Tips for Making a Successful Presentation. Keeping your ideas clear and concise is another key

Another reason memorization isn’t a recommended method is that the presentation will have a stiff, lifeless tone. Dale Carnegie points out that all of our lives, we have been speaking spontaneously. Carnegie says, “We haven’t been thinking of words, we have been thinking of ideas. If our ideas are clear, the words come as naturally and unconsciously as the air we breathe.”

Keeping your ideas clear and concise is another key. This is particularly important when developing your visual aides and presentation materials. When creating a PowerPoint presentation, it is important to keep things crisp and uncluttered. Often, too many graphics, long phrases and other distracting items on the slides make it very difficult to obtain and keep the audience’s attention.

Handouts are an essential tool in working-up a successful presentation. By giving the audience the material, they will spend more time listening and absorbing information, instead of scrambling to capture notes on paper. Many speakers will reserve their handouts until the end of the presentation, but this annoys many attendees, because they like to jot down notes as the speaker presents the material.

Take a few moments before your session begins by stopping by the meeting room, familiarizing yourself with the equipment and location of items you may need at the last minute. By doing this, you will be able to avoid the stress of adapting to new and possibly unfamiliar equipment. Also, this will help you ensure that all equipment is working properly. Feel free to practice using the microphones or other aides.

Finally, take a few moments to relax and mentally prepare yourself for the presentation you are about to give. Quickly review your notes and go over any sticking points, or places where you feel you need to be more clear.

By following these simple guidelines, you will find the presentation process to be more enjoyable and less stressful. Also, because of your thoughtful preparation, the audience will benefit much more from your presentation, giving you an excellent reputation as a featured speaker.

How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation

PowerPoint – Microsoft’s key presentation program. PowerPoint is used everywhere today. It is the tool of choice when it comes to a professional presentation.

Step1

Gather your information. This is the first step to doing any presentation. Preparing the presentation should be one of the last steps in an entire project.

Step2

Make a title page and a table of contents. Make sure your title page is nice and simple. Your topic should be in big letters and then your personal information and who you represent. Your table of contents should include all of the titles of your slides in order they appear.

Step3

Outline your slides. Use bullet points and keywords. Do not string together long sentences. PowerPoint is a supplement, not a replacement. Assume that your audience can read, so do not simply read off your PowerPoint. This is an insult to their intelligence. Rule of thumb: 4 to 5 points per slide. Make sure these relate to each other and the title of that page. Also, spend only 1-2 minutes per slide. Lingering around one slide may bore your audience. This would subtract from the value of what you have to say

Step4

Use contrasting colors [ black and white, yellow and black, etc]. Make your presentation presentable. This will make the entire presentation easier to read and will retain the focus of the audience.

Step5

Don’t use distracting backgrounds or animations. This will distract your audience and may even make it look tacky. Simplicity is the key. Do not let anything distract the audience from the things you are saying. Graphics that will enhance your presentation are o.k. [i.e. graphs and charts]. Make sure you explain these.

Step6

Proofread. Make sure you have no grammatical or spelling errors. This will only make you look bad. It only takes a few minutes to proofread so take the time!