Best Practices in Presentation Design and Delivery

Editor's Notes

• #3: The importance of presentation design is key to the practice of delivering a good presentation.
• #4: Slides should contain a lot of negative space, and should not be busy with text1,3
• #5: Limit textNo more than four to five words per slideDon’t go crazy with transitions. Either keep it simple, or don’t have any at all. They distract the audience from yourself and what you’re saying.1,2
• #6: Use high quality picturesDon’t want pixelated and stretched photosKeep a them don’t have the slides all over the place. Simple sides keep it nice and flow well together as they aren’t busy.
• #7: Keep track of slides and use the slide organizer to keep it flowing well. Move the slides around if it makes more sense somewhere else. Use nice and simple fonts that aren’t crazy, and colors that match and correspond to the backgrounds nicely.
• #8: Presentation Delivery is the most important part! Here are some tips and skills to have a great presentation!
• #9: -Although it may be appropriate to read short passages avoid reading from a script for the majority of your presentation.-Vary the tone, pitch and volume of your voice to add emphasis and maintain the audience’s interest.  Aim to speak loudly and clearly while facing your audience.  Avoid talking in a monotone voice or turning your back to the audience.5, 4
• #10: Make eye contact with your audience. Do not stare at your feet, or the podium and avoid looking directly at any one person for more than a few seconds, gain eye contact with the individual members of the audience.5
• #11: Rehearse your talk and check your timings. Always aim to finish you talk in time remembering to allow time for questions if appropriate.5