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Delivering Great Presentations

Communicating effectively with the right delivery, content and slides

Ever been to a really bad presentation? You know, the kind where the speaker stands behind the podium, uses slides that mirror what he is saying directly, and includes lots of data tables to validate his position. But… “What’s so bad about that?” you ask. “Isn’t that how most presentations are given?”

Yes. That is how most presentations are delivered, but that doesn’t mean that’s the most effective way to deliver them. This kind of presentation risks boring your audience to the point where they start for a fire alarm to go off so they can escape. And once you lose someone, it is next to impossible to bring his or her attention back.

If the information you are presenting is important enough for you to deliver orally, then it demands an appropriate amount of planning and preparation so that the information you present is memorable – for the right reasons. Give a bad presentation and you’ll be remembered all right: It just won’t be the type of impression you want to leave in anyone’s mind.

When someone presents well, it sends the message that the person is capable, confident, intelligent, and competent. These people get noticed and that type of attention bodes well for your career. Even if you don’t make formal presentations in your current position, think about the future and keep in mind that you do have to present your ideas and opinions on a daily basis. The same basic principles of effective delivery apply... (Sign in to read more.)

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New Articles (Not included in the Mind Tools E-book.)
* Shows articles available in full only to Career Excellence Club members

Managing Presentation Nerves - Coping with the fear within
Facilitation - Guiding an event through to a successful conclusion
Questioning Techniques - Asking questions effectively
Keep It Simple - Avoiding confusion and complexity*
Creating a Value Proposition - Clearly communicating benefits*
Charts and Graphs - Choosing the right format
Chunking - Grouping information so it's more easily understood*
The Rhetorical Triangle - Making your writing credible, appealing and logical*
Role Playing - Preparing for difficult conversations and situations
Powers of Persuasion - Understanding the dos and don'ts of persuading*
Communications Planning - Getting the right message over, in the right way*
Concept Attainment - Reaching a shared understanding of important ideas*
Jargon Busting - Communicating without creating barriers*
Body Language - Understanding non-verbal communictaion

A full list of Mind Tools articles is available here.

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