Presentation Skills: Practical Tips for Managers

Good presentation skills come down to five things: knowing what your audience needs, having one clear message, slides that support you rather than speak for you, a steady voice and pace, and practice out loud. Nerves are normal and manageable. Most people improve quickly once they've presented a few times and had honest, supportive feedback.

These presentation tips are for managers and team leaders in health, care and service settings who present to boards, teams, commissioners, families or inspectors, and would rather do it well than just get through it.

Start with the audience, not the slides

The most common mistake is opening PowerPoint first. Before you write a single slide, answer three questions:

• Who's in the room? A provider board, your night staff, a commissioner, a group of relatives. Each wants something different.
• What do they already know? Your team knows the building and the people you support. A board member may not know what a falls sensor mat is.
• What do you want them to do afterwards? Agree funding, follow a new procedure, trust that you've got a problem under control.

Take a registered manager presenting a quarterly quality report to the board. The board doesn't need every audit score. It needs to know what's going well, what isn't, what you're doing about it, and what you need from them. Plan around that and the presentation almost writes itself.

Build one clear message

If your audience remembers one sentence, what should it be? Write it down first. For example: "Falls are down since we changed the night checks, but we need a second waking night member of staff to keep it that way."

Then give it a simple shape:

1. Opening: say why this matters to them, in a sentence or two. Skip the long introduction about yourself.
2. Middle: two or three main points, each backed by one example or one piece of evidence.
3. Close: repeat the message and say exactly what you're asking for.

Three points is plenty for most talks. If you have seven, some of them belong in a handout or a follow-up email. A short real story helps more than a list: the resident who stopped falling once their night routine changed will stick far longer than a percentage.

Slides that support, not distract

Slides are there to help the audience follow you, not to hold your script. A few rules that work:

• One idea per slide. A headline that states the point, not just a topic. "Falls are down since we changed night checks" beats "Falls data".
• Fewer words. If people are reading a paragraph, they aren't listening to you.
• Charts that show one thing. Highlight the line or bar that matters and grey out the rest.
• Plain language. The government's guidance on accessible communication formats advises avoiding acronyms and jargon, keeping content brief and giving a summary of key points. That matters in care, where boards and families won't know every abbreviation you use on shift.
• A plan B. Know your talk well enough to give it if the projector fails, and bring a printed copy.

For some talks you don't need slides at all. A five-minute team briefing at handover usually goes better with no screen and eye contact.

Voice, body language and pace

Your delivery does as much work as your content. Things to practise:

• Slow down. Nerves speed most people up. Aim to speak a little slower than feels natural.
• Pause. A pause after a key point gives it weight and gives you a moment to breathe. Silence feels far longer to you than to the audience.
• Look at people. Pick a few friendly faces around the room and talk to them in turn, rather than to the screen or your notes.
• Stand still, then move with purpose. Swaying and pacing distract. Plant your feet, and use your hands naturally.
• Project, don't shout. Speak to the back row. In a busy lounge or a room with a noisy corridor, that matters more than you think.

Handling nerves

Almost everyone feels nervous before presenting, including people who seem relaxed. The aim isn't to stop the nerves; it's to stop them running the show.

• Rehearse out loud, at least twice, ideally to a colleague. Running through it in your head doesn't count.
• Know your first minute by heart. Once you're past the opening, most nerves settle.
• Breathe slowly. The NHS's breathing exercise for stress suggests breathing in gently for a count of five and out for a count of five. A few rounds before you start helps.
• Arrive early. Check the room, the screen and the clicker, so the first thing you do in front of people isn't fighting with a cable.
• Remember the audience is on your side. Your team and your board want you to do well.

Questions and difficult moments

Questions are often where the real persuading happens. Some practical habits:

• Prepare for the hard ones. List the three questions you'd least like to be asked and plan honest answers.
• Listen to the whole question. Then repeat or rephrase it, so everyone has heard it and you have a moment to think.
• Be honest when you don't know. "I don't know, but I'll find out and come back to you by Friday" builds more trust than a guess.
• Stay calm with challenge. If a board member or relative pushes back, acknowledge the concern before you answer it. Our influencing skills training goes further into bringing people with you.
• Keep control of time. If one person dominates, offer to pick up the detail with them afterwards.

Presenting online

Many briefings, board meetings and commissioner meetings now happen on video calls. The basics still apply, with a few extras:

• Put the camera at eye level and look into it when you make a key point.
• Light your face from the front, not from a window behind you.
• Use fewer slides and change them less often; screen sharing adds lag.
• Pause more for questions and invite people by name, since nobody likes to talk over each other.
• Have someone else watch the chat, and ask them to take notes. Our minute taking training helps whoever records the actions.

How Kasorb can help

Our presentation skills training helps staff plan, structure and deliver presentations with confidence. It covers planning for your audience, structuring a clear message, slides that support rather than distract, voice, body language and pace, handling nerves, and questions and difficult moments. Everyone gives a short practice presentation and gets supportive feedback from the trainer and the group.

It runs as a full day, on site anywhere in the UK or live online. Your trainer has used these skills for real and keeps the day practical and supportive, so even nervous presenters leave more confident. It's one price for the group, and certificates are emailed the next day. For managers building wider leadership skills, see our management and leadership skills training.

FAQs

What are the most important presentation skills?

Planning around your audience, building one clear message, keeping slides simple, speaking at a steady pace with pauses, and handling questions honestly. Practising out loud ties them together. Most people improve quickly once they've presented a few times and had supportive feedback on what worked.

How can I stop being nervous before a presentation?

You probably won't stop the nerves completely, and you don't need to. Rehearse out loud, learn your first minute by heart, arrive early to check the room, and breathe slowly before you start. Nerves usually settle once you're past the opening.

How many slides should a presentation have?

There's no fixed number. Use one idea per slide, a headline that states the point, and as few words as possible. For a short team briefing you may not need slides at all. If you're rushing through slides to finish on time, cut some.

How do you present well on a video call?

Put the camera at eye level, light your face from the front, use fewer slides and pause more often for questions. Invite people by name so they don't talk over each other, and ask a colleague to watch the chat and take notes.

Is presentation skills training a legal requirement?

No law requires it. It's development training for staff who present to colleagues, boards, clients or the public. It gives staff practice with feedback and gives you a record for your training file and development plans.