http://effective-presentation-skills.com hints and tips for better presentations Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:31:39 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en If you panic at the thought of making a presentation, you are not alone. Several studies have shown that public speaking is the thing that people fear most – more than snakes, flying or even death. That means that, at a funeral, most people would rather be in the coffin ... http://effective-presentation-skills.com/2008/07/19/how-to-beat-panic-when-you-present/ Your opening statement is designed to grab people’s attention and tell them where you want to take them. However the real meat of your presentation is in the main body of your talk, the roads you will take them down. You need to identify between three and five key points that ... http://effective-presentation-skills.com/2008/07/19/presentations-your-opening-statement/ One area where people don’t agree is whether to write out your presentation completely or to just put the main points on cards. If you write the main points on cards you will probably sound more natural, interesting and confident. However, you may blank completely during your talk and forget what ... http://effective-presentation-skills.com/2008/07/19/presentations-writing-it-out/ You can get your message across much more successfully by using visual aids than you can by just talking. Your presentation will be more effective and more memorable. People will only remember about twenty per cent of what they hear and about fifty per cent of what they see. However, ... http://effective-presentation-skills.com/2008/07/19/presenting-using-visual-aids/ Find out as much as you can about your audience before you begin to prepare your presentation. Who are they? How many people will there be? What age range? Men or women? Friend or foe? Are they there by choice? What do they want from your presentation? What do they know already about my ... http://effective-presentation-skills.com/2008/07/19/make-your-presentation-interesting/ Don’t underestimate the power of body language. When you are standing in front of a group of people, your body is communicating a message to them. How you sit, stand or project your voice can reinforce or sabotage your message. If you are using strong, powerful words but your body ... http://effective-presentation-skills.com/2008/07/19/presentations-body-language/ How you finish is just as important as how you begin. Leave plenty of time to finish your presentation properly. You will leave a better impression with a good wrap up rather than by confusing the issue throwing in extra points. Five minutes from the end of your presentation, start to ... http://effective-presentation-skills.com/2008/07/19/how-to-finish-your-presentation/ For many speakers, the most terrifying part of a presentation is handling the questions at the end. It is almost impossible to predict what questions will be asked. Many people find it hard to come up with a good answer to a question in these conditions. Dos Tell the audience how much ... http://effective-presentation-skills.com/2008/07/19/presentations-handling-the-questions/