Presentation Skills

Making the right impression

It is possible that part of the interview will involve giving a presentation. You might be asked to select the topic yourself in which case you will need to prepare in depth.

Alternatively they will give you a topic and allow you ten minutes or so to prepare — in which case you are going to have to think on your feet. Here are a few ideas to help your presentation go with a bang.

• Think clearly about the content. The audience will only remember 5 main points at best so make sure these are the important ones.
• Keep it simple and clear.
• If you start by preparing the summary slide first, it often helps to keep the whole presentation focused.
• Rehearse the presentation using all the equipment you will be using on the day and keep an eye on the time it takes you. Each slide should take no less than 10 seconds and up to a minute to cover. Make sure your presentation is within any time limitations you may have been set.
• Practise what you are saying but don’t commit it to memory word for word — you will appear stilted on the day.
• To combat nerves whilst presenting try directing your message to just a few people in the group. Some people suggest imagining them in their underwear which may or may not work for you! By ‘speaking’ to just a couple of people the presentation becomes more of a conversation which helps to keep it lively and to relax you.
• Be enthusiastic — the audience will pick up on your positivity and it will help to keep them interested. Humour, quotations and questions to the audience are other ways to keep them ‘hooked’.
• One rule of presenting suggests you should introduce what you are going to say, say it, and then tell people what you have told them. The audience will have a much better chance of retaining information if you use this approach but it could get repetitive!
• At the end always thank people for listening.
• If appropriate, provide a handout covering the content of your presentation for their future reference.

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