The most essential basis of a successful presentation is the right way of presenting. A structured and meaningful PowerPoint presentation is only half the work, you still have the duty to present your work. The speaker has the opportunity to make the presentation a more vivid and considerable one by his way of performing and he has the chance to catch the audience’s attention and make the respective topic more attractive.

Language And Word Choice Are The Basis For A Good Presentation

Language itself is very important. Besides the typical rules for behaviour, like talking clearly and slowly, it is advisable to use simple sentences. Too much information within one sentence will make it hard for your audience to follow you and will not lead to a successful presentation. Try to use preferably verbs instead of subjective forms to ease up your discourse and do not build sentences that take more than 8 seconds to be uttered.

Furthermore, it appeals more pleasant if you make use of your own words and formulations to hold a free speech. Copying a text or making use of a lot of technical terms will lead to an unnatural and boring presentation. This influences your audience’s behaviour. An easy way to catch attention is direct addressing. A direct question or talking to a single person will help you integrating your audience into your presentation and will arouse concentration.

Make enough pauses while talking and make sure that you do not rush through your presentation. To avoid this, try to to raise your voice while speaking and lower it when you come to the end of your sentence. This makes the sentence more vivid and completes it.

The Right Posture For Presentations

While presenting it is essential that you feel comfortable and natural. Wear clothes that make you feel this way and are appropriate. A smile on your lips and a friendly facial expression will ease up the atmosphere and will be rejoined by your audience. Relax while holding your presentation and solidly put your feet on the ground. This will give you foothold and guarantees a competent appearance.

Your arms are important elements of your presentation and can make things easier. If you use a manuscript, hold it sideways in your hand. This will prevent an unwanted nervous shaking. With the other hand you can make gestures and if you have the advantage of having a speaker’s desk, you can even use both hands. It is crucial that you can read your manuscript within a short blink of the eye. This exudes safety and strength and allows you to hold a free presentation. To do so you should hold your arms right-angled in front of your body. If you have both hands available you can either let them hang sideways to your body or you build a bowl with your hands in front of your stomach. This posture is the perfect basis for gestures and makes you look competent and professional.

Gesticulation Will Make Your Presentation Come To Life

When it comes to gesticulation you decide between symmetric, asymmetric and functional gesticulation. Symmetric gesticulation means that you move your hands symmetrically. This might look monotonous and unnatural and therefore should be avoided. Asymmetric gesticulation however makes your presentation more natural because you move your hands separately and indepentendly which eases up your posture. Functional gesticulation can be used to emphasize on statements or underline phrases. This kind of gesticulation is often used in politics.

No matter what kind of gesticulation you use, you should always make sure that you make your gestures not only offhanded but also with the help of your elbow and your shoulder. This will prevent your presentation from appearing stiff and immobile and will make it more dynamic and natural. But still, be aware of the fact that too much gesticulation does not help your presentation but will make it affected and unnatural.

No matter how you want to create your presentation, a relaxed and natural posture helps you making it more vivid and attractive. Do not tense up but enjoy presenting what you have worked for. This will contribute to a successful presentation.