Presentation Skills Workshop

Training Essentials - The Presenter: You

• Presentation skills workshops begin by considering: what makes formal presentations so scary?
• Successful presenter qualities
• Some tricks of the trade
• The 2, 20, 2, 20 Rule
• Be aware of “distractors”
• Preparing by carrying out ‘essential checks’
• What are you going to say, why and to whom?
• Presenting the ‘right’ image
• Acknowledging and overcoming nerves
• Using relaxation techniques before the presentation 
• Using mannerisms and gestures to enhance the impact
• Ice Breaker: Either individually or in pairs, select an item in the room and then stand in front of the group to tell us, in only a minute, why we need it or why we would want to buy it.

Training Essentials - The Material: What Are You Going to Say?

• This effective presentation skills workshop covers the concept of "recency" and the related three main points:
  • Strong opening, strong content, strong close
• Writing the basic outline
• The “business card” technique
• Editing to keep presentations simple, punchy and “on message”
• Establishing a clear purpose and ensuring the presentation reflects this
• Getting the audience’s attention
• Identifying the key points without going into too much detail
• Sessions allow participants to create strong openings and closings
• Knowing the pros and cons of different visual aids
• Moving towards making it big, bold and brilliant, but with expectations of the audience as an anchor/driver
• Exercise: Participants can work in pairs if preferred. A high-profile and well-known subject will be allocated to each member of the group (can be changed if you don’t like your topic). Each member will prepare a 5-minute flip chart presentation to tell us about the topic. These will continue one or two at a time between each session. The group will be asked to give positive feedback to each presenter.

The Audience: Who Will You Be Saying it to?

This effective presentation skills course considers the following:

• Who is the audience?
• Audience expectations
• How to be engaged and, if applicable, entertaining (at the right level)
• Knowing and understanding your audience well enough to develop appealing presentations
• How to build rapport right from the outset
• Getting and keeping the audience on your side
• Working with questions
• Handling difficult people
• Understanding group dynamics in business
• Dealing with very senior or important audiences/members
• Exercise: Presentations as above

Next Steps: Delivery Methods

• The three-stage technique
• The basics
• The essentials:
  • Eye contact
  • Movement
  • Audience engagement and involvement
• Successful presentations encourage rhetorical questions whilst helping you avoid overuse 
• Varying tone, pitch and delivery style are covered in this effective presentation skills workshop
• Having a prompt that looks professional and does its job, dealing with nerves and 'fluffing your lines'
• Watching the audience to gauge engagement and impact
• Listening and hearing: they aren't the same thing
• Asking questions if you need to generate engagement
• Communicating with confidence, fluency and conviction is referred to throughout
• Example: Participants can work in pairs if preferred, prepare a presentation based on their own product or service for the group. The group will give positive feedback after each. Presentations are completed either one or two at a time.

Next Step – Presentation Communication Skills

• We assess how to keep the audience engaged using business communication presentation skills
• How to 'know your stuff' and memorise key parts of the presentation
• Preparing mentally is a focus in this effective presentation workshop
• Physical relaxation techniques
• Appearing confident in front of the crowd
• Non-Verbal Communication Skills – 'reading the audience'
• Body language during presentations – yours and theirs
• The signals you send to others
• Why it's not WHAT you say, it's HOW you say it
• Presenting your case with an impact
• Exercise: Presentations as above   

Perfecting Your Skills

• Only when you feel able to
• Make them laugh a little
• Asking the audience a question to encourage discussion
• Dealing with questions
• Creating fantastic flip charts
• Creating compelling PowerPoint presentations
• How to 'WOW' your audience
• Presentation skills workshops cover 'vibrant videos' and 'amazing audio'
• Final exercise: Presentations as above

Course Conclusion – Summary & Wind Up

This effective presentation skills course is delivered by a highly knowledgeable and seasoned director at Redcliffe Training. With over 40 years of experience in the banking and financial sector, this professional has spent the majority of his career in senior management and director roles. Specialising in Corporate Finance, Retail, Banking, and Compliance, our course leader fully understands what’s required for successful delivery in this important session.

As a former lecturer at the Institute of Banking, he achieved distinctions at exam level. As an expert in retail, corporate and global banking, including aspects of risk management and regulatory compliance, our presentation skills workshop lead has lectured extensively to leading global financial institutions and smaller bespoke specialists.

This expert has delivered extensive programs in the USA, across Europe, MENA, Africa and Hong Kong. As an accredited Master Trainer at the world’s largest, global trade finance bank, delegates gain the very best from sessions.

Presentation skills workshops at Redcliffe Training are built on the premise that all participants can already present. Our approach focuses on bringing these competencies to the surface while equipping participants with the techniques and tools required to deliver a clear, confident, and compelling message.

Sessions ensure a large focus on building presentation confidence whilst introducing new techniques.

Open to everyone looking to expand their knowledge, this course is particularly suited to finance professionals and those working in similar industries. During this session, we will:

• Convince you that we can all present, and it’s purely nerves and self-doubt holding us back
• Participants attending this effective presentation skills workshop receive a highly interactive learning experience from the basics, and move towards more comprehensive delivery methods
• Determine the qualities required to become competent in presenting
• Learn tried and tested techniques, otherwise known as ‘tricks of the trade’
• Recognise the many presentation forms, including delivery via podium, desktop, in-person and more
• Cover, highlight and instil the true importance of preparation, practice and experience as key components for improvement
• Appreciate the importance of understanding the audience without it proving a terrifying experience
• Create appealing presentations
• Identify areas of personal development
• Master how to physically and mentally prepare
• Manage and deal with audience questions confidently and professionally
• Most importantly of all, this presentation skills workshop helps participants believe in themselves

Attending an effective presentation workshop is a crucial investment for any professional. Every individual benefits from developing a stronger communication impact.

At Redcliffe Training, sessions begin with the belief that every participant can present. We will help you uncover and refine your existing capabilities while equipping you with the tools and techniques to take them further. Specifically, these sessions are a must-know for:

• Any team members regularly delivering formal presentations as part of their duties
• Individuals dealing with colleagues and internal business areas, whereby change occurs via presentations
• Sales role representatives will hugely benefit from this presentation skills workshop
• Compliance and risk staff looking to achieve more effective business responses
• Senior, middle and line managers who are required to ‘make things happen’
• Personnel staff
• Individuals wishing to refresh and enhance existing abilities will grow in knowledge and confidence

Presentation skills workshops at Redcliffe Training provide a safe, online, interactive space to enhance your capabilities enjoyably and effectively. As the course progresses, your confidence levels will rise, giving you the self-assurance and belief that you can do this.

Misleadingly referred to as a ‘killer skill’, the art of presentation is not a realm inhabited only by so-called ‘masters’. Everyone possesses the skills to present effectively and to do this successfully, no matter how overwhelming situations appear.

So what’s the secret? Quite simply, it’s hard work, preparation and practice followed by further hard work. So-called ‘masters’ make this art look easy because, behind the scenes, they are working hard planning, practising and repeating (a mantra you’ll become used to hearing throughout training).

This presentation skills workshop begins with some basics and fun opening exercises to build confidence. From here, we reveal some helpful tricks of the trade, finishing with a final presentation. By this end stage, all participants will have delivered a polished, professional briefing with individual areas for improvement clearly defined. All delegates are given the opportunity and encouraged to complete and deliver a minimum of three. Constructive, positive feedback is given by the training facilitator and encouraged by attendees throughout.