Making a Positive Impression at Work with an Effective Presentation

I found out earlier today that I’m on the agenda for a division meeting next week. I had let my boss know last week that I was interested at some point this quarter in sharing the growing importance of personal branding, especially for students in relation to career planning. I was thinking that I’d get the opportunity in a month or two, but lo and behold, it’s next week. Be careful what you wish for, as the saying goes.

I’m actually excited about presenting to my colleagues. As a proponent of personal branding, I believe that this subject matter is one that my colleagues need to be aware of sooner than later since we all work with college students.

So right now as I type this post, I just finished creating a rough draft of my presentation using PowerPoint. I could probably deliver it tomorrow if I had to, but I want to try and deliver a presentation that’ll leave a positive impression on my colleagues, not just about the subject itself but about my knowledge of it and my ability as a presenter.

I think I’m quite affected by the Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs video that I recently came across. Here are some tips from the video that I’ll be mindful of for my own presentation:

• Set the theme, and make sure it’s clear and consistent throughout the presentation
• Create a headline that sets the direction
• Provide an outline – make it easy for the listeners to follow your story
• Open and close each section with a clear transition
• Demonstrate enthusiasm
• Paint a simple picture that doesn’t overwhelm – fewer bullet points, focus on visuals
• Consider using video clips, demonstrations and even guests
• Rehearse, rehearse and rehearse some more

Throughout the years, I’ve seen and experienced first hand how critical preparation is when it comes to getting ready for a presentation. I delivered many presentations myself. One was beyond bad, and unfortunately, it was at an international career development conference. My more recent ones were not too bad, if I do say so myself.

For me, the key has been to practice, practice, practice.

I didn’t know about these presentation tips when I first started giving presentations for work purposes over ten years ago. Since then, I’ve gone through my share of presentation ups and downs, but with each subsequent presentation, I’ve gotten better at it.

And that’s the thing with presentations. It’s one of those many things that the more you do it, the better you become at it.