1: Research

You need to know your topic. If it’s your business strategy or your current project then you
probably know an awful lot about it already. However, if you need to do any research then get
that done so you have the right information to prepare.

Think about the message you want to get across and the objective of the presentation. If you
are asking for funding, your message will be different to someone who is explaining the latest
status of their project.

You’ll also want to research your audience. What do they know about the topic already? You
will use different language and a different approach to present your IT strategy to technical
experts than you would to the board. Find out who is going to be in the room with you so that
you can make sure you are tailoring it effectively.

This is probably the single most important thing that you can do to make your presentation
convincing. Pitching your material in a way that the audience can understand should not be
understated as a way to really make an impact.

Improve your presentation with thorough research

Step 2: Illustrate

No one wants to watch a presentation that is just slide after slide of bullet points. You need to
use images to keep your audience interested and that means more than just clip art. The right
images can help you get your message across more easily.

The whole point of using pictures is that your audience will understand what you are talking
about, so when you’re discussing business strategy or your current projects don’t rely on stock
images of people shaking hands. Make your pictures count.
There are a number of tools you can use for great graphics for presentations.

Canva and Picmonkey let you design images from scratch

Visual.ly and Vizzlo.com give you infographic-style images that could be appropriate for your
presentation

iMindQ creates powerful mindmaps that you can use to structure arguments or highlight key
topics.

There are lots of online and desktop based image creation tools so find some that work for you.
Don’t spend too long on it though! You are probably working on a deadline.

Images can be hugely convincing. Share photographs or screengrabs as well if they help tell
your story and illustrate what you are discussing.

Rehearse before you present

Step 3: Practice

Practice, practice, practice! That means finding a quiet room, standing up and giving your
presentation. Do it a few times, and then a few more. You don’t want to sound as if you have
rehearsed your script but you also want the confidence that you’ve got your key points down.
This is especially important if you don’t have the opportunity to use notes, or you have chosen
not to use them. For the record, there is no harm in having notes, either in your notebook in
front of you while presenting to a meeting room or on the lectern in a large hall.

If you are brave enough, test your presentation on someone else and get their feedback. If you
don’t feel up to doing that, at least ask someone else to go through your slides or other
materials and make sure that there aren’t any glaring grammar errors.

Practicing also makes sure that you can deliver your presentation within the time you have. It’s
uncomfortable to have 40 minutes of material when your slot is 25 minutes. Equally, if you’ve
been told to present for an hour you need to be able to fill the time (although coming in a few
minutes early is always a good thing!).

Expect questions

Step 4: Prepare For Questions

Finally, think about the end of your presentation. Will you get questions? As a keynote speaker
at a conference, you probably won’t. But in an office environment or a smaller setting, you
probably will want to factor in time for questions.

Questions are a good thing because it means the audience has listened and want to engage
with you. They also give you clues as to what is bothering the audience, which, if your
presentation was a sales pitch, is really valuable information.

Before you arrive for your presentation you should spend some time preparing for the kinds of
things you think you will be asked. If you think you’ll get asked questions that you can’t answer,
you can always take along a colleague who has a special interest in that area. Presenters at
work do this all the time: you’ll often find account managers turning up to meetings with
software architects or the right person to discuss the detail with their customer counterparts.

You’ll also feel more confident if you have access to supporting documentation, so make those
mindmap links clickable and be ready to call up more information if you need it.

Next time you are faced with doing a presentation, follow these 4 steps and you’ll be confident
and well-prepared! Your arguments will be convincing and you’ll feel good about giving your
talk. Good luck!
About the author

Elizabeth Harrin is the author and award-winning blogger behind A Girl’s Guide To Project
Management. Get her suggestions for being more productive at work on her blog.

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