Technical Communication and Soft Skills Lab

PRESENTATION SKILLS
It is a process of presenting the content of a topic to an audience
consisting of one or more persons, it utilizes some visual aid
generally a power point file containing all the slides for a given
speech.
BASIC STEPS IN MAKING EFFECTIVE PRESENTATATIONS
1.Formulating a Strategy-critical to know the purpose of
communication
Knowing the audience and expectations of the audience is very
important to decide what and how to present.
Tailor your presentation to the audience according to their
needs, desires, knowledge level and attitude towards the topic.
Be specific, practical and relevant.
Be clear about your objective-is it to motivate, inform, teach?
Research your topic thoroughly.
2.Developing a flexible and flowing structure-Once you know what
you want to say, you need to organize all the information in a
structured manner.
Incorporate visual aids effectively- graphs, pictures etc.
Prepare for contingencies-practice your presentation-rehearse.
Think about what might happen and prepare-what if the
overhead bulb blows out? or what if there is an unexpected
question?
3.Presentation Style -Presentation style and personal confidence are
as important as the actual content of the presentation itself.
Organizing your ideas is one important task.
Other important task is to gain and maintain the attention of
the audience.
Pay attention to posture and tone.
Your audience will mirror your attitude -radiate confidence
without preaching.

Try to add stories, anecdotes, testimonials, analogies and

demonstrations.
Eye contact is your primary tool for establishing audience
involvement, look at your audience in random rotating order.
Use gestures naturally, do what is natural to you.
4.Handling Questions -ask friendly questions dont use questions to
embarrass or badger, avoid asking risky questions i.e. questions that
may imply lack of knowledge or intelligence.
Anticipate questions and prepare responses, rehearse answers to
difficult questions.
Prepare key questions prior to the presentation it is difficult to
think of good questions at that moment.
Anticipate questions-think of 10 most likely questions and
plan out your answer.
Some tips finally,
Start preparing early, dont wait until the last few days to
prepare.
Think about your audience.
Be clear about your purpose.
Use an effective introduction.
Organise your presentation clearly and simply.
Use supporting material to support you point.
Create an effective conclusion.
Use body language effectively.
Use visual aids to enhance to the message.
Check the physical environment in advance.

Submitted by
Ch. vv. Rahul
Chemical 3rd year
14131A0808