Establishing Your Own Presentation Baseline

A strong foundation is essential for delivering effective presentations. Before you can start building your storytelling skills, it’s important to establish a baseline for your own presentations. This involves identifying your strengths and weaknesses, setting goals, and creating a plan for improvement.

In this section, we’ll explore the steps involved in establishing your own presentation baseline. By following these guidelines, you can create a solid foundation for your storytelling journey.

Self-Assessment

The first step in establishing your baseline is to conduct a self-assessment. This involves reflecting on your past presentations and identifying your strengths and weaknesses.

Questions to consider:

• What are my strengths as a presenter?
• What are my weaknesses?
• What do I enjoy most about giving presentations?
• What do I find most challenging?

Areas to assess:

• Content: Do I have a clear and concise message? Do I use strong supporting evidence?
• Structure: Is my presentation well-organized? Do I use effective transitions?
• Delivery: Is my voice clear and engaging? Do I maintain eye contact with my audience?
• Visual aids: Are my visuals effective and relevant? Do I use them to enhance my message?

Setting Goals

Once you have identified your strengths and weaknesses, it’s time to set goals for improvement. These goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).  

Examples of SMART goals:

• Specific: I will improve my use of storytelling techniques in my next presentation.
• Measurable: I will incorporate at least three storytelling elements into my next presentation.
• Achievable: I will practice storytelling techniques for 30 minutes each day.
• Relevant: Storytelling is a valuable skill for delivering effective presentations.
• Time-bound: I will achieve this goal by the end of the month.

Creating a Plan

Once you have set your goals, you need to create a plan for achieving them. This plan should outline the specific steps you will take to improve your presentation skills.

Examples of steps you might take:

• Seek feedback: Ask colleagues, friends, or family members to provide feedback on your presentations.
• Practice regularly: Practice giving presentations in front of a mirror or a small group.
• Take a course: Enroll in a presentation skills course or workshop.
• Read books and articles: Learn from experts in the field of public speaking.