In your working life, there’s likely to come a time when you need to give a presentation. For many, this is a daunting prospect and for some it’s downright terrifying. There’s even a word for that fear: glossophobia. We share our tips on overcoming your fears and giving an engaging presentation.

In the news, there are reports that the European Court of Justice is considering whether travel would count as working time for employees with no fixed place of work, and businesses are doubling their spend on social media advertising.

Top news stories

Travel could count as working time for mobile workers

The Advocate General of the European Court of Justice has suggested that, for employees with no fixed place of work, the time spent travelling from home to their first customer and from their last customer back home counts as part of “working time” for the purposes of the Working Time Directive.

Automatic enrolment will apply to 500,000 more companies than originally expected

The new figures from The Pensions Regulator are due to more business start-ups and a lower number of business closures than anticipated.

Businesses double social media advertising spend

Quarterly global spend on social advertising grew by 114% year-on-year in Q2 of 2015, twice as fast as a year ago.

RBS 'to launch new probe into treatment of small businesses'

The FCA launched an investigation last year into claims RBS pushed small firms into its turnaround division so it could charge higher fees and interest and take control of their assets.

A 12-hour working day? Thank technology

Research shows that the average UK worker checks their work emails on phones, laptops and tablets before their working day begins and logs off at about 8pm.

Key dates for your diary

No significant dates this week.

Are you presentable?

If you dread pubic speaking or if you simply want to give more engaging presentations, here are our top tips.

1. Look for ways to overcome your fear

While there are no quick fixes, these tips may help:

• Prepare well and think about the questions you may be asked.
• Practice, practice, practice. Knowing your material can help.
• Make sure you have all the equipment you need (with spares if possible) and get set up early on the day.
• Find somewhere to stretch out your arms before the presentation. It helps to release tension and can change your body language to make you look more confident (even if you don’t feel it).
• Follow the other tips - once you’ve done a great presentation, you begin to feel more confident and break the cycle of fear.

2. Be prepared

The first step is to understand your audience and what they will want from your presentation. Think about who they are, what motivates them and what questions they might have. You can then use this information to structure your presentation.

When it’s ready, keep practising your delivery. You should be able to speak confidently without reading a script, so you’ll need to know your material and the structure of your presentation. This can also help keep your nerves in check and makes you look more confident.

3. Create the right slide deck

We’ve all been in presentations where the speaker simply reads from the slides. It’s far from engaging. You’ve probably also seen slides that contain so much information that you can’t possibly read it all; certainly not while listening to the presentation.

Your slide deck should be as snappy as possible and is there to support your messages. Guy Kawasaki has a 10/20/30 rule: 10 slides, 20 minute talk, 30-point font. This helps keep everything brief and focused.

Keep each message on a separate slide and use visuals to show information. One strong visual or quote can help to bring your message home.

4. Let people know what’s in it for them

When you start your presentation, set the scene and let people know what to expect. Explain:

• What you’ll be covering
• What they’ll learn
• Why they’re there

By focusing on the benefits for the audience, they’re more likely to engage. Research by Prezi found that 46% of employees admit that they’ve been distracted during a co-worker’s presentation, preferring to text, email, surf the web or even fall asleep. So it pays to show them why they should focus on you instead.

5. Tell a story

Storytelling is all the rage and there’s a simple reason why. Research shows that 63% of people remember stories, only 5% remember facts and figures. So, if you want to engage your audience, tell stories.

Nancy Duarte, who is an expert in presentations, analysed some of the most famous speeches, from Martin Luther King to Steve Jobs. She found that not only do they all use stories, they also structure their speeches in the same way. Her online book, Resonate, has more information about how to use stories in presentations.

6. Wrap it up

When you’re coming to the end, provide a quick recap for your audience. Give them some practical information that they can take away and use - whether that’s the health of the business or new ways of working. Doing this means they’ll be able to apply the information they’ve heard in their day-to-day work.