Essential Presentation Skills

On the Presentation Magazine Forum we get asked the same question many times - "Help, I've
got a presentation coming up next week and don't know what to do"

In this survival guide we highlight the three skills that YOU MUST KNOW before your next presentation.

Looking for presentation skills and tips? Try Audience

Essential Presentation Skills

response systems for more audience engagement in your presentation.

- the three things YOU MUST KNOW.

Here we expose the three essential pieces of information that can make your presentation fly. Most of these are common sense, but you'd be surprised
how often they are missed out.

The Three Presentation Essentials

- Use visual aids where you can

- Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse

- The audience will only remember

three messages

OK? Want to know more? We have built a number of lessons that will take you through the whole process.

Click on this link to take you to the first of the essentials.

Lesson 1 Using Visuals

Lesson 2 Rehearsing

Lesson 3 The rule of three

Presentation Skills 1. Use Visual Aids

One of the most powerful things that you can do to your presentation is to add in visual aids.

Research shows that if you use visual aids you are twice as likely to achieve your objectives.

Ditch the bullet points - use pictures instead.

Use visual aids in your next presentation.

Why should you use visual aids?

1. How we take in information during a presentation

Professor Albert Mehrabian did a lot of research into how we take in information during a presentation. He concluded that 55% of the information we take
in is visual and only 7% is text.

There are some important conclusions that we can take in from this information

1.

Use visuals (pictures, graphs, tables, props) whenever you can

2.

In a speech you are only using 38% of the communication medium

3.

Ditch the bullet points

2. Making the presentation memorable

In a Study at the Wharton Research Centre they showed that using visual slides had a dramatic effect on message retention. The effect of using

visuals is truly staggering!

The old adage that "a picture is worth a thousand words" is as true today as it has always been.

3. Achieving your objectives

If I said that I could double your chances of achieving your objectives in a presentation with just one piece of advice you would probably be very skeptical.
And yet if you use visual images that is just what happens.

This study by Decker Communications showed that by using visuals in your presentation you could expect roughly to double the chance of achieving your
objectives. And if you are trying to make a sales presentation or a job interview presentation, this piece of advice could have a major impact on your bank
balance.

The conclusion: Use visual aids

So hopefully by now you have got the message loud and clear. Use visual aids in your next presentation.

Click on this link below to take you to the second of the essentials.

>> Lesson 2. Rehearsal >>

Related pages
Sourcing Pictures for your Next Presentation

Free PowerPoint Clip Art from Presentation Magazine

The visual presentation of information

Presentation Skills 2. Rehearsal

We see no end of people who spend hours pouring over their bullet points but fail to rehearse
properly for the presentation.

The old adage is as true now as it has always been.

"If you fail to prepare, you are prepared to fail"

Rehearse your presentation and it will get better.

Sorry to sound like a bit of an old nag. It's obvious - rehearsing - isn't it? But it's also a bit of a drag and one that is easy to forget. It is probably the most
common mistake of all presentations that I have seen.

You wouldn't dream of going to see a Shakespeare play at the RSC only to find that they hadn't properly learnt the script. You wouldn't dream of going to
the opera to hear the band play out of time because they hadn't got round to rehearsing properly. Yet in presentations and in speeches we see this
happening all the time.

The impact of inadequate rehearsal on the audience

Rehearsing could make the difference between a good and an average presentation.
1. Plan to rehearse your presentation out loud at least 4 times.
We suggest that you should rehearse at least four times, and if you can get word perfect so much the better. I know that you haven't got the time, but we
have seen so many presentations that have been let down due to a lack of rehearsal.

Make sure that one of your rehearsals is in front of a really scary audience - family, friends, partners, colleagues;
children. They will tell you quite plainly where you are going wrong - as well as providing you with the support that you need.

2. Rehearse against the clock

If you have to give a presentation in a short period of time then try to practice your presentation against
the clock. This is particularly true with something like the five minute job presentation. You can add in
parts from the script or take them out to fit the time. Allow extra time in your presentation for questions
and watch out for nerves - this could mean that you talk faster on the day.

In the actual presentation you could take in a clock or take off your wrist watch and put it on the podium.
This way you can see how the timings can develop.

3. Take a leaf out of Winston Churchill's book - memorize your script.

He is widely attributed as being one of the great speakers. It took him six weeks to prepare his Maiden
Speech in the House of Commons and he learnt it word perfect.

4. Video or tape record yourself

A very simple trick that could help you with your performance is to video or tape record yourself. This will give you
some immediate feedback and will enable you to fine tune your performance.

Videoing a rehearsal is the staple of many presentation training companies - so why not save time and money and do
it yourself?

Does it work? - Just read this bit of feedback from someone who got a new job using these techniques
"Then I practised, I think this is the key.
I practised in front of my husband, my brother in law, my 12 year old daughter.
Then my 4 year old son on the day, he wasn't impressed, he just wanted me to put the telly on.

I blew their socks off!! he he

Definitely could not have done it without your help"

Rehearse and you will get better.

Click on this link below to take you to the third of the essentials.

>> Lesson 3. The rule of three >>

Related pages
The visual presentation of information

Presentation Skills 3. The Rule of Three

This is one of the oldest of all the presentation techniques - known about since the time of
Aristotle.

People tend to remember lists of three things. Structure your presentation around threes and it will become more memorable.

The Rule of Three

- We remember three things.

The rule of three is one of the oldest in the book - Aristotle wrote about it in his book Rhetoric. Put simply it is that people tend to easily remember three
things.

Remember as a kid when your mum sent you down to the shop to buy a number of things. But when you got to the shop all you could remember were
three things. This is the rule of three

Odds are that people will only remember three things from your presentation
What will they be?

1. The audience are likely to remember only three things from your presentation - plan in advance what these will be.

Believe it or not, the chances are, people will only remember three things from your presentation. So before you start writing your presentation, plan what
your three key messages will be. Once you have these messages, structure the main part of your presentation around these three key themes and look at
how they could be better illustrated.

2. There are three parts to your presentation

The beginning, the middle and the end. Start to plan out what you will do in these three parts. The beginning is ideal for an attention grabber or for an ice
breaker. The end is great to wrap things up or to end with a grand finale.

3. Use lists of three wherever you can in your presentation

Lists of three have been used from early times up to the present day. They are particularly used by politicians and advertisers who know the value of using
the rule of three to sell their ideas.

Veni, Vidi, Vici (I came, I saw, I conquered) - Julius Caesar**

"Friends, Romans, Countrymen lend me your ears" - William Shakespeare
"Our priorities are Education, Education, Education" - Tony Blair
A Mars a day helps you to work, rest and play - Advertising slogan
Stop, look and listen - Public safety announcement
A classic example of the rule of three was Winston Churchill's famous Blood, Sweat and Tears speech. He is widely attributed as saying I can
promise you nothing but blood sweat and tears. What he actually said was "I can promise you Blood, Sweat, Toil and Tears". Because of the rule
of three we simply remember it as Blood sweat and tears.

There are lots of other examples of the rule of three on this link

4. In Presentations "Less is More"

If you have four points to get across - cut one out. They won't remember it anyway. In presentations less really is more. No one ever complained of a
presentation being too short.

Presentation Essentials
Three Presentation Essentials
Use visual aids where you can

Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse

The audience will only remember three messages

So there you have the presentation essentials. I suggest that you print out this little box and stick it in your work book for future reference.
So does it all work? Well it works most of the time - but don't take my word for it Read these three posts on the Forum and make up your own mind....

"Got the job"

I Blew their socks off!!
images in presentations

Good luck and happy presenting.

Related pages
Forum discussion of the rule of three

More examples of the rule of three

Finding a Picture for your Presentation

Once you understand the importance of pictures in a presentation we often get asked for
information about the best source for sourcing pictures. This all depands upon the look and the impact that you want to create (as well of course of your
budget)

We have compiled some of the best sources of pictures for your presentation.

Corporate Presentations: Money no object

Image price - up to 70 ($130) per image

If you want to create the best possible look and feel for your presentation then you can't go too far wrong with Getty images (www.gettyimages.com) They
provide a comprehensive set of very high quality pictures. Most of the main suppliers are listed on thier site. We recommend for presentation use that you
only use the royalty free pictures - this is what we use in our commercial work. The rights free images have silly price tags and are only suitable for high
end advertising. We use this library for most of our high end corporate work.

Budget images Image Price 50p -1 ($1 -$2) per image.

It is hard to fault the pricing of iStockPhoto (www.istockphoto.com) It is the lowest priced source of royalty free pictures. Many of them are high quality and
are taken by enthusiasts. The high resolution versions are particularly good value for money. I liken it to an amateur picture exchange. The only main
drawback is that their business photos are poor and the pictures with reasonable human emotions are very limited. If you are looking for a photo of an
inanimate object, though, it is hard to beat.

Free images Image price - Free (but watch the copyright)

If you are looking for a free picture then the obvious source is Google images. It is on the image tab of the main Google page. Just type in the keyword and
there is a fair chance that you can find what you are looking for. Please note that all images are subject to copyright and you must obtain the permission of
the copyright holder. If you feel like skipping this then please be careful as many of the images have hidden digital watermarks and you could easily be
caught out.

We find that if you ask the webmaster of the sight for permission to use the image then you get permission about 50% of the time (the other 50% you just
get ignored).

Free PowerPoint Clip Art

The perfect companion to your PowerPoint template is some new contemporary clip art. With the
essence of simplicity we have used modern outline line art styling - available in a range of colours to match the templates.

New to Clip Art

Star Clip art

Wedding Clip Art

Free PowerPoint Clip Art

Clip art icons

Large clip art

Star clip art

Funnel shapes

Tennis clip art

More tennis clip art

Wedding clip art

More wedding clip art

Free Christmas Clip Art

If you are looking for christmas templates of shapes

to cut out or to add into your newsletters then we
have a selection on our christmas clip art page
We have added in the clip art in a range of matching colour Clip
Art schemes to fit in with our free Template Builder.
For ease of use we have embedded the free clip art
within a PowerPoint presentation. These are all vector
shapes so that you can sacel it insize and you can
change all of the colours.
Click here for free templates >>

Visual Communication of Information

At Presentation Helper we are great believers in the power of visual information. A lot of
presentation research shows that really a picture is worth a thousand words with message retention being increased over words by a factor of five. It
was a real treat to come across a presentation by Karl Fast on Visualization of Information.

Karl Fast is a doctoral student from the University of Western Ontario, in London, Ontario, Canada and has kindly allowed us to reproduce extracts of his
presentation Information Visualization: Failed Experiment or Future Revolution?

Now Im going to illustrate some of the basic principles of information visualization by taking a simple example and building it up. I am not going to
explain techniques like the perspective wall, or the differences between geometric and semantic zooming. Rather, this is just a simple example to
illustrate the basic ideas.

With a little time we could work out the days, but if we are to add in some simple visual colour coding.

temperature chart with numbers highlighted

This illustrates the power of visual perception. Graphic designers use this all the time when creating posters. They know how to make some things stand
out. But information visualization aims to exploit this in a different way: through interaction.

But we can abstract away the numerical data, transforming it into a visual representation. Note that these boxes could represent almost anything, not just
temperature. We are moving away from a system designed specifically to deal with temperature, to a framework that can handle a wide range of data.

This is one of the best examples of visual communications to portray information that I have seen in a while and it demonstrates that some simple
concepts can be highly effective.

If you would like to view a full version of the presentation you can view it on Karls web site athttp://www.livingskies.com/writings/2004/ia-summit/

11 August 2006

Filed under Presentations

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Related Pages
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Effective Presentation Techniques The Top 10 7.59068

2.

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The Harsh Truthand nothing but the truth 6.6201

Effective Presentation Techniques The Top 10

We have condensed all of the presentation techniques down to the most effective. Here are the Top 10 effective
presentation techniques.

1. Use visual aids

Using pictures in your presentations instead of words can double the chances of meeting your objectives.

2. Keep it short and sweet

There is an old adage that said No one ever complained of a presentation being too short. Nothing kills a
presentation more than going on too long.

There are some college professors who will penalise a short presentation (most lecturers see no problem in droning
on) , but for most people a shorter presentation is better. Keep your presentation to under 22 minutes if you can.

3. Use the rule of three

A simple technique is that people tend to only remember three things. Work out what the three messages that you want your audience to take away and
structure your presentation around them. Use a maximum of three points on a slide.

4. Rehearse
Practice makes for perfect performance. Many experts say that rehearsal is the biggest single thing that you can do to improve your performance. Perform
your presentation out loud at least four times. One of these should be in front of a real scary audience. Family, friends or colleagues. Even the dog is
better than nothing.

5. Tell stories
All presentations are a type of theatre. Tell stories and anecdotes to help illustrate points. It all helps to make your presentation more effective and
memorable.

6. Lose the bullet points dont put your speaker notes up on the screen
Bullet points are the kiss of death for most presentations. Most people use bullet points as a form of speaker notes. To make your presentation more
effective put your speaker notes in your notes and not up on the screen.

7. Video yourself
Set up a video camera and video yourself presenting. You will see all sorts of mistakes that you are making, from how you are standing, if you are jangling
keys, to how well your presentation is structured.

8. Know what slide is coming next

You should always know when presenting which slide is coming up next. It sounds very powerful when you say On the next slide [Click] you will see,
rather than than a period of confusion when the next slide appears.

9. Have a back-up plan

Murphys law normally applies during a presentation. Technology not working, power cuts, projector blowing a bulb, spilling coffee on your front, not
enough power leads, no loudspeakers, presentation displays strangely on the laptop all of these are things that have happened in presentations that I
have given.

Have a back-up plan. Take with you the following items a printed out set of slides (you can hold these up to the audience if you need to), a CD or data
stick of your presentation, a laptop with your slides on it. Just in case it goes wrong.

Guess what? When you have back-ups you seldom need to use them.

10. Check out the presentation room

Arrive early and check out the presentation room. If you can make sure that you see your slides loaded onto the PC and working on the screen. Work out
where you will need to stand.

Do you agree or disagree with any of these effective presentation techniques? Have you have any experiences like this? Add it in to the comments box
below.

30 August 2007

Filed under Presentations

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Apparently in Japan, presentations are often boring. Slides are typically crowded with small text that most people, especially those at the back of the
room, cannot read. Nevertheless, they still try. The result: a distracted audience.

(Its funny: Ive never been to Japan, but Im sure Ive been in presentations like that.)

The Takahashi Method

To counter this, the Takahashi Method was born. The eponymous Masayoshi Takahashi developed a system of presentation that uses only text. But not just
text; VERY LARGE TEXT.

What, all those wonderful PowerPoint tools lying idle, and just the text function used? Isnt that such a waste?

There are two things to say about that. First, just because something is possible doesnt mean it should be done. There are plenty of fonts in my Office
word processor that I wouldnt dream of using. Similarly, the very richness of PowerPoints functionality means that discrimination and choice should be
exercised.

Second, when it comes to presentations, its very easy to distract people. We all know the scenario: the presenter has several paragraphs of text on the
screen. He proceeds to read most of these out, amplifying and adding as he goes. The audiences brains are fried trying to read and listen at the same
time.

The advantage of the Takahashi Method is that there are only around ten characters or so per slide. Its newspaper headlines rather than sentences. No
long words or complex phrases and no distractions.

This may well work wonders in Japan with its character-based script; but I think its going a little too far for the West.

The Tom Peters method

I prefer the suggestions of management guru Tom Peters in his Presentation Excellence.

He advocates making only one point per slide. Its perfectly possible to take in a sentence of five to 10 words: and that can make a strong impact. When
those 10 words become 50 or 100, thats where the problems creep in.

This single-point idea is underlined by another of his suggestions: eliminating clutter. A busy slide is a wasted slide. So, according to Peters, we should get
rid of small print, multiple charts or graphs or anything tiny, fiddly or difficult to see.

Following these suggestions can work wonders for most presentations, making them more memorable, impactful and engaging. In this context, anyway,
less definitely is more.

By David Vickery

24 May 2010

Filed under Presentations

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Tags:PowerPoint

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4.

31 Tips to Improve your Presentation Skills

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Its always tough to stand up in front of a real audience. But with a bit of practice and a few tips it can be much easier to deliver a good
performance.
We asked a number of presentation experts for their tips on improving your presentation skills.

1. Start planning your presentation on paper

Start planning your presentation on paper rather than PowerPoint.

It helps with creativity.
Thanks to Mary Langan www.nuatraining.co.uk

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2. Avoid written bullet points on slides

Follow the Steve Jobs philosophy of using pictures or demonstrative pieces that capture the idea you are trying to get across. Recently at
harassment prevention training, I used a Tickle Me Elmo doll. This was shortly after a New York politician had resigned after admitting
among other things that hed engaged his employees in a tickle fight. The whole audience got my point.

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3. Make your ideas stick

Follow the formula laid out by Chip and Dan Heath in Made to Stick: the stickiest ideas are those which are simple, unexpected, concrete,
credible, emotional and are framed by a story.

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4. If you make a mistake in presenting, dont panic

Acknowledge it, laugh and move on.

5. Include the audience

Ask questions to allow them to participate.

6. Bring the audience forward

If it is an unwilling audience, and people are sitting way at the back, laugh and tell all those in the back row that they need to come and sit in

the front that you know who the troublemakers are. (Keep laughing.) Then, you can engage them much more actively.

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7. If possible, make everybody turn OFF their electronic devices

Thanks to Deb Volberg Pagnotta

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8. Remain flexible

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To me one of the most important tips is to remain flexible. Dont be totally tied to your presentation. You need to be able to assess where your
participants are (in their learning) and then modify your presentation to meet their needs and the time you have available to present.

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Too often I see presenters try to cram in all the information they have regardless of the time available.
Thanks to Sue Fiedler, PHR

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9. Let the audience direct the content and order of your presentation
If you have slides, you can do this with a menu slide, custom shows, or links to other presentations. By asking questions of the audience, you

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can know what theyre interested in, and have that content available by clicking on a link.
I would still research the audience as much as possible in advance, but when you cant do that, incorporating this flexibility into your

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presentation is invaluable.
Thanks to Ellen Finkelstein

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10. Lean forward to make a point

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11. Dont read your slides

A wee step or slight lean forward on a positive point, and vice versa; otherwise stepping back during pauses, then slightly forward again.

Paraphrase it keeps people on their toes.

Thanks to Howard Rokofsky

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12. Dont try to say everything on screen

The fewer words on screen, the more your audience will be focused on you and what youre saying.
Think about stripping out the words that you are actually going to say and just use short, punchy bullet points coupled with relevant,
thought-provoking imagery.

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13. Try not to prove it within your slide content

All too often we see slides that make a single point but are cluttered with loads and loads of supporting graphs and tables of information.
If the point that you want to make is that your market share is 26% just say that. Your audience will typically believe you. You can always
include extra data as addendum slides at the end of the deck to be called on if really needed.

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14. Try to make one key point per slide

If you make more than one, your message will become complicated and wont hit home. On the other hand, if your slide makes no point at all
delete it. You probably dont actually need it.

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15. Set your stall out early

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A professional writer or presentation expert can often see things you cant and give a totally new perspective on your project.

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Overall, remember less is often more when it comes to words on the slide. But as with any good rule not always.
Thanks to Kate Lowe of www.article10.com

Your audience will appreciate knowing at the beginning what you are going to cover.
As your presentation progresses, keep referring back to your initial agenda using highlights to show where you are up to.

16. Consider getting outside help

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17. Engage the audience at the start

Use humour; tell a story; challenge with a question.

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18. Use examples and personal anecdotes to add credibility

19. Involve the audience

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Projection is perception!

Use PowerPoint only where it will add value. Use audio/visuals.

20. Know your audience

What will be meaningful to them?

21. Be positive

22. Summarise
Thanks to Peter Westcott

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23. Keep it short

Say everything that needs to be said in as few words as possible!
Thanks to Mark Tamer of the Presenters Coach

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24. Turn off the projector

The presenter rarely realises that the presentation slide is desperately trying to steal their thunder and reducing their role to that of a voice

over.
The best tip I can give a presenter is to use a blank screen to re-keep all eyes on you.
Thanks to Jean-Luc Lebrun

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25. You need to be yourself

I have seen presenters try to imitate a style that was effective but did not fit for them and it caused an immediate disconnect with the
audience. I use a lot of humour and case examples in my presentations, but one of my favourite presenters talks to the audience in a very

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calm way, as if she were just having coffee with them.

If I tried to imitate her, I think I and the audience would be bored and if she imitated me, it would look like really bad stand-up. You still have to

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work hard on honing your skills but within the best of you and not someone else.
Thanks to Don Ferguson

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26. Dont spend too long worrying about voice and hand gestures

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27. Practise, practise, practise

Yes, these can make a difference, but there are other changes to your overall presentation you can make that will have a much bigger impact.

If you dont practise, the first time you deliver your presentation out loud will be in front of a room full of people. A sobering thought
Thanks to Jessica Pyne of M62

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28. Vary your pace and pitch

A huge lesson I got given early in my speaking career was to vary my pace and pitch. We fall into patterns easily. If you want it to stand out

when youre getting frenetic and excited, you need areas of calm.
Too much of any one thing is boring.
Thanks to Richard Mulholland

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29. Use a mirror

The old smoke and mirrors no longer works in so many of todays smoke-free buildings but mirrors are still allowed. The presenter needs

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to know what is on the screen behind or above them while still looking at the audience. Their computer should be visible to them wherever
they roam on stage. A confidence monitor in front of the audience or even a second projected image at the back of the room will work.
One presenter I worked with many years ago in the age of slide projectors really wowed an audience by never once looking back at the screen

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in a half-hour presentation. He used a remote control and hit every cue perfectly. The amazed audience never realised that the multitude of
mirrors in the banquet room meant he never needed to look over his shoulder.
Even today when a computer or monitor cannot be in front of the speaker because of technical restraints, we still use a small auto mirror

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designed to see kids in the back seat

for presenters to see what is behind them. Like a parent in the car using that mirror,
the presenter doesnt need to see all the details to know what is happening behind them.
Thanks to Bob Gallagher

99.
100. 30. Think about your audience, not about you or your stuff

101. Answer the question of the attendees: whats in it for me?

102. It is a basic tip, but so many presenters forget this.
103. Thanks to Denis Franois Gravel, Effective presentation & strategic selling,PRESENTability.com
104.
105. 31. Slides dont make good handouts
106. If your slides are any good, they will be highly visual with few words, and therefore will have very little meaning without you after all, they
are there to support the message, not the presenter.

107. Yet without handouts most of your message is likely to be forgotten sooner or later. So use handouts wisely, include your slides as visual
reminders of the live presentation and the communication at the time, but also add any notes, graphs, tables, etc. which also remind
participants what you were saying.
108. My usual tip here is to use the notes pages function in Keynote or PowerPoint, then print the slides plus notes pages to PDF and distribute that.

The participants will get a nice-looking document with

a slide at the top of each page and the detailed notes underneath.
My students always appreciate that and they like not having to take notes themselves without worrying theyll forget something.
109. Thanks to Phil Waknell

Making a Presentation Part Two

So you have decided on the topic, you know how much to write, and you have made your notes, next we need to work out a plan for the presentation. You
should break this down into at least three sections.Introduction

Tell your audience what you will be talking about and why you have chosen the topic. If it is a hobby, tell them how you got into it, where you take part,
why you enjoy it.

If your topic is more serious then tell them why it means so much to you.

Main Body
This is the section for the bulk of the presentation; it should contain all the main information, and facts and figures. For this section you need to sort
through your notes, and pick the main points:

Three main points for five-minute presentations

Four main points for ten-minute presentations

Five main points for fifteen-minute presentations

Discuss each point in detail; give as much information as you can about each one, but make sure it is relevant, make sure you stay on track. If you are
presenting your own choice of argument then your time allowance is likely to be longer, so you will be able to fit in more information. When making your
key points you should give the points for the argument first and against the argument second.

Wrapping up
If you have been presenting an argument then you wrap up with a conclusion on whichever side you agree with. If you have given both sides of the
argument then just sum up what you have already said and leave the audience with plenty to think about and to make up their own minds about the
conclusion.

If you have presented one side of the argument then give your concluding thoughts, using the information that you gave in the main part of the speech.

If you are talking about music, then maybe you could wrap up by suggesting songs or albums that you have enjoyed. If you have presented on a particular
sport then you could suggest clubs where the audience can try or watch, and highlight any achievements that you have made, for example taking part in
or winning competitions.

It is important to remember not to add anything new to this final section.

So, you have decided what to say, now its time to decide on the best way of saying it.

Unless you are very good at drama or theatrical studies then most audiences will get bored very quickly with someone that just stands at the front of the
room and speaks. The trick to a good presentation is to make it as lively and as interesting as possible; to hold the attention of the audience.

So how do you do this?

Firstly, try not to have too many notes, flash cards are far better for your own personal notes than standing there with lots of sheets of paper. But you also
need to give the audience something to look at other than just you. It has been proven that information is remembered far more effectively by visual
enhancement, by this I mean that diagrams will be remembered for longer than just text or speaking.

There are several ways to use visuals in your presentation. The most common classroom-based method now is PowerPoint. Using PowerPoint in a
presentation will give people something to look at, and it will also help you remember what you are going to say next (plus the audience will be drawn to
the images so the focus will be taken off you a little). If you don't have the facilities to actually use PowerPoint where you are presenting then you could
still make a presentation and print off the slides to give people as they arrive.

Another option is either a whiteboard which you could write key points on as they introduced or a flipchart which can be prepared in advance.

Perhaps you could take some props, such as something you use for a particular sport, samples of music, or medals/trophies that you have earned if talking
about a hobby. There may even be a costume or uniform that would enhance your chosen subject-

This part of the presentation is often overlooked, but it really can be something that makes it all come together at the time and, of course, putting in that
extra bit of effort will probably help with the final result-

Sharren L Bessant

4 March 2009

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Making a Presentation Part Three

Once you have the words written and have sussed out the best way of making the presentation more interesting in the visual sense, and have assessed
what facilities are available to you such as power sockets for CD players, computers for PowerPoint shows, whiteboard and so on, it is time to put together
the visual side of things.

The hardest part of the preparation has been done, this is the easy bit.

PowerPoint - design your slides and have fun with them. First, try to make them work alongside your topic. If you have a serious debate then you
should stick to plain lettering, and keep the colours calming, but if you have chosen something based on a hobby or music then you really can be a bit
more relaxed. Choosing a little character can give them a comical and interesting twist, they can be brightly coloured or plain, there really isn't much that
you can't do. But when designing try to remember a few things -

1. Do not go over the top have a few bullet points on each page (five should be plenty), don't have too many colours or too many graphics. Try to
remember that less is more and you dont want people to spend so much time working out what is going on that they will be distracted from listening to
you talk.

2. If you do choose a fun character then make it relevant, such as a talking football for sport. Try and make a single theme for the whole presentation to
avoid confusion.

Don't forget the tip in the last section, print off copies of the slides and hand them out at the start or pass them round during the presentation for people
to follow what is going on and be able to re-cap on what was said after the presentation finishes.

Whiteboard the most important thing to remember here is the lack of space. If you are able to access the whiteboard before the presentation then
put up some key points before you start. If not, then just make notes of the most important factors of your speech as you are presenting it.

Flipcharts the biggest problem with flipcharts is that they are so small and not always visible in a large room. Also they don't hold a huge amount of
information so perhaps you could also hand out copies of the PowerPoint slides to work alongside your flipchart.

Props - these always add a fun and amusing side to any presentation and, if suitable, are definitely encouraged. Perhaps even some audience
participation could make things more interesting.

After all the decisions have been made the topic, the words, and the visuals the only thing left to do is to make the presentation. Here are a few
pointers to help the final bit go as smoothly as possible:

Practise your presentation as many times as possible before the day. Time yourself; get family members or friends to be your audience. The more times
you practise the easier it becomes, and if you know the words back to front before the actual day then you are on to a winner!

Make sure that you have everything ready the night before. Don't forget:

Your notes/flashcards

The PowerPoint presentation if using one

Your handouts/slides

Music, equipment, props, costume

A bottle of water (in case of a dry mouth)

This will make sure you aren't rushing about on the day trying to find something that you have forgotten.

The simple things are often those that are overlooked. Have breakfast and/or lunch before your presentation slot, because if you are hungry you will lose
concentration.

Find out if you can access the room and familiarise yourself with it, especially if it isn't a room that you normally use. If you are able to set things up then
do so; if not, have things ready in the order that you will need them, because if you are doing ten-minute presentations as a class you might not get much
time before you start. Maybe even have a practice run in an empty room if you can.

Remember that most people are nervous when standing in front of a group of people, it doesn't matter if it is a topic that they know everything about or
something that they have only just learned, it is perfectly natural to be nervous. Some people use this to their advantage and present better because of
the nerves. Try not to talk too quickly, speak at normal talking speed. Just imagine you are talking to a group of friends and you will be fine.

Good luck!

Sharren L Bessant

17 March 2009

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Making a Presentation Part One

If you are reading this then its likely that you have been asked to do some kind of presentation and are looking for some tips or advice on what to do, or
you might even be hoping to find a presentation that has been prepared already so that you dont have to do any work, right?Well, Im not going to make
it that easy for you but I will help you to put your own presentation together, and guide you through everything, from deciding what topic to choose to
what to do on the day.

Step one
So, you need to prepare a presentation; it may be quite short, so Im guessing that it will be 5 or 10 minutes. Make sure that you know exactly how long
you are allowed to talk for. I know you want to get it over with as soon as possible but its often easier to have a bit more time. Once you know how long
you have to talk then you can work out how many words to use. Use this as a guideline:

5 minutes talktime = 750 words

10 minutes talktime = 1500 words

15 minutes talktime = 2250 words

This will help you work out roughly how many words to write so that you can fill the time you have been given.

Step two
Ok, next we need to decide what you will talk about.

If you have been given a topic then great, move on to the research and find out as much as you can, look for key points and things that you feel are
important and make lots of notes.

If you have been asked to prepare a presentation on a subject of your choice then this might take a bit more thought. You may have been told to talk
about a hobby, or something that interests you. Easy! Pick something that you enjoy maybe a sport, your favourite band or football team/player, or a
film or book that you have enjoyed. Find out as much about your subject as possible and again make lots of notes.

Sometimes, you might be asked to choose a topic and present an argument either for or against it, for example, animal rights, or fox hunting, or smoking
in public places. Decide if you agree or disagree with it, and collect your facts in the same way, research and make lots of notes.

It doesnt matter if you dont use all of the notes, its much better to have them and not use them, than to try and find them again later. The more
information you have gathered, the more you have to talk about.

Once you have decided this, then you are ready for Part two -

Sharren L Bessant

25 February 2009

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Presentation Utilities Colour matching for your presentation

In the third in our series on presentation utilities, Alan Cooke looks at the use of colour in a presentation.

Part and parcel of a good presentation is using professional-looking graphics, and along with that comes the need to use colours. Good colour matching
and choices can be an issue, though.

Figure 1 Pixeur main screen

This is where Pixeur comes to the rescue. This tiny utility will save you both time and computer resources.

Download Pixeur here and give it a try.

The eyedropper (see right) can be dragged to any part of your screen to select a colour. A magnifier accompanies the eyedropper to enable precise colour
selection. When you find the colour you require let go of the mouse button and the colour is copied along with the Hex, RGB, HSB and CMYK values. You
can copy the Hex value to the clipboard which can be handy for users building web pages, for example. What could be simpler!

The colour pane on the left is available so that you can select a colour, and on clicking the >> button the colour values are copied to the list on the right.
Between the two is the regular colour scale with its slider. Using this option you can choose any colour and find the RGB values, etc. For web designers
there is a Web colours only check box.

If you do not want to download a software application then color schemer can be very useful. This can help you find a range of matching colours.

http://www.colorschemer.com/online.html

Colour Schemer

Or if you want a quick way to pick up an RGB colour from a website then the ColorZilla add-in for Firefox provides you with an eyedropper to pick up the
colour of a single pixel on a web page.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/271/

5 July 2010

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Presentation Secrets The Power of Three

We asked businessman Gary Muddyman to share what he considered to be one of his top Presentation Secrets.

Gary Muddyman is the CEO and Managing Director of a translation and localisation agency called Conversis, which he started in 2003 with the idea of
advancing the understanding and use of translation and localisation as a strategic business tool.

Gary has really made a splash in the industry and is a much sought-after speaker. He has spoken at global conferences and events in Florida, London, San
Francisco and Silicon Valley. Before starting Conversis, Gary worked at HSBC for 16 years. He currently runs Conversis and invests in other businesses.

Gary Muddyman

He was trained in presentation skills by the great Dr Max Atkinson, whom he credits for the following advice:

Remember the power of three.

Always deliver your key points in a series of three. That way, they are more likely to be remembered.

Research shows that people are used to hearing in certain speech rhythms, and that they remember things in series of three.

So whatever point you have to make, develop your final message into a series of three no more, no less and your audience will be repeating it ad
nauseam!

www.conversisglobal.com

Here are the other pages on the site that give examples of the Rule of Three.

19 July 2010

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Presentaton Utilities Clipping useful images and text

In the second Presentation Utilities article Alan Cooke looks at clipping useful images and text en masse.
When designing a presentation you often come across images and snippets of researched text that you need to copy and paste. Clipmate may be the
perfect choice since it can copy both text and screen captures. In addition there is no limit to the number of clips you can collect, all of which can be
saved in a tailor-made set of collections.

First of all, lets define a clip:

A clip could be text or graphic (screen capture), in whole or part, which is copied from the screen and inserted (pasted) into another application. This
copy and paste action is most commonly performed by using the CTRL+C / CTRL+A and CTRL+V key combination or using the right click mouse key
option. Without the use of additional software or software features (Microsoft Office does have an extended clipboard facility) one is limited to one
available clip which is stored in the computers memory.

Clipmate has been developed to overcome the Windows Clipboard limitations. Its a powerful and feature rich application. This is a very brief overview.

Figure 1 Clipmate main screen

Above you can see the three main sections of Clipmate. On the top left we have an explorer-style list of the default and user created folders, called
collections in Clipmate. This is where you can store all the collections you would like to keep. For example, I have one for HTML code snippets,
signatures and often used text. You could keep your terms and conditions in a legal collection, for example. The pane labelled There is nothing to
display is where ALL your clips are copied into as you collect them.

Figure 2 Two 'graphic' clips

In figure 2 you can see two graphic clips. Clipmate identifies the type of clip. It also records the time, date and source. In the above clip MWSnap was the
application used to capture a clip of Clipmate, see Figure 3 below at the bottom.

Figure 3 The actual clip in the lower pane

A scenario. You are creating a PowerPoint presentation demonstrating some features of your website. Both text and graphics will be used. Clipmate is
loaded and minimised in the system tray. Using a hotkey combination to capture a clip you can now copy all the clips you need to create your
presentation.

Figure 4 Hotkey combinations

I use Region Screen Capture most commonly (note: the key combination has been changed to suit my purposes).

Using this hotkey you can capture all the graphic clips you need copied into Clipmate, one after another.
To copy text simply left click and drag (standard method) then CTRL+C and the selected text is copied into Clipmate.

In the lower pane (Figure 1) you have a number of tools which can be used to clean up the copied text. For example, you can remove all the html code (if
copied from a web page) or you can strip out extra spaces, convert cases, find and replace, and a few more. It even has a spell check.

Pasting is a doddle. Clipmate detects which application you are working in. So, for example, Clipmate is aware that I am using Word right now. So with
Clipmate open I simply find the clip I need to insert/paste and double click it. Hey presto! Its right here: To get your slides animated you need to use the
custom animation feature in PowerPoint. For a quick guide on how to animate read our PowerPoint animation guide.

Need a graphic next?

Done!

Clipmate has a host of amazing features and benefits as well as a comprehensive help file. It has become a regular system tray option on my PC.

Clipmate is shareware and can be downloaded here.

21 June 2010

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Is PowerPoint making us stupid?

Is PowerPoint dumbing us down?

Weve pondered criticisms to this effect, particularly from the military, where various objectors have claimed that PowerPoint is too simplistic.

David Vickery investigates.

Nicholas Carr is the latest in this tradition of doomsayers. His recently published book The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to our Brains suggests
that not just PowerPoint but the whole digital age is at fault. The argument is that these media are poor substitutes for the traditional methods of
researching, presenting and communicating. They also, it is alleged, damage our ability to concentrate.

This argument has some appeal, at least superficially. Anyone who is a member of Facebook, for instance, must surely be tired of reading the frequently
inane comments along the lines of I am now making myself a coffee.

Nevertheless, I believe that overall, not only are PowerPoint and its digital cousins not dumbing us down, they are actually making things better by giving
us easier access to more information.

As a break from my day job as an online writer, I sometimes write short stories. Some of these, particularly when set in an earlier era, require quite a lot of
research. In the pre-Internet days, this involved reading books, consulting encyclopaedias and the like. Not only was this time-consuming, it was also
haphazard; there was no guarantee I would find the information I needed.

Now I can find out almost anything I want to know about the lifestyle of medieval peasants or Roman military practices, almost as quickly as I can type my
request into a search engine. And rather than just one authors opinion, I can have instant access to an array of views and data. Far from making me
dumber, Id say that this fuels my creativity; it also makes me a lot more productive.

In the same way, PowerPoint can not only present complex information more clearly than in the old days, it can also do so in a far more impactful and
compelling way, bringing in charts, diagrams, different colours, different fonts, plus a whole range of audiovisual support.

Just imagine someone delivering an old-style lecture on a complex subject, with only his voice, a writing implement and something to write on. I would
have lost concentration a lot earlier in such an environment than I would do in a well-crafted PowerPoint presentation.

At its heart, the argument contains an unspoken assumption: that prolonged focus and deep reading of one text is the only route to wisdom. Such a view
may simply be the result of books having pre-dated the Internet and other vehicles.

The truth is that diverse information, ideas, data and resources can today be shared faster, more easily, and on a scale that was simply not impossible in
the past. Instead of people working alone or in small teams, its now increasingly the norm to work in teams that might span the country or even the
globe. And all of that is possible only because of our digital world.

Perhaps its the books of the doomsayers that should carry that health warning.

By David Vickery

11 October 2010

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Time to ditch the PowerPoint?

Is there a point to PowerPoint? Jack Downton believes that it gets in the way of delivering a good presentation. In this article he argues why.

Is there a point to PowerPoint? The opportunity to present facts and figures, slides and graphs, data and numbers, proves too much for some, and often
enough information is crammed into PowerPoint to fill a phone book. However, the aim of any presentation should be to command the undivided attention
of your audience. When Barack Obama delivered his inauguration address in Washington DC, he didnt ask the million-strong crowd in front of him to direct
their attention to Slide B.

And for centuries, politicians, leaders and academics have given rousing speeches without so much as a glimpse of a screen in fact, Im not sure how
well Churchill would have fared if hed actually said, We shall fight them on the beaches like this one shown here for illustrative purposes.

PowerPoint has its place and is often a wonderful resource, but it needs to be used appropriately. The brain doesnt listen and read at the same time. If
youre talking and theres a slide up with text and data, no one will be listening to what youre saying. With slides you need to remember that the audience
will not be concentrating on you. And if they arent concentrating on you, they certainly wont remember your points or be influenced by what you are
saying. Ask yourself, who have they come to see you as a highly competent professional or you as a highly paid slide show operator?

Also ask yourself if the slides are for your benefit or the audiences. If the slides are really your notes, dont use them.

Yet if you need to use slides, just allow your audience time to take the information in. Keep sentences short, provide only key points on your slide, and limit
punctuation and abbreviations. If used, use them sparingly, especially those containing only words. Introduce the slide before you show it, have key data
highlighted and give the audience a chance to read the data before talking over the slide (remember they cant read the chart and listen carefully to you
simultaneously).

If you do use slides, keep them to a minimum. The number of slides depends on the length of your presentation, but the fewer the better, or impact is lost.
Consider including the odd blank slide which will ensure you regain the focus of attention. Or go without them entirely. You need to shine, not the screen

Jack Downton

Jack Downton is the Managing Director of The Influence Business (www.theinfluencebusiness.com)

14 December 2009

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6 ways to get your message across without PowerPoint

Quite often these days you may have to give a presentation, but are not allowed to use PowerPoint. Without such a comfortable prop, many would-be
presenters start to panic and think about what they could do.

So here are six ideas on how to get your message across without PowerPoint.

1. Use role playing to communicate your ideas

Get the audience out of their seats and switch their minds on again.

2. Ask the audience to use flipcharts

Ask the audience to use flipcharts, large sheets of paper or other means to add to your ideas. Or have them take notes.

3. Walk around
Freed from the manacles of screen, laptop and mouse, youre able to use more space. The audiences eyes will follow you as you move, and its far easier
to inject energy and emotion.

4. Condense your message into some key points

Instead of making them into slides, keep your key points on a small piece of paper that you can use as a prompt. This will keep your delivery more
spontaneous. Even more importantly, youll be maintaining eye contact, not screen contact.

5. Tell a story
This has been a great way to communicate since the days when we sat round campfires and gnawed on the bones of the meal wed hunted that day. It still
works.

6. Use something physical

Use something physical to illustrate your idea: a model, perhaps, or a building made out of Lego. Because it doesnt have words on it, this object will force
you to use it as an aid, not as a crutch which is where PowerPoint can let you down.

Try the PowerPoint-free presentation next time you give one. Your audience will look around in surprise at the absence of technology, and might be taken
aback. But youll have their attention. Now its just up to you to keep it.

Best of all, all these techniques can be used as well as PowerPoint rather than as a substitute for it. So even if you go back to using the tool afterwards,
take these ideas with you into the meeting room. Youll find they liven up presentations and help prevent eyes glazing over.

By David Vickery

25 October 2010

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4.

38 PowerPoint design tips

5.
6.

We asked our panel of experts for their tips on how to design a great PowerPoint presentation. Here is their advice. We got a great response
and have so far collected 38 PowerPoint design tips.

7.

1. Graphics and stock photography can liven up a presentation

8.

PowerPoints clip art library is useful but should be avoided. To be unique I create high quality transparent graphics that can be layered with
text and shapes in PowerPoint. Typically, I create graphics in Adobe Illustrator and export them as a png with transparency at 150 dpi. With the
higher resolution (screen is 72 dpi) the graphic can be scaled in PowerPoint without quality degradation.

9.

2. Use builds and transitions

10.
11.
12.

Eric Walker

Using builds and transitions is an easy way to add interest to a presentation. Rather than bring up all your content at once, use builds to
introduce each item individually. Use simple builds and transitions such as fade, wipe and peek. Avoid the more distracting animations, such as
zoom, boomerang or swivel. To animate several items at once, group them first. Also, add a transition between your slides, such as fade
through black or wipe.

13.

3. Customise slide masters

14.

Use the master slides to create a branded template for your presentation. Customise master slides using imported graphics, logos, and
colours. A customised colour palette adds consistency and professionalism to the slides. Bold and dark colours are more effective than subtle
colours when projecting in dark room. Add logos, date stamp, page numbers and footer information to the master slides. These elements will
appear on each slide in the presentation.

15.

Thanks to Eric Walker, Creative Director at the Davies Murphy Group (www.daviesmurphy.com)

16.
17.

4. Put some time aside to plan your presentation

18.
19.

Marshall Makstein

20.

The most important design tip is to design some time into your schedule to develop a well-designed presentation.

21.

PLAN your schedule so you have time to develop well-designed slides and a good flow to your story. GOOD design takes time. Throwing
together some text bullet points, some charts and graphs the night before you present does not usually result in a well-designed presentation.

22.

A well-designed PowerPoint does not must mean pretty slides, but visual aids that communicate your information effectively and make your
key points memorable and actionable.

23.

Thanks to Marshall Makstein, Meeting Communications Professional at eslide (www.eslide.com)

24.
25.

5. Design for interactivity

26.

Create a menu and let the audience decide where to go.

27.

6. Its OK to use light backgrounds

28.
29.
30.

Ellen Finkelstein

I sometimes use a black background for a slide when its appropriate for the content or fits my image. It gives an uncomplicated, Zen-like
impression. But mostly I use white, if I dont have a full-slide image. My reason is that white backgrounds on slides are similar to white
backgrounds on websites they make both text and images crisp and clear. Theyre associated with information.

31.

Long ago, dark backgrounds were standard. This was a carry-over from the days of physical slides, which picked up dust. The dust showed on
light backgrounds, but not on dark ones. Also, projectors were weaker, so presenters needed to turn out the lights for the projection to be
easily visible. In a dark room, peoples pupils opened wider and a white or light background became too bright for comfort. Now, we can
usually use white backgrounds without worrying about dust or too much brightness.

32.

Thanks to Ellen Finkelstein, Author, Publisher, Expert on AutoCAD, PowerPoint, and Presenting

33.
34.

7. Keep to three colours

35.
36.
37.

Pam Brossman

When creating a branded ppt template keep the colours to three, based around the company brand colours. If you require other colours for
charts and tables and diagrams it is best to go for darker and lighter shades of the brand colours to keep it consistent throughout the
presentation.

38.

8. Consistent fonts

39.

Keep header fonts consistent throughout the whole presentation (headings should not be sentences but key points no longer than 3-4 words)

40.

9. Get your bullets right

41.

Keep bullet points two shades only - the Header colour for the first bullet and the text colour for the second indented bullet.

42.

Always keep the second bullet the same size font as first as this looks more professional. Indent is enough to differentiate bullet point subcategory.

43.

10. Branding is best at the bottom

44.

Branding is best on the bottom of a slide, keeping the rest of the slide free for charts and visual representations of the content.

45.

11. Keep it simple, clean and consistent

46.

Keep it simple, keep it clean, keep it consistent throughout the whole document and use lots of white space. Then you cant go wrong when it
comes to PowerPoint design.

47.

They are the key design tips I use to create branded templates for some of the top 100 companies in Australia which have been very
successful.

48.

Thanks to Pam Brossman, Social Media Speaker, Trainer & Consultant(www.profitablesocialmarketing.com)

49.
50.

12. Keep animation of workflows and processes as simple as possible

51.
52.
53.

Noz Urbina

As someone who presents a lot of complex new ideas, and complex systems and workflows, to unfamiliar or mixed audiences, I find animation
to be a vital tool. Its vital to keep animation of workflows and processes as simple as possible and keep in mind how important portability of
the slides is or isnt if someone needs to be able to review and understand them, then coloured boxes flying around wont help much without
the presenter.

54.

13. Do not overlap text

55.

Try not to overlap animated text so slides print nicely. For texty slides, try animating text in point-by-point while you talk. This keeps people
from trying to read your slides and ties your speech in tightly, which is a best practice.

56.

14. Taboo style delivery read out your slides

57.

This is a practice which completely breaks the rules, but which has won me several valuable speaker nominations: read your slides! When
combined with bringing in content line-by-line, its a very powerful visual/auditory combination. The trick is: animate in a line or two, then
read it out (and keep the points short). Then discuss for a few seconds what that point means. Your delivery and your slides are thereby
totally locked together, and youll never fight your slides for the attention of the audience (the most common bad practice I see).

58.

15. Never read your notes

59.

Print up a 3- 6- or 9-up copy and note down key points for each slide in pen. Then just learn the rest so you can deliver while cycling eye
contact around the friendliest faces in each corner of the room.

60.

16. Images are fantastic

61.

Try to keep your presentations one quarter images, or more, if possible. It really doesnt matter what they are if youre a photography and
conceptual person, go for a photo plus a little intro at the beginning of each major section in your storyboard which youve hopefully worked
out or your agenda. If youre into diagrams and charts, do that. Use screenshots where applicable; even a big colourful table (limit to around
4 x 8 rows) is better than slide after slide of bullets.

62.

Thanks to Noz Urbina, Senior Consultant at content management specialists Mekon(www.mekon.com)

63.
64.

17. Respect the limits of working memory

65.
66.
67.

Philippa Leguen

To make the most of any presenting opportunity we need to avoid overloading this working memory to give our audience the best chance of
remembering our presentation.

68.

The first step is to focus on key messages. Examine whether your content supports each message, and if it doesnt then you probably need to
ditch those slides.

69.

18. Remove all objects that do not contribute to your message

70.

Look at whats on your slides, and remove all objects, pictures, animation, logos, and effects that do not contribute to your message. Such
slide clutter is distracting and will overload your audiences working memory. By sensibly reducing the volume of information, you are helping
working memory to focus on whats important and to process that information alone.

71.

19. Address the visual and the verbal channels

72.

By talking whilst your audience is reading the text you will overload their verbal channel, create a split attention effect, render yourself
redundant and be guaranteed to lose their attention (they wont be able to listen whilst theyre reading).

73.

The solution is to present to the verbal and visual channel in harmony: limit your text to just your key message, narrate all your content and
use properly targeted visual aids on your slides.

74.

20. Guide your audiences attention

75.

Good practices include colour coding, using navigational slides, detailed headlines, simplifying a complex system or process using visuals, and
not doubling up on text, narration and graphics when information is already quite simple.

76.

21. Avoid animation

77.

Avoid animation if it distracts from the key message (and it usually does).

78.

22. Make the most of your headlines

79.

The slide headline should convey a strong message. Dont just write the subject area, e.g. Sales, instead write what you want your audience
to know, e.g. Our sales are struggling and we need to increase our efforts.

80.

The same goes for your chart titles: explain the significance of the data in the chart title area and you will help your audience to process the
information more easily. Dont leave your audience guessing.

81.

23. Limit the volume of text on a slide

82.

As you should always be trying to limit the volume of text on any slide, making the most of the headline in this way increases the likelihood
that your audience will grasp the main point from each new slide. It will also focus their outlook on the rest of your information, since they
wont be wasting brain resources trying to decipher your point.

83.

24. Plan your graphics scientifically

84.

Visuals should be an important part of your strategic planning, not just something you throw in at the end for decoration. The image should tie
in with your narration and headline to help the audience understand and retain each message.

85.

Visuals should also match your presentation goal, whether to inform or motivate, to sell or persuade, or to teach procedural or problem-solving
skills each of these goals will dictate which type of graphic will work best.

86.

Thanks to Philippa Leguen de Lacroix, Partner, Cornerstone Presentations(www.cornerstonepresentations.co.uk)

87.
88.

25. Adding Excel content to PowerPoint

89.
90.
91.

Max McConnell

Having ctrl-c copied your desired Excel content, *do not* ctrl-v paste it. Instead go to Edit->Paste Special and choose Picture (Enhanced
Metafile). Then the pasted content is simple to scale to the size you want because it is now a picture. If you need to make a small edit, right
click on the picture, say yes (to converting the picture to a drawing) and then re-select the picture; now right-click and choose Group>Ungroup from the context menu.

92.

Now you can edit anything you like. This works well for graphs pasted from Excel too, and once you are familiar with this technique, you will
never need to use PowerPoints in-built table object you can use Excel to produce all your tables. Remember to do all the formatting in Excel
first (hint: Format->Cell->Alignment->Vertical->Center).

93.

This method avoids Microsoft embedding your entire spreadsheet into the presentation important if there are parts of, or content in, the
spreadsheet you dont want to share with the recipient such as costs used to calculate prices.

94.

Thanks to Max McConnell, Divisional Director, Prompt Communications (www.prompt-communications.com)

95.
96.

26. Choose a good color palette and stick to it

97.
98.
99.

Rachel Solomon

Try using no more than five colours and be consistent with how you use your colour (e.g. lines should be the same colour throughout, as
should titles, subtitles, etc. Be wary of gradients. If you dont know how to use the gradient tool, practise! Try to stick to colours or shades in
the same colour family when using gradients. It will look more professional.

100. 27. Less is more

101. Less text paired with powerful images/graphics and a good speaker will make a great presentation. If you have more than six bullets on a slide,
chances are people are not listening to you, theyre reading the slide. Leave the heavy copy for handouts.

102. If the animation doesnt enhance or further the message, or is irrelevant to the slide or graphic, dont use it.
103. 28. Limit the logos
104. You dont have to have your company logo on every slide if you have a well-branded template and corporate colour palette.
105. Thanks to Rachel Solomon Principal, Vespertine Inc. Presentation & Graphic Design(www.vespertineinc.com)
106.
107. 29. Display slides and leave behinds are different

108.
109. Allison Begner Cole
110. Consider how the presentation will be used. Speaker-support presentations should not detract from the speaker, and instead should enhance
and emphasize the point being made. Not everything a speaker says should be onscreen, but should instead help the speaking points to stick
in the audiences memory.

111. This would contrast with a leave-behind printed deck, which should be treated like a print project (more detailed written content with
supporting graphics), or a self-running show, which should be treated more like a website (moving graphics and text, visually leading the
viewer to the desired conclusions).

112. Thanks to Allison Begner Cole (www.sandmedia.com)

113.
114. 30. Careful with use of video and audio
115. The web is brimming with video and audio clips. The temptation to stick some of these into your presentation is huge, but we recommend you
proceed with caution for two reasons.

116.
117. Simon Morton
118. Context the funny clip of the cat falling off a kitchen counter might make you chuckle at your desk but is it really helping you get your
message across? Weve all sat through presentations that were full of amusing clips but left wondering what the point of the whole exercise
was. Only use video and audio if it adds to your message. If its only there to fill a gap or to break the ice, rethink the entire presentation.

119. Linking files anyone who has created a fancy presentation only to find that the video doesnt work on someone elses PC will know that
PowerPoint and videos is often a combination best left to those with nerves of steel. The problem is that PowerPoint only links to video clips so
if you move your PowerPoint, you need to make sure you move the video file at the same time and to the right location. Add to this the issue
of video codecs and you have the potential for a right old mess normally in front of an audience!

120. Good news is that there are a few workarounds available and the new PowerPoint 2010 makes life a lot simpler with embedded video files.
Hurrah!

121. Thanks to Simon Morton , MD, Eyeful Presentations ( www.www.eyefulpresentations.co.uk)

122.
123. 31. Keep it simple

124.
125. Jessica Pyne
126. Think about the key message and make sure everything on screen is complementing that. If you find yourself inserting more than five or six
images on one slide, perhaps it would be better to explain these ideas in your narration instead, and use a simple diagram to represent the
key message.

127. Over-complicated slides are more likely to distract from your point, rather than reinforce it. Stick to regular shapes and subtle animations: a
small silhouette of a person moving simply across the page will look better, and more professional, than a photo dancing across.

128. Thanks to Jessica Pyne, Marketing Communications Assistant, M62 (www.m62.net)

129.
130. 32. Record your presentation

131.
132. Matt Pierce
133. What happens if a presentation is distributed to other audiences following the original delivery?
134. To ensure everyone gets the same experience, whether attending the original presentation or not, presenters can record their entire
presentation (slides, commentary and audience participation) as they give it, using screencasting software, which records all on-screen
computer activity and accompanying voiceover. This recording can then be uploaded to a central server, hosted on a website or downloaded
to a mobile device to be viewed at a later date.

135. Thanks to Matt Pierce, Training Manager at TechSmith (www.techsmith.com)

136.

137. 33. Dont use clip art

138.
139. Lee Jackson
140. Best advice I have is to do the slides last and keep it simple DO NOT use clip art.
141. 34. Beware of the template trap
142. People use templates that often simply dont fit. Plain backgrounds with big pictures and big text is often all we need.
143. I start with black background and go from there.
144. Thanks to Lee Jackson, Speaker, Author & Presentation Coach (www.cuttothechase.co.uk)
145.
146. 35. Use big letters

147.
148. Jean-Luc Lebrun
149. Keep the background white and use big black letters.
150. Let the audience see you, keep the lights on, dont send the audience to sleep with a dark background in a dark room.
151. Thanks to Jean-Luc Lebrun, Writer and Trainer of Scientists (www.scientific-writing.com)
152.
153. 36. Use a strong template

154.
155. Sminesh Babu
156. I believe there are two kinds of presenters: those who have enough vocal capability to get their message across and others who require good
visual presentations.

157. Either way works, but somebody who wants to make a good visual presentation needs a template that can embed animations, videos and text
to keep the audience interested.

158. Thanks to Sminesh Babu, Sr. Manager India Sales at Harbinger Knowledge Products(www.harbingergroup.com)
159.
160. 37. Delete the text Use only visuals

161.

162. Joy Miller

163. One tip I got from Seth Godin suggests that you use only visuals and pictures in your slides. Your engaging narrative, coupled with the
graphics, will keep your message memorable. I tried this and it was a great success. Now, if I can help it, I leave text out or put as a little as
possible. Thats one approach!

164. Thanks to Joy Miller Technical Writer at Microsoft Corporationhttp://www.linkedin.com/pub/joy-miller/4/292/221

165.
166. 38. Turn the screen white

167.
168. David Sadler-Smith
169. A favourite feature of mine is the ability to turn the screen white at any point during the presentation. Simply hit w during your presentation
and the screen will turn white. This gets the attention back on the presenter. Alternatively, you can hit b and the screen will turn black. You
can hit any key to return to the presentation.

170. Thanks to David Sadler-Smith Marketing Manager at Honeywell Trend Controls http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/david-sadler-smith/16/931/4b7
171.