Have to deliver a presentation at work tomorrow morning?
Not sure what to do?
Below are a list of categorized elements that will serve to improve your presentation style. Each of the elements has a short description. If you have a presentation in a few hours time then consider using elements from this cheat sheet to improve your presentation quickly.
VISUAL COMMUNICATION
Eye contact
You look confident when you make eye contact with the audience. Don’t look at any one person for a long time. Just make a point of scanning gently throughout the audience as you deliver your speech.
Movement
Want to look like a professional presenter? Add some movement into your presentation style. Not fast, jerky movements, but slow, steady, purposeful movements as you walk across the stage or towards the audience. Movement all helps you readjust your eye contact from person to person without having to move your head constantly.
Gestures
As you are presenting, imagine it as a conversation between you and someone you know rather than a formal affair. When you have a conversation with someone you know you generally use your hands to describe or emphasize what you are saying. Do the same throughout your presentation for a professional effect. Importantly, do not practice and memorize gestures that align to your script. Doing this makes the gestures appear unnatural and forced and comes across as amateurish.
Body position
Throughout your presentation maintain an open body position. Don’t cover your body for long periods of time by clasping your hands in front of you or behind your back… this will make you look nervous. Additionally, maintain a confident and relaxed stance.
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DELIVERY
Start with a “hook”
Begin your presentation by asking a question instead of standard, boring introductions. If your presentation is about the launch of a new marketing campaign, perhaps begin by asking the audience, “Who thinks our marketing campaigns could do with a revamp?” Ask the question while you hold your hand in the air to encourage the audience to respond. After you get some responses follow up with, “Well today I’m going to tell about the new marketing campaign that is going to seriously revamp things.”
Start with the screen off
If you can, begin your presentation with the screen and talk to the audience from the center of the room. Do the first 30 seconds to a minute of your presentation with the screen off to encourage the audience to focus on you.
Treat as a conversation and interact with the audience
The more you talk to the audience in a conversational tone the more engaged they will be. You will be more relaxed and therefore will project more confidence.
Don’t fret over mistakes
If you make a mistake laugh at it, simply correct yourself, or move on. Fretting over small mistakes and apologizing every two minutes makes you look as though you lack confidence.
Use presenter view if possible
When delivering your presentation use the presenter view with PowerPoint or Keynote so that you can see which slides are coming next. This improves your verbal transitioning and your confidence.
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SLIDE DESIGN
Minimize content on slides
Try as hard as you can to have minimal content on your slides. Slides full of information are confusing for your audience and they will end up spending all their time reading rather than listening to you. Use white space liberally.
Don’t show all the information at once
If you have something impactful to say, eg. “We doubled profits last month!”, “Allow me to introduce our latest product!”, don’t have the impact information showing on your slides while you give the background, or preamble. Showing it later, ie. when you deliver the impactful line, will add major impact to your presentation. If the audience sees the impactful information while you are giving the background or preamble, they will be unsurprised, even bored, when you deliver the impactful statement.
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Carlos Williams says
Very good content, Dave. Everyone else added some very good points too. I actually received a nugget from literally everyone who participated in this post.
Michael Feiner says
Practical and effective suggestions Dave, thanks for sharing.
James Crookston says
Dave’s key points and the replies that followed are all excellent. Here’s my additional take on it.
By the end of the presentation, what do you want your audience to know (cognitive), feel (affective) and now be able to take action and do?
If using any type of presentation aids, remember they are simply that – aids. You are the show! Don’t subjugate yourself with your back to the audience being a “clicker pusher!” If you’re only going to repeat what’s on the screen word for word, then one of you isn’t needed! Your job is to add value to the screen info by adding illustrations, examples and stories thus grounding the screen content into reality and application.
Dave Mac says
Nice additions, James!
Samantha Perumal says
Thanks for the pointers. I would recommend that all presentations, irrespective of content, be treated like a sales pitch. The reason you’re presenting is to convince the audience of something (even if it is facts). Opening with a hook is good, however is doesn’t take long to lose your audience to technology (mobile devices). Ask questions that require validation and participation during the presentation so that before you reach the end of the presentation you already have buy-in. I learnt this at Speakers Bootcamp. I’ve used it and it is very effective.
Dave Mac says
Nice points, Samantha. Thanks!
Pamela Mounter says
Great stuff. A couple of suggestions: print the slides (I do 9 to a page) so I can see quickly how the theme works. And at the end I have a Questions? slide. Just a thought.
Dave Mac says
Great suggestions, Pamela!
Kristina Barnett says
Great pointers! Minimizing content and not showing all the content at once can keep the audience engaged and listening actively rather than reading the slide and half listening to what is being presented.
Angela Littlebury says
Agree with all of the above. In addition, I would add keep it short and punchy, 10 slides is a good number and will help ensure impact and maintain attention. If you need to share more detail, provide a supplementary pack of info that can be read either before or after the presentation; key points from the pack can be highlighted in the presentation. Finally, if you’ve been asked to deliver your presentation within a certain time frame, either ask someone to let you know when you have x time to go or ensure you take a timing device with you.
Chris St. Cyr says
Great checklist for putting together a presentation. I generally agree with the others about some sort of call to action, but not all presentations are calls to action. Sometimes they are presenting facts to the boss or a group as they work their way through a problem. Your presentation may only be part of the problem solving process and may be too early for the call to action. As Melinda said, an ending the wrap up the takeaways in those types of presentations is important.
Brian Schenker says
One other thought, maybe I missed it within the article or comments, and that is to practice the presentation. This preparation is key to making it look natural and your deliverance will be more fluid.
terence mcdonald-smith says
All the points are spot on, the article shows how to and what not to do. Worth while read.
Gabe Vasquez says
Presentations are like movies. A strong begining (the hook) a middle and end with a bang (call to action). It should be like a roller coaster ride building up to the peak and take them down and build agian.
All great points revealed here. I would also add that alng with using presenter view; you can start speaking to the next slide before transitioning while on the previous then transition.
Peter D. Morris says
I’ll add one more about ending. There must be a call to action. The reason you are giving the presentation in the first place is to persuade another person, or a group, into some form of action. Even if it is just a report presentation.
Think about what it is you want the audience (of 1 or many) to do next. Is it to buy, progress along path, make recommendations, hire you, approve what you have presented or recommended, etc.?
I am a big believer that any presentation, conversation or meeting, letter, email – any communication – should have some form of call to action, even if it to discuss what should be done next.
Here is an interesting stat. 48% of sales people will finish their presentation without asking for the sale or suggesting next steps. That percentage of not having a call to action skyrockets in business meetings, telephone calls, and emails where people feel the objective is only to inform.
Here are my calls to action:
1. Start thinking of all interactions needing a call to some form of action and add them to your communications, then watch productivity increase.
2. If you agree with me, please follow me on LinkedIn and watch for my upcoming online course on B2B sales skills for people selling services.
Dave Mac says
Great information, Peter. Thank you so much for taking the time to write everything out. Dave
Graham Heine says
Great info Peter (especially the call to action) – thanks!
Agnes says
Very important point. A call to action shouldn’t miss in a presentation. I like to call it “the so what” of a presentation
Melinda Dixon says
Some useful tips here. I would also add in something around the ending. A presentation should have a clear ending and leave you with a message or take away. If you can link it back to the initial hook or WIIFM (whats in it for me) then it will be even better. Basically “tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them and tell them what you’ve told them”. Agree about the mistakes bit. I always tell people to remember that no one knows what’s in your presentation but you so if you miss something no one will know!
Dave Mac says
Thanks, Melinda! A clear ending is very important. Thanks for the addition! Dave