10 Top Tips to improve your presentations
- Know your audience and be clear on what you want to achieve by giving your presentation.
- Start with a strong opener to get your audience's attention.
- Don't use jokes unless you are a born comedian and know the audience very well.
- End with a strong message, tell the audience what you want them to do.
- Don't try to cover too much. Decide what is important and what can be left out.
- Time your talk out loud in private and add about 10%. (It always takes longer to deliver in real life.)
- Don't outstay your welcome, or run into the next speaker's time.
- If you're using PowerPoint, don't use the screen as your notepad. Reading from the screen will bore your audience and make the screen the centre of attention instead of you.
- Don't overuse visual aids, only use slides if words alone are not enough to get your message across. If your point needs more power, use PowerPoint, otherwise leave it out.
- When taking questions at the end of your presentation be careful not to lose control of the audience. Maintain the same style and set a time limit before you begin.
