presentation , based on the brief you were given . This should ensure that you achieve what is being asked of you and will keep your presentation focused . Remember that humans have short attention spans and your assessors will have a lot of presentations to hear throughout the course of the day . Keep it to the point .

Beginners or nervous speakers will almost always look at their slides , rather than the audience and sometimes they just read the slides out loud ! Instead , write brief notes on prompt cards and maintain eye contact with your audience as much as possible . Don ’ t use A4 sized paper though – it ’ ll exaggerate any shakiness in your hands !

Know what you ’ re dealing with

Most of the time , you will be given at least some information before the day – after all , the whole idea is that the presentation is a realistic representation of a workplace scenario . If this is the case , then concentrate on making the presentation the best it can possibly be , as they will be measuring your communication , planning and presentation skills .

However , if you are given the information only on the day of the assessment centre , they are measuring your time management skills as well as how well you handle pressure . Knowing this , you can give them what they ’ re looking for – someone who is calm and has a good grasp of their material .

Stay on your toes

During the presentation , the recruiter may well interject , add a last-minute catch like a reduced time limit or even change the brief slightly . This is to see how well you cope under pressure , so don ’ t let it throw you . Make sure you know your material inside and out and make sure you ’ ve identified passages that could potentially be skipped if the time limit was reduced .

Keep slides simple

Keep PowerPoint / Prezi slides simple – the attention should be on you and not the 21 bullet points overlaid on the fancy image you took off Google . Feel free to use high quality graphics and keep a consistent visual theme to your presentation , but avoid overloading slides with information , images or lots of motion . Less is more .

What ’ s the story ?

Before you even start putting slides together , write down the three things that you want the audience to take away from your

Before you even start putting

slides together , write down

the three things that you want

the audience to take away

from your presentation based

on the brief you were given .

Become the assessor

Ask yourself what the assessors may be looking for and see if your presentation meets the brief . Of course all recruiters use different criteria , but as a rough guide they may look at your use of visual aids , how well you engage your audience , how closely you met the brief and how much preparation you did .

Own the time

Remember that you have the floor during the presentation , so use it wisely . Don ’ t rush and make sure that you maintain eye contact with your audience as much as possible . When audience members ask questions or give comments , thank them for their input even if you are getting annoyed or frustrated .

Make a backup of your backup

If possible , put your presentation on two separate USB sticks , as well as emailing yourself a copy or backing it up on the cloud . It isn ’ t unknown for candidates to lose presentations or for them to corrupt for unknown reasons !

Don ’ t look at the slides

Don ’ t use too many slides

As a rough guide , you should use about one slide per two to three minutes of presentation . Any more than this and it will seem as though you can ’ t present your information clearly . It ’ s you giving the presentation , not the software – the slides are merely a visual representation to help your audience .

Don ’ t use too many bullets

Don ’ t just list bullet points on slides from a template . Use imaginative , high-quality images that summarize your point well . Studies have shown that images of people are far more likely to engage audiences . Avoid clipart at all costs .

Practice out loud

Not only will practicing out loud give you a good idea of how long your presentation is in real time , but you may also find that phrases that sounded great in your head don ’ t actually make sense when spoken . If you can , find a friend or family member to practice on to give you feedback . It will also give you an idea of where people may interrupt and ask questions .

Do a great round-up

Once you ’ ve come to the end of the presentation , wrap up by briefly summing up the presentation . ( Think an elevator pitch , condensing it into one or two sentences , the catchier the better .) Invite questions or address any queries that came up earlier in the presentation .

Show your enthusiasm

The most important thing you can do when presenting is to let your enthusiasm show through . If you are passionate about your subject then that will be communicated to your audience and it is what they ’ ll remember long after they ’ ve forgotten the subject of your presentation .

07

retailappointment . co . uk

To subscribe email enquiries @ retailappointment . co . uk