PRESENTATION MATTERS
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You've received an invitation to speak at a really
important meeting. So
what should you do? |
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PRESENTATION GUIDELINES: |
| "Those who make a distinction between education and entertainment
don't know the first thing about either." |
| - Marshall McLuhan |
| The following advice is divided
into tips on PREPARING
YOURSELF, PREPARING
YOUR SLIDES, and what to do ON THE
DAY. |
| Move your cursor over the TITLES in the lists
below to reveal further information on each point. This feature
requires a web browser such as Internet
Explorer™. Unfortunately these features do not work under Mac OSX. For Mac users or for reference, you may also
open and print a PDF version of this information presented in table format
in either A4 or US Letter
page size. |
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PREPARE YOURSELF |
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| 1. | ALLOTTED TIME | Over-running your allotted time betrays a lack of preparation and consideration for your audience. They are expecting you to speak for your allotted X minutes and, no matter how brilliant you have been within this time, the fastest way to dissipate all that hard-won empathy is to over-run. |
Find out exactly how long you have been allocated for your talk and adhere rigidly to it. | ||
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Rehearse your talk so that you are certain you can deliver it comfortably within the time available. | |
| 2. | AUDIENCE COMPOSITION | Have the listeners heard you speak before?
Consider a completely fresh approach to presenting your
story.
Are they experts in the field? Less background material required. Will there be a significant number of new people in the room? More background required so that everyone is aware of what you need them to know before you launch into the real "meat" of your talk. |
Consider the size of your audience. | ||
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Will the listeners be General/Specialised? |
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| 3. | CONTENT | Decide on the finding/ concept that you wish to present
and focus on that for the majority of the time. Check who precedes you in the
session/ programme to judge the correct amount of background you need to include.
Plan the structure of your talk so that you present the story to flow logically & to be easy to follow. Do not throw lots of data at the audience and expect them to pick out which pieces are important. Don't get 7/8th of the way through your talk and then dive even deeper by introducing new information/concepts. At this point, your audience is expecting you to "surface" so ensure that you finish by pulling the whole story together. "Bookmark" important items in your talk that you want the audience to remember for later, e.g. by using the phrase "... and I'll ask you to remember this for later." Remember, the primary aim of any lecturer is not to inform but to enthuse. |
Simplify as much as possible. Plan how you will present the story you want to tell. |
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| 4. | NUMBER OF SLIDES | Attempting to present slides at a rate of 1 or more per
minute will turn your talk into a garble. If you think you need more slides than
one/minute, you are almost certainly trying to deliver more than you have
time for. Re-consider the content of your
talk.
Do not skip slides towards the end of the talk. This betrays your lack of preparation and frustrates the audience. If you need a particular slide more than once in your presentation, make duplicates. Trying to show the same slide twice causes disruption. So never go backwards. |
| Use no more than 7 slides/10 minutes of talk to ensure a comfortable pace of delivery. | ||
| 5. | PLANNING SLIDES | A talk will contain more slides than the
equivalent written paper would contain figures and tables, so each will
therefore contain less material. For two points, use two
slides!!
Plan the verbal links that will connect one slide to the next. This is crucial to the smooth flow of your presentation. If you can induce your listeners to anticipate the next slide, they will develop a sense of satisfaction when it appears, because they "worked it out for themselves". This also encourages them to be active rather than passive participants. Avoid the use of overheads and use computer projection wherever possible. |
Make one point per slide. "Think Link" 
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PREPARE YOUR SLIDES |
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| 1. | LESS IS MORE | Avoid clutter. The slide should present only the information really needed to make the point quickly. Ruthlessly exclude the non-essential. |
| 2. |
USE ALL THE
AVAILABLE SPACE |
Look at some of your existing slides.
How much of the surface area above/below/to the side of the
presented material is not used? For illustrations of bad and good slides,
click on "EXAMPLE SLIDES".
Using the whole area available makes any slide less cramped and therefore more visible. |
| 3. | The lettering size needs to be legible when
the slide is viewed at a distance of 10 times its width. If you cannot read a finished slide on your computer monitor at a distance of 3-5 metres, the text is too small.
Never use single spacing. Do not rely on a double-spacing default option to position material for you. Use the cursors and "nudge" options in e.g. PowerPoint™ packages, to position words/data for maximum effect and to use all the available space. Try varying the font size for emphasis. | |
| 4. | TABLES, GRAPHS OR WORDS? | Remember, less is more. Use
the minimum number of words to convey the
message most effectively. Four or five items per line and 7 lines per slide are maximum values.
Graphs convey information more succinctly than tables. Use a table if the precision of measurements is crucial but minimise the content e.g. can you omit S.D./S.E. values? Avoid copying material published in Figures and Tables in journals. They are designed to be viewed quite differently and are normally much too detailed. Distil the data and re-format. |
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| 5. | FORMAT, BACKGROUND AND USE OF COLOUR | Use contrasting bright colours e.g. Light
Blue, Light Green, Yellow, Gold, Dusky Pink, which work particularly well
on Black or Dark Blue backgrounds. Do not use red on a
dark background. Use a (limited) number of colours to
compare/contrast/highlight findings. White works really well to
emphasise the most important feature.
View your slides as you rehearse in a darkened lecture hall before you leave home. If you can't see them easily in their full technicolour glory from the back of the room, neither will your audience!! |
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ON THE DAY |
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| 1. | HAND LUGGAGE | Carry your presentation in your hand-luggage to avoid loss.
Email yourself a copy so that you can download it remotely in case of problems. |
| 2. | SETTING UP | Insist on checking your presentation on the computers to be used (especially if a different version of the software or a change of platform Mac-PC is involved). Set up & test-drive the actual lecture theatre facilities in advance. |
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| 3. | LEARN TO FLY THE LECTURE THEATRE | Turn up
early. Meet the assistants/find out how the local
projectors/computer system works.
Ask to control the computer projector yourself. Repetitively asking for "next slide, please" is a frustrating distraction that does not permit you to advance to the new slide at the moment of maximum impact to match your accompanying verbal delivery. If you don't have your own laser pointer, find where the local one is and how to use it. If there's a clip-on microphone, decide where you will attach it on your person and do a sound test before the audience arrives to work out how loudly you will need to speak. Will there be enough light for the audience to be able to take notes? Complete darkness stimulates the sleeping response. Find out how the lights/blinds work & if you can control them. |
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| 4. | RESPECT THE CHAIR AND YOUR AUDIENCE | Although most Chairs don't do the job effectively,
the Chair is the representative of the audience and should therefore be respected.
If you are asked to stop, do not plead for a few more minutes or say that you'll let the Chair know when the lecture is over. No matter how important you think you or your findings are, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER exceed your allotted time-span. |
| 5. | ENGAGE YOUR AUDIENCE | Being confident and in command is not the
sign of a control freak. It is a reflection of a well–prepared,
considerate (and effective) lecturer.
Learn your opening statements off by heart
so that you don't gibber when the adrenaline pumps. Posing a question, making a shock statement (which is subsequently qualified),
using a topical event -these are all opening gambits that can be used to effect. Jokes can work but only if they are
really funny.
Thanking the organisers is safe but is
desperately boring when every single speaker does it. Try to be
original –save thanks for the end or tell them in private.
Do not begin by saying "I will talk about A and B and, if there's time at the end, C". This immediately betrays your lack of preparation. You should KNOW what you are going to deliver and should be CERTAIN (because you've rehearsed) that you can complete the presentation in the allotted time–span. Nothing is left to chance in a quality presentation. |
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| 6. |
FACE THE
AUDIENCE |
Voice, gestures & eye-contact are all important.
Scan the audience with your eyes to make fleeting contact with individuals. In this way, everyone feels involved.
Face the audience; do not speak to the board. Highlight the required item on each slide quickly and then return to face the audience as you tell them about the significance of this point. Incline your body to look at the slide as minimally as you can. Don't occlude your mouth e.g. with hand or arm as you use the pointer. |
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| 7. | TONE & PACE OF DELIVERY | Be conscious of
the tone of your voice, especially if using a microphone.
This has can flatten pitch so guard
against a monotone. Get variety into your voice.
Speaking too quickly is the most common fault. Speaking slowly & deliberately is appreciated by your listeners. For many of them, you may not be speaking in their first language. Everyone in the audience should be held enthralled throughout your talk. Saying nothing (a long pause) can be the most dramatic of devices at the appropriate time. Don't "read" your slides. The audience can scan the presented material much faster and so are already trying to digest the data while you are still trying to relate them. |
| 8. | DEPORTMENT | If you are speaking in a language in which
you are fluent, avoid the use of notes. These make your presentation
wooden. "Let the slides be your guides"! If
you have rehearsed adequately, you will KNOW how to chart your way
through the slides from beginning to end.
Thorough preparation reduces nervousness. Remember you are in command of the audience. Don't fiddle with anything e.g. coins/keys in pocket, microphone, the remote control lead from the projector. Avoid excessive movement but reciprocally don't stand rooted to the spot, gripping the lectern. Use the pointer sparingly. Do not use it as a light sabre to zap unsuspecting members of your audience. |
| 9. | DISTRACTIONS | Avoid physical mannerisms and constantly repeated phrases.
If you make a mistake in delivery, don't point it out. If, despite all your care, an error appears on one of your slides, again don't draw attention to it. The audience will point it out in the Discussion anyway. One advantage of PowerPoint™ presentations is that corrections can still be made after you have left home. Never go backwards with your slides. Use a duplicate. Once you've finished with a slide, don't leave it up on the screen. It should introduce a link into the next one but if you want to talk for a while without a visual aid, use a blank slide. |
| 10. |
ENTHUSIASM |
If you're not excited and obviously enthusiastic
about your own material, how can you expect the audience to be?
Remember the primary aim of the lecturer is not to inform but to enthuse. So, if you relax and enjoy yourself, the audience will too!! |
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Colin
Berry HomePage | |||
| Link to web pages for | Prof John Kay | Prof Ben M. Dunn | Prof Charles Craik |
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© Colin Berry, 2001 |
