Presentation Hints and Tips

Here are some presentation tips to make your presentation fly.

Write it down

Write down your speech, but try not to read from it. If you have written it down –  you will be able to pick it back up again if you dry up.

Put it on tape

When you practise your presentation, do it with a tape recorder or with a video recorder and then play it back to find out which bits sound weak.

When you speak, try to speak with passion and enthusiasm. If you speak passionately it will make up for many other shortcomings.

Use pauses

Pause – the power of pausing in a presentation can be very profound. It will also give you a chance to catch your breath.

Don’t leave it to the last minute

Don’t leave it to the very last minute to work on your presentation. When you know you have to give a presentation, make sure that you leave yourself a realistic amount of  time to prepare – more than half a day the night before. You will be standing up in front of a lot of people – you want it to go well. Plan at least 8 hours over the week before.

Prepare the room in advance

Make sure that you have spent time in the presentation room before your presentation. Get to know the room and run through your slides beforehand to ensure that everything is working smoothly.

Always leave handouts

You have gone to a lot of effort to produce your presentation. Leaving handouts will reinforce your messages and will help the audience to remember your presentation when they look at them again. Always include your contact details so that people can contact you.

Memorise your speech

Do not read from your notes, unless you have frozen or are not prepared. It will sound flat and stilted. If you have learnt your speech it will sound natural and you will even have the chance to ad lib, if the opportunity arises.

If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail

This is one of the biggest mistakes I see. People think that they can “wing it”, but in reality those who appear to be “winging it” are often very well prepared. Every one of Frankie Howerd’s muses such as “ooh, now where was I?” was in the script and well rehearsed.

It takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech. – Mark Twain.

Off the cuff should mean well planned. I once heard a tale about someone who went to the Garrick Club and accidentally left wearing Enoch Powell’s coat. In his pocket was a small pile of postcards with his speech written on them. The speech started with the words “I never expected to be asked to speak this evening!” The professionals do it – so why shouldn’t you?

We hope these presentation tips give you some inspiration. Why not try our presentation ideas?

Do you have any other presentation tips? Why not leave us a comment?