Dear Career Coach

My presentation skills are really not very good and even though I know what I would like to convey, it never seems to come out the way I want. To be frank, I find the whole thing quite nerve wracking and even I find what I'm saying boring. Can you give me some advice on how to improve?

If you are boring yourself with your presentations, you really do need some help! If it's any comfort, a lot of people dislike public speaking and presenting and it does take practice to become more comfortable with doing it, so don't be too tough on yourself.

Whether it's the content of your presentation or how you are delivering it, there are a number of things you can do that will help you feel better prepared and therefore more confident.

Until you really feel confident, you need to pretend that you are confident, and literally put on a performance when you are delivering a presentation. An assured tone and good posture will do wonders to hold your audience's attention and immediately improve your credibility and style of delivery.

As you plan out your presentation, be clear about your goals; are you informing, entertaining or persuading your audience about something? Depending on what your goal is, make sure that you adapt your presentation style accordingly. If you are in persuasion mode, for example, you could include questions that you may be asked and address them as part of your delivery.

Sounding relaxed when your knees are shaking is tough, but the more you practice your presentation, the better you will be able to manage your stress. Take deep breaths and speak a little slower than normal, projecting your voice to reach the back of the room and enunciating your words clearly. Practice until you feel really comfortable with the information you are delivering and you can then put your energy into sounding enthusiastic and confident.

Structure your presentation carefully. As with any good performance, start with a powerful introduction that engages your audience. As you develop your points, keep them clear and simple and summarise them at the end to ensure that your key messages have been conveyed. Don't be tempted to cram in too much information – you want to keep you and your audience awake from start to finish. If you are using any visual aids, such as PowerPoint, use them to support what you are saying rather than having every word of your presentation set out on slides.

Stay focused on what your audience really needs to know, choosing key words and content carefully to ensure you achieve your goals. Think ahead to the kind of questions you are likely to be asked and deal with objections or questions calmly and briefly, offering to provide any really detailed responses 'off-line' to the questioner afterwards.

As a final point, be aware of any mannerisms that could distract your audience – flapping hands and any number of body tics come to mind – and try to minimise or eliminate them.

In short, prepare, practice and pretend (at least, until you really feel it) and your approach to giving presentations, as well as your delivery, will be radically transformed.

All the best!