Planning a presentation? You should know that public speaking is only partially about speaking. “Moby Dick” is a great novel, but if you stood in front of an audience and read it word for word to an audience, no matter how well you read it, you’d soon be reading to an empty room. While your content and what you say are important, how you say it and how you present it is equally important. The most powerful presentations successfully blend four elements: relevant content, a logical organization, compelling visuals, an engaging speaker.
I’m sure that you’ve sat through your share of less than stellar presentations. (of course our are always stellar - just ask us! ) The PowerPoint slides are out of order. The speaker reads her notes or even worse reads the slides and has her back to the audience. The pacing is comatose. The visuals suck. It’s not a pleasant experience for anyone in the room.
Whether you’re using PowerPoint or Keynote, speaking in a large auditorium or a small conference room, you can give an effective presentation by avoiding these common mistakes.
1. The deadly handout
Avoid giving audience members handouts to read before your presentation at all costs. It’s hard enough to gain and keep someone’s attention during a presentation. Add a distraction in like a handout that they can thumb through while you are speaking, and it’s over.
2. The kitchen sink
Go ahead and admit it. You’re tempted to load each PowerPoint slide with every bit of information it can hold. Visuals, composed bullet statements, sound effects, goofball transitions… Resist! Distill your content to the most relevant points and use those points as cues during your presentation.
3. The empty vessel
Have you ever listened to a long presentation and then can’t summarize what you just heard? Don’t waste your time — and your audience’s — creating a long, boring monologue. Begin with an end in mind. Figure out exactly what your goal is — and what you want the audience to understand. These goals should drive your content. Think motivational speech. I heard this once from a preacher who said ta great formula is: start low, go slow, raise higher, catch fire.
4. Keep them awake
Do not read from the slide. The bullet statements are meant as memory cues to keep you on track. THEY ARE NOT YOUR SCRIPT! Instead, add commentary that reinforces, highlights, or extends what your audience is seeing. Research has shown that most people speak at 150 words per minute, but can process language at 900 words per minute. This means by the time you have words up on the screen, your audience has already read them. (Assuming, of course, your message is interesting and relevant.) Glancing at notes is fine, but if you’re reading aloud, you’re not actively engaging your audience. Work the room!
5. The ego trip
This presentation isn’t about you. Well, not all of it anyway. Focus on your audience and how you can meet their needs. What’s in it for them? You made it to the presentation so don’t spen too much time rehashing your qualifications. If you weren’t qualified you wouldn’t be there. We’ve all had to endure endless “let’s talk about me” introductions. Make sure your presentation is written about and for your audience, not you.
6. Graphic vomit
Appearance counts. Be aware of the visual impact of your presentation and use typography, color, and imagery purposefully and consistently. Color is a powerful signal: use it to mark a new section or highlight key points. Choose fonts judiciously and make sure they’re readable. Cutesy fonts? Just say NO! Most important: make sure your presentation has a logical beginning, middle, and end, and add a call-to-action, if appropriate.
7. The data dump
Facts, figures, and statistics are important to your presentation, but they can also be as dull. Add life to key points with relevant stories, anecdotes, and humor. A great story can make even the most complicated presentation engaging and informative. It can also relax your audience and help you make a connection with them.
8. The lame leave-behind
Don’t print out your presentation as the leave-behind piece, that’s lame. Why not create an abridged version of your talk that highlights key messages or have a high-quality brochure available that includes more detailed information about the subject of your presentation.
Delivering powerful presentations relies on more than speaking skills. To make your presentation memorable, you need a compelling story that is organized in a logical manner with strong, pleasing visuals. And not one of the above mistakes.