Tag Archive for 'Soft Skills'

Why Presentation Skills Are THE Number One Soft Skill

Although ‘presentation’ or ‘public speaking’ strikes fear into the hearts of many, it’s a skill worth investing in to elevate your career. Read on to learn why.

What are presentation skills?

To begin, a presentation is:

A speech or talk in which a new product, idea, or piece of work is shown and explained to an audience.

Online dictionary

However, a person’s presentation skills are their ability to engage their audience in a compelling, engaging, educational and informative way. To do this, they must communicate clearly and effectively to various audiences. 

It involves time management, body language, tone of voice, presentation materials and providing the opportunity for participation.

It’s a multi-tiered competency built on numerous abilities with one aim; to get the point across.

But why are presentation skills so important?

How would you answer if we were to ask you which careers you thought would require outstanding presentation skills?

The apparent answers may be high-flying entrepreneurs, politicians and TV presenters (or any profession with the word ‘presenter’ in the name).

The answer?

It’s closer to ALL of them. 

Excellent presentation skills are essential, from nailing the interview for your dream job to leading a progress report to key stakeholders.

There is a good reason it’s ‘presentation skills’ plural. To successfully present, you are demonstrating to would-be employers, managers and colleagues an all-round competency in several skills:

1. Effective Communication 

This is a given. A great presenter will be clear to prevent miscommunication and impart messages quickly and effectively to keep the audience engaged.

In this modern world, attention spans are short, so every word is a commodity.

2. Interpersonal Relationships

A presentation aims to build a good rapport and a two-way connection with the audience. Interpersonal skills are vital to establishing and managing relationships with people.

Understanding your audience will allow them to feel as if you are talking to them as an individual.

3. Organisation and Time management

A lot of work and preparation goes into preparing a presentation. You can achieve the output required faster by utilising a systematic approach without compromising quality.

A well-prepared presentation is more likely to captivate the audience’s attention and comprehension of the subject matter while staying within time constraints.

4. Research

During a presentation, you are trying to convince an audience why what you have to say is important.

An extensively researched presentation backed up with facts and figures to support your points is far more impactful and compelling.

5. Professionalism 

A business relies on individual people to represent the company values. How you address people, whether during a conference or speaking to a customer, will create an impression of the business.

It is also a way to showcase yourself, your experience and your expertise.

6. Adaptability

Presentations involve an audience, and people are, by default, extremely unpredictable.

Responding to and improvising given unforeseen circumstances shows you can think on your feet when being addressed with an unfamiliar situation.

7. Stress management

There’s no getting away from it. We don’t all naturally have a gift for the gab, so presentations are one of the most dreaded business scenarios.

Getting past this and portraying yourself as calm and controlled shows you can manage stress and deliver under pressure which is an essential skill to have in the working world.

8. Resilience

You will not often hit the nail on the head with your first presentation, and it’s likely a skill you will develop over time. Listening to feedback and criticism will allow you to identify and overcome problems.

Resilience shows your ability to overcome challenges and treat setbacks as a learning opportunity to improve for the future.


The array of expertise required to present effectively is why it is the forefront soft skill essential to your career growth.

If you are interested in developing your presentation skills further, follow the link to learn more about our hands-on, comprehensive Effective Presentations Skills Course led by one of our certified instructors.

We would love to learn more about your training requirements, so please get in touch with us today at 0115 958 6699 or email us at info@inferotraining.com for more information and a free, no-obligation consultation.