Presentation Preparation
With the specialised, technical nature of many GRC roles, it’s not uncommon for the interview process to include a presentation element. Candidates who aren’t used to presenting can feel out of their depth, leading to them getting nervous and further harming their performance.
As with interviewing, presenting is a professional skill just like any other and with practice, you can perfect it. Here are some areas to think about:
- If you’ve been asked to present on something that you’re not already intimately familiar with, do some serious research. If you’re discussing a topic you already know inside and out, check up on any recent developments in the field.
- Once you’ve got your information together and organised it into a logical order, practice running the presentation in full. Once you’re talking out loud with your slides in front of you, you’ll probably immediately be aware of points that sound clunky, areas where you’re spending too much time or topics you’ve missed. If you can, rehearse it in front of one or more people you can trust to give you honest feedback on these things – they don’t need to be experts on the subject matter, anyone can tell you whether you’re delivering information in a clear and engaging manner.
- You should know your presentation well enough that you’re not constantly looking down at notes. You should absolutely keep notes on hand, and there’s no harm in glancing down to check occasionally, but it’s important to be talking to your audience, not reading to them.
- Be careful with current industry buzzwords or complex technical jargon. Some presentation guides will tell you to avoid these completely and convey all your ideas in general easy to understand language. The crucial thing is to get the language right for your specific audience. If you’ve noticed during your initial interview or follow up communication that the company you’re dealing with is very formal and frequently uses technical terms, make sure you’re operating on the same level.
The big thing is to be prepared. Do the work ahead of time, don’t wait until the last minute to throw something together. Remember that if you’ve been asked to present it’s a very good sign that they’re interested in you, so you have every reason to be confident.
[For more tips on interviews and other aspects of the job-seeking process, check out Kind’s Candidate Guides]
