Presentation skills training course for interview, work and school in Hong Kong

1-to-1 presentation and public speaking skills development in English

This public speaking and presentation skills training course prepares you to speak in front of a group of people like in an office presentation, school or academic environment, in a group discussion, at a job or school interview or at a conference in a self-confident, professional and effective way.

Depending on your needs and level, you can choose what you want to focus on. You can learn how to plan and organize your speech, develope presentation strategies, manage emotional, stress, self-confidence issues, improve your English, manage your energy and speed and how to understand, connect to and influence your audience.

The components of presentations

Any presentation or public speech has these components and aspects: frameworks, content (the message), delivery style (formal, informal etc.), medium (live or recorded speech, online, seminar), audience, goals and context or environment.

Frameworks are sets of perspectives, view points that are connected through a logic or theme. They provide the structure of your presentation. You can nest frameworks into each other to create complex presentation structures.

Content is what you talk about and you need to master your content without paper to be able to connect to your audience. You need to have very clear goals: why you make the presentation and what you want to accomplish. You also need to know your audience and tailor make you public speech, office or classroom presentation to their levels and needs.

You also need to know the location and technical background of your planned talking like the room size, what microphone to use, amplifier, echo, air-conditioning. You can also choose the presentation style that fits to the audience, the time frame and the location.

Being a great public speaker means that you develop more and more variants of each element as tools in your toolbox, master them and learn how to assemble them together to make a specific presentation that fits to the audience, location, time frame and to your purposes.

These presentation and public speaking tips and skills can be used in other media, too, like wringing a book or a blog, making videos or podcasts. Once you learn presentation skills, strategies and techniques, you can multiply your audience size through different media. Your developed presentation skills can be useful in any forms of presentation like writing resumes, job interview etc.

Preparation and deliberate practice

In the lessons you can choose or get a topic to make a few-minute presentation about it. You can prepare at home or in the classroom or just start talking immediately. You will get feedback about your performance and then learn more about how to do it better and why, and then practise it again.

Research shows that deliberate practice is one of the most effective way to improve performance. It means that you focus on one skill or one technique at a time and practise that one thing until you have improved enough and then you move to another area.

For example, if your eye contact is not good, then you practise presentation and focus only improving eye contact. After enough practice, you can move on optimising your speaking speed, etc.

In the class you will learn, for example, how to create the structure and content of your speech, practise each of its element, test various styles, adjust your energy level and movements, speaking speed, optimise your body language, voice, eye contact that fit to your target audience and the situation.

Presentation skills to improve

Here are some mindsets, skills or techniques that you may want to learn and improve:

• learning about how to understand your audience's needs, knowledge and expectation to prepare your message that fits to them and the situation,
• clearly understanding the requirements and expectations of the people [your boss, teacher, organiser] who asked you to make the presentation, especially if they judging your performance,
• creativity: the process idea generation, evaluation and refinement for your topic,
• planning the presentation, information gathering, creating the structure of your talk, writing the details of your message,
• managing your emotions and stage fever during your performance: confidence, nervousness, being at ease and in the moment,
• learning to calibrate and influence your audience's emotions before, during and after the presentation, e.g. cheering them up,
• awareness of your body: recognising and eliminating bad body movements, gestures, nervous fidgeting (making small movements with your body, especially your hands and feet),
• mastering metaphors, analogies, jokes, story telling,
• using your voice, facial expression, body language
• managing your energy, enthusiasm, dynamics,
• using audio-visual aids,
• learning how to deal with unexpected things or evens and incorporating them into your presentation, for instance, what to do if a mobile phone rings during your talk.

Communication theories and models

Practising is necessary but not enough. If you understand the theories, see the big pictures, you can learn much faster and effectively. We can learn about:

• Communications theory,
• Understanding influence and persuasion,
• Presentation strategies,
• Marketing thinking [how to sell your core ideas],
• understanding the whole creation process.

Influencing people

Here are some scenarios when your improved public speaking and presentation skills can be useful:

• making a longer, formal or informal speech at ceremonies e.g. company banquette, funeral, opening ceremony of a business or public facility
• speaking in some sections of a job, promotional or school interview, for example introducing yourself, making an impromptu speech
• making a sales or other business presentation,
• making a press conference
• great public speaking skills are essential element of various professions. Tour guides, politicians, lawyers, teachers, actors, comedians, magicians, MC-s(master of ceremonies) do one way speaking all the time.
• creating your own audio or video blog,
• making a motivational speech at home, to your friend or in your business
• telling bedtime stories to your kid,
• telling jokes and stories
• making wedding speeches e.g. best man speech or wedding vows made by the marrying partners
• making apologies privately or publicly after you are caught of cheating your partner
• speaking to god if you are a believer
• speaking to yourself, to your pets or imaginary creatures
• giving audio or video testimonials
• confessing love or making breakup speeches