Quick Tips for Effective Presentations

1. Talk naturally to your audience – although it may be appropriate to read short passages avoid reading from a script for the majority of your presentation.

2. Stand, rather than sit, and move around a little – but avoid pacing backwards and forwards like a trapped animal.

3. Vary the tone, pitch and volume of your voice to add emphasis and maintain the audience’s interest.  Aim to speak loudly and clearly while facing your audience.  Avoid talking in a monotone voice or turning your back to the audience.  See Effective Speaking for more information.

4. Make eye contact with your audience.  Do not stare at your feet, or the podium and avoid looking directly at any one person for more than a few seconds, gain eye contact with the individual members of the audience.

5. Use visual aids where appropriate, graphs and charts, diagrams, pictures and video - but don’t overdo it.  Visual aids should help to illustrate and strengthen your points not be a distraction from what you are saying.

6. Rehearse your talk and check your timings.  Always aim to finish you talk in time remembering to allow time for questions if appropriate.

7. Prepare and structure your presentation carefully.  Introduce the subject – tell the audience what your talk is about.  Explain the points you wish to convey.  End with a summary of your points.

8. Stay focused throughout your presentation – avoid irrelevance and unnecessary detail.

9. Learn to channel any nervous energy, relax but stay alert.10. Answer any questions as honestly and concisely as you can.  If you don’t know

the answer then say so and offer to provide further information at a later date.

Tips from Kent students making presentations at interviews

Smile, make eye contact - the usual things. DON'T PANIC! Take a hard copy of your presentation (printed-out) – they

were impressed by this and it was a good idea as the laptop crashed anyway.

Before attending the assessment centre, details of a presentation which was to be delivered were sent to candidates. The subject of the presentation was very open-ended. Many chose to use PowerPoint, others on OHP. The presentation was given to one assessor: not in front of other candidates.

I was asked in advance to prepare a presentation entitled 'How can your degree contribute to the future prosperity of Thames

Water?'. This was then presented to a panel of 6.They also asked several questions at the end of the presentation.

I practised the presentation a lot. I read aloud with slides as I would present it, until I was happy with it. After each “dress rehearsal” I would normally find something I needed to change. I ran through the whole presentation several times. When practising, use your notes and change slides as you would when you really present it. Make sure you practise your presentation as you will give it; Stand up, speak to the “room”, change slide etc.I bought 3 “clip files”, one to hold my notes, and I printed out the slides for the selectors and put these in their own files. One selector used his copy to make notes during the presentation. I printed out a copy of my CV and my online application, to take with me (I read them when I was waiting in car and reception), I'm glad I did this as the selector had copies and referred to them when he asked questionsThe selector said presentation was “good”; I must have done a lot of research and asked where I got all my information (company website, Wikipedia and Google).

Prepare thoroughly and ask the Careers Service to help you out because they are very helpful.

BASIC TIPS Dress smartly: don't let your appearance distract from what

you are saying. Smile. Don't hunch up and shuffle your feet. Have an upright

posture. Try to appear confident and enthusiastic. Say hello and smile when you greet the audience: your

audience will probably look at you and smile back: an instinctive reaction.

Speak clearly, firmly and confidently as this makes you sound in control. Don't speak too quickly: you are likely to speed up and raise the pitch of your voice when nervous. Give the audience time to absorb each point. Don't talk in a monotone the whole time. Lift your head up and address your words to someone near the back of audience. If you think people at the back can't hear, ask them. 

Use silence to emphasise points. Before you make a key point pause: this tells the audience that something important is coming. It's also the hallmark of a confident speaker as only these are happy with silences. Nervous speakers tend to gabble on trying to fill every little gap.

Keep within the allotted time for your talk.

Eye contact is crucial to holding the attention of your audience. Look at everyone in the audience from time to time, not just at your notes or at the PowerPoint slides. Try to involve everyone, not just those directly in front of you.

Walk around a little and gesture with your hands. Bad presenters keep their hands on the podium or in their pockets! Don't stand in one place glued to the spot hiding behind the podium! Good presenters will walk from side to side and look at different parts of the audience.

You could try to involve your audience by asking them a question.

Don't read out your talk, as this sounds boring and stilted, but refer to brief notes jotted down on small (postcard sized) pieces of card. Don't look at your notes too much as this suggests insecurity and will prevent you making eye contact with the audience.

It’s OK to use humour, in moderation, but better to use anecdotes than to rattle off a string of jokes.

Take along a wristwatch to help you keep track of time – the assessor may cut you off as soon as you have used the time allocated, whether or not you have finished.

It can be very helpful to practise at home in front of a mirror. You can also record your presentation and play it back to yourself: don't judge yourself harshly when you replay this - we always notice our bad points and not the good when hearing or seeing a recording or ourselves! Time how long your talk takes. Run through the talk a few times with a friend.

It's normal to be a little nervous. This is a good thing as it will make you more energised. Many people have a fear of speaking in public. Practising will make sure that you are not too anxious. In your mind, visualise yourself giving a confident successful performance. Take a few deep slow breaths before your talk starts and make a conscious effort to speak slowly and clearly. Research by T Gilovich (Cornell University) found that people who feel embarrassed are convinced their mistakes are much more noticeable than they really are: we focus on our own behaviour more than other people do and so overestimate it's impact. This is called the spotlight effect. If you make a mistake, don't apologise too much, just briefly acknowledge the mistake and continue on.

HAVE A STRUCTUREHave a beginning, middle and an end. Use short sentences.

Consider: Who are the audience? What points do I want to get across? How much time have I got? What visual aids are available? Powerpoint projector? flip chart?

Don't necessarily use these. Sometimes the best presentations are the most informal.

Introduction Welcome the audience. Say what your presentation will be about:the aims and

objectives. The introduction should catch the attention. Perhaps a

provocative statement or a humorous anecdote: “Genetically-modified crops could save millions of people

from starvation” “The first day of my vacation job went with a bang, but it

wasn't my fault that the microwave exploded.

The Middle should outline your argument or develop your story

In five minutes you will only have time for two or three main points and allow everything else to support these. List your main headings and any key phrases you will use.

Don't try to say pack too much content in or you will talk non- stop trying to get all your content and the audience will switch off with information overload long before the end.

Use graphics or anecdotes to add variety.

Conclusion Briefly summarise your main points. Answer any questions. Thank the audience for listening. Look at the audience

again, smile and slow down. The end should be on a strong or positive note – not tailing

away to “..well that's all I've got to say so thank you very much for listening ladies and gentlemen”. You could try something along these lines:

“Hang-gliding is brilliant, so try it – you'll believe a man can fly!”

“The danger is increasing – if we don't all act soon it could be too late!

The above has been neatly summarised as "Tell them what you will tell them (introduction), tell them (development), tell them what you told them (conclusion)"

In preparing your talk, first jot down any interesting points you want to include in your talk, put these in a logical sequence, then try to find an interesting title, and a good introduction and ending.

The ten most common mistakes in public speaking

According to Terry Gault the most common mistakes are:

• Using small scale movements and gestures• Speaking with low energy• Playing it safe• Not preparing enough• Not practicing enough

• Preparing too much material• Rushing• Data centric presentations• Avoiding vulnerability• Taking themselves way too seriously

PRESENTATION WORKSHOP -OBSERVERS NOTES

This has been used by the Careers and Employability Service in Presentation Skills Workshops. It may give you some idea on the areas assessors may be marking you on in an assessed presentation.

When giving feedback, try to be constructive and specific e.g. don't say "That wasn't a very good presentation'', say "I think you need to raise your voice next time as I couldn't hear you very well''. Be tactful and encouraging: remember that this might be the person's first attempt at speaking in public!

NON-VERBAL SIGNALS Use of hands - too much/too little? Smiling? Eye contact with audience none/some of audience/everyone? Standing still/ moving around/ standing up straight or

slouching? Position in relation to audience? Mannerisms - shrugs etc? Did they appear confident? Make a positive impact?

VOICE Quiet/Loud/Clear/Muffled?

Slow or fast speech? Monotonous or varying voice? Use of humour?

CONTENT Well structured and following a logical sequence? Did it have an introduction and conclusion? Was it well prepared? Did they finish within time limit? Was the talk too simple or too complex and jargon-filled? Was it interesting? Was the speaker enthusiastic, serious, confident? Were notes used? Were they read out, or just used for key

points? Were questions asked or invited? If so were they handled well? Did they interact with and involve the audience?

VISUAL AIDS Was a flip chart, PowerPoint or other props used? Were they used well? Did they add to the talk?

18 Tips for Killer Presentations

1. 10-20-30 Rule – This is a slideshow rule offered by Guy Kawasaki. This rule states that a powerpoint slide should have no more than 10 slides, last no longer than 20 minutes and have no text less than 30 point font. He says it doesn’t matter whether your idea will revolutionize the world, you need to spell out the important nuggets in a few minutes minutes, a couple slides and a several words a slide.

2. Be Entertaining – Speeches should be entertaining and informative. I’m not saying you should act like a dancing monkey when giving a serious presentation. But unlike an e-mail or article, people expect some appeal to there emotions. Simply reciting dry facts without any passion or humor will make people less likely to pay attention.

3. Slow Down – Nervous and inexperienced speakers tend to talk way to fast. Consciously slow your speech down and add pauses for emphasis.

4. Eye Contact – Match eye contact with everyone in the room. I’ve also heard from salespeople that you shouldn’t focus all your attention on the decision maker since secretaries and assistants in the room may hold persuasive sway over their boss.

5. 15 Word Summary – Can you summarize your idea in fifteen words? If not, rewrite it and try again. Speaking is an inefficient medium for communicating information, so know what the important fifteen words are so they can be repeated.

6. 20-20 Rule – Another suggestion for slideshows. This one says that you should have twenty slides each lasting exactly twenty seconds. The 20-20 Rule forces you to be concise and to keep from boring people.

7. Don’t Read – This one is a no brainer, but somehow Powerpoint makes people think they can get away with it. If you don’t know your speech without cues, that doesn’t just make you more distracting. It shows you don’t really understand your message, a huge blow to any confidence the audience has in you.

8. Speeches are About Stories – If your presentation is going to be a longer one, explain your points through short stories, quips and anecdotes. Great speakers know how to use a story to create an emotional connection between ideas for the audience.

9. Project Your Voice - Nothing is worse than a speaker you can’t hear. Even in the high-tech world of microphones and amplifiers, you need to be heard. Projecting your voice doesn’t mean yelling, rather standing up straight and letting your voice resonate on the air in your lungs rather than in the throat to produce a clearer sound.

10. Don’t Plan Gestures - Any gestures you use need to be an extension of your message and any emotions that message conveys. Planned gestures look false because they don’t match your other involuntary body cues. You are better off keeping your hands to your side.

11. “That’s a Good Question” – You can use statements like, “that’s a really good question,” or “I’m glad you asked me that,” to buy yourself a few moments to organize your response. Will the other people in the audience know you are using these filler sentences to reorder your thoughts? Probably not. And even if they do, it still makes the presentation more smooth than um’s and ah’s littering your answer.

12. Breathe In Not Out – Feeling the urge to use presentation killers like ‘um,’ ‘ah,’ or ‘you know’? Replace those with a pause taking a short breath in. The pause may seem a bit awkward, but the audience will barely notice it.

13. Come Early, Really Early – Don’t fumble with powerpoint or hooking up a projector when people are waiting for you to speak. Come early, scope out the room, run through your slideshow and make sure there won’t be any glitches. Preparation can do a lot to remove your speaking anxiety.

14. Get Practice – Join Toastmasters and practice your speaking skills regularly in front of an audience. Not only is it a fun time, but it will make you more competent and confident when you need to approach the podium.

15. Don’t Apologize – Apologies are only useful if you’ve done something wrong. Don’t use them to excuse incompetence or humble yourself in front of an audience. Don’t apologize for your nervousness or a lack of preparation time. Most audience members can’t detect your anxiety, so don’t draw attention to it.

16. Do Apologize if You’re Wrong – One caveat to the above rule is that you should apologize if you are late or shown to be incorrect. You want to seem confident, but don’t be a jerk about it.

17. Put Yourself in the Audience - When writing a speech, see it from the audiences perspective. What might they not understand? What might seem boring? Use WIIFM (What’s In It For Me) to guide you.

18. Have Fun - Sounds impossible? With a little practice you can inject your passion for a subject into your presentations. Enthusiasm is contagious.

What tips do you have for making killer presentations?