Three steps to confident presentations

Penny Maxwell | October 7, 2024

Presentations often feel scary. Many of us avoid public speaking, even more so in a professional setting. The pressure to appear knowledgeable, poised, and engaging can be overwhelming. However, with the right preparation you can turn nerves into confidence and ensure that your presentation has an impact that lasts.

We’ll explore three essential ways to confidently own the stage.

1. Prepare like a pro: content is queen

The foundation of any great presentation lies in its content. Your audience is there to learn from you, and the depth, structure, and clarity of what you present will determine how much value they take away. Here’s how to ensure your content stands out.

Understand your audience

Before crafting your presentation, research your audience. Who are they? What questions do they need answered? What is their attitude to your topic?

Tailor your message to address their needs, preferences, and level of expertise. Use stories they can relate to. Stories, anecdotes, or case studies can help people understand complex information.

Plan with a clear structure

Well-structured presentations help audiences stay focused and ensure messages are clear and coherent.

Your introduction should set the stage and define the problem or subject matter. The body of the presentation is where you dive deeper, offering insights, data, examples, and solutions.

Finally, your conclusion should summarise the key points and give the audience actionable takeaways. Group your points in threes — this number is appealing and easy for your audience to remember.

Download ‘The Magic of Threes’ at the bottom of this blog.

Refine and rehearse

Be careful not to overload your slides or speech with too much information. Focus on the crucial points, and avoid excessive detail.

Use bullet points, short phrases, or visuals that support your message. Your slides should support what you are saying, and not overshadow your words. Supplement your presentation with a handout if you have a lot of information, so the audience has something to keep.

Once your content is finalised, practice is crucial. Go through your presentation until you feel confident.

Time yourself to ensure you stay within the allotted time, and practise in front of a mirror, camera, or trusted friend for feedback. Practise your opening and closing to make sure they are both strong.

2. Deliver like a director: command the room

Having great content is essential — but your delivery can make or break your presentation. Mastering your tone, body language, and speaking pace can elevate presentations from informative to inspiring. Here’s how to command the room with confidence.

Start strong

The first few minutes of your presentation set the tone for the rest of your time on stage. Start with a confident posture, a clear voice, and a warm smile. A strong opening grabs your audience’s attention — whether it’s a powerful statistic, a thought-provoking question, or a funny anecdote.

Use eye contact and body language

Establishing eye contact with your audience helps build a connection and conveys confidence. Focus on individual sections or people as you speak.

Look confident by standing tall, with your shoulders back. Avoid crossing your arms, looking down, or turning away from the audience. Use hand gestures to emphasise key points. Movement can help maintain energy and keep your audience’s attention, but avoid pacing nervously or fidgeting.

Control your voice and pace

Varying your tone, pitch, and volume can keep your audience engaged and emphasise important points. Take your time as you speak, even if you’re nervous — talking fast can make it difficult for the audience to follow along.

Similarly, be mindful of ‘ums’ and ‘uhs’ as fillers, which can detract from the clarity of your message. Use breathing techniques and power poses to ground yourself and to steady your voice before you begin.

Silence can be powerful. Don’t be afraid to pause occasionally during presentations. Pausing gives you a moment to collect your thoughts and allows the audience to process what you’ve said.

Strategic pauses also convey confidence and help prevent your delivery from feeling rushed. Practise slowing down your delivery, and pausing after key points to let them sink in.

3. Connect like a collaborator: make it interactive

Your presentation shouldn’t be a one-sided monologue. Engaging your audience creates a dynamic environment, keeps attention, and makes presentations memorable. How might you do this?

Encourage participation

Find ways to make your presentation interactive. Use live polls, Q&A sessions, or even ask the audience to share their thoughts. Interaction breaks the passive listening pattern and makes your audience feel involved in the process, which can significantly enhance their engagement and retention.

Including questions in your presentation encourages participation and keeps the audience thinking. Ask ‘How many of you have faced this challenge?’ to help break the ice and foster a sense of shared experience.

Use visuals and multimedia

People tend to remember visuals better than text. Use images, videos, infographics, or graphs to support your points. Visual aids can break up the monotony of text-heavy slides and help communicate complex ideas in a more accessible way.

Connecting your presentation with metaphors and analogies helps the audience visualise your message or data with a tangible idea, like ‘Learning a new skill is like riding a bike’.

Handle questions confidently

Reframe the Q&A session at the end of a presentation. Instead of being nerve-wracking, think of it as an opportunity to connect directly with your audience and demonstrate your expertise.

Be prepared for a range of questions and handle them with poise. If you don’t know the answer, it’s more powerful to admit it and offer to follow up after the session.

Confidence in presenting comes from thorough content preparation, practised delivery, and actively involving your audience. By working on these three areas, you can turn your presentations into memorable experiences.

Need more help?

Our Presentation Skills workshop will help you develop the skills and confidence you need to deliver engaging presentations, with a chance to practise and hear feedback in a supportive environment.

Book a workshop in New Zealand   Book a workshop in your time zone

Here’s what a client says about it

Loved the presentation workshop. It was not as daunting as I expected. I feel more comfortable now that I have the tools to show how to put a presentation together — gathering information, distilling the message, and coming up with a memorable idea with supporting points. Thank you.

Dorothy C, Kāinga Ora

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(Last updated: February 2025)