Your ability to hold business presentations with clients and communicate professionally isan essential survival skill in the world of commerce. This is our second article on the business communication series. Read on to find out easy tips to sail through a presentation…
Making a presentation is more about sharing your conviction and excitement in your subject matter, rather than about presenting dry data. Here is how you can easily prep yourself and connect with your target audience to get your point across.
Preparing for your presentation
The key to a good business presentation is extensive preparation, which begins by answering a few simple questions:
1. Who is your target audience?
2. What do you want them to take home from your presentation?
Answers to these two essential points will help you to focus on the essentials and to structure your presentation better.
Hook your audience:Build up audience expectations right from the first word or idea that you express. Get their attentionto get them interested in what you have to present.Avoid false or negative starts and briefly state your major point with confidence. Be creative, choose what works best for you and begin with either:
- Humour
- Storytelling
- Questioning
- Props
- Shockingstatement
- Quote
- Interesting fact, etc.
Remember that humour always works in hooking your audience. It helps to lighten up the mood, making your audience more receptive to your ideas. Storytelling is another compelling hook that helps you to connect with your audience; while relevant questions also help to shake up audiences, engaging them to become more participative and involved. Props work too, as visual elements help to create instant connect. Beginning with a classy quote or an interesting fact work to break the ice too. Find out what works best for your presentation.
What’s in it for your audience? After you’ve successfully warmed up your audience, get down to sharing a glimpse of their key takeaway from your presentation. Will your idea help to cut down on the company’s costs? Will it up productivity?What’s in it for them? Create a brief roadmap of your presentation, before you delve into the depths of each point separately.
Creating your personal style
A business presentation is no less than a dramatic performance. So go ahead and create your own dramatic persona and get comfortable in your skin. Use your podium or conference room as your stage, and you should have your audience hanging on to your words in no time!
Show your passion: This is the time to show your enthusiasm and passion for your subject to your audience. Real passion can be contagious!
Be expressive: Own the space around you, move comfortably and use expansive hand gestures to attract attention to yourself.
And above all, don’t rush through your points. Go slow with your ideas to give your audience enough time to let your words sink in.
Professional training workshops
Business communication and presentation workshops are useful for picking up the right skills to hold your own in the right business contexts. Whether you are a fresher or a veteran trying to up your game, training sessions are always useful. Usually designed as smart workshops for office teams with individual interactions, such business communication courses involve group discussions, voice and video calling sessions, as well as visual communication for business.
