Presentations should inspire… not just deliver information and facts. Here’s 10 quick tips:
1. Plan it on paper first: not the PowerPoint software
2. Set the theme: a catch headline, title
3. Show enthusiasm: inject your personality into the talk
4. Provide a roadmap: number items verbally to tell your audience where you’re going
5. Make the numbers meaningful: a 12 GB chip has enough transitors that if each transitor was an ant laid end-to-end, they would circle the entire Earth twice.
6. Deliver a Spielberg moment: a visual “wow”… an emotional connection to the audience
7. Keep slides simple: highly visual, yet only 1 image per slide and very little text
8. Sell the benefit: answer the WIIFM question for the audience (What’s In It For Me?)
9. Rehearse the presentation: practice, practice, practice… out loud, standing up
10. Don’t sweat the small stuff: relax, have fun, and enjoy the attention
About Wendi McGowan
11. Show up early.
It’s hard to be calm enough to give a good presentation if you’re stressed out about something that went wrong moments before you’re due to go on.
There’s nothing like trying to figure out how to get a projector to show your slides with a room full of people watching (and waiting).
If you don’t mind, I’d like to mention a blog I just started that deals with all the things that can go wrong when you’re presenting, or when you’re helping to support someone else’s presentation. It’s called Breaking Murphy’s Law (http://www.breakingmurphyslaw.com).
Thanks!