how to write good presentation skills in resume

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How to Include Public Speaking Skills on Your Resume (+ Examples)

While it might send you into a spin and get your knees knocking at the very thought of having to stand up in front of people and give a presentation, the skill of public speaking is considered a valuable asset within many professions. Public speaking on your resume is a great quality to add to your repertoire. Many employers place a premium value on public speaking skills. 

Candidates who possess polished and articulate public speaking skills are often placed in prominent roles within a company, with many finding themselves on a fast-track to securing leadership positions. This is because a leader often needs to speak and present to a roomful of people. You can’t ask someone who’s shy and retiring to do this. Or someone with a distinct lack of confidence. So you turn to the employees who have shown promise and know how to hold a crowd.

But what if you are angling for another role? How do you include public speaking skills on a resume?

No need to fret. You have come to the right place. We have the know-how you need to make employers aware of your valuable communication style by showing how to present public speaking on your resume.

What is public speaking?

First up, let’s quantify what public speaking actually is. It is the ability to stand up in front of an audience and deliver an oral speech or presentation. It works whether that is a live audience or a remote one, as you are still presenting to a large number of people in public.

It can be used to sell a product or a service to a client, galvanize your team, or pitch for a new contract. Presentations can incorporate many different topics and have many different goals – to entertain, educate, inform, or even influence listeners.

The presentation needs to be engaging, powerful, and memorable. You have got to hold the audience in the palm of your hand so as not to lose their interest. These are great assets to have throughout your career.

These types of presentations can be the difference between failure and success. So, presenting information effectively and clearly is key when connecting with your audience and getting your message out there.

Why do public speaking skills matter?

It’s important to understand why public speaking skills are in such high demand. For someone comfortable with communicating ideas effortlessly, public speaking skills might seem like something that everyone can do, at the drop of a hat. After all, we are communicating with other people every single day of the year.

However, lots of people are not that comfortable when speaking in a public setting. Many shrink from being called upon in class, business, or conference meetings, or other settings where there is a large group. Others are wary of being asked to make presentations, train up other employees, or take on a role that puts them under the spotlight.

Call it stage fright, if you will. The average professional just isn’t all that excited about being the center of attention in any training session or discussion. And employers understand that fact. Most organizations have dealt with employees who struggle to communicate ideas when they’re put in those types of settings. As a result, those employers recognize just how rare and important public speaking skills truly are--and really value those job candidates who possess them.

Read our experts' opinion on the best skills to put on your resume in 2023 .

Public speaking and communication skills list

Unlike some types of skills, public speaking is not a single skill that you can simply list on a resume. Instead, public speaking skills encompass a variety of skills that combine to make you come across as an effective public communicator on your resume . Moreover, you are unlikely to find too many job postings that specifically ask for public speaking skills.

Instead, many of these postings will mention relevant key skills that might make you an effective public speaker. By learning to recognize these communication capabilities, you can more effectively convey your public speaking ability to a potential employer.

They include:

The ability to read your audience

One of the most important public speaking skills is the ability to accurately read your audience, or “read the room” as this modern phrase sums it up, by picking up on subtle, nonverbal cues of your attendees. You should be able to determine what they need to hear, adjusting your communication during the speech to accommodate their reaction. Do they seem engaged? Are they visibly bored? Restless? Confused?

A speaker who can read the room well knows how to stay on the right track to get across their message.

An articulate presentation of ideas

Are you an articulate speaker? In this scenario, articulate doesn’t just mean the ability to speak clearly. It means being able to convey complex ideas in an easily understood manner. If your skills include being articulate, be sure to mention those attributes of public speaking in your resume.

An engaging presence and style

Do you command presence when you are on a stage, enter a room, or during a meeting? Have you got that certain je ne sais quoi or X factor? The best public speakers, trainers, and educators have an engaging way about them. They also have a style that captures and sustains the attention of any audience. Employers can always utilize employees with these types of public speaking skills.

The ability to write a speech or presentation

Whether you’re a solid writer or someone who composes presentations on the fly, based on something you scribbled on the back of an envelope 10 minutes ago, composition skills are critical. If your public speaking skills include the ability to compose presentations, be sure to convey that information on your resume. And don’t forget to include key composition skills like research ability, organization of ideas, and storytelling.

Knowledge of presentation technology

These days, no set of public speaking skills is complete without some sort of familiarity with technology. For example, skills in this area include the ability to create presentation slides and manage the functional operation of a presentation.

But it can strike horror into the heart of any audience member when a speaker stands up, declaring, “I’ve just got 100 slides to get through this morning.” While PowerPoint presentations are commonly used for seminars, meetings, and other public speaking engagements, keep these to a minimum, reduce the number of words, and pack them full of images.

Your slides should not make that much sense without you telling the story alongside. You want members of the audience to be focused on you speaking--not on the slides.

Key Takeaway

KEY TAKEAWAY

Don't just say that you have public speaking skills. Instead, describe those specific skills that demonstrate your oratory abilities.

Job descriptions might mention leading meetings, presenting information, or speaking at conferences. This can encompass many job titles, such as teachers and educators, managers, and sales and marketing positions.

Examples of public speaking skills on a resume

Now that you have a clearer idea of what public speaking skills are, let’s put it into practice by showing off some examples of how to include public speaking on your resume.

You can tailor the examples below to suit your own situations, positions, and responsibilities.

Showcases well-honed public speaking skills, developed over the course of a 10-year career as a sales trainer, marketing consultant, and seminar speaker.

Presented technical studies and project proposals on a regular rolling programme across the year at ABC Corp.

Created and led the mentor advisory board at XYZ Inc, training more than 100 corporate mentors.

Conducted client / employee workshops for ABC Corp on a bi-annual basis.

Skilled in presentation composition, communications technology including PowerPoint, and engaging, articulate audience presentations.

Final thoughts

Public speaking skills can be a quality that sets you apart from job search competitors. When you recognize that fact, and properly include them in your resume, those skills can be the key to landing you an interview and the great job that you deserve.

Best of luck with your ongoing job search.

Still not quite sure how to add public speaking onto your resume? Well, it’s your lucky day. Delve into a freebie by uploading your resume to ZipJob’s free resume review and see where it takes you.

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Elizabeth Openshaw, Editor & Content Writer, Elizabeth Openshaw, Editor & Content Writer

Elizabeth Openshaw is an Elite CV Consultant with over 12 years of experience based in Brighton, UK, with an English degree and an addiction to Wordle! She is a former Journalist of 17 years with the claim to fame that she interviewed three times Grand Slam winner and former World No.1 tennis player, Andy Murray, when he was just 14 years old. You can connect with her at Elizabeth Openshaw | LinkedIn .

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Dive Into Expert Guides to Enhance your Resume

Why Presentation Skills Can Make the Difference on Your Resume

Giving a speech in front of people isn’t always everyone’s favorite task. However, having solid  workplace presentation skills  can serve you well in many different ways.

Of course, one of the most important reasons  being an accomplished presenter  can stand you in good stead is that it looks great on  your resume . Working information about your ability to give electrifying speeches always gives a positive impression.

We’re going to briefly look over some of the most  important reasons to hone your public speaking skills . As you’ll see these can be easily worked into your resume using a number of different methods.

How Do Presentation Skills Give You An Advantage in The Workplace?

There are lots of good reasons  why companies want and need good presenters . These essential team members can help to create a positive reaction and communicate the values of the business effectively.

This is not just practical for your employer but offers  many advantages for you as a candidate too . Generally speaking, learning how to be an accomplished presenter will help you in the following ways:

• You’ll find it easier to perform in interviews
• You’ll come across well when meeting clients
• You can communicate better with fellow employees
• You’ll be able to teach other staff on how to give presentations
• You can represent the company at conferences and events
• You’ll find it easier to respond to emergencies

Which Presentation Skills Have the Biggest Impact?

There are a number of abilities that a seasoned presenter can add to a resume’s  skills section . These will be gained from not only doing the task itself but also from doing the  work that goes into the preparation stages .

By knowing everything that goes into a good performance you can then  use examples  to show you’ve got the sorts of abilities a hiring manager is looking for. These might include:

• Organization
• Good people skills
• Timekeeping
• Expert Communication
• Flexibility
• Pre-preparation
• Visual data
• Improvisation
• Creating visuals and slides
• Preparing accompanying literature
• Working with an audience
• Ability to think quickly

How Can Presentation Skills Be Shown on My Resume?

A resume is a bit like a presentation itself, albeit expressed via the written word rather than the spoken form. It must be  structured effectively , be clear in its communication, and focused on its goals of getting you hired.

There a  few different sections  found on a resume that can allow you to show off your presentation ability.

Of course, your career history should be one of them. In the  work experience  segment of the resume, you can  highlight information such as :

• The size of audiences
• How many speeches you gave a year
• What level of technical knowledge you had to demonstrate
• How you made your talk effective

In addition to this and dropping in a few public speaking strengths in your skills section, you may consider adding another heading about any conferences or seminars where you have given  keynote addresses . This will help the recruiter gauge your level of expertise in presentations much more effectively.

Finally, if you’ve done any training that has helped make you an expert speaker, this should also find its way into your  education section . If you haven’t done  any courses in public speaking , don’t worry. As you’ll see below there are options available to upgrade your abilities.

How Can You Improve Your Presentation Skills?

If you want to start honing your presentation skills, a good place to start is  with a training course . This will be able to take you through all the key organizational and speaking considerations you’ll need when giving a speech.

Public speaking courses can be done at local education centers or online quite easily, allowing you to learn the ropes of this highly useful discipline.

However, if you don’t have the time or money to do a full coaching program, don’t worry. You can instead opt for a hands-on approach by volunteering for speaking opportunities in your current position or by getting some practice with interviews for new jobs. Like many abilities,  public speaking gets easier the more you do it .

Top Tips on Presenting Effectively

There are  so many ingredients  that go into a great presentation. Naturally not every speech is the same, but many of the same elements will come up. The main tips you should keep in mind before giving a speech are as follows:

• Keep your calm
• Be prepared
• Dress smart
• Measure the pace of your speech
• Show you care about the subject
• Engage with the whole audience
• Look and listen out for feedback
• Ask questions
• Stay flexible

Communication  is always a  highly prized skill in the workplace  and being an effective public speaker is a great way to demonstrate that. By making sure the details of your ability to give a mean presentation are present on your resume you’ll be able to put your skills to the test in your new better job.

Designing a resume with ResumeCoach  can take some of the time and effort out of creating a document that will showcase your public speaking skills. Our step-by-step resume building tools and easy to tweak templates are fully optimized so your professional profile can be submitted easily electronically and impress with their visuals.

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Related Blog

12 Ways to Improve Your Presentation Skills [for Work & Life]

According to research by the National Institute of Mental Health, around 75% of people list public speaking as their number one fear , even higher than their fear of death! 

At the same time, though, presentation skills are among the most in-demand skills for just about any job out there . 

Want to get over your fear of public speaking, improve your presentation skills, and give your career a huge boost?

You’re in the right place! This article is here to tell you everything you need to know about presentation skills from A to Z: 

• 9 Types of Presentations and Delivery Methods
• 12 Steps to Giving Better Presentations
• 5 Ways to Improve Your Presentation Skills

How to Add Your Presentation Skills to Your Resume

And more! Let’s dive in. 

What Are Presentation Skills?

Presentation skills are soft skills that allow you to present information clearly in front of an audience.

As such, these skills come in handy in all kinds of situations, including:

• Work. For example, giving a presentation in front of your team, pitching a new idea, etc.
• School or university. E.g., giving an oral presentation about a subject or presenting a master's thesis.
• Personal life. E.g. giving a speech at your best friend’s wedding or a toast at a restaurant.

No matter the situation, people with strong presentation skills typically possess the following skills:

• Body language
• Public speaking
• Communication skills
• Emotional intelligence

Why Are Presentation Skills Important?

But, what exactly makes presentation skills so important in basically every life area? 

Here are their most noteworthy benefits: 

• Increased employability. Presentation skills come in handy for many positions across all industries. 70% of respondents in a Prezi study said that presentation skills are critical for career success. As such, presentation skills are transferable skills that can instantly make you more employable.
• Higher academic performance. In the US, most university classes involve a presentation assignment or two. As such, being good at presenting is essential if you want to succeed academically.
• Effective networking. Having great presentation skills translates into great communication skills, which, in turn, helps you get better at professional networking .
• Improved confidence. Being able to speak in front of an audience can be a serious confidence booster, easily translating to other areas in life.

9 Types of Presentation and Delivery Methods

There are several types of presentations out there. 

Some presentations are meant to inspire the audience (such as motivational talks), while others are simply meant to instruct or inform (HR giving a presentation about company policies to new employees). 

Here are the five most common types of presentations, explained: 

• Persuasive presentations are meant to persuade the audience to make a decision, support a cause, side with a particular argument, and so on. A salesman pitching a product to a potential customer is an example of a persuasive presentation.
• Informative presentations aim to inform the audience about a topic, procedure, product, benefit, etc. An example of an informative presentation is a weatherman reading the weather report on TV.
• Inspirational presentations are meant to inspire the audience and potentially boost their confidence or morale. In a business setting, inspirational presentations are meant to motivate employees to perform better or get through tough times. In day-to-day life, on the other hand, an inspirational presentation could be trying to motivate a friend to do better at school.
• Educational presentations , just like the name implies, aim to educate the audience. Professors giving a lecture or tour guides speaking to museum visitors are examples of educational presentations.
• Instructional presentations are about instructing or guiding the audience on a set of guidelines, a new policy, a certain law, etc. An example of an instructional presentation is a flight attendant instructing passengers on what to do in case of an emergency.

On the same note, there are also 4 common ways presentations are delivered: 

• Extemporaneous presentations. These presentations are planned, but you deliver them without preparation.
• Manuscript presentations are presentations you deliver based on a script or notes.
• Impromptu presentations aren’t planned but rather delivered on the spot.
• Memorized presentations are those you learn by heart from start to finish.

11 Tips on How to Give Better Presentations

Looking to improve your presentation skills?

There’s good news and bad news.

The good news is that, with enough practice, you can get really good at delivering presentations.

The bad news, though, is that just like any other soft skill, in order to get good at delivering presentations, you’ll have to practice a lot.

To help get you started, below, we’re going to cover 12 of our best tips on how to improve your presentation skills, starting with:

#1. Prepare your presentation in advance

Impromptu presentations don’t happen that often in real life. Most times, you’ll have enough time to prepare for your presentation. 

Needless to say, you should use that time to your advantage. Don’t just make mental notes of what you’ll say during your presentation and call it a day, but actually plan it out from start to finish. 

When preparing your presentation in advance, make sure to consider the following points:

• What type of presentation are you making?
• What is your speech delivery method?
• How are you going to grab the audience’s attention from the get-go?
• What are the main points you need to cover?
• What is the best way to make the conclusion memorable?
• How much time do you have at your disposal?
• What visual aids and multimedia can you use?
• What does the audience expect to see/hear?

#2. Practice as much as possible

Just like with any other soft skill, the best way to hone your presentation skills is to practice as much as possible.

Some ways you can practice your presentation skills are:

• In front of a mirror or in front of your friends and family.
• Watch TED talks to get inspired and learn what good presentation skills look like.
• Read books on communication, presentation, and public speaking.
• Take extensive notes of what you need to improve. 
• Record and time yourself when doing presentations.
• Hire a public speaking coach on Fiverr or another platform.
• Take a public speaking course at your local community college.

The more you practice, the better your presentation skills are going to get.

Also, when practicing, make sure to pay attention to your tonality, body language, and whether you’re using a lot of crutch words .

#3. Exercise

Yes, really.

Exercise can help improve your presentation skills!

Some ways it does so are:

• It boosts the levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and noradrenaline, all of which are known to improve your mood and regulate your anxiety. 
• It improves your ability to focus and pay attention, benefits which can last for up to two hours after your workout .
• It strengthens and protects your memory, making it easy to recall words. 

Now, when it comes to how much you should exercise, that can differ from one person to the next.

We say - find a golden mean that works best for you. If you’re not big on exercising, you can always start small with something casual like biking to work or playing a sport once or twice a week. 

#4. Arrive early

By arriving early for your presentation, you can deal with any possible setbacks (e.g. mic not working, USB failure, wardrobe malfunction, etc). 

This will give you plenty of time to start your presentation on your terms, instead of running around trying to fix things at the last minute. 

Not to mention, in certain situations arriving early can also help you to prepare mentally and emotionally for the upcoming presentation. 

Obviously, a casual presentation in front of coworkers won’t require much emotional preparation. But if you have to, say, pitch a marketing idea to your clients or address a room full of strangers, getting to exchange some words with them before the presentation could break the ice and make it easier to engage with them later on. 

#5. Know your audience

You should always keep your audience in mind when making (and delivering) a presentation. 

At the end of the day, if your message is not tailored to its audience, chances are, it’s going to fall flat.

If your audience is a group of 50-somethings, high-level executives, chances are they won’t get your Rick and Morty references or appreciate any attempts to keep the presentation light, casual, and humorous. 

Instead, stick to talking about facts and figures without any joking around, use straightforward language, and avoid over-the-top body language while delivering the presentation. 

If on the other hand, you’re delivering a presentation to your class of 20-somethings, then you’re a lot more likely to make an impact if you joke around, make references, and make the presentation more casual.

In short, if you want your presentation to carry as much impact as possible, make sure to think about who you’re presenting to. 

#6. Use Relaxation Techniques

Even the most seasoned public speakers experience some level of anxiety before giving a presentation.

To make sure nerves and anxiety don’t throw you off your A-game, you can take advantage of relaxation techniques. 

One of the simplest (and most effective) ways to relax before a presentation is to breathe.  

When we say breathing, though, we don’t mean the automatic in-and-out we do to stay alive. We mean taking deep, relaxing breaths from your stomach while being mindful of what you’re doing. 

Here’s how breathing mindfully before your presentation can help you give a better presentation: 

• Calms your nerves
• Reduces stress 
• Helps with anxiety 

To practice mindful breathing, focus on breathing from your stomach and push your stomach out each time you inhale. When you’re inhaling and exhaling, count to at least three for each breath. 

Keep doing this and you’ll soon start feeling more relaxed. 

#7. Acknowledge That You’re Nervous

People appreciate honesty. 

If you go on stage feeling extremely nervous, use this neat little trick:

Instead of trying to play it cool, simply acknowledge that you’re feeling nervous by straight-up saying it.

Chances are, a very large chunk of your audience feels exactly the same way about public speaking, and you’ll build up some rapport just like that!

This same exact tip even applies to job interviews. You can simply tell the recruiters that you’re feeling nervous and need a minute - that’s totally acceptable!

Unless you’re applying for a job in sales, the job interviewer is not going to be evaluating you on how good you are at passing interviews.

#8. Tell stories

Storytelling is a powerful presentation tool. According to the Guardian, 63% of presentation attendees remember stories , while only 5% remember statistics.

That’s because a good story can take the audience on a journey, intrigue them, inspire them, and motivate them. In turn, they’re much more likely to remember your presentation.

There are several ways you can go about incorporating stories into your presentation. 

One is to tie your own stories, along with what you experienced, learned, or observed, to make your argument more impactful and relatable. Alternatively, you can also create a story for the sake of the presentation that can be just as impactful in driving your point across. 

Keep in mind, though, that not every presentation requires storytelling. If your presentation is packed with data and stats showing how you managed to improve profits by 20% in the last quarter, for example, then you don’t really need to include a story in there to make it impactful. 

#9. Be humorous

This one’s quite self-explanatory; as much as you can, be humorous during your presentation. It helps ease tension, get the attention of everyone in the room, and connect with them more effectively. 

Now, some people are born with humor. If you’re one of them, cracking a joke here and there should come very naturally to you. 

Otherwise, you can practice your presentation in front of your friends and family and prepare your jokes in advance. If your mock audience laughs at your jokes, chances are, so will your real audience!

#10. Use visual aids and media

Using visuals and other media forms (e.g. music, videos, infographics, etc.), can make your presentation significantly more engaging, memorable, and striking. 

Say, for example, that your presentation consists entirely of numbers and data. You can use data visualization (e.g. charts, graphs, and maps), to make the data stick with your audience better. 

Or, if you’re a lecturer at a university, you’ll want to use as many pictures, videos, and even music to help your students remember the information you’re transmitting. 

Some of the most popular ways to make your presentations as visual as possible involve using:

• Whiteboards
• Presentation applications 

#11. Engage the audience

To give a truly memorable presentation, engage your audience as much as possible. 

Instead of speaking to your audience, try to speak with your audience.

What we mean by this is that you should be very proactive in getting your audience involved in your presentation. Ask questions, get them to share stories, and so on. 

Some examples of how you can effectively engage an audience are: 

• Asking a random audience member to share their experience on a topic.
• Doing a count of hands (e.g. “Has anyone done X? Can I see a count of hands?” or “Which one of you guys likes Y? Raise your hands.” )
• Do an on-the-spot poll (e.g. “How many of you guys do X?” or “how many of you guys think Y?” )
• Making time for a Q&A at the end of your presentation. 

6 Ways to Improve Your Presentation Skills

Just like any other skill, presentation skills can be learned and improved. So, if you’re looking to improve your presentation skills, follow the tips below: 

• Take every public speaking opportunity you get. The best way to learn presentation skills is by doing it. So, take every opportunity you get. E.g. volunteer to present a project, say a toast at your friend's wedding, etc.
• Check these TED talks. Is there anything TED talks haven’t covered? Check out these talks that can teach you how to give awesome presentations: “ Giving Presentations Worth Listening To ”, “ the secret structure of great talks ,” and “ the science of stage fright (and how to overcome it) ”. 
• Take public speaking classes. Udemy, Coursera, and LinkedIn all have great public speaking courses. Or, even better, take a class at your local college. This way, you’ll get a lot more practice than by taking an online class. 
• Attend other presentations. This one’s pretty self-explanatory. The more presentations you attend, the more you can learn from others’ successes or failures. 
• Grow your confidence. Speak in front of friends and family, film yourself, and accept constructive criticism. Soon enough, you’ll be confident enough to give excellent presentations!
• Ask for feedback. How can you improve your presentation skills if you don’t know where you’re lacking? After your presentation, ask one or two members of your audience for personal, one-on-one feedback on how you did. 

If you want to show a potential employer that you’ve got presentation skills, you’ll need to highlight them on your resume.

And in this section, we’ll teach you just how to do that!

Before you do that, though, make sure to grab one of our free resume templates!

#1. List Your Presentation Skills Under Your Soft Skills 

The first and most obvious place to list your presentation skills is under your skills section . 

This part is pretty straightforward. Your skills section should be divided into “soft skills” and “hard skills” and look something like this: 

Simply add “Presentation Skills” under the “Soft Skills” section, and you’re good to go.

#2. Mention Your Presentation Skills in Your Resume Summary 

If presentation skills are super important for the role you’re applying for, you can also include them in your resume summary : 

In a nutshell, the resume summary is a short paragraph on top of your resume that typically mentions: 

• Your title and years of experience 
• Your most noteworthy achievements
• Your top skills and qualifications

Done right, this section should highlight all your strong points right from the get-go and get the hiring manager to go through the rest of your resume in more detail. 

Here’s an example of a resume summary that effectively mentions the candidate’s presentation skills: 

• Sales professional with 7 years of experience in sales presentations and lead generation. Excellent public speaking skills. Track record of converting prospects into loyal customers.

#3. Prove Presentation Skills Through Your Work Experience 

Lastly (and most importantly), you should use your work experience section to prove that you’ve got the presentation skills you mentioned in your skills section.

Here’s exactly how you can do that: 

• Keep your work experience section relevant. List recent and relevant positions. Omit outdated and irrelevant ones. For example, if you’re applying for a customer service position, you can mention the time you worked, say, as a receptionist. Your teen job mowing lawns, on the other hand? Not as important. 
• Focus on achievements instead of responsibilities. Instead of telling the hiring manager what they already know (your responsibilities), focus on showing them how you made an impact with your achievements. A way to do that is to write down a couple of achievements for every presentation skill that you include under your soft skills. 
• Make your achievements quantifiable . Adding numbers to your achievements makes them significantly more impressive. “Delivered a presentation that closed a 6-figure client” is a lot more powerful than “Delivered client presentations,” right?
• Use action verbs and power words. Presentation skills are also about how you present yourself in your resume. Avoid dry and unimaginative language and go for these action verbs and power words instead.

Key Takeaways 

And that’s about all you need to know to improve your presentation skills!

Before you go, though, here’s a quick recap of everything we covered in this article:

• Presentation skills are soft skills that allow you to present information clearly and convey your message effectively. 
• Some important presentation skills include public speaking, communication, persuasion, creativity, humor, and emotional intelligence. 
• Presentation skills can increase your employability, improve your academic performance, make it easier to network, and help you grow professionally. 
• Some steps you can take to give better presentations are to prepare in advance, practice as much as possible, exercise regularly, be humorous, use visual aids and multimedia, engage the audience, and accept that you’re nervous. 
• To improve your presentation skills, watch videos that teach you how to give great presentations, attend public speaking classes and other presentations, and grow your confidence. 
• List your presentation skills under your skills section, mention them in your resume summary, and prove them with your achievements in the work experience section.

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Presentation skills: examples and solutions

Match the medium to the occasion

Keep your message clear, adopt a passionate tone, speak to your audience, embrace your inner storyteller, be ready to change your approach, retain the audience’s attention, be brave and incorporate humor, be aware of filler sounds, don’t run out of time, importance of images and visuals, embrace your anxiety.

Giving a presentation to an audience is the stuff of nightmares for more people than you think. You will have watched many presentations over the years, but you can’t truly know how the presenters were feeling inside. Surprisingly few presenters genuinely enjoy the task.

Why? Well, because presenting to others raises the possibility of rejection from the “tribe” – a primal fear that goes back to the first cave dwellers. Everyone’s heartbeat goes up a few notches when they stand up to be judged.

While there might be tribulations, presentations can be triumphant - if you master the right presentation skills. Let’s have a look at what this entails:

• What are presentation skills
• Different types of presentations

12 presentation skills to master

How to prepare for a presentation.

Why are presentation skills important?

While you would ideally be sharing your knowledge with each person in an individual chat, presenting to a larger audience enables you to maximize your impact.

Presentation skills come into their own when you need to speak in public on a set topic. It doesn’t matter whether you are presenting to three people or three hundred; the demands of presenting are identical. It is often tougher presenting to a small audience.

In this blog, we will explore twelve aspects of giving an effective presentation, as well as how to prepare and make the most of the moment. To start with, we need to bear in mind that there are many different types of presentations:

• Any work meeting between two people might involve an element of presentation.
• Making a speech at a conference, seminar, department meeting, or any other event.
• Sales, marketing, and investment pitches – to any number of external clients.
• Presentations can be persuasive, instructive, inspiring, or informative.
• Read from a script, memorized, or given impromptu.

No matter what the nature of your presentation, the following presentation skills will help you feel more confident in your message and ensure that your audience will retain more of what you need them to remember.

When you contemplate the need to give a presentation, the following key skills should steer you along the right path. There is no such thing as a perfect presentation (communication can always be improved) – you just need to reach most of your audience with the majority of what you have to say. Perfect is the enemy of good when you stand up to present.

Presenting at a conference or pitching to investors would be strange without an informative PowerPoint slide deck to back up your claims. You likely wouldn’t use PowerPoint in a wedding speech or in the weekly update slot during a Zoom team meeting. Choose your presentation medium to fit the occasion.

It is a fact of communication that you can always say more. Too many presentations contain too much content in the hope that the audience will get the message. Give your audience more credit. They likely understand more than you assume so keep your message clear and powerful. Don’t bombard them with content – trust them to fill in the gaps.

If you don’t feel excited by your subject matter, you cannot possibly expect your audience to engage. So, find something in the material to be excited about. And then tell the story with excitement in your voice – as if you have only just discovered the secrets and are bursting to tell people about them. 

This might sound obvious, but you should write your presentation for your audience rather than for yourself. Tailor its content toward their level of knowledge of the subject. Think about their perspective – why would they be interested in what you have to say? You will only engage them if you make them think and add to what they already know.

The best stories take the audience on a journey and connect with them on an emotional level. Think about whether your audience is going to be hanging on your every word. Will they be wondering what comes next? The best stories embrace mystery and ask difficult questions, whilst sticking to a couple of core messages.

What does successful collaboration look like? How do you make the most of your partnership with a diverse team? We explore the collaboration skills that can elevate both your outcomes and the results of those around you.

Sometimes presentations do not go as you intended. You lovingly prepare a 20-slide deck, but by slide five you see that you are losing your audience. Do you carry on for another fifteen or do something completely different to get people back in the room? Few people will know that you had another 15 slides. Change it up to win back a bored audience.

In most presentations, the audience is there because they want to hear from you. Even work colleagues invited to a presentation generally have a reason to be there. Such audiences start out hopeful of receiving some useful information presented in an engaging way. Work hard in those first few minutes to reassure them this will be the case.

There is nothing scarier than attempting a joke in front of an audience, but there it’s incredibly engaging when a few people laugh with you. Even a moderate attempt at humor can reinvigorate the audience and get them listening to you again. Keep the jokes simple, steer clear of any controversial topics and test the jokes before you speak.

“Um, er, well, you know.” There are many filler words and phrases that clutter up any speech or presentation and add no value whatsoever. If the speaker is nervous or unsure about their material, half of the presentation will be filled with these pauses. If you are going to take a mental breath, fine, but don’t say anything. Silence is powerful.

Time management is a critical presentation skill. If you feel that you are running out of time it means that you are not going to be able to convey the full extent of your messages. It also means that you may feel rushed to cram everything in. When you prepare a presentation, remember that less is more. Your audience is intelligent enough to fill in the gaps.

A picture tells a thousand words. The right picture in a presentation can spark all the right connections in your audience’s heads. A graph can hit home far harder than a couple of sentences of hyperbole. When a visual pops up on the presentation screen, people automatically sit up to take notice. Their first question: why is it there?

There is a fine line between anxiety and excitement. You often need some adrenaline flowing through your veins to wake up the audience at the start of a presentation, so embrace that nervous energy. Or would you rather retreat into your shell and walk out onto that stage with an apologetic and hesitant demeanor? Channel those energetic vibes. 

Searching for a new job can be a daunting task. This job search guide to the digital job market of 2023 can help you come up with a successful plan to find the job that’s right for you (including finding unlisted jobs and job searching with no experience).

Preparing for a presentation is not just about knowing your speech by heart.

While every presentation should be familiar, the ability to riff and explore tangents is central to any engaging speech. Your audience will sense when you are being spontaneous. When they don’t quite know what is coming next, they will keep listening. If your presentation is boring and predictable, they will start to scroll their socials.

When you come to writing the speech, do the groundwork to understand your audience and research your messages (with the wider issues around them). Back up your messages with stories, statistics, and imagery. People absorb information more effectively when it is presented in a different context. Don’t machine gun them with endless facts.

The third part of presentation preparation is visualization. Think about every aspect of the day in advance – your trip to the venue, your interactions with the organizers, and the moment of stepping out in front of the audience. Then picture yourself giving your speech in real-time from the point of view of someone in the audience. Be honest with yourself. What do you notice? What could you change? Do you make the audience feel comfortable?

The final skill of preparing for a presentation is knowing when you have prepared enough. You can exhaust your mind by practicing something too much, so draw a line when you know the speech well enough. That freshness and novelty will be transmitted to the audience – stay on the edge of not quite knowing it perfectly.

If you have prepared well enough, getting psyched up in those moments before the presentation will be easy. Come on, let’s go, you’ve got this.

Key takeaways

Those ten minutes (or however long) of presentation will require a whole lot more time, effort, and thought to make the most of the opportunity to share your message with a receptive audience. Here is a quick recap:

• Tailor your presentation to the occasion and the audience.
• Share your stories with clear messages and a passionate tone.
• Take your audience with you – be flexible to change tack if needed.
• Think carefully about how your audience will interpret your visuals
• Prepare for the stress – embrace your anxiety and present with energy
• Lastly, and maybe most importantly, enjoy it!

Presentation skills improve with practice. Seize any opportunity to present to an audience. You never know when this experience will be called upon again.

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How To Add Public Speaking Skills To a Resume

Need to add public speaking skills to your resume? Here’s how, including what skills to highlight and real bullet point examples.

2 years ago   •   4 min read

Whether you’re a professional speaker or just need to present at the occasional conference, public speaking is a valuable — and rare — skill to have. It’s also a soft skill , which makes it a little tricky to list on a resume. Unlike hard skills, you can’t just add “public speaking” to your skills section and be done with it. So, what can you do instead?

The answer is to demonstrate public speaking skills through your resume accomplishments . While hiring managers hate reading buzzwords like “excellent communicator” or “strong motivator,” they love concise, action-focused bullet points that show how you’ve actually used those skills.

Ready to begin? Here’s a quick-start guide on how to add public speaking skills to your resume.

How to write a resume for a public speaker

• Determine how much public speaking is required by the job. A resume for a full-time public speaker is going to look very different from one where it’s an occasional duty.
• Search the job description for specific public speaking skills you’ll need in the job.
• Brainstorm examples of when you’ve used similar skills in a professional context. Try to come up with one example for each job duty listed.
• Write these examples down in bullet point format, starting with a strong action verb .
• Finish with a metric that describes the results of your actions.
• Get feedback on your resume from an ATS resume scanner to identify any missing skills or keywords.

How to say you’re good at public speaking

Like any other soft skill, the best way to include public speaking skills on your resume is in the work experience section . If possible, choose examples of accomplishments that closely match the duties listed in the job posting — for example, if you’ll be presenting in front of large groups, try to come up with at least one time when you’ve presented in front of a group . If you’ll be speaking with a particular aim in mind — like sales, education, or mediation — include skills related to that specific purpose.

If you’re changing careers or just starting out, you can use your bullet points to highlight transferable skills instead. These can include other types of experience instead of purely work experience — Were you a member of your college debate team? Hosted a large function for a local sports team or community group? Participated in a stand-up comedy event? Those can all be used to demonstrate public speaking skills as part of an ‘Activities’ or ‘Community Involvement’ section.

Find out if your resume shows public speaking skills

A good way to find out if your resume highlights your public speaking skills is to upload it to the tool below — it’ll scan your resume and let you know if you have shown soft skills such as public speaking, working well under pressure, multitasking and teamwork the right way.

Action verbs for public speaker resumes

Resume accomplishments need to stay focused on what you did, which means that every good bullet point should start with an action verb. Try starting your public speaking accomplishments with action verbs like:

• Interviewed
• Co-ordinated

Jobs for people who are good public speakers

If you’re good at public speaking, why not consider some of these potential careers:

• Motivational speaker
• Training specialist
• Sales representative
• Spokesperson
• TV presenter
• News reporter
• Speech writer
• Speaking trainer

Interested in pursuing a public speaking career but not sure how to start writing your resume? Here are some of the essential public speaking skills you’ll need for these jobs.

If you’re not sure which skills to include in your skills section, use the tool below to search for the public speaking job you’re applying for and it’ll give you a list of relevant skills. For example, type News Reporter to get a list of skills News Reporters are expected to have.

Public speaking skills to highlight on a resume

Public speaking doesn’t exist in a vacuum — you’ll also need related skills like:

• Interpersonal skills
• Communication
• Negotiation
• Active listening
• Speech writing
• Organization
• Problem solving
• Decision making
• Good memory
• Sales acumen
• Instructional abilities
• Subject matter knowledge

Bear in mind, these are all soft skills that shouldn’t be listed directly on your resume. Instead, highlight them through your resume bullet points.

Need some tips? Here are a few examples to get you started.

Public speaking resume examples

Here are some examples of public speaking resume accomplishments to provide some inspiration for writing your own bullet points.

Organized a variety of different events, including sales events, showcases, and free seminars with attendees averaging from 150-200, gaining over $70,000 in direct sales.

If you’ll be involved in public speaking events, your accomplishments should also highlight skills like organization, communication, and event planning.

Coordinated and planned 10+ training sessions for 50+ workers across 2 main offices; set agenda and produced minutes for C-suite executives.

If you’ll be delivering training, workshops, or professional development, choose an accomplishment that demonstrates your ability to train and lead others.

Managed business relationships with 10 clients, including Volkswagen, Deutsche Bank and McDonalds and presented marketing strategies to senior management to drive ROI and re-engineer sales operations, generating $2MM+ in annual revenue.

Sales and public speaking often go hand in hand. If you’ll be speaking to external clients or stakeholders, emphasize metrics like business growth and revenue generation.

Produced 185 radio news stories for on-air morning and afternoon programs and hosted a Resume Worded afternoon radio show conducting over 495 hours of live on-air radio time and 257 hours of on-air interviews.

If you’re applying for a job well within the public sphere, like journalism or entertainment, include bullet point examples of previous experience presenting live or to a large audience.

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How to Highlight Your PowerPoint Skills on Your Resume

• December 27, 2022
• 20 Comments

A few decades ago, people thought PowerPoint would be a flash in the pan, but today, they’re considered the most effective tool for delivering key information in a cohesive and memorable manner.

PowerPoint enables you to include more content in your resume.

PowerPoint is a software program that allows users to create slideshows, presentations and spreadsheets that are shareable. You can create digital slideshows or printable display materials with it.

PowerPoint has become a very popular program for business professionals to prepare and present information in a format that is always changing with regards to the information.

There are many different versions of PowerPoint which offer people with different levels of ability to work with it, as well as give different things to enjoy such as free-form authoring, collaboration, creation of animations and more.

There are different styles of presentations that people can create with PowerPoint. Each style has its own touch screen software, animations, transitions and such formats.

If you’re applying for a role that requires extensive travel, it’s essential to include your various and extensive research methods on your resume. You’ll be able to quickly showcase your abilities as a problem solver and the experience you’ve gained from hundreds of tasks that will give your resume a more holistic look.

It’s all about the content. You want your resume to convey your interest, dedication, and passion for your work. Here’s why you should include your PowerPoint skills on your resume.

How To Make The Most Of Your PowerPoint Skills On Your Resume

First, take a moment to review these steps for effective PowerPoint presentations and use them in your own presentations.

Preparing for your presentation

Step 1: Research . Whether you plan to prepare a report or present a technical topic, prepare for a presentation by taking a moment to read and gather background information on the subject you’re going to speak about.

Step 2: Prepare. Learn as much as possible about your topic and prepare a few slides to support your main message.

What do you need to know about PowerPoint?

What the employer wants to see: Organize your information into lists and bullet points.

Organize your information into lists and bullet points. What the employer doesn’t want to see: Too many text boxes. (Overly long form can cause organizational issues.)

What you need to know: Make sure that the information is displayed using correct formatting, such as headings, subheadings, and bullet points.

How to make presentations: Use keywords and general keywords to search for the right information.

Presentation skills that will help you succeed

• Professional speaking is a crucial component of any job, and creating a persuasive and memorable presentation helps to stand out. That’s why hiring managers prefer skilled professionals who can communicate well in front of others, and for that reason, your ability to develop presentation skills should be considered a major part of your professional development.

Recognizing the demand for presentation skills, there are a few important strategies you can take to learn those skills, whether you’re looking for a new job or are an existing employee looking to expand your repertoire.

• Create three-minute, time-sensitive presentations –  Keeping your presentation crisp and concise ensures you present only the most important aspects to the audience during the meeting. Time check is a great way to ensure the presentation does not become verbose and yet the desired communication is achieved.

Plan your presentation

Keep a list of talking points handy and make sure they are spelled out in advance so you don’t get stuck on the fly. Make sure the presentation covers the three P’s: purpose, objectives, and priorities. (A PowerPoint presentation is always three pages in length, so you can decide the focus of your points as you go along.) Choose the main points you’ll include in your presentation.

Make sure your PowerPoint software has sufficient memory and/or storage. It may even help to increase it. If your slide deck is only 10 MB, that may be adequate for your small team of the three or four people you need to review it for content. But a 20 MB deck could be a problem for executives and any media organization.

Make sure that you have enough room on your slides.

Presentation Software

Without the right technology, you could miss a good idea because you did not have the right presentation software to get the data you need in the right format. You may need to spend a little more money to buy better software, but it will be worth it.

You do not want to make a decision during your presentation, because that could result in your having to send a tech guy out to your presentation that nobody can understand.

Critical Thinking

As you prepare your presentations, you need to have an eye for detail, being able to detect what is not working and fixing it. At the same time, you need to be able to talk in an easy, natural way. Many presenters who spend too much time rehearsing with slides do not make the connection between what is in their head and what comes out of their mouth.

Deliver with confidence

Follow up with evidence and data that shows you’ve done what you said you would do.

The three phases of the delivery are a set of skills that every great presentation expert should have.2 What follows are 10 critical presentation skills that will help you shine in any role that requires you to communicate.

1. Preparation.

Research your topic. Create the content. Write a script. Nail your resume and pitch.

2. Delivery.

Write a script. Use verbal and visual cues to enhance your delivery. Assess your level of knowledge.

3. Follow-up with evidence and data.

Learn more about the audience. Demonstrate how your message has influenced your audience.

4. Use visuals.

Design visual elements that support your message.

5. Be clear.

Follow up with a written summary

After the presentation, follow up with a written summary.

Getting good at PowerPoint

Most organizations use PowerPoint, so you’ll need to learn how to use it to your advantage if you want to make a good impression. The following is a handy primer to help you get started.

When creating your presentation, keep the following principles in mind.

1. When picking a format, pick one that works for you.

Most professionals prefer PowerPoint, as it allows you to easily show and explain information. As long as your presentation covers the basics, you don’t need to be too detailed. Although if your goal is to give a more complex explanation, including the subtleties of your subject, consider doing so on slides. It’s also easy to modify slides to show longer, more in-depth information.

How To Make The Most Of Your Skills

There are a few ways to highlight your powerful skills.

Place all of your accomplishments in your resume in the same order

The first thing a recruiter will want to see is how well you can answer the first question a recruiter has when doing an interview:

What are your top 5 skills and how have you used them in your work? Be able to demonstrate that you’ve used your skill set over and over again. For instance, if you were hired as a project manager, you’ll want to highlight any projects you’ve successfully completed with results.

Add a section at the end for showing your top 10 skills

This is typically the section that resumes use to showcase your unique talents and accomplishments. Add your top 10 skills.

Key Tips For Effective PowerPoint Skills On Your Resume

It’s easy to get lost in all the bells and whistles on a PowerPoint presentation , especially if you aren’t familiar with the software. Don’t panic, though! You don’t need to master it in order to be effective.

Next, we’ll go through how to write an effective resume that highlights your top-notch PowerPoint skills.

“Get your resume updated”.

Demonstrating Your Skills

Go through the list of your “skills” on your resume and highlight the skills that are most valuable to your target companies. You may be able to fit your career into a specific position, but not all companies will be looking for that particular skill set. If you find a skill on your list that’s not applicable to the role you’re applying for, check if there’s a tutorial online that explains how to do it. You can also test out a few different positions to see if you’ll be able to do the tasks that are required.

You can also bring a video with you to the interview or on your resume if you have the video skills for the position.

Listing your skills

Typically, a resume does not have an additional section that lists skills. If you have been working in a professional field, then your employer will have considered what skills you bring to the table already.

But, it’s always a good idea to make a special section for skills that you want to show off. For example, you might want to mention any other types of PowerPoint skills that you may have that are outside of what we just discussed. In this section you could discuss things like how you’ve designed a presentation to educate an executive about data in the cloud, or how you produced a video presentation for the company.

While talking to recruiters you can tell them a little bit about your expertise in your field. Here’s a quick exercise you can do to highlight your skills.

Formatting your skills list for readability

Don’t make your skills list too long — recruiters will likely spend less than two minutes on your resume, so keep your skills concise. Presentation skills are valuable, but too long of a list can turn readers off.

Make sure your skills are listed in an organized, chronological order to show that you were able to get the job done.

Remember: You want recruiters to click on your resume, not scroll through it.

The skill isn’t necessarily a flashy one. But it’s a part of any business professional’s skill set, and is a vital skill for many professionals today.

Including your design portfolio in your resume

Presentation design is an opportunity to display your personal creativity. While creating project presentations isn’t as complicated as designing software, it’s a skill that’s certainly worth highlighting. A short yet thoughtful proposal for one such project would showcase your attention to detail and attention to the end user. Your job responsibilities should align with this, or another similar job title, in addition to your experience.

You might already have developed a portfolio of design work, but you might not be showing it off to recruiters. For a quick way to jump start the process, include a recent portfolio, with examples of how you used your skills to address challenges and provide solutions to your clients’ challenges.

Tips for making the most of your resume

Share your stories: Find a way to show how you have been an asset to your company, not just your job title. That way, you have both a chance to stand out from the crowd and show what makes you a unique individual.

Write on a higher-level than your job title: In other words, don’t talk about the company in the first paragraph of your resume. Then write the information on a job-specific level. Use this general statement to find the highest level for your resume: “Manager, [insert company name here].”

Know your audience: Another reason to make your resume more comprehensive? Many employers use resume comparison services to scan for weak or inaccurate information. When you make your resume more comprehensive, there’s less room for those errors to creep in.

Making your presentation skills standout from the competition will help you rise up the career ladder. Using the power of presentation skills on your resume will add value to your profile and position you for leadership positions. Consider adding this type of skill to your interview wardrobe so that it isn’t a surprise at all when you find yourself seated in a decision-making position. You’ll have the right skills to make the best impressions, and you’ll walk away from your interview with a solid introduction to the company.

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Why Presentation Skills Are Vital on Your Resume and How to Include Them

Whether you’ve just entered the workforce and are drafting your resume, or you’re changing careers and updating your resume accordingly, it’s important not to overlook certain skills that could make you stand out among the competition when applying for jobs. For example, many job seekers don’t realize how valuable presentation skills can be.

The following guide will help you better understand why cultivating presentation skills can make you more attractive to a potential employer. It also offers tips for how to highlight these skills in your resume naturally.

Why Presentation Skills Are Important on a Resume in 2023

There are many potential reasons why an employer might be happy to see that you have presentation and public speaking skills. The following are just a few noteworthy examples:

Remote Work May Require Strong Communication

Someone with presentation skills is like someone who’s a strong communicator in general. They may have the ability to explain complex topics or generate enthusiasm among their fellow team members through their words, voice, and overall energy when delivering a presentation.

This is particularly important now that remote work is becoming increasingly common . In an age when employees may not be sharing the same office, it’s helpful to have workers who can communicate effectively, even when doing so through video chat.

Presentation Skills Overlap with Research Skills

Highlighting strong presentation skills on your resume is a good idea, even if you’re not necessarily applying to the types of jobs that will require you to deliver presentations very often. Quite simply, when employers see that someone is able to deliver impressive presentations and speeches, they might assume they have other skills that relate to public speaking.

For instance, creating and delivering a quality presentation often requires conducting thorough research. Even if you have a strong stage presence, a business presentation won’t make the right impression on your audience if it doesn’t contain valuable and practical information. Thus, if a potential employer looking at your resume sees that you have presentation experience, they might conclude that you also can thrive in a research role.

Growth Potential

When you begin working for a company, you may not have any responsibilities that involve firing up a team or attempting to attract investors. However, if you continue to grow in your career, you may end up in a role that requires you to be charismatic in front of an audience.

This is yet another reason why including presentation skills on your resume may be a wise idea. Again, these skills might not have much practical value right now. But, if you continue to move up within a company, they may become increasingly applicable and relevant. An employer who sees that you have presentation skills may, therefore, think you’re the type of candidate who has the potential to become a manager or team leader someday.

Presentation Skills Overlap with Organization Skills

Again, if you include presentation skills on your resume, you may be subtly indicating to a potential employer that you also have strong research skills. In addition, people with reliable presentation skills tend to be quite organized.

Putting together an impressive presentation is, in fact, a remarkable feat of organization. No matter what topic you’re presenting, you need to condense your material into a format that ensures your audience absorbs and retains the information. This isn’t necessarily an easy task. If it’s a task that you completed successfully on multiple occasions in the past, an employer can safely assume that you’re a fairly organized person.

Organizational skills are actually one of the best presentation skills to have. When you place too much emphasis on getting comfortable with public speaking, you may forget to emphasize developing quality presentation content.

Good Presenters Are Good Marketers

Keeping someone’s attention on you during a presentation is also challenging for many. In our digital age, we are more distracted than ever, and research confirms this .

If you’re able to capture the attention of an audience and maintain it long enough for them to absorb valuable information from a presentation, you have a unique skill that’s growing increasingly valuable. This skill can translate to strong marketing abilities. An employee who knows how to grab an audience’s attention during a presentation might have ideas for getting the attention of customers. An employer would likely find this quality appealing.

How to Highlight Presentation Skills on Your Resume

Ways you might indicate to an employer that you possess strong presentation skills include the following:

Highlight it in Your Skills Section

This is an obvious choice, but it can be effective. In the section of your resume where you may list special skills, include presentation skills as one of them. If a potential employer is looking for someone with presentation skills, the fact that you included them on your resume may prompt an employer to ask more about this topic during your interview. This may give you a chance to expand on the subject.

Describe Your Experience

You may consider this option if you worry that simply listing public speaking as one of your special skills isn’t enough to clearly demonstrate to an employer that this genuinely is a valuable skill you may bring to the table. Under the resume section, where you might describe relevant experience, describe in clear terms how you have experience with public speaking and why you think that experience will help you succeed in the job you’re seeking.

Include a Portfolio

Do you think presentation skills will actually play a vital role in your work if you get a job to which you’re applying? If so, consider submitting a portfolio including presentation materials (such as slideshows and videos) that you’ve developed in past roles. These materials can show that presenting in front of others is a responsibility with which you’re very comfortable.

All that said, even if your presentation skills are currently lacking, you can still learn to develop them by studying creative presentation ideas and reading guides on how to improve presentation skills . If you make this a priority, you’ll equip yourself with a skill set that can help your resume make the right impression on employers.

Powtoon Improves Presentations With Video Content

A simple way to improve the quality of your presentations is to generate strong video content for them. Powtoon makes this easy, allowing even beginners to produce expert-quality videos. Sign up today to learn more!

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Public Speaking Skills and How to Describe them on Your Resume?

Here are the top ways to show your Public Speaking skills on your resume. Find out relevant Public Speaking keywords and phrases and build your resume today.

Is your resume ATS-friendly?

Drop your resume here or upload a file to find out if the skills in your resume are readable by an ATS.

In This Guide:

What is public speaking, why is public speaking important on your resume, what skills, activities, and accomplishments help you highlight your public speaking, public speaking skills: key takeaways for your resume.

Public speaking is the ability to deliver an oral presentation or speech to a live audience. Public speaking is an important skill for many professions. People who develop effective presentation skills can become the presenter everyone listens to.

Public speaking is a valuable ability whether you are trying to sell a client or energize a team, the power of your presentation skills makes the difference between success and failure. Presenting information clearly and effectively is a key skill to connecting with your audience and getting your message out.

Public speaking is the foremost ability in businesses, education, and the public arena. Public speeches can cover a wide range of topics and have many goals - to inform, educate, entertain, or influence the listeners. Over the years, public speaking in communication has played a major role in education, government, and business.

Many employers place an especially high value on public speaking skills. Candidates with public speaker skills are often placed in a higher position in the company. They present leadership and the ability to influence their coworkers and clients.

Companies always look for employees who can deliver clear and engaging presentations, no matter what department they will work in.

The spoken word can be even more powerful than the written word in the hands of the right speaker. Ideally, every employer should present a good level of communication and presentation skills, that’s why you should consider showcasing your public speaking skills on your resume.

You can do that by emphasizing some skills that can be associated with speaking in front of a small or large audience. To help you with that, we made a list of relevant skills that will help you highlight additionally your public speaking skills.

Including public speaking skills on your resume can be something that sets you apart from the rest of the candidates. Check out the public speaking skills, which can be the key to landing you the job you want:

Communication is the skillset that you should emphasize the most. Present your communication skills by saying that you can clearly explain complex concepts to a wide range of people, or how comfortable and confident you are in speaking to a small or large groups.

Analytical skills are necessary skills for public speaking. The ability to gather, understand, and break down data can help you more easily present and report the results of the analysis to a broad audience.

Planning skills are the key to a great presentation or public speech. Demonstrate your ability to accurately estimate the time and effort required to complete task/presentation. You need good planning skills to prepare, not only, your speech, but also your technical equipment.

Writing is an essential skill in the workplace. Strong writing skills help you prepare an outstanding presentation and write speeches that can sell, inspire or inform your audience.

Presentation skills are the ability to organize slides and content in a way your audiences can understand. It also includes some technical skills like knowledge of presentation software like Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides, Keynote and more.

How to demonstrate public speaking on your resume:

• Mention your good communication skills on your resume summery.
• Demonstrate your writing and presentational skills.
• Use specific details about your experience to show your achievements and skills.
• In the skill section, list your presentational software skills.

Example 1: Demonstrate public speaking in the experience section

• • Responsible for preparing over 10 statements per mount and addressing radio/TV media regarding the clients' current or upcoming events
• • Coordinate and host over 20 public speaking engagements
• • Conduct Product demonstration and application training for customers, new employees and freelancers
• • Prepare concepts for new clients that promote their brand via commercial spots

The resume experience section is the place to demonstrate best your public speaking skills. Ideally, you want the experience section of your resume to showcase the growth of your skillset.

In the provided example of the Client Relations Spokesperson, we can see first that a hint for a public speaking is in the job title, which shows that this candidate is comfortable speaking to a large audience and have the needed knowledge to do it.

They also demonstrated writing skills specifically for public speeches. In this section, they highlight their abilities and accomplishments in participating in the organizing of public speaking events. The provided examples show also their planing skills and presentational skills.

Example 2: Demonstrate public speaking in the resume summary section

This resume summary demonstrates public speaking without mentioning it. This is a good example of how you can demonstrate your communication abilities by emphasizing some skills associated with speaking in front of an audience.

From this example, the hiring manager can quickly understand that this job applicant can deliver an oral presentation or speech to a live audience

Example 3: Show your public speaking skills in your achievements sections

When listing your achievements on your resume, make sure that you include time frame, scale, or results.

This example demonstrate how good communication can earn the company money, a good name, or save resources. Public speaking is not only for special events, it is also about internal communication and the ability to present information to your team or more than one department in the company.

From this example, the recruiter can conclude that this applicant is comfortable to speak in front of coworkers or clients.

• Public speaking continues to be an important skill for many professions, and employers value candidates who possess those abilities.
• Demonstrating public speaking skills on your resume can set you apart from the rest of the candidates.
• Public speaking is not a single skill, it comprises a variety of skills, like communication, writing, planning, and even analytical skills.
• You can emphasize the skills associating with public speaking to display your confidence and abilities in delivering a successful oral presentation to the audience.

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Functional Resume: Writing Guide, Examples, & Template

11 min read · Updated on August 28, 2024

What is a functional resume, and is it suitable for your job search?

Submitting the best resume possible is essential regardless of the job you're applying to. Selecting the proper format for your unique circumstances is one aspect of ensuring that's the case. Many turn to the common chronological resume format. But what happens if your work history and skills don't fall neatly within that format? Then, a functional resume might be an option.

Below, we answer, “What is a functional resume?” and share tips with a template, as well. 

What is a functional resume?

The functional resume format emphasizes your skills over your work history. The goal of a functional resume is to craft your carer history in such a way that proves how the skills you've acquired align with the job you want. It's these skills that will stand out first and foremost to the hiring team. 

You still include your work history in a functional resume, though you don't go into detail about your accomplishments for each specific position. Instead, you include your accomplishments within each skill category. 

FORESHADOWING: We have a functional resume example at the end of this post you can refer to and see how this works. 

A functional resume tends to be a last-resort format for a couple of reasons:

Applicant tracking systems sometimes have a difficult time reading a functional resume format. 

Since the functional format is not that common, it can be more difficult for recruiters and hiring managers to find the information they're seeking quickly.

Still, if you don't have a traditional work history but have many skills relevant to the job you're applying for, a functional resume could be the best choice for you. 

What is a functional resume vs. a chronological resume?

The chronological resume, also referred to as a reverse chronological resume, is the most commonly used resume format. This format focuses on your work history instead of skills like the functional format. 

In the chronological format, you will include your most recent job first, with the rest of your experience in reverse chronological order. Each position will have a set of bullets that flesh out your achievements in that role. 

A chronological resume is an ATS-friendly format when it's written correctly. It also tends to be the most popular among hiring teams since they're familiar with the format and can easily locate the information that matters to them. 

Related reading: How to Use a Reverse Chronological Resume Format

What is a functional resume vs. a hybrid resume?

A hybrid resume, also called a combination resume, blends aspects of the chronological and functional resume formats. The goal of a hybrid resume is to equally emphasize your skills and work history. 

The hybrid resume has become a popular format choice for candidates since it gives the opportunity to emphasize the skills you have in combination with your work history. It's also a format that tends to be easily read by ATS and human readers. 

Related reading: The Best Resume Format to Get You Hired

When should you use a functional resume?

Now that we've answered “What is a functional resume?” let's discuss when you should and shouldn't use this format option.

A functional resume might work well for you if:

You have been out of the workforce for a while. Suppose you're reentering the workforce after some time. In that case, you might not want that fact to be the first thing prospective employers notice about your resume. Instead, you'd prefer they see your impressive categories of skills. 

You have a large gap in your employment history. Similar to being out of the workforce for a while, a functional resume helps to emphasize your relevant skills first to give a positive spin on your resume, helping to take the emphasis off of your employment gap(s). 

You have held jobs that span a lot of different types and industries . If your employment record is all over the place regarding the industries and types of jobs you've held, it might not be easy for a hiring team to connect your experience to the job you're applying for. A functional resume will allow you to emphasize that you have the skills necessary for the job first, so your diverse employment record isn't called into question (hopefully) as much. 

You have little to no work experience. You might not have much work experience if you're right out of college. You do likely, however,  have a lot of skills you've acquired through school activities, sports, part-time work, or school clubs. A functional resume allows you to be creative in the skills you represent first, helping to grab the attention of hiring teams with what's most relevant.

Your skills have been acquired through means other than traditional work experience. Suppose you have relevant skills acquired through things like hobbies, interests, or volunteer experience over conventional work experience. In that case, a functional resume will allow you to emphasize these skills so they stand out better than they would in a chronological format. 

When should you not use a functional resume?

If any of the following pertain to you, then it's likely in your best interest to choose a hybrid or chronological resume format:

You have a traditional employment career trajectory. If you have plenty of work experience related to the job with a typical career growth path, then a chronological or hybrid resume is the way to go. 

You're changing careers and want to emphasize transferable skills. If you've gained a lot of transferable skills and are making a career shift, a hybrid resume is an excellent way to highlight your transferable skills first, with your work experience coming in second. 

Your most recent employment history is relevant. If your most recent employment is relevant to the job, even if some of the rest of your work history isn't, you'll likely do better with a hybrid or chronological format over a functional one. 

What to include in a functional resume

Here are the sections to include in a functional resume:

Start with your contact information

Regardless of the format you select, you'll start it off with your contact information. This includes your name, cell phone number, email address, and location (city, state, zip code). You can also include your LinkedIn or professional website URL. 

Kick it off with a resume summary

Another common element across all resume formats is starting it off with a resume summary . Your summary should encapsulate what your resume is about. You want to grab the reader's attention enough for them to want to learn more. Include three to five essential skills and one to two accomplishments, with some powerful adjectives to describe you. 

Categorize your skills

The bulk of your resume for a functional format will be your Professional Skills section. Here's where you'll categorize your skills and include key accomplishments from your experience to showcase how you applied those skills successfully in the past. 

Incorporate your work history

Following your Professional Skills section, include your work history. Here, include the name of the employer, your position, and the dates you were employed. Where you would include bullet points of your accomplishments below each position for a chronological and hybrid format, you will leave those off in the functional format. You've already covered key accomplishments within your categories of skills.

Close it off with education

Like other resume formats, your functional resume will end with your Education section . An exception to this is if you are a new hire with little to no work experience and a few skills to highlight. In that case, you'll emphasize your education by listing it first, followed by your Skills section and then your work history. 

Your Education section should include your degree and where you obtained it. You can also include any honors you might've achieved. 

Many also choose to include any relevant certifications in their Education section. Or, you can opt to include a separate Certifications section if you have more than one to highlight.

Include additional sections as appropriate

You may include additional sections on your resume depending on your unique circumstances. Additional sections could include Volunteer Experience, Hobbies and Interests, Certifications, Special Projects, and Technical Skills.

Tips for writing your functional resume

Here are a few additional tips to help you craft a job-winning resume:

Tailor your resume to each job. Refer to the job description and tailor your resume to include keywords and information that aligns with your skills and experience. 

Use power verbs. Begin each work accomplishment bullet point with a power verb . 

Include as much quantifiable information as possible. When describing your accomplishments, include results and use data to quantify those results as much as possible. 

Example of a functional resume 

Here is an example of a functional resume for someone pursuing an HR-related job. You'll see this individual has a brief employment gap and a bit of an unconventional career path, making a functional resume a suitable option.

Kendra Smith

555.555.5555 | [email protected] | Morgantown, WV 26250 

Intuitive professional with multi-dimensional expertise in Human Resources for diverse group of industries, including oil & gas, finance, Internet marketing, and real estate. Timely and efficient with the ability to work with all levels of staff within an organization. Influential in working with leadership teams to support the best interests and wellbeing of employees. Expertise includes recruiting, employee relations, training and development, and performance management. 

PROFESSIONAL SKILLS

Staffing & Recruiting

• Partnered with recruiters to rebuild workforce after a 40% reduction due to Hurricane Katrina relocation
• Counseled management while going through a reduction in force for 150+ positions
• Recruited for over 500 positions in multi-faceted environments
• Utilized applicant tracking system (ATS) software, including Taleo, JobVite, and SAP, to monitor resume submissions and data
• Designed a one-stop shop website to assist new hires in assimilating to the community and company

Employee Relations & Performance Management

• Managed employee relations for global and domestic client groups totaling 500-700 employees for multi-million dollar companies
• Designed and implemented new company-wide Service Award Program
• Developed new Performance Management process resulting in more effective employee development, documentation, and communication
• Directed relocation project and successfully transferred 300+ positions from Austin to Houston, TX

Communications & Policy Design

• Prepared and administered 40+ HR-focused policies, including performance management, non-solicitation, harassment, education reimbursement, annual MVR reviews, and discipline for $4.5B start-up company
• Partnered with HR & Legal departments to develop and present materials for pertinent employee communications, including Austin relocation, benefits open enrollment, and policy updates
• Presented HR updates, including goals and projects, for monthly Leadership staff meetings
• Drafted and wrote 200+ employee, HR, and CEO communications

Training & Development

• Developed 30+ training modules focused on HR Foundational skills for supervisors and managers, including union avoidance, effective communication, performance management, employment law, recruiting, and employee development
• Spearheaded culturally sensitive technical and professional career development plans for 100 international and domestic employees
• Trained HR colleagues on I-9 government compliance

WORK EXPERIENCE

HR SME Copywriter:  IESquared, LLC, Houston, TX, 6/2020 - Present 

Public Relations Specialist:  PrimeWay Credit Union, Houston, TX. 4/2017 - 6/2020 

HR Recruiter:  HighMount E & P, Oklahoma City, OK, 11/2012 - 5/2013

HR Operations Manager:  Dominion E & P, Houston, TX, 9/2010 - 10/2012

EDUCATION   

West Virginia University – Morgantown, WV

• Master of Science in Human Resources and Industrial Relations
• Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

Is a functional resume right for you?

Now that you know the answer to “What is a functional resume?” it's time to decide if it's the right option for you. If you have a traditional work history, recent relevant work, or are applying for a job where your work history is necessary to include in detail, then you should forgo the functional resume format. If you fall into any of the other categories above where a functional resume could be of value, then go for it. And, when in doubt, you can always hire a resume writer to help. Good luck!

Are you using the right format for your resume? Find out by submitting it for a free resume review . Our experts will review it and provide specific tips to help improve it and get past an ATS!

Recommended reading:

How to Check If My Resume Is ATS-Friendly for Free

15 Expert Tips to Working with Recruiters

Strategic Job Search Planning: Land Your Dream Job

Related Articles:

How to Write a Short Bio? (With Examples)

7 Best Personal Skills for Your Resume (With Examples)

Great Jobs for Teens: Top Picks for 16-Year-Olds

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• How to Write a Short Bio?...

How to Write a Short Bio? (With Examples)

7 min read · Updated on August 28, 2024

A short professional biography is a great tool to have in your career marketing toolkit.

As you progress through your career, there will likely come a time when someone wants you to provide them with a professional biography. It could be that your boss wants to include something on the team page of the company website or perhaps you need to write a blurb about your biggest achievements for a social media page. 

Regardless of the reason, you should always have one ready to go. Many people have quite a few questions about writing short professional bios, though, including

What is a bio?

How to write a short bio?

What voice to use in a short bio – first person or third person?

What is the format of a short biography?

What is a good bio example?

Let's just say that you're in the right place to find out.

What is a short bio?

Have you ever heard the phrase “elevator pitch?” Well, that's what a bio is. It's about 200 words that define who you are, what you do, what you've accomplished, and what your goals are. If that seems like a lot to put into a couple hundred words, you're right. 

This isn't the time to go on and on about everything you've ever done. Since the purpose of a short professional bio is to introduce you to whoever is reading it, it's best to worry about only hitting the high notes. 

Think about what you say when someone asks you the following:

What do you do?

How long have you done it?

What do you like most about it?

Have you ever won an award ?

Why do you want to keep doing what you do?

Your answers to those questions will help you craft your biography, though you'll probably have to pare down the wording to keep it within the requisite word count. Always remember KISS – Keep it Short and Simple. 

How to write a short professional bio?

Just like with your resume, a short professional bio should contain key details. Those details should also appear in a predictable order. 

Your name and current job title

Your professional philosophy

Some of your best skills

Career achievements

What you have your sights set on for the future

You could also include things like links to online portfolios or your contact information, depending on where the bio is going to be used. For example, if you're adding the short professional bio to a web page that already has your contact info, then you don't need to add it to the bio itself. 

First-person vs third-person for your short professional bio

Before you start writing, you have to decide which voice you're going to use for your biography. Meaning, are you going to write it using first-person or third-person?

First-person writing involves using pronouns like “I,” “me,” and “my”

Third-person writing is when you avoid using personal pronouns and stick to possessive pronouns or possessive adjectives like "he," "she," "his," and "her"

It all depends on your audience. You'd choose to write your short professional bio in the first person if you're using it for personal websites, social media profiles , and networking events. It's better to use the third person when you're writing for company websites, professional directories, or other formal settings. 

Short professional bio examples: Your name and current job title

This may seem like a given, but because it's such a simple thing, a lot of people try to overdo it. You literally only need to write something like this

Third-person: Janet Plunder is the Head of Marketing for We Are Creatives, Inc. 

First-person:   My name is Jeff Safeport, and I am the Network Manager for BitBytes.

Short professional bio examples: Your professional philosophy

Have you ever thought about the values and ethics you possess and how those shape your work and interaction with others? That is the basis of your professional philosophy. Prospective employers and future clients want to know how you distinguish yourself from others. The way you come up with your professional philosophy is through a little self-assessment. Ask yourself

What do I believe in?

What am I committed to?

What values are most important in my professional life?

How do I approach challenges?

Have I made any type of impact in my field?

This is what the philosophy statement could look like in your short bio:

• Third-person: She is known for leading with integrity, fostering collaborative environments, and continuously seeking innovative solutions that drive success. 
• First-person:   I am committed to prioritizing client satisfaction. Also, by embracing the idea of lifelong learning, I consistently strive for excellence in everything all projects I undertake.

Short professional bio examples: Your skills and qualifications

Going back to the concept of KISS, you want to avoid trying to include a laundry list of every skill you possess. The idea here is to focus on the abilities that set you apart in your field. You need to be specific not only about what you excel at but also how the particular skills you choose for your short professional bio have helped you be successful. 

For example:

• Third-person: Jane is known for creating digital marketing strategies, with a particular focus on SEO and content marketing. She has a proven track record of increasing online visibility, brand awareness, and consumer engagement for countless globally branded companies. 
• First-person :  One of my strong suits is the ability to streamline processes in a way that improves productivity across international teams. I do this through full lifecycle project management and deep-dive data analysis.

Short professional bio examples: Your career achievements

Back when you were writing your resume, you probably heard over and over again how important career achievements are. There are millions of articles out there that tell you how to quantify the things you've accomplished in past jobs because that's how prospective employers know you'll be a benefit to their team. 

The same holds true for your short professional bio. Your readers will be able to tell how you can help them by getting a glimpse into your career wins. Focus on notable awards and major projects that point to you achieving milestones.

Here's what that could look like:

• Third-person: Recently, she led a rebranding project that increased revenue by more than 20%, earning her the Innovator of the Year award. 
• First-person :  In my last position, I ascended to the prestigious President's Club after overhauling project processes and saving the company $10M. 

Short professional bio examples: Your professional goals

The one thing that distinguishes a short professional bio from your other career marketing documents is that it not only showcases your history but it's also future-facing. This gives you a great opportunity to talk about your aspirations and which direction you are heading in your career. 

You can show prospective employers and future clients that you're going to be around a while by talking about things like being “forward-thinking” and emphasizing your “commitment to growth,” as examples. 

Here are a couple of short professional bio examples you can use as inspiration for your own professional goals :

• Third-person: Jane is looking forward to developing leadership skills to transition into an executive management role so that she can foster innovation at the corporate level.   
• First-person :  Since the beginning of my career, I've focused on expanding my expertise in cybersecurity and am poised to move into a Chief Information Officer position. 

Leave a lasting impression

No matter what type of document you're writing for your career, the object is always to leave a lasting impression. That holds true even for a short professional bio. It may only be a couple hundred words, but they're very important words. Keep it concise, relevant, and engaging, and the right doors will open to propel you along your career journey.

The best way to get the right details into your short professional bio is to use information from your resume. Does your resume say what you need it to say about your skills, qualifications, and achievements? Upload it for a free review and find out. 

Recommended reading:

20 Funny and Awkward Zoom Fails: Meetings Gone Wrong

10 Things Every Job Seeker Should Know Before Starting Their Search

Why the Handshake May Go Away — and Options to Replace It

Related Articles:

7 Best Personal Skills for Your Resume (With Examples)

Great Jobs for Teens: Top Picks for 16-Year-Olds

Functional Resume: Writing Guide, Examples, & Template

See how your resume stacks up.

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