Soft Skills Training

The way we present, facilitate, or communicate to a group is vitally important. Here are the top ten (10) principles that will make a difference.

1 Start on time-Don’t waste people’s time! Those who arrived on time deserve to have the program start when it’s scheduled, it’s not fair to make them wait

2 Project your voice-There is nothing worse than a speaker you can’t hear. Even if you are using a microphone, make sure you can be heard

3 Great speeches are told through stories-If your presentation is over 30 minutes long, explain your topic through short stories, quotes, and anecdotes. Excellent speakers know just how to use a story to create an emotional connection

4 There is a 10-20-30 Rule when it comes to PowerPoint presentations. Recognizing that all presentation won’t fit this theory however, this is the rule of thumb.

Have no more than 10 slides
Make your presentation no more than 20 minutes
Make your font no smaller than 30 point

5 Entertaining-A great speech is entertaining and informative. People expect some appeal to their emotions. Without passion and a little humor people are less likely to give you their full attention

6 Don’t tell the what… tell the why. Always be answering “why” it makes for a much more fascinating presentation

7 Have Confidence-The audience should know that you are well prepared, passionate about what you are saying, and that they are going to learn something from you.

8 Use the power of silence- Use silence to own the room throughout the presentation and to let the audience know you’re in charge

9 Be the expert-You’re here to tell the audience what’s most important, which information matters the most, and where they should focus their attention.

10 End early-You don’t want the last thing your audience remembers is that you held them longer than expected. That’s one of the worst thing a speaker can do.