, the mean score was 4.51 ± 0.72 when using the Pecha Kucha presentation format, compared to 4.04 ± 0.76 when using the traditional PowerPoint presentations. Its mean change was 0.47 ± 0.10, with a large effect size of 4.7. Therefore, Pecha Kucha presentation pedagogy has a significant effect on the participants’ presentation skills than the traditional PowerPoint presentation as shown in Table  6 [ 46 ].

Factors associated with presentation skills among nursing students through pecha kucha presentation

The current study revealed that the participant’s presentation skills using the Pecha Kucha presentation format were significantly associated with knowledge of the Pecha Kucha presentation format, whereby increase in knowledge was associated with a 0.0239 ( p  < .0001) increase in presentation skills. Moreover, the current study revealed that the presentation through the Pecha Kucha presentation format was not influenced by the year of study, whereby being a second-year student could retard the presentation skills by 0.23093 (p 0.039) compared to a traditional PowerPoint presentation. Other factors are shown in Table  7 [ 46 ].

Social-demographic characteristics profiles of participants

The proportion of male participants was larger than the proportion of female participants in the current study. This was attributable to the distribution of sex across the nursing students at the university understudy, whose number of male nursing students enrolled was higher than female students. This demonstrates the high rate of male nursing students’ enrolment in higher training institutions to pursue nursing and midwifery education programs. Different from the previous years, the nursing training institutions were predominantly comprised of female students and female nurses in different settings. This significant increase in male nursing students’ enrollment in nursing training institutions predicts a significant increase in the male nursing workforce in the future in different settings.

These findings on Pecha Kucha as an alternative to PowerPoint presentations in Massachusetts, where the proportion of female participants was large as compared to male participants, are different from the experimental study among English language students [ 29 ]. The referred findings are different from the results of the randomized control study among the nursing students in Anakara, Turkey, where a large proportion of participants were female nursing students [ 47 ]. This difference in participants’ sex may be associated with the difference in socio-cultural beliefs of the study settings, country’s socio-economic status, which influence the participants to join the nursing profession on the basis of securing employment easily, an opportunity abroad, or pressure from peers and parents. Nevertheless, such differences account for the decreased stereotypes towards male nurses in the community and the better performance of male students in science subjects compared to female students in the country.

The mean age of the study participants was predominantly young adults with advanced secondary education. Their ages reflect adherence to national education policy by considering the appropriate age of enrollment of the pupils in primary and secondary schools, which comprise the industries for students at higher training institutions. This age range of the participants in the current study suits the cognitive capability expected from the participants in order to demonstrate different survival and life skills by being able to set learning goals and develop strategies to achieve their goals according to Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive learning [ 41 , 42 ].

Similar age groups were noted in the study among nursing students in a randomized control study in Anakara Turkey where the average age was 19.05 ± 0.2 [ 47 ]. A similar age group was also found in a randomized control study among liberal arts students in Anakara, Turkey, on differences in instructor, presenter, and audience ratings of Pecha Kucha presentations and traditional student presentations where the ages of the participants ranged between 19 and 22 years [ 49 ].

Lastly, a large proportion of the study participants had the opportunity for individual and group presentations in the classroom despite having not been exposed to any presentation training before. This implies that the teaching and learning process in a nursing education program is participatory and student-centered, thus giving the students the opportunity to interact with learning contents, peers, experts, webpages, and other learning resources to become knowledgeable. These findings fit with the principle that guides and facilitates the student’s learning from peers and teachers according to the constructivism theory of learning by Lev Vygotsky [ 48 ].

Effects of pecha kucha presentation pedagogy on participants’ presentation skills

The participants’ presentation skills were higher for Pecha Kucha presentations compared with traditional PowerPoint presentations. This display of the Pecha Kucha presentation style enables the nursing students to prepare the learning content, master their learning content before classroom presentations, create good presentation materials and present the materials, before the audience in the classroom. This finding was similar to that at Padang State University, Indonesia, among first-year English and literature students whereby the Pecha Kucha Presentation format helped the students improve their skills in presentation [ 20 ]. Pecha Kucha was also found to facilitate careful selection of the topic, organization and outlining of the students’ ideas, selection of appropriate images, preparation of presentations, rehearsing, and delivery of the presentations before the audience in a qualitative study among English language students at the Private University of Manila, Philippines [ 23 ].

The current study found that Pecha Kucha presentations enable the students to perform literature searches from different webpages, journals, and books in an attempt to identify specific contents during the preparation of the classroom presentations more than traditional PowerPoint presentations. This is triggered by the ability of the presentation format to force the students to filter relevant and specific information to be included in the presentation and search for appropriate images, pictures, or figures to be presented before the audience. Pecha Kucha presentations were found to increase the ability to perform literature searches before classroom presentations compared to traditional PowerPoint presentations in an experimental study among English language students at Worcester State University [ 29 ].

The current study revealed that Pecha Kucha presentations enable the students to create a well-structured classroom presentation effectively by designing 20 meaningful and content-rich slides containing 20 images, pictures, or figures and a transitional flow of 20 s for each slide, more than the traditional PowerPoint presentation with an unlimited number of slides containing bullets with many texts or words. Similarly, in a cross-sectional study of medical students in India, Pecha Kucha presentations were found to help undergraduate first-year medical students learn how to organize knowledge in a sequential fashion [ 26 ].

The current study revealed that Pecha Kucha presentations enhance sound mastery of the learning contents and presentation materials before the classroom presentation compared with traditional PowerPoint presentations. This is hastened by the fact that there is no slide reading during the classroom Pecha Kucha presentation, thus forcing students to read several times, rehearse, and practice harder the presentation contents and materials before the classroom presentation. Pecha Kucha presentation needed first year English and literature students to practice a lot before their classroom presentation in a descriptive qualitative study at Padang State University-Indonesia [ 20 ].

The current study revealed that the participants became more confident in answering the questions about the topic during the classroom presentation using the Pecha Kucha presentation style than during the classroom presentation using the tradition PowerPoint presentation. This is precipitated by the mastery level of the presentation contents and materials through rehearsal, re-reading, and material synthesis before the classroom presentations. Moreover, Pecha Kucha was found to significantly increase the students’ confidence during classroom presentation and preparation in a qualitative study among English language students at the Private University of Manila, Philippines [ 23 ].

Hence, there was enough evidence to reject the null hypothesis in that there was no significant difference in nursing students’ presentation skills between the baseline and end line. The Pecha Kucha presentation format has a significant effect on nursing student’s classroom presentation skills as it enables them to prepare the learning content, have good mastery of the learning contents, create presentation materials, and confidently share their learning with the audience in the classroom.

The current study’s findings complement the available pieces of evidence on the effects of Pecha Kucha presentations on the students’ learning and development of survival life skills in the 21st century. Pecha kucha presentations have more significant effects on the students’ presentation skills compared with traditional PowerPoint presentations. It enables the students to select the topic carefully, organize and outline the presentation ideas, select appropriate images, create presentations, rehearse the presentations, and deliver them confidently before an audience. It also enables the students to select and organize the learning contents for classroom presentations more than traditional PowerPoint presentations.

Pecha Kucha presentations enhance the mastery of learning content by encouraging the students to read the content several times, rehearse, and practice hard before the actual classroom presentation. It increases the students’ ability to perform literature searches before the classroom presentation compared to a traditional PowerPoint presentation. Pecha Kucha presentations enable the students to create well-structured classroom presentations more effectively compared to traditional PowerPoint presentations. Furthermore, Pecha Kucha presentations make the students confident during the presentation of their assignments and project works before the audience and during answering the questions.

Lastly, Pecha Kucha presentations enhance creativity among the students by providing the opportunity for them to decide on the learning content to be presented. Specifically, they are able to select the learning content, appropriate images, pictures, or figures, organize and structure the presentation slides into a meaningful and transitional flow of ideas, rehearse and practice individually before the actual classroom presentation.

Strength of the study

This study has addressed the pedagogical gap in nursing training and education by providing new insights on the innovative students’ presentation format that engages students actively in their learning to bring about meaningful and effective students’ learning. It has also managed to recruit, asses, and provide intended intervention to 230 nursing students without dropout.

Study limitation

The current study has pointed out some of the strengths of the PechaKucha presentations on the students’ presentation skills over the traditional students’ presentations. However, the study had the following limitations: It involved one group of nursing students from one of the public training institutions in Tanzania. The use of one university may obscure the interpretation of the effects of the size of the intervention on the outcome variables of interest, thus limiting the generalization of the study findings to all training institutions in Tanzania. Therefore, the findings from this study need to be interpreted by considering this limitation. The use of one group of nursing students from one university to explore their learning experience through different presentation formats may also limit the generalization of the study findings to all nursing students in the country. The limited generalization may be attributed to differences in socio-demographic characteristics, learning environments, and teaching and learning approaches. Therefore, the findings from this study need to be interpreted by considering this limitation.

Suggestions for future research

The future research should try to overcome the current study limitations and shortcomings and extend the areas assessed by the study to different study settings and different characteristics of nursing students in Tanzania as follows: To test rigorously the effects of Pecha Kucha presentations in enhancing the nursing students’ learning, the future studies should involve nursing students’ different health training institutions rather than one training institution. Future studies should better use the control students by randomly allocating the nursing students or training institutions in the intervention group or control group in order to assess the students’ learning experiences through the use of Pecha Kucha presentations and PowerPoint presentations consecutively. Lastly, future studies should focus on nursing students’ mastery of content knowledge and students’ classroom performance through the use of the Pecha Kucha presentation format in the teaching and learning process.

Data availability

The datasets generated and analyzed by this study can be obtained from the corresponding author on reasonable request through [email protected] & [email protected].

Abbreviations

Doctor (PhD)

Multimedia Theory of Cognitive Learning

National Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training

Principle Investigator

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Statistical Package for Social Sciences

Tanzania Commission for Universities

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Acknowledgements

The supervisors at the University of Dodoma, statisticians, my employer, family members, research assistants and postgraduate colleagues are acknowledged for their support in an attempt to facilitate the development and completion of this manuscript.

The source of funds to conduct this study was the registrar, Tanzania Nursing and Midwifery Council (TNMC) who is the employer of the corresponding author. The funds helped the author in developing the protocol, printing the questionnaires, and facilitating communication during the data collection and data analysis and manuscript preparation.

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S.J.H: conceptualization, proposal development, data collection, data entry, data cleaning and analysis, writing the original draft of the manuscript W.C.M: Conceptualization, supervision, review, and editing of the proposal, and the final manuscript S.S.A: Conceptualization, supervision, review, and editing of the proposal and the final manuscript.

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All methods were carried out under the relevant guidelines and regulations. Since the study involved the manipulation of human behaviors and practices and the exploration of human internal learning experiences, there was a pressing need to obtain ethical clearance and permission from the University of Dodoma (UDOM) Institution of Research Review Ethics Committee (IRREC) in order to conduct this study. The written informed consents were obtained from all the participants, after explaining to them the purpose, the importance of participating in the study, the significance of the study findings to students’ learning, and confidentiality and privacy of the information that will be provided. The nursing students who participated in this study benefited from the knowledge of the Pecha Kucha presentation format and how to prepare and present their assignments using the Pecha Kucha presentation format.

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Haramba, S.J., Millanzi, W.C. & Seif, S.A. Effects of pecha kucha presentation pedagogy on nursing students’ presentation skills: a quasi-experimental study in Tanzania. BMC Med Educ 24 , 952 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05920-2

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