To become a successful professional in your career, you are required to be competent rather than just being confident. For sharpening your presentation skills, you should consider the following points:

• 10-20-30 Rule: This famous slideshow rule was introduced by Guy Kawasaki. It states that an appropriate presentation should contain 10 slides that should not go longer beyond 20 minutes and the text fonts should not be less than 30 font size.
• Informative and Entertainment: The presentation should both be entertaining and informative. You should add passion and humor while delivering the speeches. If you simply recite dry facts in front of your audience, they will definitely lose the interest in your presentation.
• Summary with 15 Words: You can end up your summary within 15 words. If it is difficult for you, just try writing the summary in the paper. Rewrite the summary if it is not fitting within 15 words. You will slowly realize the importance of the 15 words.
• Stories Not Speeches: When you are delivering a lengthy presentation, put in some stories and anecdotes for explaining your points. The emotional connections can be created with the audience with the help of different stories.
• Breathe in Not Out: Feeling to take a pause? Just take a short breathe in and never use ‘um’ ‘ah’ or ‘you know’ in the middle. You should not breathe out during the pause and take a very short gap so that the audience can barely notice it.
• Come Early: When you are going to face your audience, you should definitely come earlier than them. You should ensure that there are no glitches and you can comfortably speak in the room. You can run your slideshow once and check the functions of the projectors. In short, you should check the environment and the proper functioning of all the system. This will definitely help in removing your anxiety.
• Never Apologize for Fumbling: Apologies are meant to be taken when you have done anything wrong. You should not apologize for your fumbling and nervousness. Most of the members in the audience will not realize your anxiety and therefore should not be drawn attention towards it.
• Apologize When You Are Wrong: You should definitely apologize if you come late or have shown some incorrect facts in your slides. You should appear confident, but not an overconfident person who never realizes his mistakes.
• Never Read: The PowerPoint can be your supporting tool but you should not read through the lines of the content like a dictation. You can look at the important points in the slides and can explain them in your own words.
• Never Plan Gestures: The planned gestures may look false and may not match with your other involuntary body languages. Natural gestures will look good when you are pointing your slides or communicating with your audience. You can keep your hands to your sides if you are only speaking without any gesture for a while.
• ‘That’s A Good Question’: You can use statements like ‘I am glad you asked this ‘or ‘that’s a good question’ when your audience asks questions regarding your presentation. These are nothing but fillers and can provide a little time for you to think of the answers.

Above all, you should put yourself into the shoes of your audience for a successful presentation. You must understand whether it seems boring or interesting to them. As enthusiasm and passion is contagious, you should apply them during your presentation for making your presentation fun and interesting. So, with little practice, you can create killer presentations and keep your audience glued with your skills.

Author Bio: Derek Lawson is a well known PPT professional who suggests using powerslides.com for obtaining guidance for your presentation. In this article he talks about some presentation skills that are required to be a true professional.

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Sharpen Your Presentation Skills to Improve Your Career

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