University of Tasmania, Australia

Why are good presentation skills important?

Good presentation skills are an important skill in any profession including accounting. Poor communication reflects badly on the individual and the organisation. Here is an example of when it all goes horribly wrong! The Miss Teen USA 2007 – South Carolina answers a question – it's only about 40 seconds but it is fun to watch.

Classic mistakes of novices

The following is a list of some of classic rookie mistakes when making presentations.

• lack of eye contact or favouring one side of the room
• jiggling of legs or fidgeting of hands
• vocal mannerisms ('um', 'ah')
• lack of fluency or conversational style
• talking 'at' the audience
• over-reliance on notes or PowerPoint

Would you like to see more?

Videos

This section presents four videos on Making a Presentation:

• Body language
• Preparation
• Audience
• Equipment

Additional Resources

• Learning support - Oral presentations
• University of Canberra - Giving an Oral Presentation
• The University of Melbourne - Oral Presentations