Presentation skills are key to any group leader. One of the first things a presenter should do is to control the attention span of his or her audience. Some of the best ways to do this is to start off your presentation by making your major points, up front. Then, make sure you go over then again at the end to avoid anyone forgetting them. Along these same lines, make sure the audience is aware that you will be taking questions at the end. This will encourage them to listen and think of questions to ask of you. The way you speak is ultra-important. Make sure you speak clearly and slowly. But on the non-verbal side, make sure you keep eye contact with those you are speaking with. If you use note cards, don't write your notes on in full sentences, but rather, short bullet points to jog your memory.

Of course in this day and age, people are more stimulated by visual aids. If they are effective for your presentation, they can help your audience remember a point. But, if they are pointless, your entire presentation will be worthless to your audience, proving you have no presentation skills. If using a slide show, don't use more than 3 points per slide. But whether you use visual aids or not, it is important that you practice your presentation out loud, alone first. Make sure you time it as well. There is nothing an audience hates more than someone who goes over time and a presentation that is too short will cause your audience to think that you have no clue as to what you were presenting. Another good presentation skills tip would be to have someone come up with some questions regarding your presentation, and see how well you can answer them.

Assuming you will have a questions and answer section of your presentation, make sure you are ready to listen to your audience. Give them your full attention, keep eye contact with the ones who ask you questions, and make sure you let the person asking the questions finish the question before you answer. These questions are the chance for you to appear confident about what you spoke about. This could make or break you basically. It is also a good way to encourage a relationship with your audience, which is priceless. Rewording questions that were asked (or even simply repeating them) is good for perhaps people who did not hear the question asked to begin with (It also lets you kill some time to think up an answer). And always thank them for questions. This will get others to ask questions too.