How to assess your own presentation skills
A list of questions from a presentation skills coach
Watching a recording of yourself giving a presentation is uncomfortable. So much so that most of us never do it. Instead, we assess ourselves based on how we feel coming out of that presentation and how many people give us the canned “That was great!”
The result?
Little to no improvement in your skills.
One reason it can be so uncomfortable to watch a recording of yourself presenting is that you don’t have an objective assessment process. So, instead of assessing your skills, you criticize yourself on a personal level.
Today, I want to share a few of the questions I ask when assessing my clients’ presentation skills.
I hope these questions encourage you to watch your recordings and help you create a clear action plan coming out of those review sessions.
10 Questions you should ask when assessing your presentation skills:
How many seconds/minutes was I into my presentation before I started delivering value to my audience?
Within the first five minutes of my presentation, did I tell my audience exactly what I wanted them to know, be able to do, or feel by the end of my presentation?
Within the first five minutes of my presentation, did I tell my audience when and how they could participate?
What specifically did I do (body language, voice) or say (words) to create and maintain a connection with my audience throughout my presentation?
How much time did I spend engaging directly with the people in my audience vs. my content (referring to my notes, looking at my slides, etc.)?
In what ways did I observe and respond to my audience in real time? Another way to ask this… What adjustments did I make to my delivery style based on what I was noticing or hearing from my audience?
What specific tools or strategies did I use to facilitate understanding? (message structure, stories, analogies, various media types, asking audience questions, etc.)
How often did I deliberately pause in silence with the intention of giving my audience space to connect with and digest the point I was making?
If I moved as I was presenting, (1) was I aware I was moving, and (2) did I have a legitimate reason for doing so?
At the end of my presentation, did I clearly summarize my most important points and recommend to my audience what they can/should do with this information?
Did you know…
I’m now offering complimentary assessments to new clients. If you’re interested, click here to learn more.
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Thanks for reading!
Until next time,
Jenny