soft skills

1. Presentation Skills

2. “After violent death,
most people fear public
speaking more than
anything else in life”
People Management
April 2002

3. Planning
O Why are you doing the talk? Be clear about your
purpose
O Find out how big your audience is likely to be & what
sort of group
O Make notes about your subject
O Don’t write your talk word for word
O Use small pieces of paper and number them
O Power point has a notes & timing feature which may
help
O Time your talk & practice it
O Then practice it again

4. Think of Threes
O Tell people what you’re going to say
O Tell them
O Tell them what you’ve said

5. Techniques 1
O Pace of delivery
O Vary style
O Move about
O Vary pitch
O Use notes
O Avoid annoying habits
O Use props, but don‘t overdo it

6. Power point
Advantages Disadvantages
O Quick, easy & simple
O Prepare in advance
O Good for large
audience
O Can include pictures
& graphics easily
O Something to look at
O Can be tedious
O Not very dynamic
O Easy to overload with
information
O Be careful with
animations
O Tendency to read
word for word

7. Do’s
OTake a deep breath
OSpeak clearly
OMake small cards to remind yourself of topics
(number them!)
OBe aware of where your audience is - are you
facing all of them?
OSmile, have fun
OBe yourself and project your personality
ORemember - no-one knows how you feel or
what you think
ORemember - The audience is on your side!


8. Don’ts
ORush what you’re trying to say –
SLOW DOWN
ORead off a sheet of paper word for
word
OUse inappropriate language for your
audience
OPanic


9. Body Language
O Eye Contact
O Positive Gestures
O Hand Movements
O Dressing

10. In Summary…
O Most talks go according to plan
O But, you must actually plan unless you are
very experienced
O You have the support of your audience
O Most common mistakes are avoidable
O The world won’t end if it does go wrong –
just correct yourself and carry on