• Making smooth presentations

    Mar 01.10 | Learn   

    An article on A List Apart on public speaking tips got me thinking on some of my hard-learned presentation lessons:

    • Don’t try to do live software/website/application demos — If you are interfacing with an audience you can’t also interface with software — at least I can’t.   If you focus on the audience you mess up stuff in the application and vice-versa.  It is never as interesting for the audience as it seemed in your mind pre-talk.  Keep it simple:  take screen shots and have a scripted walk-through of what you want to show.
    • Don’t start in Powerpoint when creating the presentation.  Outline your main points first — what you want to communicate with the talk.  I use a simple text editor — no formatting, no bullted, just thoughts.   Then order/organize and think through how you build your points.  Then think how best to visualize those points.  Finally open Powerpoint, Keynote or, even better, the open-source OpenOffice Impress.
    • Avoid bullet pointed text-based lists.  If your presentation is based on bullet points it will be no worse than average — which means boring.  You are using a visual communication tool — don’t make people read.  Use strong visuals.  I like to search Flickr for creative commons licensed photos.  A couple of slides with text/bullets is OK where appropriate.  But make those the exception, not the rule.
    • Expect the technology to fail.  Get to the room early, 30 minutes ahead if in unfamiliar territory.  Have your presentation on a usb thumb drive in ppt, pptx, pdf versions AND on your own laptop (remember the vga connectors if it is a MAC) AND posted on a web site in PDF form  AND a printed version — you get the idea.
    • Use a wireless clicker.  This lets you get out from behind the laptop/podium, avoiding the distraction of the laptop keyboard (remember #1: minimize need to interface with software), and out in front, facing your audience.  It is a small thing that has a big impact.

    Most important remember you are there to communicate with the audience.  Look at them, talk TO them (i.e. don’t read off your slides), kibbutz with them, entertain them, engage them.  If you do this your message will come across.  Don’t, and they’ll be asleep.  Remember how it feels when you’re snoozing yourself at yet another bullet-filled, text heavy, typical presentation.

    A List Apart: Articles: Training the Butterflies: Interview with Scott Berkun

    I strongly recommend working on paper or a whiteboard, any non-digital media where you can work freely. Make a list of the points you want to make, or key ideas/feelings/questions you want your audience to leave with, and develop those first.

    Speaker Confessions

    Scott Berkun is the best selling author of The Myths of Innovation and Making Things Happen.

    Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School | Brain Rules |

    How do we learn? What exactly do sleep and stress do to our brains? Why is multi-tasking a myth? Why is it so easy to forget—and so important to repeat new knowledge?

    Related Posts

    • Author: Randy

    In my day job I serve as Information Technology Director for the Yale School of Drama. Otherwise I garden, play guitar, build stuff out of wood, take photos, play around with technology and have been blogging since 2003.

    Share on: LinkedIn

    Stay Informed!

    Did you enjoy this post? Then subscribe to my email newsletter and have the daily posts delivered directly to your inbox. Enter your email address here:

    ADD YOUR COMMENT
    Comments are moderated.

    Adjacent Posts

Welcome to RodeWorks

Randall Rode's online home for thoughts, notes, and experiments with a wide range of technology topics. Visit the about page for info on my recent projects and professional background. I welcome your comments!

  • Recent Comments

    • Coming Soon

    New articles are normally posted on Mondays and Wednesdays. Subscribe to the RSS feed or the email update to keep current on the latest posts.

    Site Topics