"A winning presentation is a delicate balance of information, inspiration, and leadership, guiding others towards a shared vision and empowering them to take action."
In order to know more about Presentation Skills. Let us first understand the meaning of the word ‘Presentation’. Presentations are ideas, concepts or issues that are talked about or shared with a group of people or an audience. Regardless of audience size, holding the attention of your listeners, engaging with them and adding value to their time, is what creates the impact. Therefore, the audience is the focal point of your presentation.
Planning is an essential part of every activity well executed. Thereby, planning becomes an essential part of every ‘Professional Presentation’.
Planning for the big show is the blueprint of your presentation.
Let’s look at a tool that we can use to help us plan presentations better - The Six Helpers. The main objective of this tool is to identify the factors that help in effectively planning, designing and delivering the presentation. Keep in mind that these Six Helpers are interlinked and are there to help you make a successful presentation
The Six Helpers are 5Ws and 1H.
Who - refers to the target audience for whom the presentation is prepared. Here we need to identify the following of the group that the presentation is being prepared for:
Team demographics – The age group and the gender mix of the team will help you create a presentation that is more appealing to them
Experience level – By understanding whether the team is new or otherwise will help factor in the level of information that they already have.
What - addresses the content of the presentation to be prepared for maximum impact. You could ask yourself the following questions:
What do you want to tell the audience?
What is your objective?
What is the call to action?
What is the outcome I want?
What is the knowledge base of the team?
And finally, if I were in the team, what would I want to hear?
Why - The purpose of making the presentation. Ask yourself, why am I making this presentation? Is it to educate, inform, convince or inspire? With a change of purpose (the why) the structure of the presentation changes.
For example, in an informative presentation, facts, figures and data are given more importance but for a persuasive presentation, the focus is selling the benefits of the product.
Where- focuses on the venue of the presentation. For an in person meeting the arrangements of seating, lighting, video, and audio is essential to consider. However, for an online presentation, it is necessary to understand the video conferencing software, your device, the camera you are using and other online tools which may be required for best results. The aids required also change in accordance with the ‘where’ of the presentation.
When – is the presentation to be held, is an additional dimension to be considered at the planning stage. It is not just the time and date of the presentation, but also consider the conditions under which the presentation is being made specifically the timing. Is it scheduled before/after lunch? How is the overall ambience and mood of the audience? And so on.
How - addresses the modality and method using which the presentation will be made – Will it be Technical / Non-Technical, formal or Informal or will it be done using PowerPoint Slides or Flip Charts?
Using this tool helps leaders create presentations that are well-structured, engaging and customized to the audience.
Varsha Samtani
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATION COACH
Varsha is an executive communication coach whose specialty is working with leaders to improve performance and engagement through better communication.
She comes with a rich corporate experience of ten years of training in the field of communication. Varsha has worked with entrepreneurs, professionals, and senior managers and helped them advance in their careers by helping them overcome their limiting beliefs and scale greater heights. Her approach is highly personalized and her programs are customized to each client.
She is a qualified TEFL / TESOL trainer, Emotional Intelligence Coach, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Practitioner, Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner and certified counsellor.
To know more about Varsha visit, www.thewinningimpression.com/about/
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