Communication Skills

Effective Presentations

After giving a presentation, rate yourself, or ask a colleague to rate you, by putting a tick against each question you can answer ‘yes’ to.

Did you:

  1. Get the attention of your listeners and involve them at the start?  
    Yes  
     
  2. Use familiar language?  
    Yes  
     
  3. Tend to speed up and gabble from nervousness?  
    Yes  
     
  4. Use appropriate and clear visual aids?  
    Yes  
     
  5. Tend to mumble?  
    Yes  
     
  6. Use your voice interestingly? (Tone, speed, pitch)  
    Yes  
     
  7. Look at the audience?  
    Yes  
     
  8. Look at the floor or ceiling?  
    Yes  
     
  9. Use notes as prompts?  
    Yes  
     
  10. Read out the whole thing from start to finish?  
    Yes  
     
  11. Use ‘um’ and ‘er’ too much?  
    Yes  
     
  12. Watch for signs or boredom and vary your voice/involve the audience?  
    Yes  
     
  13. Use too many slang expressions, or overuse one particular catchphrase?  
    Yes  
     
  14. Fiddle with keys, a pen, or earrings, jingle coins in your pockets?  
    Yes  
     
  15. Gauge the time correctly, and not over-run?  
    Yes  
     

If you could honestly tick numbers 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 12, 15 then you are bound for success! If you did not get any of these, but did tick all the other numbers then go to the eLearning section of the site and explore the online learning modules in communication, alternatively why not browse the Short Course or Learndirect Scotland directories.

Copyright (c) Lifeskills International.