My tips on effective presentations

Every day thousands of marketers are called to present their ideas, plans and strategies in front of clients, stakeholders, senior staff members or even colleagues. There is no further need on highlighting the importance of being able to deliver these presentations effectively, so in the following article, I will provide you with some tips and recommendations I found useful in my undergraduate years.



Throughout my studies, I had to prepare presentations that would have an impact on my overall module grade for almost all my modules. This allowed me to work and develop my presentation skills. At first, as a fresher and new to this experience, I was very anxious and didn't really know how to act while delivering a presentation. Gradually, I got much better at it and actually started to like the idea of it. I usually scored excellent grades for my presentations and my tutors but also my classmates would congratulate me. In fact, on many occasions, my fellow students would approach me asking for tips and advice on how to perform better on their own presentations. At the end of my degree, this ability was pointed out as one of my strongest qualifications by my classmates and tutors.

Be authentic

Don't go out there and pretend to be someone you are not. If you are a marketer, talk and act like a marketer. Don't try and use sophisticated language and fancy words that you wouldn't normally use. Use language and terms you are familiar with and accustomed to. Also, is really important to dress in clothes you feel comfortable in. Even if it's a very formal occasion, you can dress in clothes you like and still be able to look pretty formal. Feeling comfortable in your clothes is a way to boost your confidence and perform better. By trying to squeeze into clothes you don't enjoy, you only make yourself more anxious and distracted.

Be prepared, know your topic

It is very important to have your slides ready at least one full day before the delivery day. Knowing that you are prepared for what is coming can be a great stress reliever. However, there is a correct way to prepare and the wrong way. Starting with the wrong way, I personally believe memorizing exactly every word on a slide makes the presentation sound mechanic and yourself look like a robot programmed to deliver just those words. What worked best for me was to understand the meaning of each slide and try to interpret that with my own words. In this way, I can make sure that what I am going to say is fully understandable but also easier for me to remember. Additionally, by taking time to study each slide you actually learn about your topic and then you are ready to answer any question. By just memorizing the slides, when a question comes up you will end up faltering and won't have an answer to give because you don't actually know the topic of the slide. Finally, something else I found really useful is to practise your speech either in front of a mirror, a friend or even in an empty room. When doing this, is also smart to time yourself so you can limit your presentation in the desired timeframe. There is no worse feeling than when time runs out before you have delivered the final, and maybe most important, slides of a presentation!

Fewer words more gestures

Body language, body language, body language! I can's stress enough the importance of using our whole body and not just our mouth when trying to convey a message. Body language is a huge part of the communication process and it's not just about hand gestures but also voice tonality, eye contact, posture, facial expressions and event the way we move in the room. Of course, everything needs to be done at a certain level avoiding exaggerations. 

• Hand gestures. Moving your hands is a great way of creating a flow while talking. However, avoid exaggerations and random gestures to avoid looking uncredible. The best way to learn about these hand gestures is to search online for the most famous ones used by speakers.
• Voice tonality. Talking on the same tone through an entire presentation will probably make your audience sleepy. Changing the tone on our voice is a great way to emphasize specific topics and keep the audience on their toes. 
• Facial expressions. Our face can give a lot away, so using expressions is another way of stressing out the important 
• Eye contact. Eye contact is essential as it helps the speaker capture reactions from the audience. If you see that most of the people are distracted it means you are doing something wrong and you need to change things up. Moreover, by striking eye contact you keep the audience on their toes as they will not want to get caught looking disengaged. But be careful. Staring people in the eyes for too long can be weird. A trick to avoid this is to divide the audience into four big sections and alternate gaze between sections. 

Everything mentioned in this article is based on my own experiences as a student. Implementing them is just the first step in becoming successful at delivering great presentations. However, I don't claim to be a professional on the subject and I can assure you there is much more you can do to become better at it. The key is to be willing to learn and devote more time on developing this skill. There are plenty of other resources by experts in the field, like professional speakers, who share their secrets and information on the topic. I just hope my article is a small contribution to someone's journey of becoming better at presentations!