People who are thinking of giving a presentation for the first time often don’t know how to give a presentation effectively. A presentation refers to an effective explanation to promote understanding of a proposal or project contents.
In this article, we will explain the characteristics of presentations that beginners tend to fail at, how to create materials, how to speak, etc., and how to make your presentation a success overall, so please use it as a reference.
What kind of presentations are easy for beginners to fail at?
There are common points that people who give a presentation for the first time tend to fail. First of all, just by understanding these points where you are likely to fail, you can reduce your chances of failure and increase your chances of delivering a successful presentation.
Let’s look at each in turn.
Reading the contents of the slides aloud
The first mistake many beginners make is reading the slides verbatim.
The purpose of a presentation is to convey information, so you should not only read exactly what is written on the slides, but also complement and explain what is written on the slides. If you share the slides with participants, they can read them themselves, so there’s no point in just reading them out loud.
While sharing the slides, it is important to explain in a way that complements the content of the slides, and to speak in a way that is easy to understand while looking at the participants’ faces.
talking fast
Another common mistake that beginners make is giving presentations too quickly. Especially if you are a beginner, you tend to speak too quickly due to nervousness or anxiety. However, speaking too quickly makes it difficult for participants to understand and accept information. Speaking slowly makes it easier for participants to understand what you are saying, and it also makes it easier to convey information.
How to create an easy-to-understand structure for a presentation
Creating the right structure is important for a successful presentation. Here we will show you how to create an easy-to-understand structure for your presentation.
Let’s look at each in turn.
Made using the PREP method
In order to structure your presentation effectively, we recommend using the PREP method (Point, Reason, Example, Point). The PREP method helps you clearly structure each section of your presentation to clearly convey information to your audience.
The advantage of using the PREP method is that the structure of the presentation becomes clear and the message is effectively conveyed to the participants.
Organize the purpose of your presentation and what you want to convey
Next, before you start your presentation, clearly organize the purpose of your presentation and what you want to convey. Understanding what information is most important and what you want to convey to your audience is essential to a successful presentation. By clarifying the purpose of your presentation, you will be able to organize the structure of your presentation and the content of your slides, making your presentation easier to understand for the participants.
Also, once the purpose is clear, you can eliminate information that doesn’t need to be conveyed, which can prevent the presentation from becoming too long.
Tailor your content to your target
Lastly, be aware of the content that matches your target audience. For a successful presentation, it is very important to consider the audience.
Customizing the information to suit the background and knowledge level of the participants can make a huge difference in the level of satisfaction with the presentation. Especially if you are new to presentations, avoid using too much technical terminology or detailed information, and try to provide explanations that are suitable for general understanding.
Tips on how to create presentation materials
So far, we have explained the structure that will help you succeed in your presentation. On top of that, it is also important to create easy-to-understand materials for presentations. Presentation materials can help complement and visually support your message.
Let’s look at each in turn.
Narrow down the information to convey
First, it is very important to narrow down the information to include in your presentation materials. Including too much information or detailed data is likely to confuse participants. Focus on the main points and main messages you want to convey, and provide only the necessary information.
If you increase the amount of information to increase participant satisfaction, it may actually become difficult to understand the information you want to convey, which may lead to a decrease in satisfaction. Additionally, there is a possibility that the audience will be satisfied with just the presentation and will not receive any subsequent reactions or inquiries, so it is effective to convey information using simple and easy-to-understand materials.
The focus is on “talking” and the materials are secondary.
Presentation materials should only play a complementary role. Try to focus on speaking without relying too much on slides. Therefore, rather than putting all the information on the slides, it is important to avoid putting too much information on the slides so that the participants can easily understand them.
Also, be sure to keep the following points in mind when creating your presentation materials.
How to effectively give a presentation
Successful presentations also rely heavily on effective speaking. Here we will introduce how to give an effective presentation.
Let’s look at each in turn.
break the ice
Having an icebreaker at the beginning of your presentation is important to capture the attention of your audience. Also, by providing an icebreaker at the beginning, it is helpful to calm the psychological nerves of the participants.
Many people may be confused about what to include in their icebreaker, but it can be anything from a funny anecdote, interesting statistics, or a relevant question. The purpose is to “ease the tension of the participants,” so change the content of the icebreaker to suit the age and background of the participants.
Value two-way communication
A presentation is not just a place to convey information. Two-way communication with participants is important during presentations. It’s important to allow questions here and there and pay attention to participants’ reactions.
Therefore, be sure to include a question-and-answer session in the middle of your presentation to give attendees an opportunity to clarify any questions they may have. In the case of one-way communication, participants often get left behind, leading to a drop in presentation satisfaction. Additionally, it is important to always value two-way communication, as understanding from participants may not be able to keep up.
Take care of the connections between slides
Finally, it is important to create continuity in your presentation slides. Continuity helps keep information flowing smoothly.
Basically, try to make sure that the content of each slide is connected to the next slide to form an overall story.
How to practice presentations
So far, we have explained how to prepare presentation materials and how to speak. However, giving a presentation for the first time can be very difficult and may make many people nervous. Therefore, it is important to practice and improve the accuracy of your presentation.
Here, we will explain the above two practice methods.
get feedback
First of all, it is important to get feedback. As you practice your presentation, ask for feedback from a friend, colleague, boss, or mentor. Receiving feedback helps you understand the strengths of your presentation and areas for improvement from someone else’s perspective. If you give a presentation without receiving feedback, you will end up presenting with mistakes and issues that could have been avoided, so be careful.
Check in advance to see if there is anything you don’t know about.
Next, never check the content for the first time on the day of the presentation. It is important to familiarize yourself with the slide flow and materials in advance and make the necessary preparations to feel confident in your presentation.
summary
In this article, we have explained how to make your presentation a success. In order to make a successful presentation, basic things such as preparing materials appropriately and learning how to speak are important. When it comes to speaking, try to break the ice first and ease the tension of the participants.
First of all, why not use this article as a reference to prepare so that you can give a presentation with confidence on the day of the event?