Interviews - Presentations
A CV Centre Guide
Presentations
It
is becoming increasingly common for presentations to be delivered as part
of the recruitment process, enabling employers to assess your talent for
effective organisation, your communication skills, and your ability to
collate and analyse information.
Usually, you will be given a specific topic for the presentation and allowed
time in advance to prepare. You will also be given an indication of how
long the final presentation should take to deliver and it is extremely
important that you adhere to this as you will also be assessed on your
ability to follow instructions. Sometimes, an employer may even surprise
you on the day of your interview by asking you to deliver a short presentation
and, if this is the case, it is important to remain calm. Remember that,
as you have not been given the opportunity to prepare, it is most likely
that you will only be expected to deliver a presentation on a subject
you are already familiar with.
Preparation
When preparing a presentation, it is important to be aware of your target
audience so that you can tailor the content accordingly. This ensures
that you address them with relevant information and are consequently better
able to hold their attention throughout the presentation.
Visual Aids
Once you know the subject and the target audience, you can start to gather
the information you need for the presentation. The most effective presentations
have proven to be those which utilise visual aids so, as well as researching
the information you actually need to talk about, it can be a good idea
to obtain pictures, charts or diagrams to be presented as handouts, overhead
projections or in the form of computer generated images. Visual aids must
be clear, concise, easy to read and understand and of a high quality.
Showing a hand scribbled graph is unlikely to have the visual impact of
a professionally produced computerised chart.
Practice Makes Perfect
Although it may be ideal to memorise your presentation, don't be afraid
to also have cue cards or notes with you, to ensure your presentation
is fluent. Employers do not like to see someone simply reading from a
script, but equally they do not want someone standing in front of them
who is lost for words. If you have been told in advance about your presentation,
you should have plenty of time in which to practice. This gives you the
chance to iron out any possible glitches and to decide how you will actually
present yourself. It is also essential that you time your presentation
to make sure it is neither too long nor too short.
Format
When finalising your presentation, make sure that it follows a clear format
with an introduction of the topic to be discussed, the main content and
a conclusion. A clearly defined structure not only makes the presentation
easier to prepare but should also mean it will make more sense to your
audience.
Delivery
When it comes to the actual delivery of the presentation, the key is to
try really hard to overcome any nerves. This can lead you to speak too
quickly, mumble and even fidget, all of which will give the audience a
negative impression. Eye contact with your audience is important throughout
the presentation, although this should not be over used as it can be unnerving.
Avoid the use of unnatural hand movements but also try to be visually
expressive where appropriate. Using a dull, monotonous voice will not
impress the audience and can make the topic sound uninteresting. Make
sure that any visual aids you are using are only visible at the relevant
times. Also, if you have any control over this, make sure your audience
is comfortable and that any lighting is adjusted to ensure the maximum
visibility of your visual aids.
Questions & Answers
At the conclusion of your presentation, it is always
possible that you
may be asked questions by the audience. However, as long as you have undertaken
your research and preparation properly, you should be able to tackle most,
if not all, of the questions put to you without any great difficulty.
Further Help
We
can offer no better recommendation than to get hold of a copy of the book
‘Great Answers to Tough Interview Questions’ which, despite
its title, actually covers every single aspect of the job-hunting process.
It’s the best book on the subject, is sponsored by The CV Centre,
and is available from us for just £12.50.
