Learn How to Captivate Your Audience with Presentation Skills Training

Working in the business world has become more competitive than ever.

With various talented employees, companies have many candidates to choose from, meaning they often hire those that are the most skilled.

This includes soft skills, such as presentation abilities and teamwork, and hard skills, such as sales abilities.

MANCOSA offers a range of short business courses to help you improve these skills so you can continue to be seen as a quality employee for your current or future employers.

This article discusses the importance of presentation skills training, the elements of good presentation skills, and tips to improve your business skills in the workplace.

The importance of good presentation skills in business

Presentation skills are an essential part of any business. It effectively conveys messages, from boardroom presentations to keynote speeches and sales calls.

These skills form part of soft skills, often called “power skills” due to their power in building professional relationships, communicating effectively, etc.

Soft skills have become increasingly important in the corporate world — sometimes found even more valuable than hard skills, such as using specific software. In fact, according to Forbes, 70% of employees say good presentation skills are crucial to career success.

Without solid presentation skills, recipients can’t relate to the message meaningfully, and it’s not likely to leave a lasting impression. Thus, without these skills, it’s far more complex to:

Gain new clients
Sell more to existing clients
Secure funding from investors or stakeholders
Build the foundation for a strong business

In addition to helping gain clients and profit, presentation skills training can help companies run projects more smoothly and save time since it leaves little room for miscommunication and confusion.

For example, if a manager presents a new strategy or campaign to employees using a presentation with clear visuals and communication, employees will know exactly what’s expected of them.

What key factors make a successful business presentation?

A good presentation consists of several elements. These include but aren’t limited to the following:

1. Content

The presentation’s information, ideas, and messages must be relevant and interesting to the client, stakeholders, or employees. Thus, the content must be tailored to meet their needs and presented in a structured and easily understood manner.

Ultimately, all the content inside the presentation should be informative and compelling — leaving the recipient with minimal questions about what actions to take next.

2. Clarity

The presentation should focus on clearly communicating the message.

The language and sequence of messages should be simple and logical so that the recipient doesn’t lose track of what’s being discussed at any point.

Here are some guiding principles for making a presentation more clear:

Use present-tense language
Use short sentences
Mention where recipients can access files, assignments, or videos talked about in the presentation
Structure information about the same topic close together

3. Confidence

A presenter should deliver their message with confidence and self-assurance. They should project a positive demeanour, make eye contact, and showcase their expertise.

If the speaker is nervous or anxious about public speaking, they can do the following:

Check the meeting space beforehand to avoid any disturbances or technical difficulties during the presentation
Practice presenting in front of a family member or friend
Practice power poses so they appear more confident
Create a grand opening so they start strong and maintain their positive energy throughout
Visualise the presentation’s success before starting

4. Connection

The presentation should build a rapport and establish a relationship with the audience. This involves being engaging and interactive.

Furthermore, the presentation should allow the audience to engage if the situation demands it. For example, the speaker can ask the audience questions and ask them to raise their hand if they relate.

Finding creative ways to engage the audience will make the presentation fun, build connections, and help the audience remember the content afterwards.

Tips for better presentation skills

Employees and managers can follow these tips to create better presentations to captivate their audience and help them come across professionally.

Keep the presentation simple

As with many things in business, simple is often better.

Keep your presentation short, sweet, and concise — only providing the most important information. Many presenters like to keep their presentations to a maximum of 10 slides. This way, they avoid adding “fluff” and irrelevant information.

Having 10 slides means your presentation will likely take around 20 minutes. Regarding what to put on the slides, keeping it to a maximum of three key points per slide is usually best.

Incorporate storytelling into your presentation

Stories are what genuinely captivate your audience.

You can even start your presentation off strong by opening with an enticing story — just make sure that it’s relevant to the central message of your presentation.

There are different ways to tell stories: you could talk about someone else’s experience, such as a famous business person, actor, scientist, etc. Alternavitely, you could talk about something that happened to you personally.

This way, you’ll build a connection with your audience immediately and ensure that your presentation is relatable instead of boring.

Practice in front of a friend

If you tend to be nervous when talking in front of people, you can practice beforehand. Not only will this build confidence, but it’ll also allow you to ask for feedback so you can make the required adjustments.

Ask your friend to give you honest feedback about whether they understand the main message, if there were points that didn’t make sense, and whether you spoke at a reasonable pace.

Explore presentation skills training with SkillMe business courses

Presentation skills training and other courses that teach you to sharpen your business skills are vital if you want to grow in your career.

As mentioned earlier, other soft skills, such as communication and leadership, have become increasingly important in the workplace.

We offer several short business courses to sharpen your soft skills so you can perform better at work and help your company achieve greater results. Here are some skills you can build:

Register for conflict management courses with MANCOSA

skillME is a great way to upskill yourself in the workplace. Find the right online short course that will improve your job performance and career development. If you’d like to build your business skills and stand out as a high-level employee, look at our range of short business courses today.