Presentation Skills.pptx
- 2. INTRODUCTION When making a presentation, the most important thing is to know your material. If you do not know everything about what you are talking about, it is not likely that the audience will understand you. Keep your audience focused and interested. Making effective presentations takes practice, but with a few tips up your sleeve, you are ready to take on the challenge.
- 3. 1. USE KEY PHRASES ABOUT YOUR TOPIC Use key phrases and include only essential information. Choose only the top three or four points about your topic and make them consistently throughout the delivery. Simplify and limit the number of words on each screen. Try not to use more than three bullets per slide.
- 4. 2. SLIDE LAYOUT IS IMPORTANT Make your slides easy to follow. Put the title at the top of the slide where your audience expects to find it. Phrases should read left to right and top to bottom. Keep important information near the top of the slide. Often the bottom portions of slides.
- 5. 3. AVOID FANCY FONTS Choose a font that is simple and easy to read such as Arial, Times New Roman or Verdana. Avoid script type fonts as they are hard to read on screen. Use, at most, two different fonts – perhaps one for headings and another for content. Keep all fonts large enough (at least 24 pt and preferably 30 pt) so that people at the back of the room will be able to easily read what is on the screen.
- 6. 4. USE CONTRASTING COLORS FOR TEXT AND BACKGROUND Dark text on a light background is best, but avoid white backgrounds -- tone it down by using beige or another light color that will be easy on the eyes. Dark backgrounds are effective to show off company colors or if you just want to dazzle the crowd. In that case, be sure to make text a light color for easy reading. Patterned or textured backgrounds can reduce readability of text. Keep your color scheme consistent throughout your presentation.
- 7. 5. LIMIT THE NUMBER OF SLIDES Keeping the number of slides to a minimum, ensures that the presentation will not become too long and drawn out. It also avoids the problem of continually changing slides during the presentation that can be a distraction to your audience. On average, one slide per minute is about right.
- 8. 6. USE PHOTOS, CHARTS AND GRAPHS You can use charts, photos or graphs in order to beautify your presentation.
- 9. 7. AVOID EXCESSIVE USE OF SLIDE TRANSITIONS AND ANIMATIONS Keep animations consistent in the presentation and apply the same transition throughout the presentation.
- 10. 8. DON’T MEMORIZE: Every presentation needs two major components -- life and energy. Recite from memory and your presentation will be sadly lacking both of these factors.
- 11. 9. REHEARSE YOUR PRESENTATION: Rehearse your presentation out loud, accompanied by the slide show. Have the person sit at the back of the room so you can practice speaking loudly and clearly. Ask your listener for honest feedback about your presentation skills. Make changes where necessary and run through the whole show again. Keep repeating until you feel comfortable with the process.
- 12. 10. DO NOT SPEAK TO YOUR SLIDES: Many presenters watch their presentation rather than their audience. You made the slides, so you already know what is on them. Turn to your audience and make eye contact with them. It will make it easier for them to hear what you are saying, and they will find your presentation much more interesting.
- 13. 11. HAVE A BACKUP PLAN. What if your projector dies? Or the computer crashes? Or the CD drive doesn’t work? So, have a printed copy of your notes with you, carry a backup of your presentation on a USB flash drive or email yourself a copy, or better yet, do both.