Presentation Tips: What Makes a Great Interview Presentation

For Most of us, the idea of an interview presentation can be nerve-wracking. You’ve all likely had at least some experience when it comes to traditional interviews but the interview presentation may be a whole new experience.

Here are some things to remember that could help you feel more prepared and keep you calm in the future.

1) Use Your Slides Efficiently

A common mistake people make when putting together presentations is to put all of their information into the slides. Remember, those slides are illustrative and they are not there for you to use as notes. Your audience is very unlikely to read through a wall of text, especially if it’s information that you’re going to be repeating.

Aim to have no more than four lines of text on each slide and no more than four words per line. This means you’ll have a punchy visual representation of your points and something that you can expand on during your talk.

2) Use Charts Sparingly and Appropriately

You may be very pleased at how well your excel spreadsheets have transformed into charts. If you want to include them though then make sure they add something to your presentation. Whilst you will know the ins and outs of your talk, bare in mind that your audience may be coming into this presentation with no prior knowledge.

With this in mind, make sure that any chart you use acts as a clear visual cue to a point you want to make. A bar chart showing growth over time is a great way of introducing some visual impact but beware of stuffing your presentation with fancy graphics.

3) Don’t Rush

It’s very easy to let yourself panic and start trying to sprint through the presentation but this is a sure fire way to lose people’s attention and miss out important points. If you feel yourself getting flustered then take a second and a breath before continuing.

Whilst you don’t want to spend hours explaining each slide, you should have structured the presentation so you can calmly and eloquently explain each point before moving on.

4) Maintain Positive and Confident Body Language

A huge part of presenting and how you come across is how you look when you are up there. Try and remember to face the audience as much as possible and smile.

The more confident you look and sound, the more likely your audience is to be on board with what you are saying.

5) Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse

This is the most important point of all. If you want to make sure you hit all the above points then it’s all about rehearsing as much as possible. Whether you rehearse in front of friend or just in front of the mirror it will always be beneficial.

With practice you will see points where you can tighten up the language, you will quickly spot any stumbling points to watch out for and most importantly of all, it will give you more confidence when you go into the real thing.

If you’re looking for extra information on presenting at your interview then you can read more on our website here.