Presentation tips
Here are our top ten tips on how to create and give a good presentation…
Creating your presentation
1. Be prepared
Make sure you are aware of exactly what the audience and your team expect from your presentation and what needs to be communicated.
Know your subject. Keep it simple. Reduce your presentation to simple concepts and your audience should be able to follow you. If you go beyond their understanding they will switch off. People’s attention comes in waves. Be aware of it and use it.
The best way to keep your nerves under control is to be prepared.
2. Remember the rule of three
“Blood, sweat and tears” – General Patton
Putting it simply, if you want your message to be remembered put it into a list of three.
Have a think about the three major points you want to leave your audience with and then work your speech around them.
3. Stick to a simple layout and fonts
Give your slides a sense of openness by using plenty of ‘clear space’ around headings and key items.
Use one font or a maximum of two. Use type sizes to show hierarchy of importance where appropriate.
This is a basic design rule for any kind of publication, but is particularly important in a presentation, where the number of words you use is very limited.
4. Use imagery (but avoid Clipart!)
Never use clipart. The audience is likely to have attempted PowerPoint themselves and seeing Clipart they recognise will not impress.
Use digital cameras, the internet and image libraries to find images to help illustrate your presentation.
5. Use video
Video inserts can do wonders for a presentation – they add interest and vibrancy and can be used to punctuate different sections of a long presentation.
6. Use colour
If your company has a corporate PowerPoint template then stick to it by using the correct fonts and use your corporate colours to highlight important areas of text.
If you’re not restricted by company guidelines or a house style then spend some time choosing a good colour scheme for your slides.
7. Use subtle animation effects
Transitions are to a presentation what punctuation is to a sentence. They are there to make the breaks between themes obvious and to bracket the most important parts of your talk.
As with many things in a presentation (fonts, colours and graphics) less is often more and although you can keep interest by using interesting transitions, don’t be tempted to use a different one each time
8. Don’t use PowerPoint sound effects
Sound effects (this does not include walk-up music or video soundtracks) are not a good idea, something that may sound good in your office will inevitably sound cheesy and out of place in a large presentation environment.
9. Never read your presentation from the screen
One of the most obvious and frequently made mistakes is to put too much text on a slide. This does two things: it leads your audience into reading the slide rather than listening to you, and it leads you into reading the slide aloud, rather than using it as a memory aid.
The best presentations are the ones where only the core of your message is on the slide, so the audience has to watch you to get important extra information.
Try and limit any slide to no more than three or four bullet points or a short paragraph of text. Any bullet point should be backed up by only a sentence or two of explanatory text, at most.
If your presentation is very complicated or it is critical that it is read out word for word then consider using a prompting system.
10.Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse!
If you’ve been prepared, you should have plenty of time to rehearse. Do this in front of your peers to ensure that the tone and content is correct then rehearse alone as much as possible.
Giving your presentation
1. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse!
As with any skill – the more you do it, the better your performance will become.
Take every opportunity to rehearse, don’t be tempted to turn down a dress rehearsal because it seems too daunting, it’s far easier to give your actual presentation if you’ve stepped through it properly at least once before.
2. Dress appropriately
Always ask what the dress code is for the event and check what your fellow presenters will be wearing.
Make sure you are entirely comfortable and feel confident in what you are wearing as all eyes will be on you. Choose an outfit that is appropriate to what you are speaking about.
3. Have a back-up plan
Accept that fact that things may go wrong and plan accordingly.
If you are responsible for the technical elements of your presentation yourself then load your presentation on the show laptop in advance and go through your presentation and check that everything appears as it should.
Keep a back-up of your presentation on a CD or USB stick and keep it in a separate bag (or a pocket) from your laptop.
If you have sent your slides to a production company in advance, always take a back-up copy with you, just in case they haven’t arrived.
4. Relax
If possible, allow yourself some quiet time before your presentation to sit alone with your script and have a final read through. Check your notes are in order, that your mobile phone is switched off and take some calming deep breaths.
5. And begin…
Walk to the stage slowly, take a deep breath and begin.
Firstly, if appropriate, thank the person who introduced you, then tell your audience who you are and what you do within the company.
Consider using an ‘attention grabber’ (perhaps a funny story, a video clip or some unusual facts) to settle the audience and relax you into your presentation by reducing the levels of adrenaline and testosterone racing through your bloodstream.
6. Smile and maintain eye contact
Try to appear relaxed and happy even if you don’t feel it. The audience will listen more intently to someone who appears to be engaging with them.
7. Avoid using technical jargon or acronyms
Ensure that your use of language does not alienate your audience.
8. Pause
Focus on something near the back of the room and pause for a second. This will gain the audience’s attention and encourage you to speak sufficiently loudly.
9. Don’t overrun
Whatever you do, don’t overrun, particularly when it’s time for coffee or lunch. Have pity on those who are hungry and dying for the toilet!
If there isn’t a clock on the wall that you see easily then place your watch on the table or lectern in front of you.
10. A powerful ending
Presumably your presentation has a purpose, so don’t sit down until you’ve told your audience what you want them to do.
Audiences have a limited attention span and will remember little from a presentation, so make sure that what they do remember is what is important.
Close with a summary of your three key points (repeating your best visuals) and keep it brief.