"Every Presentation should have a beginning, a middle and an end. Put it another way - there needs to be an opening or introduction, the main body of your talk, and a conclusion."

Effective Presentations are all about making an impact, but perhaps you are:

• Worried you'll make a mess of it?
• Nervous of conquering your fears?
• Afraid you’ll make a fool of yourself?
• Scared of the audience?
• Concerned that your content is not good enough?

Well here's how you deal with it.

Choosing your topic

• Why am I talking
• Who am I talking to?
• What do I need to achieve?
• What challenges are they facing?
• What arguments will be well received?

Preparing what to say

Decide on your objective and build your discussion around three main points; structure these points and use notes to help you.

Consider the beginning and the end and decide what illustrations would be helpful. If you plan on using some visual aids, don't just put the words up on screen, create images and work on your timing.

Language

Choose active words and always frame it positively. Avoid ‘intensifiers’ like "very" and "superb". Keep your language simple and avoid jargon. Remove ‘kind of’ and ‘sort of’ as this identifies imprecise thinking.

Your Opening

Grab the audience’s attention. "Hello" is quite a good start. Don’t repeat the title and don’t start with an apology. Tell your audience the objective and how long you’ll be. Give the important facts early.

The Main Event

Decide the main points you need to cover, and the amount of detail appropriate to the audience. Make certain that it is logical and sequential, but also that it sounds interesting.

Your Conclusion

Summarise your main ideas and be forward looking. Ask a question. Refer to your opening remarks. Offer a quotation. If you have taken questions at the end summarise again after the last question or you could leave an impression of someone struggling with a difficult question.

Preparing for questions

Anticipate questions and be ready. It doesn’t mean they’re being hostile or critical if they ask questions; it usually means they are interested enough to bother. Make sure you can substantiate your facts and avoid generalizations. If you don’t know the answer - say so, but be sure to find out, and let them know whn they can expect the answer from you. Can you back up your claims.

Points to remember

Visual aids; are they a help or a hindrance? Are they visible to everybody in the room? Will they add to and aid audience understanding?

Talk to the audience not the screen. Use memory joggers on cards or paper. Practice use of the equipment. Does it flow. Memorise key points. Rehearse on your feet and always out loud. Creating the right impact demands a careful combination of Visual, Vocal and Verbal messages.

...and finally the impression you make is entirely up to YOU

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