A three-day course for making effective, stress free presentations to groups in typical business situations.

Aims of the Course

The course is designed for people who have never made a presentation before or for those who would like to improve their skills and confidence.  Whether it is a sales presentation, presenting a report to the board, communicating with a group or talking to a team, presentations need to be prepared systematically and delivered with confidence.

At the end of this course participants will be able to:

• Plan and structure a presentation
• Manage themselves, their material and their audience
• Use visual aids effectively
• Dealing with nerves and confidence building
• Communicate effectively in a variety of situations
• Meeting the needs of the audience

Course Content

The course will be structured as follows:

The fundamental elements of presentation

• Popular misconceptions about presentations and presenting
• The qualities of a good presenter
• What makes an excellent presentation
• Overcoming presentation stress

Planning and preparing for the presentation

• Knowing the audience
• Identifying objectives
• Structuring the presentation for different situations
• Organising material
• Preparing high impact presentation material for the beginning, middle and end
• Maintaining interest and building the message
• Slide and material design/preparation
• Preparing relevant visual effects
• Preparing different types of notes and support elements
• Choosing the type of equipment to use
• Using rehearsal and visualisation to achieve confidence

Pre-presentation planning

• Evaluating and preparing for different environments
• Checking selected equipment, the environment and other resources
• Preparing to the body and the mind to present

Presentation delivery

• Handling a powerful opening
• Gaining attention and keeping it
• Controlling the voice and body
• Listening and reflecting the needs of the audience
• Developing visual aids for different types of equipment
• Remaining calm under pressure and achieving focus
• Overcoming barriers to communication and building a rapport
• Using notes inconspicuously and memory systems
• Time management
• Handling difficult questions positively and concisely
• Organising and managing the environment
• Closing the presentation for the result that is required

Practical presentation development exercise

The course will be designed to give delegates a range of presentation experiences culminating in:

• Preparing and structuring a business presentation
• Delivering the presentation to a work related case study
• Having the presentation reviewed by the group or video