MYTHS AND TRUTHS IN

GIVING A GOOD (GREAT?)

PRESENTATION

Kim Oates MD DSc MHP FRACP

Clinical Excellence Commission
Sydney, Australia
Understand your audience
• Who are they?
• Why are they there?
• What is it they need to know?
• What’s in it for them?
Understand your audience
Learn something about them in
advance

Ask them about themselves at the

start (if appropriate)
Myths
• One slide per minute
• Not all experts are good
presenters
• Expert speakers speak well “off
the cuff”
Never forget:

It’s not about you.

It’s about them
Delivery
1. Start with a bang
Starting with a bang
Grab their attention at the start
Suggestions?

Make your message memorable

Delivery
1.Start with a bang

2. Show passion
How?
Delivery
1. Start with a bang
2. Show passion

3. Use energy
How?
Delivery
1. Start with a bang
2.Show passion
3. Use energy

4.Tell stories
Telling stories

Benefits?

Traps?
Why do stories work?

When might stories not

work?
Telling stories, using videos
• The story/video should illustrate the message you
want to give
• It mustn't be so good that the message is
forgotten!
Delivery
1. Start with a bang
2. Show passion
3.Use energy
4.Tell stories
5. Engage the audience
How?
Delivery
1. Start with a bang
2. Show passion
3. Use energy
4. Tell stories
5.Engage the audience
6.Involve the audience
How?
Other tips for delivery
• Use rhythm
• Use pauses
• Use appropriate body language (be a
lighthouse)
• People learn best in 20 minute chunks
(or less)
The solution?
Keep it simple
Structure the Message
• Avoid the Mystery Tour
• Avoid the Maze
• Don’t get it upside down
• Fit within your time allocation
Structure the Message

a beginning

a middle

an end
Structure the Message
Avoid
a beginning

a muddle

an end
Things to avoid
• Fidgeting
• Distracting clothes
• Monotone
• Taking refuge
behind the rostrum
Easy to say, but meaningless
“Ummm…, Ahhh”
“Going forward”
“At the end of the day”
“In this day and age”
Jargon in all forms

We all have our favourite phrases, worth

asking ourselves “Do they add value?”
Common errors
• Slides with too much information
• Apologising for the slide
• Flipping back to an earlier slide
(the solution?)
• Talking to the screen and not to
the audience
Errors that still trip
experienced presenters
• Not having a spare copy of your
presentation
• Embedding a video in the presentation
without being certain it will work
• Not checking out the room in advance
• Saying you really need more time
PowerPoint

• What are the benefits?

• What are the hazards?

PowerPoint

• Avoid too much data

PowerPoint
• Avoid too much data

• The talk should be able to be

given WITHOUT PowerPoint. It
follows that slide preparation
comes last
 PowerPoint
• Avoid too much data
• The talk should be able to be given
WITHOUT PowerPoint. It follows that the
slide preparation comes last
• Fancy PowerPoint can be a problem.
Is your presentation about impressing
people with your audio-visual skills or
is it about helping them learn and
understand?
PowerPoint

If they can’t read the slide easily it

is worthless
 PowerPoint

• If they can’t read the slide easily

it is worthless.
• And a poor background can make
it worse
PowerPoint

• When should you create your

slides?
PowerPoint hazards
• May not work Solution?
• Distracting Solution?
• Embedded video won’t play
Solution?
• You bring the wrong USB
Solution?
• Projector light blinds you
Solution?
Finishing
Crash landing
Finishing
Circling
Finishing
Smooth landing
Finishing
• Sum up concisely
• Emphasise your main points
• Questions:
 Anticipate questions
 Be honest if you don’t know
Rehearse
Rehearse standing
AND
Rehearse out loud
AND
Rehearse with your slides
AND
Rehearse in front of someone
AND
Rehearse again and again
This is serious: Rehearse
Rehearse standing
AND
Rehearse out loud
AND
Rehearse with your slides
AND
Rehearse in front of someone
AND
Rehearse again and again
Thanks

To Evette Buono, CEC, colleague and co-

conspirator

To Emma Ledden for some great insights from

“The Presentation Book” (Pearson publishing,
Harlow, UK 2013)

To Susan Weinschenk for valuable advice in

“100 things every presenter needs to know
about people” (New Riders, Berkeley, 2012)
Questions and comments?