MBA Presentation Skills
May 14, 2006 - 1:01am — mbamap
You will likely find yourself making a number of presentations to your peers and professors in business school. Below are some tips to improve your presentation skills:
- Add energy to your presentation: Use your hands to describe and emphasize your message. Vary the volume and inflection in your voice.
- Don't fidget: When you aren't gesturing with your hands, keep them at your sides.
- Position yourself properly: When giving a presentation with visuals such as slides, stand where the visuals are on your left. Since people read from left to right, it makes it easier for you to gesture to items on your visuals.
- Eye contact: Rapid scanning of your audience with your eyes can increase your nervousnes and decrease your connection with the audience. Talk to one person at a time until you finish a thought. Then, focus on someone else.
- Slide clutter: Don't put too many thoughts or words on each slide. Limit yourself to 3-4 bullet points of no more than 8-10 words a piece. Also, when you are not referring to your slides, turn the project off. This will put the attention on you instead of your slides.
- Group presentation: The dynamics of a group presentation are different than the dynamics of an individual presentation. First, at the beginning of the presentation, each person in the group should introduce himself or herself and tell the group what role he or she will be playing in the presentation (ex: "My name is Jim, and I'll be talking about ..."). Also, decide in advance how you will handle a question and answer session at the end. Who will be responsible for what topic areas? Be sure someone is willing to take responsibility for even very difficult questions.
Comments
Point number three
.. hmmmm.......
Speaking as someone who makes much of his living by doing presentation skills training I'd question that such a simple approach is useful.
Quite apart from anything else, you shouldn't be using so many words on a slide that you need to make it easier for your audience! You shouldn't need to worry about this kind of thing if your slides are designed right.
Sure, it's *critical* to stand in the right place, but a simple "with the slides on your left" is too simple. You stop yourself moving when you need to, you stop yourself giving locational clues to your audience, you inhibit your....you get the idea.... :)
Good points tho!
Simon
Before you start business
Before you start business school, the following books should give you a basic overview of some major business school subjects:
management degree AND Education degree