How to Create Strong Company Culture for Remote Teams

What comes to mind when you hear “teamwork” with your coworkers? Most likely, working in person in an office together with other people. However, these days, teamwork has taken on a new meaning for global companies with employees and contractors in multiple time zones. How do you develop a sense of community and company culture when your remote team is spread across countries?

Technology has enabled us to work from any location we choose, whether from home, at a coffee shop, in our car, or in a rented workspace. 

A remote company can have a physical office location, but the team only works at the office if they want to. There aren’t enough desks for everyone, even if they all decide to show up to work there. Another type of remote company doesn’t have a central office. Everyone works from home.

These types of remote companies can develop a company culture and connection between team members because they have the following common factors.

Strong Leadership and Clear Goals

A positive company culture depends on strong leadership from management and a clear goal or purpose from day one.

At one remote company where I worked, I had a phone call with my new supervisor, who set up a series of Zoom meetings for me, gave me an email address to access company files, and assigned me tasks to complete.

I faced several challenges that first week. I had to chase down team members on the other side of the country or on another continent. When I needed to find a teammate I didn’t know, I had to figure out how to get a hold of them. Unlike a traditional office, there was no reception desk to call or a central place with all employee numbers written down.

Unlike a traditional office, you can’t wander the halls to find someone who can help you or knock on someone’s door to ask for help. With a remote company, that email or phone number is your lifeline. Clear guidance lessens any frustration that could arise from these unexpected issues.

My supervisor usually checked in to make sure problems could be solved or suggested how to find a solution. Having someone I could rely on to clarify things was important. Otherwise, it’s easy to start feeling isolated and alone without clarity.

My supervisor was also a role model for company culture. When I started working with other team members on projects, I set up my tasks with them the same way my supervisor did. I also checked in with team members about projects. Clear communication is vital to a remote company.

Responsive and Frequent Communication

Building a successful, remote team depends on responsive and frequent communication. Having platforms, apps, and chats set up for team messages is the first step. The second is creating a culture of responsiveness.

For one company that I worked with, communication was very infrequent. People messaged the team with reminders of team meetings or items that were due for multiple people. When anyone posted a link to a completed project or suggested an idea, one or two people responded with a thumbs up. Sometimes there would be no communication for hours or days.

As a result, it was easy to feel detached from the company, like working on a deserted island. The infrequent messaging was like seeing a beacon of light, a frail trail of words in the darkness.

In contrast, another remote company I worked with had multiple chats set up and used platforms such as Slack. When one person posted an idea for review, multiple people wrote in with feedback and suggestions. A social chat group was filled with lengthy banter about weekend activities, jokes about life, and friendly jokes about coworkers.

Although I was working alone in a room, I felt like I was in an office full of people because of all the frequent communication. 

Someone at this company had started this culture of frequent communication. New team members continued the culture. Not all the chatter was about work, although it could start with a work topic. People wanted to stay in touch.

Getting to Know the Team on a Personal Level

Socializing helps a team to gel. Otherwise, you have a group of people working on tasks. When you’re just a cog in a wheel, it’s much more difficult to be invested in the company. Getting to know the team on a personal level further develops company culture.

The first step to getting to know coworkers is the jokes and quick comments about a favorite food or weekend activity during a Zoom meeting or in a team chat. It’s also important to meet with them outside of work.

Pre-covid, meeting in person for company social events such as themed lunches, Christmas parties, or company functions was one way to get to know coworkers. It’s different talking with someone in person than watching them on a Zoom screen or reading their DMs.

You connect better with people when you see their body language and hear their voice. Messaging apps do not capture these aspects of a person.

Most importantly, when you don’t have meeting time limits, it’s much easier to get into deep conversations about your coworker’s hobbies and vacations. When you know more about someone on a personal level, it becomes more like working for friends than strangers who are a name and a tiny facial profile on an app.

Now that we are highly discouraged from meeting in person, getting to know people on your remote team is harder. Harder but not impossible. I was surprised when I attended a strategy meeting, and we discussed not goals for the company, but goals for each attendee.

It was intriguing to hear about this personal side of people I had been working with remotely. At the end of the session, we had created goals for the company’s future. I also had a clear picture of the people working on this team.

Summary

Creating a strong company culture for a remote team takes effort. You need leadership and clear goals for the company and individuals. Frequent and responsive communication is necessary for building connections. Most importantly, getting to know your team members on a personal level develops a sense of community.

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Halloween: How a Pandemic Made 2020 the Scariest Year of All

Halloween for most people is the scariest time of the year, but many would agree that 2020 is a whole year to be afraid of. I’ve seen memes warning time travellers to skip this year entirely!

Unless you’ve been living in Antarctic and isolated from all communication, you would probably agree that COVID-19 deeply touched – I mean slammed – your life off course these past few months. Now that Halloween is around the corner, let’s count down some scaries from this pandemic, starting with the year itself.

Theme of 2020: Panic Pandemic

To those who usually say that Halloween lasts just one night – the joke is on them this year. Some have said that this year feels like a Stephen King movie and I would strongly agree. Just consider all that has happened.

Beloved actors, musicians and athletes have passed away. Killer hornets were on the loose. Staycation and remote work replaced travel plans and commuting to offices on a global level. People lost jobs and businesses closed.

The scary part is, I’ve built up an immunity to the plight of the unemployed and shops forever closing doors.

Maybe I’m a monster in the making to be so insensitive, but there’s only so much drama the human body can take over several months. All the news is slowly chipping away at whatever’s left of my emotional reserves.

Some news is too difficult to process so the human brain files it under “it’s the pandemic year.” Otherwise I would spend too much time arguing logic with the illogical. Toilet paper, for instance. COVID-19 is a respiratory disease. I understand the hand sanitizer shortage, but there was also a toilet paper shortage. Finding toilet paper in the store was like finding gold.

Pandemic Issues that Were Sad and Scary

Halloween is a time to put on a costume and become someone or something else. But this year, it felt like people removed costumes that they had been wearing for many years.

Facebook friends and real-life friends became polarized on the election and on COVID: Democrat or Republican, pro China or pro Hong Kong, face masks or no face masks. People did not sit on the fence with these pairings. They sided clearly with one or the other.

For example, if you were pro-mask, you couldn’t believe how ridiculous, selfish, and uneducated the anti-maskers were in their choice to not wear a face covering. If you were anti-mask, you couldn’t believe how pro-maskers were like sheep who were okay with breathing in contaminated air and giving up their personal freedom.

People became so offended as they argued back and forth on Facebook that sometimes I would see the ugly aftermath in a follow up post. Someone would say that they had to unfriend someone to protect their mental health.

Meanwhile, as the year progressed, the number of COVID-19 cases worldwide continued to climb, and so did the death toll.

It seemed like we were actors in a live action game of WhoDunnit. The bizarre and unusual were normal. Logic could fly out the window as we tried to solve the mystery of what would happen next during the pandemic.

Those who didn’t know any victims of COVID wondered if the pandemic were a hoax. Those who did know people who had caught COVID-19 who lived or died, were waiting for the shoe to drop. They could be next if they didn’t take the necessary precautions to protect themselves.

Halloween Doesn’t Bring People Together Anymore

In previous years, Halloween was one night that brought people and entire communities together. People would decorate their houses, and in some neighbourhoods, children would dress up in elaborate costumes and go door to door, walking in groups, for candy.

Kids would walk with their friends and adults would walk together, watching their children while talking among themselves. In some neighbourhoods, people seemed to know each other.

It was also the one time of the year that people would welcome you for walking up to their door and admiring their Halloween decorations. If you live in a big city, this sense of community is not that easy to find.

I once had a talk with a woman who had decorated her entire house. She said it had taken 15 hours to assemble all the robotic creatures, mood lighting, fog machine, and graveyard. The décor was so elaborate that her house had been featured on the news. She offered me some candy for visiting her, after we had finished our friendly chat.

In past years, Halloween parties were a wonderful occasion to bring people together to socialize, have fun, and pretend to be someone else. I once went to a Harry Potter themed party for adults. For one activity, we pretended to have magical powers! What a nice change from the adult world where taxes are real and won’t go away.

Of course, the pandemic changed Halloween this year. Most parents I spoke to weren’t interested in taking their children door-to-door for safety reasons. And just days before Halloween, we were told by health officials to tighten and decrease our social circles because even small gatherings weren’t safe. Many local Halloween themed events were closed.

Instead of the annual sense of community in some neighbourhoods, this year, we were going to isolate ourselves into our family units and spend even more time at home.

Halloween Made “Ugly” Acceptable… and Things Did Get Ugly This Year

Halloween was the one day of the year that bullies didn’t laugh at you for being ugly or weird looking. Fat or thin, tall or short, you were normal.

No one cared who was behind the costume or the mask. It didn’t matter what race or ethnicity you were, or whether you were rich or poor. For one night of the year, each child going trick-or-treating was equal, no matter what their ethnic or economic background was. Anyone could get some candy and treats.

By October 30, 2020, however, some major changes darkened this sense of equality. Racism was once again a major topic in the news, with people polarizing over BLM, marches, and violence. Locally, violence against Asians skyrocketed as they were blamed as a race for scattering a virus across the world.

Friends of mine were yelled at because they were Asian and wearing masks. A friend who was born in Canada didn’t want to wear a mask because he was afraid people would think he was from China.

And if the racism issue weren’t bad enough, friends and coworkers lost jobs or worked reduced hours. People who lost jobs were accused of being lazy when they applied for government support. People who wanted to work became frustrated when they applied to hundreds of jobs with no reply.

Polarization spread like a disease day to day. For one night, on October 31, I wished everyone would be equal again. I wished you could put on a costume and be someone else and not be judged for your race or economic class.

For one night, you were supposed to have fun and enjoy yourself.  Spend time with the kids. Carve a pumpkin or two. Eat some candy. Watch a scary movie.

Halloween’s Scary Surprise

I should point out that not everything about the pandemic was bad. I was house bound so much I had time to get addicted to Tik Tok videos. And what I discovered was that people’s view of witches had changed over time.

Witch influencers with 20K to 100K + followers were making videos and giving out advice about witchcraft, divination, tarot, incense, astrology, spells, and a lot of other topics. Witchcraft was trendy.

Some videos were a bit creepy. But the traditional idea of witches as evil was non-existent. This year was full of surprises.

Not everything about the pandemic was dark and dreary after all.

But it definitely was a strange year, as if the scary and weird part of Halloween had been let loose for 365 days. If you know where I can find a time machine, let me know. I’ll be glad to use it.

Storytelling at Work: Giving the Presentation They’ll Always Remember

Stories are a powerful motivator, wouldn’t you agree? You see the world through the storyteller’s eyes, feel what they feel, and rise when they rise to success. It’s emotional storytelling and compelling presentations like these that you always remember. But what’s the secret ingredient to keeping you engaged from start to finish?

The audience’s level of engagement has everything to do with how well you relate to them and how you make them feel with your story. A recent experience of mine is a perfect example of this need for shared enthusiasm.

Making Your Story About Them, Not You

A not-for-profit startup company was born during the pandemic and it had a noble cause. It wanted to save lives with vital health education that it had developed. During its first few months, however, it didn’t realize one critical and important problem.

Its mission was about itself, and not about its clients.

To catch a bigger audience, and to win others to your cause, you need to make your story about them, and not about you.

Creating a healthier world by providing clients with an educational course at a price wasn’t actually about helping others. During the pandemic, businesses were too concerned about their finances and their own survival to spend any money on professional development.

So how did the startup pivot to focus more on potential clients?

The company founder decided to tell the story about why he established the company. He noticed that business owners were uncertain or confused about what safety protocols to follow. Staff were afraid for their health and safety during the pandemic and were reluctant to work. Customers who were fearful for their health stayed home.

The startup founder decided the company had an important role. It had a humanitarian cause to help these businesses stay in business. What it did was offer free education about how to keep employees and customers safe during the pandemic. The startup existed to help others first.

Later, when it established a relationship with the client, the startup had products and services for a fee to continue to help the client through its challenges during an unprecedented, difficult time. The humanitarian role came first.

Confidence and Delivery Over Perfection

Through trial and error, we learn what does and doesn’t work. One of the greatest examples of powerful storytelling that I’ve ever seen was a speech given by a woman who spoke English as a second language. Although she had practiced many times, the speech was far from perfect. But when she delivered that speech, her audience was riveted to her every word.

The speech was the story of her immigration to Canada and the struggles she faced. She had to learn a new way of life and cope with an entirely new language so she could find work here.

The speech was her assignment at a Toastmasters club meeting. When it was her turn to speak, she walked over to the center of the stage, faced the audience, and locked eyes with people in the room.

She admitted her English wasn’t perfect. Her accent made the sentences choppy and her verb tenses were often incorrect. But the strength in her voice cancelled the imperfections in her speech. The tone of her voice conveyed her feelings.

The audience could feel the moments when she had cried when she had felt overwhelmed. We could feel her triumph when she paused to emphasize great moments. Her confidence and her delivery were far more important than achieving perfection in her speech.

It’s been a few years, and I still remember how confidently she walked to the podium and began to speak. Although she had fears about speaking in a second language, that didn’t affect our impression of her. What people recalled was the strength in her storytelling.

Delivering Your Story in Easily Digestible Bites

Technology has taken storytelling to a global level. Influencers and brands are using platforms such as Tik Tok to tell their story in short, easily digestible bites. These video clips can be intriguing, and with the right music, catchy.

For some Tik Tok accounts, I’ve invested time watching all their video snippets, slowly piecing together an overarching story from all the vignettes. Each video can be humorous and reveal a short anecdote about a moment in the person’s life.

Two of the Instagram accounts are influencers who have grown up in two different cultures. In one instance, it’s an Asian American woman who tells people she’s American but people treat her as Asian. For another account, the influencer is half Asian, half Black, but people have difficulty accepting his duo culture.

These videos are an effective way to market their talents. They also tell a story about their identity. I can relate to their duo culture.

They’ve attended language classes to learn the language of their parents. But despite this effort, people question the authenticity of their accent and if they can really speak the language.

Each video is just one experience from a lifetime of experiences as the influencers share what it’s like to grow up in two cultures.

I can relate to their experiences and I’m always eager to see their next video. From comments, I can see some fans relate to growing up in two cultures while others are entertained by the humour in each mini story.

Commanding the Attention of the Room

The most powerful form of storytelling is also the most dramatic. Imagine yourself in an indoor theatre with hundreds of people seated in front, next to, and behind you. The lights dim and you see a woman walk across a stage large enough to fit an entire penthouse condo in it.

When she begins to talk, a PowerPoint slide is projected on the gigantic screen behind her. She introduces herself as Kindra Hall and her brand is storytelling.

In her presentation, she tells us how storytelling is one of the underrated skills in business. It’s the secret weapon of entrepreneurs for building an empire.

Her tips on storytelling make sense and are easily applicable. You’re jotting notes, making sure you remember all these valuable bits of information.

Her delivery is professional and powerful. You can tell she’s rehearsed her presentation many times, making her an enthralling presenter. But she’s also got something in her arsenal that the Toastmasters presenter and the Tik Tok influencers don’t.

It’s the physicality of her presence: the large screens, the projection of her talking points, the lighting, and the audience of hundreds. Both her presentation and the venue grab your attention. She commands the room with her storytelling. This to me is storytelling at its best.

The final proof of the impact of her presentation is how she was able to sell without selling. When I heard about her book, I went to buy it.

Summary

Storytelling can be powerful and compelling. A story can motivate people to join your cause, buy into your company, or follow your brand. Just as important as the words in the presentation is the delivery. The confidence you project and the way you deliver your story is what will make it stand out in the listener’s mind.

6 Ways to Improve Your Writing Skills Fast

What if all your communication was through written messages? How efficiently and clearly would you be able to communicate your thoughts? For those of us with poor or average writing skills, workplace writing tasks can be challenging and intimidating. But you can improve your writing skills by following these habits. Here are six ways to improve your writing skills fast.

1. Start a collection of professional writing samples

Like a squirrel preparing for winter, start collecting examples of great writing. Start with a Google search of email or business writing samples or templates. Bookmark those websites or begin saving your own files.

Refer to these templates of great writing when you work on your next writing task. You may even want to paste the template into your document or your email and replace the concepts with your own words as you write.

Another tip is to save emails that you receive if you admire the writing for its structure, vocabulary, or style. When you have a chance, as a practice exercise, copy the words from the email until you become familiar with how it is written.

2. Keep a List of Common Grammar Mistakes 

Grammar is a tough subject. It’s also considered a dry and boring subject for most people. However, like the vitamins you should eat, it’s necessary to know your grammar. So how can you improve this writing skill without torturing yourself with lengthy grammar lessons?

Take a look at this list of common grammar mistakes that many people make. Do you know the difference between their, there, and they’re? Do you know when to use “then” and when to use “than”? If the answer is no to any of these examples, then start a list of grammar mistakes for yourself to review.

If words seem like a dull endeavor, there are many online quizzes you can take to test your grammar skills, such as this one which tests pairs such as “it’s” and “its.” You’ll get feedback fast, like having a study partner.

Also, turn on the grammar check function on your email and documents. Doing this will help to reduce grammar errors such as “He could of won the game” versus “He could have won the game.”

3. Make a List of Frequent Spelling Errors

Bad spelling doesn’t necessarily indicate low intelligence or poor writing skills. Accomplished writers Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald were bad at spelling. However, even if writing isn’t one of your favourite activities, taking the extra time to check your spelling can make you look smarter. You will definitely look more professional.

To improve this writing skill fast, turn on spell check functions in your email and documents. This will help to reduce silly typos such as “tommorrow” instead of “tomorrow.”

Look for lists of commonly misspelled words such as this list. Take a few minutes each day to quiz yourself on your ability to spell these words. Or keep your own list of words that you often catch yourself asking, “How do you spell that again?”

If you like immediate feedback, try out online quizzes such as this one which tests your ability to spell frequently misspelled words in the business niche. Add the words you spelled incorrectly to your list of words to watch for when you are writing.

4. Double Check Your Facts

Those who have an unusual name can relate to this: your name frequently gets misspelled. It happens often enough that you accept it as a common occurrence. But let’s not be the next person to misspell someone’s name. It’s a bad start for your email or letter.

To look as professional and polished as possible, don’t be that person who misspells the names of people, companies, or common cities. Take the extra second to ensure you’ve got the details correct.

Take an extra second to check your calendar to make sure that Monday really is the 12th and not the 13th. Don’t be that person who confuses the other party by saying you’ll meet them on Monday the 12th when Monday falls on the 13th of the month.

One little trick is to have a routine for your emails. When you type someone’s name, check what you typed against the original email. When you refer to companies, dates, and file names, double check you’ve spelled them correctly. You’d be surprised how often you think a word or name is what you think it is… but turns out it’s a slight variation.

Most importantly, make sure you follow up on what you say you’re going to do. Attach the file that you referred to. Follow up and do the research that you promised you would. These tiny details improve your workplace writing skills and make you look more polished.

5. Use Simple Vocabulary and Write Shorter Sentences

You might be wondering if writing longer sentences and using bigger words will make you appear smarter. It’s true. In the academic world, it’s common to write in longer sentences with more complex vocabulary. But at the workplace, plain language is just as effective at getting the point across.

To improve your writing skills, use plain language. Start with choosing the simpler word when you have two words with similar meanings. For example, say “use” instead of “utilize.” A list of simpler words and phrases is found here.

State your main point before going into details. Your thoughts should be clear and easy for the reader to follow. One way to do that is to use the active voice. Stick to one topic (or idea) per paragraph.

Your sentences should be only between 15 to 20 words in length. If your sentence is longer than that, consider splitting the sentence into two.

Plain language, or clear language, is ideal for the workplace because the writer states the point clearly and directly.  

6. Establish a Writing and Editing Process

Lastly, have a routine for your workplace writing tasks. Some recommend starting your day with the most difficult tasks to make sure they get done. If you dislike writing, procrastination could make a writing task even more discouraging.

In this case, work on these tasks first and reward yourself with doing tasks you enjoy (or just the easy tasks) after.

For each task, establish a routine. Start by checking what needs to be covered in the task. For example, do you need to answer specific questions in an email? Attach a file? Do some research and present the data in a table?

After you finish the writing task, check grammar and spelling, and double check your facts. Then set the task aside. If you’re working on a critical document, leave it until the next day to check it over.

When you return to the writing task, read it aloud. Hearing your own words helps you to catch awkwardly-written sentences or repeated words. For example, you might notice you keep using the same word over and over so you can substitute it with a synonym for some variety.

Having a routine ensures you won’t miss important steps, such as a final edit of what you’ve written.

Summary

If writing is not your favourite subject, don’t worry. You can improve your workplace writing skills fast by following some quick tips and creating some solid writing habits.

Keeping a list of spelling and grammar mistakes you often make, for example, will help you to minimize small but careless errors. Start collecting examples of writing that you can copy or inspire you with your writing tasks. Check the accuracy of your details, and most importantly, have a writing routine that includes editing.

If you follow these tips, you’ll look far more professional and competent.

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3 Top Resources for Learning Presentation Skills for 2020

What are presentation skills and what can they do to advance your career? These skills are more than just your ability to speak – they can influence the direction of your career, regardless of what job you have. If your speaking skills need some polishing up, you’ll find plenty of resources online to improve your skills. To narrow your search, I’ve found you three resources that teach some powerful presentation skills that you should not miss.

1 Guide to Improving Presentation Skills

The first resource which I recommend is the “How to Improve Your Presentation Skills” guide. If you’re new to creating presentations, or you’re working on strengthening your presentation skills, you will get a firm overview of the entire process.

The guide describes presentations as a two-part process starting with preparation. In this first stage, you research the audience you will be speaking to. Next, structure your presentation into three parts: the opening, body, and closing. Finally, the last step is practice. There is no shortcutting a polished presentation. You must practice it several times until it flows naturally.

What’s effective is how each stage isn’t just a description of the process. You’ll find words of wisdom from experts such as David Parnell, who wrote a book about the psychology of effective communication.  Public speaking coach Lisa Braithwaite advises us to avoid memorizing our speech. Instead, practice in front of people you know or join a local toastmasters club. These tips add value to the article.

One suggestion in the article that is particularly valuable is to videotape yourself. That may cause you even more stress, but this recommendation is one of the best. It allows you to see yourself from your audience’s perspective and find how you can improve on your speaking skills.

The second part of the presentation process is the delivery. I like how the guide sets up this part of the article as well. In point form, it provides succinct and effective tips on keeping your audience engaged, speaking the language of your audience, and avoiding filler words such as “um” and “uh.”

A brief numbered list reminds you of the best body language that will make you look confident when giving a presentation, from sustaining eye contact with your listeners, to hand movements and use of props.

These days, many presentations make use of PowerPoint slides. The guide only briefly highlights some of the differences between a good and a bad PowerPoint presentation. 

Answering questions is the final part of a presentation and can be intimidating for those who fear being asked something they cannot answer. The guide briefly covers how to tackle questions from the audience and how to end your presentation in a way that keeps them focused on your key message. For more information, you’ll find a useful list of resources on communication skills at the end of the guide.

My verdict on this article: very handy for summarizing all the key points for making a presentation. The references to communication experts are useful and are a great starting point if you want to do more research on communication psychology and techniques.

My next resource takes a different approach to learning presentation skills.

2 Giving Killer Presentations Ted Talk Style

At first, I wasn’t certain about including this article as a resource for learning how to give presentations because of the focus on story telling. However, story telling is a highly captivating way to deliver your message to your audience.

The article “How to Give a Killer Presentation” begins with a narrative about Richard Turere and how his interest in electronics led to installing a system of lights that deterred lions from attacking a village. It was his compelling story that made him a candidate for giving a TED talk.

Ted talks are speeches, or presentations, about an idea that is worthy of sharing with a wider audience. A range of people from various backgrounds in politics, science, academics, and music have given TED talks.

According to the article, the content of a TED talk can become “mesmerizing” with the right amount of coaching. Developing your presentation is divided into four stages, starting with framing your story. Anyone can tell a story, but if your story isn’t relevant to your audience… you’ll see your talk fail.

This first part is vital to your presentation because you don’t want to fail to capture your audience’s attention. The article compares a good talk to a detective story. To frame your story well, there must be purpose and there must be a progression. I like how the article provides examples of good and bad framing using the personal experience of the author.

The second part of the presentation is the delivery. With the level of technology we have today, it’s possible to read your entire speech off a teleprompter, but the experts recommend memorizing your talk word for word.

It will take time to remember each word, and of course, you don’t want to stare off into space mid speech when you forget your lines either. The article assures you that yes, some scary situations may happen, but if you practice a lot, your speech will become natural to you.

The next point the article teaches you is how to develop a stage presence. Making eye contact, keeping your body movements minimal and purposeful, and learning to deal with your nervousness are vital to developing a stage presence.

Next, plan your multimedia. Surprisingly, the article suggests that PowerPoints are not necessary, although some presenters use them. Instead, the author recommends using video clips and slide images. This way, you won’t be tempted to read off of bullet points.

Finally, the author says preparation from months in advance is key to a successful TED talks presentation. It is clear that a stellar presentation requires a lot of effort, but the reward will be a tremendous sense of achievement when your talk goes as anticipated.

One of the best elements of this article are the video clips of TED talks from actual TED talk presenters. Checking out some, or even all of these videos, is highly recommended.

The final article in this collection takes the approach of learning presentation skills as a skill that can move your career forward.

3. Developing Presentation Skills for Workplace Success

“Important Presentation Skills for Workplace Success” teaches presentation skills as an important part of your success at work.  Each section lists all of the skills that you will develop at each stage of working on your presentation. You can use these lists as a checklist for your own professional development.

To start, the article defines what presentation skills are and why they are a job requirement. Then it breaks down the phases of a presentation: preparation, delivery, and follow up. Much of the content is typical for any article on presentations. However, I like the focus on skill sets. Conducting research, using body language, and creating digital slides are all considered as skills.

Next, you learn about the types of presentations, such as analytical thinking and organization. You’re not just giving your audience a bunch of content. You evaluate and restructure it first. And when organizing your presentation, you need to prioritize and schedule activities such as your practice sessions.

Nonverbal and verbal communication are equally important when developing your presentation skills. Nonverbal communication involves using effective body language. Verbal communication includes public speaking, a skill that evokes nightmares for many people.

Those who can deliver a speech to a group of strangers definitely have an advantage over those who are more comfortable speaking one-on-one. Also, the ability to handle difficult questions from a large audience is also a strong skill to master.  

The biggest surprise in this article was a list of additional skills that you don’t usually associate with giving presentations. For instance, writing skills, coaching, and sales. As a follow up, I would read more about how these skills relate to giving presentations.

In general, having all these presentation-related skills in a list format makes it easy to review all the items at a glance and include the most relevant skills in your resume.

Summary

Effective presentation skills will give you an advantage at the workplace. You’ll feel more confident presenting at meetings, giving talks at conferences, or giving elevator pitches at networking events. These three resources for learning presentation skills take different approaches on teaching you presentation skills. But they are all worth a quick read if you’re looking to brush up on your speaking skills.

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