Bini Dahal

When given a presentation assignment to a class, every student is found following a unique approach to creating it and its delivery. It has become an important part of our daily life. Not just limited to students, professionals are also required to give presentations as part of their business assignments. So, learning the art of presentation is crucial. But what exactly is the art of presenting?

Presentation makers have two kinds of mindset. One is really meticulous. This group has the mentality that they should include nearly everything in their slides. The other kind thinks that they should make their presentation short and simple. Although none of the mentality is completely wrong, the latter is far better than the former. Conciseness can never go wrong. The idea of KISS: Keep it Simple and Short has been a well-known concept in presentations. The issue with lengthy presentations is that it distracts the minds of audiences, overloads them with too much information and even makes it difficult for the speaker to deliver efficiently.
Besides conciseness, making a presentation visually appealing is another skill. Adding too many bright lights can make it difficult for viewers to focus. There exists colour theory for presentations as well. Understanding colour theory and making proper use of it can help the speaker become a visual communicator. Different colours communicate different things. For instance, the white colour could indicates hope, simplicity, cleanliness, purity and goodness. So, based on the basis of colour selection, the speaker can relay a hidden message to the audience.

Then comes the part of presentation delivery. Speakers must have an enthusiastic and confident tone, good pitch voice and speech tempo. These aspects can be an added benefit to the overall success of the presentation. As the saying goes, time is money. Therefore, time management is important while delivering presentations. Lengthy explanations can make the whole delivery process monotonous and boring. The accumulation of all these elements makes the presentation perfect.

The escalating COVID-19 situation has completely changed the dynamics of presentation today. We have switched from a physical environment to the online. This change has helped many students and professionals from letting go of their stage frights. But the issue is, too much of a comfort zone to this mode can make individuals unprepared and uncomfortable while working in a physical environment.
Presentation has become an important mode of communication for people. Students use presentations to give an idea of their better understanding and research on any matter. Business professionals make use of presentations to pitch their ideas and win over investors and other stakeholders for business development.

Continuous habit of making and delivering presentations enhances our ability to read, write, listen and speak to others. It also contributes to building better phonology, vocabulary and grammar. As it helps us become a better communicator within a short span of time, we get to communicate messages shortly. Every individual should gain foundational knowledge on presentation skills. As social animals, human beings have a basic need to communicate among themselves. Therefore, presentations are highly essential life skills and we need to master over them.