Spring Cleaning For Presentation Skills

By Jen Jamula

As days grow longer and the sun reveals dust in corners, stains on favorite shirts, and a startling vitamin D deficiency, the annual wave of spring cleaning begins. The impulse is to Swiffer, bleach (still not for Covid), and rewatch Tidying Up With Marie Kondo. Why not capitalize on this same momentum to brush up one’s presentation skills, especially as this particular spring marks the beginning of the slow foray into interacting with real humans again?

Even the most experienced public speakers can afford to take stock of unhelpful habits, whether they are over-relying on notes while on Zoom, using uptalk in the middle of a sentence, or forgetting to take their audience into account. Spring is an ideal time to adopt fresh presentation practices.

Here are three tips for spring cleaning one’s presentation skills. 

Upgrade your space.

While many are anticipating a return to the office, a hybrid work environment is emerging as employees’ most preferred work model. That means, like it or not, video presentations are here to stay. If one has been holding off on purchasing a ring light during the pandemic, now is the time to buy one! There are plenty of options available, including lesser expensive clip lights used on phones and computers that provide ample light for most people’s workplace presentation needs. 

Simpler (and freer) “home hacks” exist to upgrade one’s space. First, find a dedicated and intentional background for presentations to avoid shuffling your personal belongings out of screen view each time. Position monitor and camera at eye level or higher for a flattering angle that feels more alive and connected, as if it were in person. And pro tip: Stand up while presenting. This requires a hefty book stack to put a computer at proper height, but the effort is worth it: Standing looks more professional, invigorates a presenter, and conveys energy through the screen.

Say it in a new way three times. Then reach for a metaphor.

Jargon is one of the most common problems plaguing presenters. Yet, no matter who one is, if they are focused on a particular area or working within a specific industry or culture, it’s easy to fall into rote ways of speaking. After all, “owning the language” demonstrates technical know-how, belonging in a group, and even conveys status. But speakers over-rely on jargon, missing opportunities to memorably engage (and potentially widen) their audiences.

Spring cleaning tip? Say it in a new way three times. No repeating words, especially jargon buzzwords. Try a company mission, role description, or process explanation. Venture outside one’s industry and describe it like one would to a child, a painter, or a marine biologist. Then, on the fourth try, reach for a metaphor – or a non-literal comparison. Get creative and avoid cliches (“we’re the macaroni and cheese on any menu – versatile, familiar, and always appealing”). See what sticks and try it in an upcoming presentation. 

Try these list-building techniques.

Especially in virtual environments, where it’s hard to hear every laugh or catch every nod, it can feel impossible to connect with an audience. The trouble is, when a speaker no longer connects with an audience, delivery fails and droning is bound to occur. Droning happens most often when one is enumerating items on a list, or sub-bullets within bullets, on and endlessly on. 

List-building techniques make presentations more listenable. First, try making each item in the list sound slightly different than the last, as if one has a differing opinion on each thing. Start slow on a simple list like “apples, oranges, bananas.” Allow subtle expression and delivery changes to come through on each one. Or alternately, try making each item sound slightly more important, exciting, or energized than the last (“apples, oranges, BANANAS”), since speakers tend to drop the endings of their sentences and lose steam as they go. Always in presenting, the energy must build toward the end of a sentence, thought, or lecture.

These tiny upgrades to one’s presentation toolbox are just the level-up they need to spark public speaking joy this spring. Happy cleaning!