Often people fail to capture the attention of the audience because they fail to create a good first impression. In this article, I will share several ways on how to create good first impression. This will not only benefit first timers but also those who have been presenting for years but feel they can do better.

First, presentation is all about communicating your ideas, but in communicating ideas, it is not just the hearing is involved but other senses of the receiver as well: eyes that looks at you and your presentation, the nose that smells the environment and the sense of touch that decide on their comfort. The point is, presentation is not just about sharing ideas but an experience. And when an good experience is delivered a good impression is created. So, how can one level up their reporting game?

1. Prepare ahead of time. Make sure the report has all the relevant data in visual form such as graphs and charts. Instead of showing the complete spreadsheet, just focus on the insights. The data where the visuals are from can be printed for reference.
2. Practice you report. Do a run of your report and have some notes prepared about the main ideas. Try to keep report down to 5-7 slides and under 20 minutes. This way, listeners do not get bombarded with information. The rest can be used form clarification.
3. Check the environment. The place has to have good temperature, not to hot or cold. The projector, screen and audio need to be tested ahead of time as not to waste time of audience.

Reporting is a skill the can be developed and improved. By preparing, practicing and creating a good environment, the reporter leaves a good impression to the audience.