Some employers will ask you to conduct a presentation as part of your interview. They will usually choose a topic that is related to the job role or topic you be working in. They help interviewers test several of your skills and knowledge. PowerPoint is the tool that candidates will be used for you to help deliver your presentation to the interviewer(s). However, you should beware that although it's a brilliant tool, in the wrong hands it can make a car crash out of a presentation. If you want to avoid the disaster, then here are 7 mistakes you should avoid to help ensure you get your points across effectively.
(1) Reading From Slides
One common mistake made by candidates when doing their interview presentation is just reading from their slides. They spend too much time looking & speaking at their presentation instead of their audience. Practice your presentation so you can recite your presentation and look at your audience. You want the interviewer(s) to feel engage while demonstrating you know you stuff!
(2) Too Much Animation & Effects
You want your presentation to be bold and stand out, so candidates assume animations are the thing to use. While they may impress and engage a younger audience (school children) they won’t interviewers. You should always be careful if you choose to use special effects e.g.
whizzing texts or how you slides change. Always ask yourself if anything you have added to help your points stand out actually do that or seem annoying.
(3) Font & Text
Like the effects and animations, candidates will automatically jump to using WordArt to help make their presentation to stand out. Unless you’re going for a computer design job it best you keep your points on the presentations in a good readable font and size.
(4) The Theme
When you are designing your presentation using PowerPoint, you will be able to choose a theme. The themes will stop your background of the slides from being dull and help make them look good but you still need to choose wisely. What size screen will your presentation be on? What will the lighting be at the location? Candidates who choose dark themes usually end you regretting it. Choose light and easy on the eye themes. Impress a bit and use the company’s colours for your theme.
(5) Too Much Information
Your PowerPoint presentation is there to help you with your presentation. YOU are the presentation! You presentation should be filled with bullet points to help you elaborate on what ever topic your presentation is about. You fill in the rest. Candidates who not use to presentations or worried they will forget will overload their presentation with information. This could lead you to ignore your audience and read from the slides. Keep the information to points which you use to discuss your topic.
(6) Timing
You will have an allotted time limit in which you must deliver your presentation. You must be able to do this without rushing and not delivering a poor presentation. Practice your presentation until you nail the timing right. Set you slides to change at set times so you don’t have to disengage from your audience to change slides. The biggest mistake is either candidates rush to finish or over run. Stick to your points. Don’t waffle.
(7) Tone & Body Language
You want to impression delivering your presentation so you need to have a confident tone and your body language needs to be relaxed, yet showing your positive attitude & enthusiasm. Not only are you assessed on the quality of your presentation but how you deliver it to your audience. Speaking softly/quietly will not look good. Make sure your body language comes across well. No putting hands in your pocket, behind your back etc. It will show the interviewer(s) that you are not confident and can’t handle pressure.
(1) Reading From Slides
One common mistake made by candidates when doing their interview presentation is just reading from their slides. They spend too much time looking & speaking at their presentation instead of their audience. Practice your presentation so you can recite your presentation and look at your audience. You want the interviewer(s) to feel engage while demonstrating you know you stuff!
(2) Too Much Animation & Effects
You want your presentation to be bold and stand out, so candidates assume animations are the thing to use. While they may impress and engage a younger audience (school children) they won’t interviewers. You should always be careful if you choose to use special effects e.g.
whizzing texts or how you slides change. Always ask yourself if anything you have added to help your points stand out actually do that or seem annoying.
(3) Font & Text
Like the effects and animations, candidates will automatically jump to using WordArt to help make their presentation to stand out. Unless you’re going for a computer design job it best you keep your points on the presentations in a good readable font and size.
(4) The Theme
When you are designing your presentation using PowerPoint, you will be able to choose a theme. The themes will stop your background of the slides from being dull and help make them look good but you still need to choose wisely. What size screen will your presentation be on? What will the lighting be at the location? Candidates who choose dark themes usually end you regretting it. Choose light and easy on the eye themes. Impress a bit and use the company’s colours for your theme.
(5) Too Much Information
Your PowerPoint presentation is there to help you with your presentation. YOU are the presentation! You presentation should be filled with bullet points to help you elaborate on what ever topic your presentation is about. You fill in the rest. Candidates who not use to presentations or worried they will forget will overload their presentation with information. This could lead you to ignore your audience and read from the slides. Keep the information to points which you use to discuss your topic.
(6) Timing
You will have an allotted time limit in which you must deliver your presentation. You must be able to do this without rushing and not delivering a poor presentation. Practice your presentation until you nail the timing right. Set you slides to change at set times so you don’t have to disengage from your audience to change slides. The biggest mistake is either candidates rush to finish or over run. Stick to your points. Don’t waffle.
(7) Tone & Body Language
You want to impression delivering your presentation so you need to have a confident tone and your body language needs to be relaxed, yet showing your positive attitude & enthusiasm. Not only are you assessed on the quality of your presentation but how you deliver it to your audience. Speaking softly/quietly will not look good. Make sure your body language comes across well. No putting hands in your pocket, behind your back etc. It will show the interviewer(s) that you are not confident and can’t handle pressure.