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Table of contents

What are presentation skills?
25+ presentation skills [examples for your resume]
How to list presentation skills on your resume
More skills resources
Presentation skills — key takeaways

Get the job 2x faster^*

Want to put your best foot forward with potential employers? Presentation skills are key.

How you present yourself in person and on your resume makes all the difference in landing your desired job.

That’s where we come in with a helping hand.

In this guide, we’ll cover:

What presentation skills are.
Examples of top presentation skills.
How to highlight presentation skills on your resume.
Additional skills to showcase on your resume.

Are you making your resume? If so, consider using a AI resume builder. These tools simplify the resume creation process and provide plenty of presentation skills examples that you can easily integrate with just a click.

What are presentation skills?

Presentation skills are the ability to effectively communicate information to an audience through speech, visuals or other means.

These skills are extremely important in the 2024 job market. After all, clear and compelling communication can show you’re professional and confident. Whether you find yourself leading a team meeting or pitching a new idea to clients, how you present yourself can make all the difference.

You’ll find presentation skills are quite valued in a range of career fields. There are obvious ones like teaching, marketing and public relations, but you’re just as likely to need presentation skills in fields as diverse as engineering and healthcare.

In the end, what matters most is your ability to convey your message effectively and engage your audience.

Next, let’s run through some examples.

25+ presentation skills [examples for your resume]

Presentation skills run the gamut from soft skills like effective communication to hard skills like proficiency in presentation software.

Let’s run down some of the most common and important presentation skills we see on the strongest resumes across a range of industries.

Communication skills

Unless you have excellent communication skills, your presentations probably won’t be up to snuff. So, what counts as a communication skill?

Here are just a few examples:

Clear articulation
Effective storytelling
Persuasive speaking
Active listening
Empathy and understanding
Conflict resolution
Adaptability in communication
Clarity and conciseness

Technical skills

Presentation isn’t just a soft skill — your technical abilities are just as important. After all, you want to ensure your presentations run smoothly and look professional.

Let’s go over some examples:

Proficiency with presentation software (PowerPoint, Keynote)
Using presentation technology (projectors, clickers)
Creating and integrating multimedia elements (videos, animations)
Troubleshooting technical issues on the spot
Designing effective slide layouts and visuals

Organizational skills

Organizational skills are essential for ensuring your presentations are coherent, structured and impactful. Strong organizational skills can make your presentations more efficient and compelling.

Consider these organizational skills for your resume:

Setting and meeting presentation objectives
Gathering data, facts and materials
Preparing speaker notes and cue cards
Structuring content logically
Time management during presentations

Interpersonal skills

Whether you’re presenting to a large audience or having a one-on-one meeting, your interaction with other people is a fundamental part of the presentation.

Check out the interpersonal skills below — they might be perfect for your resume!

Engaging with the audience
Handling questions and feedback
Building rapport with listeners
Demonstrating empathy and understanding
Reading and responding to audience reactions

Storytelling

Storytelling is one of the ways we connect with our audience and make our message memorable. You can use stories to illustrate points, make data relatable and engage listeners emotionally.

Here are a few presentation skills related to storytelling:

Crafting engaging narratives
Using anecdotes and examples effectively
Creating a compelling storyline
Structuring stories with a clear beginning, middle and end
Tailoring stories to your audience’s interests and needs

How to list presentation skills on your resume

Now for the exciting part — let’s talk about your resume.

Every resume section is well suited for promoting a mix of hard and soft skills. In fact, you can also consider your resume and cover letter as a real-life example of your stellar presentation skills. Simply follow the instructions below.

Step 1

Identify presentation skills in the job ad

Whether you’re refreshing your resume or building it from scratch, the first step is to read the job ad closely.

In the job ad, you’ll find a list of duties and responsibilities, as well as requirements. These are often but not always in a bulleted list. Highlight the presentation skills you encounter as you read.

Why is this such a key part of the process? Well, the job ad will help you understand how to get past the applicant tracking systems (ATS) that most companies use to filter out applications. The skills you find in the job ad are essentially keywords companies program into their ATS. If you don’t have the keywords, you won’t get the call.

Let’s take a look at some bullet points from a real job ad as an example. We’ve bolded the keywords.

Develop and deliver engaging presentations to clients and stakeholders.
Utilize visual storytelling techniques to convey complex data.
Lead team meetings and facilitate workshops.
Design professional presentation materials using advanced software.
Provide effective training sessions to new employees.
Communicate clearly with both technical and nontechnical audiences.
Adapt presentations based on audience feedback.
Ensure all presentation content is well-organized and visually appealing.

Alright, when you have your list of skills, you can go back to your resume.

Pro Tip

Your computer skills are crucial for creating professional presentations. Knowing current software, such as PowerPoint, Keynote or other presentation tools, can significantly enhance the quality and effectiveness of your presentations.

Step 2

Improve your skills section

Start with the skills section of your resume.

If you’re starting with an existing resume, how do your skills stack up compared to the job listing? Sprinkle in any of the keywords that fit you.

When building a resume from the ground up, consider the format you’d like to use. Anyone who has some work experience is best served by a chronological resume. This format is considered the classic because it focuses on your work history.

When you’re just starting out, a functional resume is a great option. In this format, your skills section will be near the top — the focus of your resume. Often, work history is marginalized in favor of skills and abilities in this format.

In any case, here’s a skills section that includes many of the skills from the job ad we covered above:

Skills

Engaging presentations
Visual storytelling
Team meeting facilitation
Workshop facilitation
Professional presentation materials design
Effective training sessions
Clear communication with technical and nontechnical audiences
Audience-adapted presentations
Well-organized and visually appealing content

Easy peasy! But your skills section is just the beginning. The rest of your resume awaits.

Pro Tip

Transferable skills are incredibly important, as they help you transition between careers. These are skills that are applicable in various roles and industries, such as communication, problem-solving and adaptability.

Step 3

Sprinkle skills throughout your resume

As a whole, your resume is simply a stage for showcasing your skills and experiences.

Your professional summary should include only the most relevant skills. This concise section at the top of your resume grabs the hiring manager’s attention and sets the tone for the rest of your resume.

For job seekers who need to lay out their goals, like someone changing careers or just starting out, consider using an objective statement. This can help you clearly define your career goals and highlight how your skills align with the job you’re applying for.

Professional Summary

Dynamic and results-driven professional with over five years of experience delivering engaging presentations, powerful visual storytelling and effective training sessions. Proven ability to communicate clearly with diverse audiences and adapt presentations to meet audience needs. Seeking to leverage these skills in a challenging new role.

Next, consider your work history. This section is perfect for demonstrating how you have applied your skills in real-world scenarios. Here’s a work experience entry with the presentation skills in bold:

Work Experience

Marketing Coordinator
XYZ Corporation, City, State
May 2018 – June 2024

Developed and delivered engaging presentations to clients and stakeholders.
Utilized visual storytelling techniques to convey complex data.
Led team meetings and facilitated workshops to enhance team productivity.
Designed professional presentation materials using advanced software.
Provided effective training sessions to new employees.

Before we wrap up, we should talk about your cover letter.

Pro Tip

If you recently graduated or are still in school, include relevant skills in your education section as well. For example, mention specific projects, coursework or presentations where you applied key skills. This can provide additional evidence of your capabilities and reinforce the skills listed in other sections of your resume.

Step 4

Consider the cover letter

Consider your cover letter the first opportunity to make a personal connection with a potential employer.

Your cover letter is the ideal place to share your career story, but did you know you can use it to highlight specific skills that match the job ad?

When you’re writing a cover letter, focus on weaving your key skills into a narrative that showcases your accomplishments and experiences.

Perhaps these are the skills that didn’t make it onto your resume. Maybe they are the skills you want to emphasize to show your fit for the specific role you’re applying for.

By the way, looking at cover letter examples can provide inspiration and guidance on how to structure your own letter and effectively incorporate your skills.

Let’s finish with a few skills guides and key takeaways for your job hunt.

More skills resources

Haven’t found what you’re looking for? Maybe one of our other skills guides can help:

Need to update or create your first resume? Try our AI Resume Builder. It provides a variety of professional templates and helpful content suggestions, making it easy to create a polished resume in just minutes.

Presentation skills — key takeaways

Highlight skills you find in the job ad

Tailor your resume and cover letter to include presentation skills that match the job ad. Use keywords to get past the ATS and showcase your strengths.
Balance your hard and soft skills

Effective presentations require both technical proficiency and strong communication abilities. Make sure to highlight a mix of these skills throughout your resume.
Detail real-world applications

In your work experience section, describe how you’ve applied your presentation skills in past roles. Use specific examples to demonstrate your expertise.
Leverage your cover letter

Always look for opportunities to showcase your full skill set. Leverage the extra space a cover letter provides to ensure you make the best case for your presentation skills.

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Don is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) with more than 10 years’ experience creating digital content, including four years helping job seekers develop their careers. He holds an M.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University.