Video And Meeting Presentation Tips For Newbies
You're given a presentation to present to your team and you've never done one before. You're nervous and anxious, worried that your lack of experience will be obvious to everyone in the room. Sound familiar? Don't worry, we all feel the same way. The good news is that you already have more experience than most people do presenting at work. We've compiled some of the best advice from our blog on what to do and what not to do when it comes to presentations in your first few years of work life.
Here are five simple tips for you:
Assess your audience by getting a feel for who they are and their job function. Keep it simple; don't get too complicated with your slide set-up or make notes visible during the presentation. Practice wherever possible, especially if you're new to this field of work. Share your slides with a colleague or a friend and ask them to give you feedback.
Long Term vs Short Term Performance
As a new junior employee, you may still be working on shifting your career from the short term to the long term. The "short term" in this case refers to your specific project or role within your company. You're probably most worried about getting it done in time for your review, or about not messing something up before then. You should take the time to conduct some small research into everything that you do, but here's where many new employees get themselves into trouble: making long-term plans based on annual performance reviews.
1. Focus on short term goals
First, take a look at your annual performance review and the next two to three years of your career. Your goals should be focused on what you can do today to improve your working environment and how that will help you to move upwards in the organization.
2. Focus on your personal brand
Always keep in mind that the best way to build a successful career is to develop yourself as a professional, and keep long-term opportunities open by increasing your credibility.
3. Focus on your role
Every job has a specific set of responsibilities and expectations. Ensure that you're well versed in them before you move from one role to the next.
4. Think beyond your current team
Don't just think of your day-to-day tasks on your current project; think about what each member of your team is doing and how they're contributing to the overall success of their role. That way, you'll be able to increase productivity and morale by identifying gaps in the work they're doing, as well as opportunities where they could be doing more.
5. Establish a plan
After doing your research on the current state of your department, start to formulate a plan for how you want to move forward. Try not to overwhelm yourself with too much data at once, but focus on the main points that you know are important for you and your future.
Before we go, let's answer this question: Who is the best presenter? Most of us will say Al Gore, who won an Oscar for his documentary on the environment. Other winners include Steven Colbert and Oprah Winfrey for their reported speeches. But the best presenter, according to the judges at the Oscars, is Oprah Winfrey. Why? Because she's been a good host. In other words, she knows when to be spectacular and when to be human. I like this one better than "Don't sweat it."
To learn more, watch a video of her giving her Cecil B Demille Award acceptance speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7-aHnSKuVw&feature=related
And here's one from our friend Walter Cronkite with his awards acceptance speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAb1pzafq3w
So we hope this has helped you to prepare for your presentation. If you have any questions or suggestions, please leave a comment or send us an email.
The information in this article is valid at the time of publication. However, changes in laws and regulations may occur without notice, and the authoring team encourages all users to confirm the applicable laws and regulations before acting upon information presented in this content. Copyright 2009
To read some of our other blog posts, click here .
For more on preparing for your first presentation , click here .
If you're looking for help preparing for your performance review , click here .
Remember to visit our website and check out our Career Advice section for expert advice and tips on a variety of topics. You can also follow us on Twitter @LetsGrow_Pro .
If you found the article useful, please share it with your network using the buttons below. Thanks! Bonnie & Walter - founders (and new parents!) of LetsGrow Professional Development. With over 15 years experience in education, training, coaching and writing about career skills, we're committed to helping busy people learn important professional development skills fast so they can get ahead at work, land that promotion/raise/better job and make more money. We have a lot of FREE, useful career advice and resources on our website at: http://www.letsgrow.com/ , including a great section on resume writing. If you enjoyed this post, please share it on Facebook! Thanks! And don't forget to sign up for our free Career Advice Newsletter . Cheers!
Related Posts:
If you're looking for some more tips on how to be a good presenter, check out the other articles from us below. We hope you find them useful. If you found this article useful, please share it on Facebook! Thanks! 7 Tips for Being a Good Presenter
There are lots of tips we could cover in this article, but we'd rather give you the best tips possible so you can look cool at your next presentation. If there's one area to focus on when... The Biggest Mistakes New Presenters Make
You've worked hard and put in the time. You've done your research and prepared everything you need to present to your audience. Now it's time to hit the stage. But what if you forget something? Or if...
Conclusion
We hope this article has helped you to prepare for your presentation. If you have any questions or suggestions, please leave a comment or send us an email. The information in this article is valid at the time of publication. However, changes in laws and regulations may occur without notice, and the authoring team encourages all users to confirm the applicable laws and regulations before acting upon information presented in this content. Copyright 2009
Our website is protected by DMCA , please feel free to contact us for more details .
If you're looking for help preparing for your performance review , click here .
Remember to visit our website and check out our Career Advice section for expert advice and tips on a variety of topics.