Presentation skills to boost your career

The ability to present an idea or argument effectively to a target audience is essential for anyone who wants to build a successful career in tax.

What presentation skills should you develop?

Content

Your first consideration in developing a presentation is its content, which comprises three elements:

• Originality: The content of your presentation should be new or different enough to engage your audience. If your topic is unavoidably mundane, you can spruce it up with images, humour or even props that present it in a new way.

• Structure: Your time to present is limited, so a clear structure can be an effective way of conveying complex ideas. Create a framework with patterns of logic and a sensible order (e.g. chronology or premise-argument-consequence-implication).

• Authority: You should have expertise in your topic and know, by heart, the way you plan to present it. Once you’ve developed the structure and words, practise your presentation. This will also help your confidence when you’re in front of your audience.

Confidence

The best presenters project confidence, and confidence comes from being comfortable.

Consider these three elements of confidence:

• Body language: Stand or sit up straight and face your audience. Breathe deeply and slowly. Release the tension in your body and try to spend the time looking at the audience more than at your notes. It’s okay to pace or move around if you need to, but such movement should be measured.

• Voice: If there’s no microphone, project your voice loudly and clearly – clarity is crucial, with or without an amplifier. Many people rush their words when nervous, so be mindful of the flow and pace of your presentation. Include pauses, giving time for your words to sink in.

• Rapport: Try to build a warm rapport with your audience. Find out something about them beforehand that you can mention at the beginning. Many presenters also break the ice with a joke or an anecdote, or use techniques such as rhetorical questions.

Get to know how you behave in front of an audience, accentuate the good traits and reduce undesirable habits. If you get nervous when people stare at you, it may help to use visual aids that they can look at instead. If you speak too fast, invest in a metronome to help you practise speaking at a slower pace. And if your hands tremble, hold a prop like a pen to still them.

The way you present yourself, your work and your ideas will inevitably influence how your abilities are viewed in the workplace. Give your career the best chance by honing your presentation skills at the beginning.

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Need-to-know presentation skills to boost your career

A well-presented idea, argument or paper has the best chance of being received in the way you intended. What presentation skills do you need to optimise your position?

Confidence

The best presenters project confidence, which comes from being comfortable. If you’re nervous, find a friend in the audience and smile at them. Then relax.

Confidence is composed of three elements:

• Body language: Sit or stand up straight and face the audience. Release any tension in your body and try to spend your presentation looking at the audience rather than at your notes. It’s okay to pace or move around if you need to, but any movement needs to be measured.
• Voice: Use a loud and clear voice if there’s no microphone – clarity is the most important with or without an amplifier. Many people will rush their words when nervous, so be mindful of the flow and pace of your presentation. Factor in some pauses so what you’re saying can sink in.
• Rapport: Build a rapport with your audience. Many presenters break the ice with a joke or an anecdote, or use techniques such as rhetorical questions to engage them.

Content

The content of a presentation is also important. Good content is similarly composed of three elements:

• Novelty: The content must be new or sufficiently different to engage the audience. If your topic is unavoidably dull, spruce it up with props, images or humour that present it in a new way.
• Structure: You only have a limited time to do your presentation, so a good structure can be an effective way of conveying complex ideas. Form a skeleton by looking for patterns of logic and a sensible order in which the audience might come to an understanding of the material.
• Expertise: You need to know the material inside out and be familiar with the way you will present it. Once you’ve worked out the structure and words, practise your presentation. It will also help with your confidence when you get on stage.

Get to know how you behave in front of an audience and then accentuate the good parts and reduce undesirable habits. If you find you get nervous when people look at you, use visual aids they can stare at instead. If you find you talk too fast, invest in a metronome and practise speaking at a slower pace. And if your hands tremble, hold a prop like a pen to still them.

The way you present yourself, your work and your ideas will colour how your abilities are viewed in the workplace. Give your career the best chance by honing your presentation skills at the beginning of your career.

Give yourself the edge with free Student Membership

If you are a tertiary education student, The Tax Institute can help you progress in your career journey.

Find out about Student Membership.