Presentation skills
I am very grateful for being here and have this opportunity to talk on the subject of the presentation skills .
As you all know, our TMC`s mission is to improve the presentation skills as well as other communication skills of each individual as a member.
So, I will talk about presentation skills and hoping that you all can benefit from it in one way or another!

No need to say, there are thousands of presentation skills that actually can improve the way you present yourself in front of others. And the following skills that I am going to talk about will be just the tip of an iceberg.

The problem is, more often, not that you know nothing about these skills, but that you never try to imply these skills in your presentation or speech. It is, in fact, all about awareness, about learning and practicing. I know the steps or procedures that need to drive a car, but until I actually get into a car, hold its steering wheel and step on its accelerograph, I would never know how exciting it can be or how panic I might feel to be really at the wheel. The same with these skills, unless you use it in your speech, you will never know how useful or effective they might be, and how they actually make a difference. All I am saying is, if you never practice what you have learnt, then you never really learned it.

So, now, I will present you with some of presentation skills that I personally see it as useful as others:
1. Use a simple structure for your talk:
1) The opening: the purpose of the opening is to get the audience`s attention, build expectations and focus listeners on the speaker. There is no point in talking if no one is listening or paying attention.
2) The introduction: this is where you tell the audience what is coming and why it is important.
3) First point, the transition into the next point, the second point, another transition and another point.
4) The summary: this is your conclusion and there is where you reemphasize your points.

2.Use PREP formula to express your points, deliver your ideas and thoughts:
1)P: point of view—state your thought, idea or fact at the beginning.
2)R: reasons – state your reasons for holding this point of view or idea.
3)E: example – illustrate, reinforce or prove your point of view.
4)P: point of view – restate the first P to emphasize your idea, more like a summary or conclusion.

3.By using PPT, the audience can understand the speaker better and follow him or her easier as well. There are many ways that you can make a great use of PPT. And the way I am suggesting here mainly applies to a small talk, a short-time presentation, like what we do here, in TMC. If use PPT, only put a few key words on the each slide. Otherwise, your audience will be busy reading the screen rather than listening to you. The most important asset of your presentation is you, is the speaker. We, as audience, are supposed to get the idea or thought from the speaker, but not from the screen. Otherwise, why don`t you just hand out the pamphlet instead right? So, do the audience or yourself a favor, try to be the focus, be the center of the attention, don`t let the screen get the best of your speech.

4.Defeat the fear. Fear is just one type of your emotions. Just like happy or upset. You know how to make yourself happy right? Buying a new laptop can make me happy. Listening to my favorite BON JOVI`S songs can make me happy. Having a delicious food can also make me happy. We all know how to make ourselves happy. We all know how to change our moods from unhappy to happy. It is the same. If you can feel the fear, then you can defeat that fear as well. The problem is how? Well, here are some methods for your reference and please try it out and see if it works for you:
1)Shift your focus: instead of thinking: the audience seems get bored, I must be doing a terrible job. You should think: maybe I should slow down a little bit, so that the audience have time to digest and I have time to organize my thoughts. See, you are shifting your focus from worrying about something that you have no control of to adjusting your pace, your way of delivering message. The more you focus on what you do, the better result you can get.
2)Think positively: we all heard a story that an old woman has two daughters Jane & Jenny. Jane is selling bumbersoll while Jenny is selling umbrella. What usually the old woman does is: In a sunny day, she worries about Jenny who sells umbrella and in a rainy day, she worries about Jane who sells bumbersoll. Do you know what she should be doing instead? In a sunny day, she should be happy for Jane having a good business day and in a rainy day, she should be happy for Jenny. It is all about how you think positively.
3)Know your fear and don`t run away from it, run over it. Do what you fear to do. We are all afraid of standing in front of strangers and giving public speech. Then grasp any chance you can to give public speech. Time after time, I assure you that you will start enjoying it instead of fearing of it. Practice makes perfect. And it is true. When you do the same thing many times, it will be just a piece of cake to you.
5.Find your confidence! When you do something that you are good at, I am pretty sure that you are full of confidence. But do you know why? Because you have the knowledge, that is what to do, the skills, how to do and the attitude, want to do. By having these three factors: knowledge + skills + attitude, you feel and know that you will do good. It is the same with giving presentation. First, you have to possess the knowledge –the subject, and the clear views or opinions about this subject. Second, you have to possess the skills – the way you present yourself, and your subject. Third, the attitude – you have to have the desire, the passion to talk about the subject and more importantly, you have to believe in yourself, and to believe that you have the ability to do that.

Of course, to possess these three things, you have homework to do, that would be preparation. So take your presentation seriously and prepare it thoroughly.

Now, to sum up, adopt a simple structure for your talk, use PREP formula to express your points, use PPT appropriately and find a way to get rid of your fear and most of all, be confident!

It is the end of my speech, so thanks!