101 Tips to Deliver an Effective Presentation

Over the years, a lot has been said and told about Presentation Skills and since then the aspirants are on the quest of “How to be a perfect presenter”, but nothing strikes my head more than the thought of how some people actually do it the way it should be. Are there any set rules to be a good presenter or it just happens to the gifted? Well, I have always been a believer of hard work & practice. These two components create a perfect composition of a well-defined public speaking experience.

A perfectly balanced composition of knowledge, practice, creativity, humor & spontaneity brings out a wonderfully engaging presentation that compels its audience and they believe in what the speaker is explaining. How this happens? Years and Years of practice & a hint of confidence. Still there are many aspects, which should not be ignored before delivering your presentation. You may find 10, 20,30 tips on the internet but today I am sharing tips that I have been working upon and have compiled after having a fair share of experience in the field. Let us find out –

Assemble, Formulate & Produce

• Get your head right with the subject & know what to present.
• First, search your own knowledge bank & then go for references.
• Assemble the best possible pointers on your choice of subject.
• Pen down your points before digitally handling them.
• Plan the sequence of your presentation well.
• Get your head to work on better examples.
• Always make a point with an instance attached to what you are saying.
• Find out good quality images & videos to attach to your presentation.
• Master the skill of presentation designing.
• Develop a time frame & incorporate all your pointers in it.
• Assign appropriate time to explain every pointer.
• Practice raw presentation in front of your friends & family.
• Include creative suggestions from others.
• Think of all possible questions around the topic.
• Prepare a Q&A session of your own(in your mind) & practice it too.
• Practice alone with the formulated presentation.
• Only pointers on your slides please. Stuffing too much content on slides will shift the attention of your listeners and they won’t be able to connect. Keep it to points & let them connect to your voice.
• Use remote control to move slides.
• If technically something goes wrong, keep going with your topic. Don’t panic or fumble. Just go a bit slow & include spontaneous examples. You may ask some questions.
• Get inspired by watching other’s presentations (better one’s of course).
• Reach before time, prepare for the delivery.
• Remember you are there to entertain not to teach some subject.
• Practice for better filler words because ‘hmmm’, ‘ummm’, ‘yes’ or ‘right’ used frequently makes you look unprepared.
• Saying sorry repeatedly is gross, avoid it.
• You yourself should have fun while presenting, then only your audience will connect.

Gestures, Postures & Slides

• You are the face of presentation, not your slides.
• Looks are important but not to the extent that your thoughts drift away.
• Your personality is in your speech.
• Change & modulate your voice according to the size of audience.
• If you don’t know how to match your body language on stage you will look boring.
• Balance your act with standing straight, moving on stage and moving around the audience.
• Keep audience engaged by changing slides by remote when you are among them.
• Your presentation can go boring if you keep going with single expression.
• Maintain eye contact and connect with your listeners.
• Too much hand movement can ruin it but not doing it at all is even boring.
• Do not bind your hands to small movements either; open your arms while answering questions.
• Keep yourself fit & practice to stand on stage for a longer time.
• If you are tired you can go sit among the audience make it look like part of your presentation.
• You are not a pendulum, don’t sway poise yourself aptly.
• Dressing for your presentation plays a vital role too. Do so smartly.
• Always choose a collar microphone to present.
• Look energetic and zealous.
• While standing keep your feet a little apart & shoulders straight, shows confidence.
• Keep your hands out of pocket please.
• Remember you are here to communicate not to preach.
• Draw power by deep breathing. Breath in, not out.
• Stay away from mumbling, speak every word clearly, open your mouth and pronounce correctly.
• Raise your voice from your chest not throat.
• Have a positive attitude towards yourself & audience.
• Take the feedback as learning & prepare well for next time.

Do’s

• Try a little humor.
• Induce examples.
• Know your audience.
• Judge your audience within few minutes of starting.
• Make it easy to understand.
• Keep it concise.
• Go slow & steady.
• Maintain your conduct.
• Keep a calming tone.
• Lead the audience.
• Poke fun at yourself, to connect.
• Take your audience into confidence.
• Remember that you are here to share.
• Always keep a backup plan.
• Go beyond your slides, to explain.
• Face your audience’s questions.
• If you don’t know something, say it smartly.
• Check all digital systems before starting.
• Be professional on stage.
• Use remote with laser to show points on slide.
• Nod while listening to a listener’s question.
• Smile and also laugh with your audience.
• Look into the eye of the questioner & answer, this make them feel important.
• Making fun of a silly question is not on the cards, handle it smartly.
• Let the questioner finish, interrupting will make you look desperate.

Don’ts

• Don’t be a slide speaker, be a story teller.
• Don’t Overdo it. Keep it concise.
• Don’t be a crammer.
• Don’t deviate from the subject.
• Don’t keep anything from your audience.
• Don’t go too deep.
• Don’t start questioning your audience.
• Don’t ignore the back benchers.
• Don’t make fun of your audience.
• Don’t keep a piece of paper while presenting.
• Don’t depend upon digital aspects completely.
• Don’t make it all about slides.
• Don’t start telling your life story.
• Don’t boast your achievements.
• Don’t dance around too much.
• Don’t stand in the way of your slides & audience.
• Don’t show empathy with your audience, help them learn.
• Don’t go over the top.
• Don’t go personal with an example.
• Don’t make it only about images & videos.
• Don’t challenge your listeners.
• Don’t force your examples agree to your audience too.
• Don’t portray a negative body language.
• Don’t just stare your presentation.
• Don’t look up or down like a school kid to remember things.

And the 101 no. tip that I would like to share is Practice well, be confident, be at the right place at the right time & don’t overlook suggestions. Kept in mind, these tips can really help. If you have more to share please do so. I am open to more suggestions, contribute & learn more.