Present with Confidence

At Learning Perspectives we recognise that presenting is one of those things that we all need to do. It can be to a small group of people that we know or to a large room of people that we've never met before.

It is quite normal for people to be daunted at the prospect of taking centre stage to present. For others the question and answer sessions that often follow a presentation are more daunting.

The key to any successful presentation is to prepare, prepare, prepare. In this blog we look at some of the resources that are there to support you with your preparation.

Storytelling

💬 Let's start with this short video which is a great start when preparing a presentation script. It's a short TED Ed video The Hero’s Journey – Leadership Storytelling. (4 minutes 23)

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📖   In this article by Nayomi Chibana on the Visme 101 blog she looks at 7 storytelling techniques used by the most inspiring TEDpresenters. (10 minutes)

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📖  In this brief article from Harvard Business Review they break this down and look at how to Structure Your Presentation Like a Story. (5 minutes)

Audience Engagement

It was hard to think of a title for this section as surely being a great presenter is all about engaging your audience. But the content is interesting and worth sharing.

📖  In this article Doug Neff talks about 10 Ways to Interact with Audience Members While You Present. (6 minutes)

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📖   Whilst it's not strictly presenting as we would normally consider it - this article by Maegan Stephens is still relevant and useful. In it she talks about How to Lead Better Virtual Meetings. (5 minutes)

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Presentation Preparation

📖  Skills you Need offer an article that breaks down what you need to prepare - a sort of 'To Do' list. Here's what they say about Preparing for a Presentation. If you launch this you will see that they offer a whole range of additional resources on Presentation skills as well. (10 minutes)

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📖  It's also interesting to see what Bill Rosenthal of Communispond has to say in this article found on the Forbes site, where he gives detail on The Only Way to Prepare to Give a Presentation. (6 minutes)

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Videos

The irony of reading about presentation skills is not wasted. So let's take a look at some videos.

💬   In this video from Standford Graduate School of Business they look at how to use your body to convey a message explaining how to Make Body Language Your Superpower. (13 minutes 18)

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💬   Working out what to do with your hands can be a struggle when presenting. In this video from Dominic Colenso he looks at exactly that. Take a look at this video How to Use Your Hands When Presenting. (2 minutes 31)

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💬   TED Talks are massively popular and the learning opportunities do not stop at what's being said. Spend some time watching The most popular TED talks of all time on one of their playlists here. Work out for yourself which presenters you think are best -what makes them good. Which of them represent the way you'd like to be seen as a presenter - why?


If you know any great resources that should be included please share them.

Photo by Jason Hogan on Unsplash