Presentation

Why presentation skills rule

Whether you’re hiring for a salesperson, HR pro, trainer or marketer, presentation skills are a must. 

From selling products to representing your company to potential clients, there’s huge demand for presentation skills in most jobs—especially when you’re hiring for senior roles.

Presentation skills interview questions

• How do you prepare a presentation?
• Tell us about a time you’ve created a killer presentation. What made it special?
• How do you target different audiences with your presentations? 
• Describe how you would use a presentation to impress a new client.
• How do you pull a bored audience back in?
• Describe how you’d announce bad news to the team.
• Reports vs. in-person meetings. Which wins? Why?
• What are your favorite presentation tools?
• In a presentation, how much comedy is too much comedy?

Candidates to look for

• Great resume: For some roles, you may want candidates who present well on paper as well as in person. 
• Outside-the-box thinking: Candidates who avoid obvious answers can hold an audience for longer. Think: intrigue and humor. 
• They get to the point: No one wants to sit for hours and listen to someone drone on. Candidates who get to the point quickly are on point.  
• Passionate candidates: Ask candidates to talk about their hobbies to test how enthusiastic they can be.

Candidates to avoid

• Unprepared candidates: If your candidate didn’t prepare for their interview, they’re probably not going to prepare for presentations.
• They’re unpersuasive: Candidates who struggle with persuasive language and coherent arguments won’t be good influencers.
• They look uncomfortable: Check in on their body language for extra clues on their stress levels. Look for confidence and eye contact.
• Bad listeners: The best presentations are a two-way street. Candidates need to show they listen as much as they talk.