TIPS FOR GOOD PRESENTATION

1. Start planning your presentation on paper

Start planning your presentation on paper rather than PowerPoint.
It helps with creativity.
2. Avoid written bullet points on slides
Follow the Steve Jobs philosophy of using pictures or demonstrative pieces that capture the idea you are trying to get
across. Recently at harassment prevention training, I used a Tickle Me Elmo doll. This was shortly after a New York
politician had resigned after admitting among other things that hed engaged his employees in a tickle fight. The
whole audience got my point.
3. Make your ideas stick
Follow the formula laid out by Chip and Dan Heath in Made to Stick: the stickiest ideas are those which are simple,
unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional and are framed by a story.
4. If you make a mistake in presenting, dont panic
Acknowledge it, laugh and move on.
5. Include the audience
Ask questions to allow them to participate.
6. Bring the audience forward
If it is an unwilling audience, and people are sitting way at the back, laugh and tell all those in the back row that they
need to come and sit in the front that you know who the troublemakers are. (Keep laughing.) Then, you can
engage them much more actively.
7. If possible, make everybody turn OFF their electronic devices
8. Remain flexible
To me one of the most important tips is to remain flexible. Dont be totally tied to your presentation. You need to be
able to assess where your participants are (in their learning) and then modify your presentation to meet their needs
and the time you have available to present.
Too often I see presenters try to cram in all the information they have regardless of the time available.
9. Let the audience direct the content and order of your presentation

If you have slides, you can do this with a menu slide, custom shows, or links to other presentations. By asking
questions of the audience, you can know what theyre interested in, and have that content available by clicking on a
link.
I would still research the audience as much as possible in advance, but when you cant do that, incorporating this
flexibility into your presentation is invaluable.
10. Lean forward to make a point
A wee step or slight lean forward on a positive point, and vice versa; otherwise stepping back during pauses, then
slightly forward again.
11. Dont read your slides
Paraphrase it keeps people on their toes.
12. Dont try to say everything on screen
The fewer words on screen, the more your audience will be focused on you and what youre saying.
Think about stripping out the words that you are actually going to say and just use short, punchy bullet points
coupled with relevant, thought-provoking imagery.
13. Try not to prove it within your slide content
All too often we see slides that make a single point but are cluttered with loads and loads of supporting graphs and
tables of information.
If the point that you want to make is that your market share is 26% just say that. Your audience will typically believe
you. You can always include extra data as addendum slides at the end of the deck to be called on if really needed.
14. Try to make one key point per slide
If you make more than one, your message will become complicated and wont hit home. On the other hand, if your
slide makes no point at all delete it. You probably dont actually need it.
15. Set your stall out early
Your audience will appreciate knowing at the beginning what you are going to cover.
As your presentation progresses, keep referring back to your initial agenda using highlights to show where you are up
to.
16. Consider getting outside help
A professional writer or presentation expert can often see things you cant and give a totally new perspective on your
project.

Overall, remember less is often more when it comes to words on the slide. But as with any good rule not always.
17. Engage the audience at the start
Use humour; tell a story; challenge with a question.
18. Use examples and personal anecdotes to add credibility
19. Involve the audience
Use PowerPoint only where it will add value. Use audio/visuals.
20. Know your audience
What will be meaningful to them?
21. Be positive
Projection is perception!
22. Summarise
23. Keep it short
Say everything that needs to be said in as few words as possible!
24. Turn off the projector
The presenter rarely realises that the presentation slide is desperately trying to steal their thunder and reducing their
role to that of a voice over.
The best tip I can give a presenter is to use a blank screen to re-keep all eyes on you.
25. You need to be yourself
I have seen presenters try to imitate a style that was effective but did not fit for them and it caused an immediate
disconnect with the audience. I use a lot of humour and case examples in my presentations, but one of my favourite
presenters talks to the audience in a very calm way, as if she were just having coffee with them.
If I tried to imitate her, I think I and the audience would be bored and if she imitated me, it would look like really bad
stand-up. You still have to work hard on honing your skills but within the best of you and not someone else.
26. Dont spend too long worrying about voice and hand gestures
Yes, these can make a difference, but there are other changes to your overall presentation you can make that will
have a much bigger impact.

27. Practise, practise, practise

If you dont practise, the first time you deliver your presentation out loud will be in front of a room full of people. A
sobering thought
28. Vary your pace and pitch
A huge lesson I got given early in my speaking career was to vary my pace and pitch. We fall into patterns easily. If
you want it to stand out when youre getting frenetic and excited, you need areas of calm.
Too much of any one thing is boring.
29. Use a mirror
The old smoke and mirrors no longer works in so many of todays smoke-free buildings but mirrors are still
allowed. The presenter needs to know what is on the screen behind or above them while still looking at the audience.
Their computer should be visible to them wherever they roam on stage. A confidence monitor in front of the audience
or even a second projected image at the back of the room will work.
One presenter I worked with many years ago in the age of slide projectors really wowed an audience by never once
looking back at the screen in a half-hour presentation. He used a remote control and hit every cue perfectly. The
amazed audience never realised that the multitude of mirrors in the banquet room meant he never needed to look
over his shoulder.
Even today when a computer or monitor cannot be in front of the speaker because of technical restraints, we still use
a small auto mirror designed to see kids in the back seat for presenters to see what is behind them. Like a parent in
the car using that mirror, the presenter doesnt need to see all the details to know what is happening behind them.
30. Think about your audience, not about you or your stuff
Answer the question of the attendees: whats in it for me?
It is a basic tip, but so many presenters forget this.
31. Slides dont make good handouts
If your slides are any good, they will be highly visual with few words, and therefore will have very little meaning
without you after all, they are there to support the message, not the presenter.
Yet without handouts most of your message is likely to be forgotten sooner or later. So use handouts wisely, include
your slides as visual reminders of the live presentation and the communication at the time, but also add any notes,
graphs, tables, etc. which also remind participants what you were saying.
My usual tip here is to use the notes pages function in Keynote or PowerPoint, then print the slides plus notes pages
to PDF and distribute that. The participants will get a nice-looking document with a slide at the top of each page and
the detailed notes underneath. My students always appreciate that and they like not having to take notes
themselves without worrying theyll forget something.