Ask around about presentation skills or public speaking and the main opinion still holds that great speakers are somehow born not made.

And although the majority of professionals recognize that speaking confidently would help their career progression, it's still one of those areas which gets repeatedly shelved.

The greatest issue and what clogs up most professionals thoughts is the anxiety associated with speaking to an audience. And this is what gets in the way of realizing what presenting to an audience is actually about. A set of tangible skills. Specifically a communication skill set. And an incredible tool of influence once grasped.

Used correctly these skills can allow you to build a powerful bond between members of your team. If you want your team to work harder, seek the best solution or go beyond, these are the skills you use to inspire them.

Inject these skills of influence into your sales teams and watch them set new standards for conversions and give them a powerful tangible edge over any competitors.

So where do you begin?

The easiest way to take on any new skill is to split it into smaller manageable elements. Then take each piece in turn, learn it and practice. If you can practice in front of a live audience even better as the experience will give you a real measure of what to focus on or what to improve.

Presenting with influence can be broken down into four major chunks.

1. Creating a bond of trust with your group or audience. And by group I mean anything from one person to a few thousand.

2. Stage craft. Knowing how to use your stage effectively. What to do with your hands. Using gestures as a tool of influence.

3. Structuring your content. With an audience different people will respond to different aspects of your presentation. There is a way to make everyone in the room feel like you are talking directly to them alone which is incredibly powerful.

4. Your call to action. World class speakers always have a purpose to presenting. They don't just speak, they fire specific emotions in the audience to move them to do something with the information covered.

Great speakers have been studied, researched and modelled. And their greatness isn't genetic or pure talent. It's a skill set. Which you can replicate and be as great and as powerful too.