As a presenter, seniors evaluate your ability to think and communicate effectively based on the quality of your presentation. Customers equate the quality of the product or service with the quality of your sales presentation. Your team will assess your ability to lead based on your presentation skills.
Presentation skills are crucial…
As you can see, excellent presentation skills are absolutely essential for career and business. If you’re looking to improve your presentation skills, there are a number of trainers, books and training videos available. How do you rate the most suitable for you?
Here are 5 parameters you should use to evaluate a presentation skills training program:
1. Does it have a structured approach?
Most presenters learn from experiences at college and in their workplace. They modify their presentation skills based on self-assessment and feedback from friends or seniors. If you are such a presenter, there might be gaps in skills that you are not aware of.
Learning a structured approach will ensure you get consistent results time and time again.
What to check for:
Does the workshop you are evaluating teach a structured presentation approach? Check if they have a brand process (e.g. minimal process for presentations) or format (e.g. storytelling format) that shows they are teaching a clear process.
2. Is it a comprehensive program?
A good presentation is a combination of thinking skills, design skills and speaking skills. Thinking skills will help you organize your thoughts and create a strong story before you delve into the slides.
Knowledge of PowerPoint or slide design will help you create compelling visual content using charts, images, and a good layout.
Speaking skills help you open up strongly, deal with questions, gauge audience reaction, and understand your own presentation style. All 3 parts need to be addressed equally for your skills to hone.
What to check for:
Most training programs only focus on a portion of these skills. Check the training schedule to see how much time is allotted for each of these components. A good program allocates roughly the same amount of time to all 3 components.
3. Does it go beyond tips and hints?
The problem with a lot of the training programs I’ve seen is that they give tips and tricks. Tips include advice like, “You should be confident on stage. Stand up straight and look your audience in the eye to appear confident.”
While you can enjoy the program, you won’t remember any of the tricks a week after the workout. There is no need to join any program when you can pick up such tips even while reading free articles.
What to check for:
Look for program schedules that include speaking tips, presentation tips, self-confidence tricks, and so on. These programs are not intensive enough to improve your skills.
4. Does it teach you anything creative?
To be interesting, every presentation needs to have a creative component. This could consist of using an opening that catches the audience’s attention, using charts to represent ideas, using imagery in unusual ways.
What to check for:
Whatever it is, does the training program offer you something unique and creative?
This also shows that the program will teach you something beyond the usual. Such creative aspects ensure that you can really hone your skills in the program, even if you are an experienced presenter.
5. Is the workshop practical?
This is the most important aspect that applies to any training program. If the program is not workable, then it is a waste of time. A skill can only be learned if practiced in a safe environment (not in front of the client).
What to check for:
Check the trainer profile: Is the program led by an experienced presenter with experience in presenting as a manager or businessman? If you are new to coaching, it is possible that you do not understand the problems you are facing.
Check the time allotted for practice in the program schedule: is there enough time for practice during the workout? This shows that whatever is taught is practiced step by step. If the workshop alone reserves a block of time at the end, you can be assured that the program is not giving you enough practice.
Are there enough exercises and do they show you good and bad examples? All of this indicates that the training will be far more effective than run-of-the-mill training.
Once you find a program that meets these five criteria, you can rest assured that it will help you improve your presentation skills.
Thanks to Arte Ranganathan | #evaluate #presentation #skills #training #program
