Powerful presentation skills

A one-day workshop

This very practical workshop has a simple objective: to help you prepare, design and deliver memorable and high-quality presentations.

Use a proven, structured tool-kit when designing and developing presentations
Benefit from short cuts and best practice when designing and using Powerpoint presentations
Select the right information, examples, exercises and activities – and use them well
Prepare and structure a presentation or session appropriate to the audience, and to best achieve your objectives

Maintain audience or group interest
Develop and practise presentation skills to improve your voice tone, speech power and body language
Use practical methods to control nerves and anxiety – develop higher levels of confidence and credibility
Command a room, hold attention and create a high impact

Who should attend?

Anyone who has to make presentations as part of their job role, whether internally to their team, colleagues or the board or whether externally, to clients, customers and others.

Format

This is a highly interactive course, focusing very much on learning by doing. Depending on your specific requirements, and the level of expertise among the group, the programme can be run as a one- or a two-day event.

Expert trainer

Graham has been designing and delivering high-quality training programmes on management techniques, personal development, sales and customer service for many years. A top-performing sales professional, he was Managing Director of Sales Productivity and Development for Thomson Financial, helping develop a large European sales force, and now runs his own very successful training consultancy.

Session outline

1. Introduction

2. Presentation skills

3. Preparation skills – eight steps to preparing a great presentation, plus Powerpoint tips

The magic circle
How to ‘assume the role’ when presenting
The eight steps:
Step 1 – develop your objectives:
The five questions that you must answer before preparing your presentation
Defining your objectives and outcomes
Creating a first draft
Step 1 exercise
Step 2 – analyse your audience
Doing your homework: audience, event, venue
Developing a pre-event check-list
Methods and means for researching your audience
Step 2 exercise
Steps 3 and 4 – structure the main body of your presentation and state the main ideas
Ways to structure your presentation for maximum impact
Balancing and managing content and topics
Organising your information: 6 options and methods
Your ‘one main point’ and creating a 30-second summary
Steps 3 and 4 exercises
Step 5 – decide on supporting information, using the toolkit
Making your case convincing: ways to support your claims
Selecting and using relevant and interesting examples
Quotes, case studies and printed material
Presenting statistics, tables and graphs
Ways of maintaining visual interest
Transitions and links, creating a ‘golden thread’
Step 5 exercise: Creating compelling stories and anecdotes

Step 6 – create an effective ‘opening’
Claiming the stage and creating a good first impression
The three most powerful ways of opening a presentation
The five elements of a strong opening
Step 6 exercise: Participants work individually to prepare an opening, focusing on personal introduction, and then deliver to the group, with structured feedback
Step 7 – develop transitions
Step 7 exercise / examples
Step 8 – create an effective close
Signalling and sign-posting; the importance of, and how to do it effectively
Five ways to close a presentation successfully
Step 8 exercise / examples
Presentation design and Powerpoint
An interactive review of participants’ own real-life past presentations and advanced tips and techniques on using Powerpoint effectively

4. Facilitation skills

The three main types of group activity – triads, teams and main group
How to select the right activity, define the objectives, set it up and run the debrief
Using energisers – with examples
Exercise: Dealing with ‘difficult’ behaviours
Exercise: Working in triads, design and deliver a short exercise or activity to summarise the key learning points from the day

5. Tips and tricks: presentation and facilitation

10 reasons why facilitation fails
Five golden rules for success
Defining the session goals and the facilitation plan
Open and closed questions – why and when to use
Using a ‘car park’ to manage unresolved issues
Using AV aids – tips and tricks
Exercises: Including participants working in pairs to prepare a short section form of one of their own presentations