Women In Digital Skills 13.0 Week 2 – Soft Skills Session

A total number of forty-three beneficiaries were present for the Soft Skills training today. 

Ms. Josephine Offei, The Career Development Advisor leading today’s session delivered training on Presentation Skills. During the session, the class was taken through the topic; challenges of presentation, how to plan and structure presentations, how to present with confidence, and dealing with nerves. She mentioned that day in and day out as individuals, we present ourselves to the world and our community. Our way of life is a form of presentation.

With the aid of visuals and graphics, Ms. Josephine defined a presentation as a process of presenting the contents of a topic to an audience consisting of one or more persons. In her presentation, she advised trainees to Plan and Structure their presentation by identifying the purpose and expectation of the audience.  In structuring, one must research thoroughly, organize their content material and as well speak with precision to keep the attention of the audience. In being precise, one must use clear and simple grammar that can be understood by the expected audience. 

A few tips on how to nail one’s presentation included acknowledge the mistakes and take time to reconstruct your speech or presentation, organize and research the most updated content for the presentation, research and identify the audience present, voice modulation ie. practice to identify the comfortable voice tone and energy for the presentation, always remember to speak in a relaxed tone, construct your speech before the presentation for better comprehension.

The Career Development Advisor encouraged all trainees to present with confidence and be strategic in handling questions as this would enable them to deliver the best presentation. The trainees suggested some of the biggest fears they encounter when presenting and how to overcome them. As part of the training activity, the class was grouped into teams to discuss and present their thoughts on the topics 

1. Beauty pageants are setting the wrong standards for women. Debate for or against the motion.

2.  Course specification should only begin in University/College. Debate for or against the motion.

Each team delivered their PowerPoint using Google Slides on the chosen topic. As part of the group presentation activity, the trainees peer-reviewed and evaluated their colleagues following the lessons given and guidelines for the lecture.

In closing, the lead trainer encouraged the trainees to plan, research, and be intellectual when delivering a presentation. She reminded the class to anticipate questions, establish the end goal of the presentation, control hijackers, and be honest if they do not know the answers to questions.