Effective presentation skills are essential for anyone who wants to convey ideas, influence decisions, and make an impact. Whether you’re speaking in front of a large audience or presenting to a small group, mastering the art of public speaking can elevate your professional and personal endeavors.

In this blog, we’ll explore What is Presentation Skills and some fundamental principles of Presentation Skills that can help you become a more confident and persuasive speaker.

• Know Your Audience
• Structure Your Content
• Engage Your Audience
• Practice, Practice, Practice
• Use Visual Aids Wisely
• Manage Nervousness
• Seek Feedback and Learn from Experience
• Embrace Authenticity
• Continuous Improvement
• Conclusion

Delivering an effective presentation starts with knowing your audience. Take into account their experience, passions, and expertise in the area. Make your message more relevant and interesting by adjusting the content and delivery method to appeal to your target demographic. Be it stakeholders, customers, or coworkers, understanding your audience will enable you to engage with them more deeply. 

It is simpler for your audience to follow and comprehend a well-structured presentation. Start your presentation with a concise opening that summarises the key ideas you will cover and explains its purpose. Use titles and transitions to help your audience navigate your presentation as you arrange your material into logical parts. Finish on a high note that captures the essence of your argument and makes an impact. 

Keeping your audience interested and paying attention requires engagement. Include interactive features, humour, or narrative to add interest to your presentation. Bring up questions, promote involvement, and include your audience in the conversation. This keeps people interested and makes the encounter more significant and unforgettable. 

You’ll become more polished and self-assured the more you practise your presentation. Practise your delivery many times, focusing on your body language, tempo, and vocal tone. To pinpoint your areas for growth, practise in front of a mirror or videotape yourself. Seeking input from mentors or coworkers might help you get insightful opinions. 

Slides, movies, or props are visual aids that may improve your presentation and support your main points. But it’s crucial to utilise them sensibly and avoid becoming too dependent on them. Use your visual aids to support, not detract from, your spoken remarks. Keep them straightforward and uncomplicated. Make sure they are clear to see and comprehend from any angle in the space. 

Although being anxious before a presentation is normal, controlling your anxiety is crucial to giving a polished presentation. Before you talk, try relaxation exercises to help you de-stress, including deep breathing or visualisation. Instead of concentrating on your nervousness, think about your audience and the message you want to deliver. Recall that anxiety is often seen as excitement, so accept it as an indication that you are invested in your presentation. 

Ask your audience or other coworkers for comments after your presentation. Request detailed input on things like delivery, engagement, and clarity. Use this input to pinpoint your presentation’s strong points and areas for development, then apply it to subsequent ones. Over time, you’ll improve your presenting abilities and become a more polished speaker by drawing lessons from each event. 

Being real is essential to building a relationship of trust with your audience. In your presentation, be yourself and allow your personality to come through. Sharing personal tales or experiences relevant to your subject may establish a more intimate connection with your audience. Authenticity increases credibility and trust, amplifying your message’s impact and recall. Adopting authenticity also makes you feel more at ease and self-assured, which calms anxieties and improves your performance in general.

Just like any other talent, presentation abilities may be developed with time. Adopt a mentality that emphasises ongoing development and look for chances to improve your presentation skills. Enrol in training sessions for presenting skills, seminars, or workshops to learn fresh perspectives and methods. Remain receptive to criticism and be prepared to modify and advance your strategy in light of new information. You can remain on top of trends and provide more memorable presentations that connect with your audience by always working to improve your presenting abilities.

Gaining presentation proficiency is an invaluable skill that will help you in both your personal and professional life. You may develop into a more certain and convincing speaker by knowing your audience, organising your material, including them, rehearsing often, using visual aids, controlling your anxiety, getting feedback, and learning from mistakes. Using these core ideas will enable you to provide presentations that educate, motivate, and persuade audiences, whether you’re giving them in a conference room, boardroom, or classroom.

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Attorney Brian D. Kenyon of the Marshall Law Office in East Kingston, NH, has been suspended by the NH Supreme Court pending final resolution by the NH Professional Conduct Committee (PCC).

The suspension stems from allegations by the NH Attorney Discipline Office (ADO) that Kenyon, who was admitted to the NH Bar in 1978, violated a number of professional conduct rules in 2022 and 2023. The most significant allegation accuses Kenyon of failure to supervise a Paralegal at the law firm. Kenyon, who is no stranger to ethics violations, was reprimanded in 2016 for violating “duties owed to a client,” in which the ADO concluded that “Mr. Kenyon’s mental state was negligent with respect to his client.”

According to recent case documents obtained at the NH Law Library and the NH Supreme Court, the ADO alleges a number of ethics violations against Kenyon. The most significant of which is that Kenyon allegedly failed to supervise paralegal Keri J. Marshall who was a former attorney and is the current and longtime owner of the Marshall Law office. Marshall, who was admitted to the NH bar in 1987, once specialized in family law. She resigned from the NH bar while under investigation by the ADO in 2022. The specific reasoning for the ADO’s investigation of Marshall has not been disclosed.

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Marshall is no stranger to ethics violations herself. According to ADO records, she was censured in 2012 for a number of ethics violations, including directing an office employee to file an affidavit testifying that she had notified Daniel Shepard (an adverse party) of an “Assented to Motion to Continue” (agreement on rescheduling). Shepard, who was representing himself Pro Se against his ex-wife and her then-council Marshall, successfully proved that he was never notified of the Assented to Motion to Continue. Marshall was subsequently censured by the ADO with aggravating factors, including failure to fully cooperate with the ADO and failure to take responsibility for her misconduct. For her actions, Marshall received a public censure with sanctions. Marshall was permitted to continue practicing law without any suspension.

The recent allegations against Kenyon stem from two separate independent complaints by Timothy Bickford and Michael Kimball. Bickford’s complaint alleges that Kenyon, who represented his ex-wife in a recent family court matter, failed to supervise Marshall and that she, as a paralegal, was falsely representing herself as an active attorney at the Marshall Law firm. Kimball’s complaint alleges that he met alone with Marshall (a paralegal – nonattorney) at her law office in 2023, and he received legal advice from her and was subsequently billed for the meeting. He later learned that Marshall was not a licensed attorney. Kenyon, the only attorney at the firm, is responsible for the behavior of all staff members, including paralegals. These complaints to the ADO, by both Bickford and Kimball, have resulted in new accusations against Kenyon by the ADO where both Kenyon and Marshall appear to have dug themselves into a deep hole.

The ADO allegations against Kenyon and Marshall should not come as a surprise to many residing in the seacoast area. The Marshall Law office has a notorious reputation for ruthless and ignoble tactics in the realm of the family court. Online reviews on lawyers.com speak for themselves. Some of the reviews state: “She is the most dishonest person on the planet,” “She lies and encourages her clients to lie,” and “Honestly the most dishonest attorney in the state. Quick to lie and without a stitch of morals. A trust piece of subhuman garbage”, “She drags out a divorce as long as possible to make it as expensive as possible for her clients. She is always late for hearings, which costs everyone more money. She will keep the fight going as long as she possibly can, and if children are involved, she will lie”.

Presently, there are no licensed attorneys working at the Marshall Law Firm. However, the public is generally unaware of this. The Marshall Law sign still hangs in front of the law office at 47 Depot Road in East Kingston.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this series when I discuss the details of the ADO allegations against Kenyon and Marshall and report on developments in ADO’s case.

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