Tune-Up Your Presentation Skills

The ability to present your ideas publicly is a skill that will get you ahead on your job or in your career.

However, if you fear public speaking, you could be setting yourself up for stagnation or limitation on your job or in your career.

The best way to ensure you use your presentation skills to your advantage is to take time for a tune-up. Whether you work with a coach or make time on your own, you can use the following basic rules to tune-up your presentation skills:

1. Inform
2. Prepare
3. Deliver
4. Summarize
   

Each of these actions will allow you to tune-up your presentation skills. Let’s take a closer look to see what each of these actions will do for you.

INFORM

The purpose of your message is to inform your audience. When you inform your audience, you “communicate knowledge to” them. Become clear on the knowledge you want to communicate to your audience.

Determine what you want your audience to know about your message. Be sure to prepare your message with those details.

Structure your message in a logical way so your key points inform your audience and resonate with them.

PREPARE

When you prepare, this action will allow you to research your topic and learn about your audience.

The topic on which you will speak requires that you gather facts, details, information, and examples. You will construct your message with these facts, details, information, and examples with what your audience must know, need to know, and what you want them to do with your message after your presentation.

In addition to researching your topic, you will do your homework to learn more about your audience. Having an idea about the people with whom you will share your message will help you to gather the appropriate facts, details, information, and examples. Learning about your audience helps you to build rapport and prepare the appropriate message that will resonate with them.

A final reason to prepare is to boost your confidence. When you have confidence in your topic and details of your message, you increase the chances of a confident delivery.

DELIVER

Confidence is needed when you deliver your presentation. Meaning, when you get before your audience to speak your message, you want the nerves to be controlled and your abilities to shine.

This will happen because you prepared your message with the specific purpose to inform your audience.

This will also happen because you prepared your message to know to whom you are speaking and about what you are talking.

Allow your preparation to heighten your confidence so you can deliver your message with ease.

SUMMARIZE

Be sure to recap your message for your audience. Remind them of the key points you informed them of within your message. Depending upon how long you speak, your recap will be a good reminder of the key points you want your audience to remember.

In addition, your recap will serve as repetition for your message. It’s been said that repetition begets retention. Meaning, a recap of your message helps your audience to retain and remember the importance of your message.

Summarize the key points of your message to finalize your presentation.

These are four (4) basic rules you can follow to tune-up your presentation skills. Be careful not to allow your presentation skills to become a barrier to you on your job or in your career. Instead, use your presentation skills as a stepping-stone for job and career opportunities.

Investing time to tune-up your presentation skills will ensure you will not be held back from job or career opportunities you deserve.