How important are presentation skills for a pmm? How do I develop these skills?

I'd say presentation skills are pretty critical for a PMM. I've often heard other say that PMMs create "pretty slides" jokingly, but everyone knows we do far much more than that in developing positioning, messaging, enablement materials, etc. I'll I'd admit, I'm still working becoming a better presenter myself ;) 

Because we work in such a cross-functional manner, communication skills are pretty key and presentation skills are a tool in that arsenal. We are successful because we effectively share information that enables teams to go-to-market with products and this often take the form of presenting to others. One could say the most successful PMMs are also great at pitching and building trust with their counterparts which is a higer level skill in giving presentations. 

The good news is that presentation skills can be developed in many ways, from getting a Toastmasters certification to asking a presenter at your company that you admire to mentor. Start to study presentations and figure out why some are better than others. Since practice makes better, I'd also look for speaking opportunities outside of the company, at alumni events, industry meet ups, podcasts, etc. There are lots of opportunites out there.   

I believe presentation skills are vital for most marketing roles, especially PMM. The PMM's job is often to bring many different cross-functional stakeholders on board with their marketing plan, and the best way to do that is to sell them on it—and the best way to sell is with a great presentation.

The best way to develop these skills is simple: practice and present often. It's also important to remember that every time you present your work or GTM plan, you're effectively message testing. How is it landing in the room? What questions are being asked? Is the plan easily understood by the people you're presenting to? All of these are good hints as to how your end user or audience will receive your campaign.

If you're uncomfortable with or nervous about presenting, don't be afraid to ask someone who loves presenting (it's usually pretty obvious who they are) for help! Ask them for tips, see if they'll read through your presentations and let you do a quick run-through, or even hop on a few extra calls a month to observe them. I can tell you from my personal experience I'm always thrilled when someone asks for my help when it comes to learning to be a better presenter.

I honestly think it depends in the type of PMM you want to be.

If you want to be in rooms where decisions are made and influence those, I’d say yes it’s a very important skill. Even if you’re only focused on market research, there will be a time to present your findings so everyone can see how awesome you are and what great insights you have.

Presenting as a PMM doesn’t only happen for folks who wants to take center stage and demo a product at a conference, it happens every day when you have convos with Sales, when you present strategy to your Marketing team, and when you go through the findings from your win/loss analysis because your C-suite has to see it.