In today’s workforce, effective presentations can make the difference in achieving multiple business goals, from closing sales to delivering employee training, internal communication, and beyond. This makes presentation skills important for employees at many levels, and employees agree. As found in the recent Superstar Presenter Spotlight with over 1,000 U.S. professionals surveyed, better presentations can […]
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In today’s workforce, effective presentations can make the difference in achieving multiple business goals, from closing sales to delivering employee training, internal communication, and beyond. This makes presentation skills important for employees at many levels, and employees agree. As found in the recent Superstar Presenter Spotlight with over 1,000 U.S. professionals surveyed, better presentations can have a positive impact on company culture with 49% believing great presentations would motivate them to increase their depth of knowledge, and 48% saying it would motivate them to share their knowledge more. Meanwhile, the benefits for individuals are perhaps more obvious, with 43% saying they would look forward to presentations instead of dreading them.
However, employees also have high expectations for presentations, with 86% seeing TED Talks as the gold standard. The problem: TED Talks are typically presenter-focused and storytelling-driven, requiring a high skill level and often years of public speaking experience. Knowing this, it’s unsurprising that many employees believe their own presentation skills to be lacking. Only 9% of employees surveyed would rate their presenting skills as top notch, and 96% say their workplace could benefit from dedicated presenter training.
Employees who present at work point to a range of persistent challenges, with audience engagement taking the top spot (53%) among their biggest presentation woes. This is followed by 46% of employees who name nerves and lack of confidence as their greatest obstacle in presenting, and 44% who cite the difficulty of breaking the ice and connecting with the audience.
How can HR leaders empower more employees with the confidence, skills, and tools to deliver presentations that impress the audience? Here are four top strategies to get started:
With TED Talks held up as the paragon of great presentations, it follows that the largest share of employees (27%) rank storytelling skills as the top quality of a great presenter. However, nearly as many employees (25%) say that the ability to make presentations interactive is most important. This could be a game changer, as interactivity boosts audience engagement through inviting active participation, while also easing the presenter’s nerves by taking the spotlight off them. Crucially, it doesn’t take top public speaking skills to make presentations interactive. It’s all about asking questions. For example, quiz the audience to test their knowledge retention, brainstorm ideas, take polls and gather input, and even gamify the experience for even more engagement.
While shifting focus to interactivity can give presenters a more accessible path to success, technology can make all the difference in bringing an interactive presentation to life. Tech tools can help presenters weave interactive elements throughout the experience, making it more engaging and dynamic. This can also enable audience members to participate through their own tech, such as their mobile devices or computers, rather than requiring them to raise their hands and speak up. While the latter tends to engage participants who are already outgoing, technology can make it easier for everyone to participate, meaning you can effectively engage more employees.
Generative AI is of course one major rising technology within the workforce, and it may have serious untapped potential for helping employees build their presentations with eye-catching designs and interactive elements. According to the latest research, 48% of employees believe AI could be a valuable ally in the presentation game, but only 17% of professionals currently use AI to help create or host presentations, suggesting a demand for more access to AI presentation tools or training.
Though interactivity can make it easier to deliver a superstar presentation without years of public speaking, practice is always a plus. Adopting an engaging, interactive presentation format across your team or company can also be an effective way to encourage more employees to deliver more presentations. Employees may be reluctant to deliver dry presentations they know will bore their coworkers. However, if employees think of presentations more as conversations, brainstorming sessions, or gamified knowledge tournaments, you may instead see employees lining up to host.
Lack of regular feedback is another significant challenge for presenters. Among survey respondents, 98% say they value feedback from their presentation audience, but only 13% report consistently receiving it. While 42% of employees generally feel their presentations go well, they report feeling uncertain if their message is truly resonating. Interestingly, 83% of employees who report feeling like presentation rock stars say they always or often get audience feedback on their presentations, compared to only 59% of presenters who feel some uncertainty in their effectiveness, indicating that feedback may help presenters build both capability and confidence. To encourage feedback, presenters can integrate audience pulse checks—such as polls, word clouds, quiz questions, or emoji reactions—that quickly show what the audience is thinking and whether they understand the key messages. This can uncover any knowledge gaps among the audience, as well as provide feedback on the clarity of the presenter’s communication without overtly asking for it. Presenters can also gain confidence from seeing their audience truly engaged in the experience.
With an innovative approach that combines interactivity and technology, organizations can put superstar presenter skills within reach for anyone, empowering more employees to share their knowledge in a way that engages audiences and drives results.
James Micklethwait is VP of Kahoot! at work at global learning and engagement platform company Kahoot!
The post <strong>Maximizing Employee Presentation Skills: How Anyone Can Become a Superstar Presenter</strong> appeared first on HR Daily Advisor.
