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As a business student, you will at some point be asked to make a presentation. It could be that you’ve finalized a research project and you are now required to present your findings to your fellow students or it could be that you’re invited to make a presentation about a certain issue to a much greater audience. Whatever the objective of the presentation, the word itself usually spells panic and anxiety for most students.
While it’s only natural to feel nervous, especially if you are presenting for the first time, preparing yourself thoroughly for the big day will greatly reduce your anxiety and will guarantee an effective and compelling presentation for your target audience.  

What makes a good presentation?

There are varying types of presentations but for the sake of this article, we’re going to concentrate on an oral presentation that is accompanied by visual aids.   What makes a presentation seem like a daunting task at first is the fact that less attention is usually given to teach oral communication skills in schools.  It seems as though the majority of the time is usually dedicated towards developing and enhancing writing skills.

In order to deliver a good presentation you must know your target audience. Who are you presenting to? What is their level of education and knowledge on the subject? What are they expecting to get from your presentation? Failing to address these questions will probably result in a boring and ineffective presentation for your audience.

You also need to make an outline of your whole presentation. What important messages and concepts do you wish to communicate?  What is the one thing that you want your audience to remember from your presentation? What kind of questions do you think your audience would have running through their heads and how will you address them? Keep in mind, that you will invariably have a time limit for your presentation, so you must make sure that you communicate the important issues clearly within your time restrictions.  It is always advisable to practice your presentation aloud a couple of times with all the visual aids before the big day. This is for you to check whether you’re sticking to the time limit and also to build confidence for when you eventually have to present for real.

Visual aids are often necessary to break down lenghty and complex information.  To be effective and memorable, the visuals that you use must be clear, simple, quick enough to read and to the point.  Remember that the audience will have to listen to you talk as well as read and understand whatever it is that you have on your slides, etc.

Always end your presentation with a summary of what you’ve just presented. This will serve as a refresher to the audience as well as offer them the chance to ask questions to clarify matters if need be.