Your team’s presentation skills directly impact your organization’s success. Yet many companies overlook a simple tool for improvement: recording and reviewing presentations. Here’s why you should start, and what to watch for.
Common Presentation Pitfalls
- Casual Language Creep
- “So yeah, that’s our quarterly results” undermines authority
- “Kinda” and “sorta” diminish confidence
- “Basically” and “literally” rarely add value Replace with: Clear, decisive statements that demonstrate expertise
- Unconscious Bias in Language
- “You guys” excludes team members
- “Chairman” when “Chair” suffices
- “Girls in the office” instead of “colleagues” Replace with: “Everyone,” “team,” “colleagues,” “folks”
- Verbal Clutter
- “Um,” “uh,” “like,” “you know”
- Starting sentences with “So…”
- Ending statements with “right?” Replace with: Purposeful pauses, confident transitions
- Signs of Poor Preparation
- Reading directly from slides
- Unable to answer basic questions
- Disorganized flow Replace with: Clear structure, practiced delivery, anticipated Q&A
- Weak Language Structures
- “The report was written” vs. “The team wrote the report”
- “It was decided” vs. “The board decided”
- “Changes were implemented” vs. “We implemented changes” Replace with: Active voice that shows ownership and authority
The Challenge
Record your next three team presentations. Watch them with these criteria in mind. Share specific feedback. Track improvement.
Most teams will be surprised by what they see – and how quickly they can improve with awareness and practice.
Ready to accelerate your team’s growth? I Need A Speaker offers comprehensive public speaking training, available both on-site and at our professional facilities. Our expert trainers will help your team deliver presentations that command attention and drive results.
Contact info@ineedaspeaker.com