Hey,I've got an assessment centre coming up (Deloitte Strategy) where I'll have to complete a case study & then present my findings to the assessors.I am aware of the basics such as having a well structured presentation, speaking confidently and maintaining eye contact with the audience.However, I'm keen to know if there are any tips that anyone can give me to turn an ordinary presentation into a great one.I figured that since consultants make presentations all the time, that you guys would be the best ones to ask!Many thanks!

While I'm not (yet) a consultant, and therefore don't come under your definition of an expert at presenting (and I wouldn't consider myself one either!) I have done the assessment centre for Deloitte Strategy and am holding an offer from them.First thing is that I wouldn't really consider it a presentation - the format is more summarising a project for a partner with a bit of analysis by yourself. As such make the tone should be more one of discussion - my interviewer got involved both during and after my 'presentation' and also asked a number of questions that were a bit abstracted from the topic itself but I guess that really depends on who you're interviewer is.Anyway I wouldn't worry about it too much, try and come up with some interesting suggestions regarding whatever the case study might be and try to enjoy it - after all its one of the things you might find yourself doing as a consultant.Best of luck

Have 105 pages of Powerpoint slides packed with text in size 10 font. Give your slides 1-word titles. Use plenty of diagrams that you knocked up in 10 minutes each and which nobody but yourself understands. Spend 25 minutes at the start of the presentation on 'housekeeping' such as telling your assessors where the fire exits are and that they should turn their phones off. If possible, present jointly with somebody 30 years older than you who butts in 5 seconds after you start each sentence. Ideally this other person should also have a presenting slot before you go on stage so that they can summarise all the key points and interesting stuff in 10 minutes, leaving you with 3 hours to expand on the detail. Make sure you arrive early so you can spend 45 minutes altering the room layout, and spend the entire night before printing off delegate lists, name badges and handouts. And my favourite of all, make sure you state the obvious plenty of times to a sophisticated audience.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^I have been to quite a few presentations like this in my career. Well summarised!

While The Bore Factor's description isn't far off the reality you'll be facing as a strategy consultant, for the assessment centre you're likely to get away with just 4-6 slides. Are you allowed to use PowerPoint? When I did my presentation a few years ago, we had to use an overhead projector, so the slides were very brief and to the point. I remember I had 4 slides summarising the key points (Context/History, Problem, Possible solutions, Recommendation/Conclusion), plus one "data" slide to support my recommendation. This was just a simple plot of the key numbers involved, but conveyed the point with great clarity. This seemed to impress the partner enough to result in a job offer. You can't argue with data!

Thanks DG and 'deloitteconsultant' for your advice, I feel better prepared for the big day!

No thanks for me and Village Idiot then? xxx