As a nurse, your hours are often long, stressful and full of many responsibilities. You are answerable to patients, colleagues, junior and senior staff.

Without the ability to show others what you are able to do and to inspire others to listen to your ideas, your patients, teamwork and staff training abilities will have little impact and may become frustrating to you, the patients under your care and staff members under your lead.

You will find that the ability to make perfect presentations, whether on a formal or informal basis, is a talent that will have a far broader reach than just the impact on your nursing career.

Regardless of whether you are trying to make a perfect presentation for nurses, explaining a treatment procedure to a patient or writing a research paper for approval, being able to present what you want to say in a clear and concise way is a skill well worth developing.

So what skills do you need to acquire or polish?

1. Body LanguageThe level of language being used, intonation, enthusiasm and eye contact.Each of these issues dictates whether our message is important enough to listen to by how we use them. Does your eye contact convey serious or unimportance? Does your posture show boredom or lack of interest or does it show enthusiasm and excitement?

2. AppearanceDo you look professional in your working environment? Do you look confident and in control?

You never know when a change of clothing, either uniform or informal change may be required. No good turning up for a presentation with unthinkable stains on your clothing.

3. Overcoming The Fear of Public Speaking (Glossophobia)

Does the thought of speaking in front of others send you into a state of anxiety/dry mouth/feeling dizzy or sick?

This is a flight or fight reaction. Practice and using techniques to overcome the fear are a must for many.

4. Planning For the PresentationMake a Checklist: Equipment, Seating Room ventilation Agenda Slides and notes Handouts.

Plan for problems and have a solution prepared even if this includes hecklers.

5. Using PowerPoint

Putting together a series of slides.

Visual information is better for many and helps you remember what you are saying.

Easy to display Facts and Figures but knowing how to make the most of your content to keep the audience attention is a skill worth learning.

To learn more aboutperfect presentations for nurses,

J A Butler has produced a revealing and easy to follow guide