Have you ever had to stand in front of a group of people and tell them something? How did it go? Have you ever watched a bad presentation? What was wrong with it?

A Bad presentation usually contains some (if not all) of the following:

• The speaker fails to make ‘contact’ with the audience
• They turn their back on the audience, pace about or sway on the spot
• They bury their face in a script
• They can’t be heard
• The speaker reads the slides out in a droning voice
• They introduce material that isn’t relevant
• They confuse themselves and their audience by losing the ‘thread’
• Technical problems
• Muddled slides
• Too many words in tiny fonts and irrelevant images
• “Blagging” it, hoping charm or friends in the audience is enough
• Unable to answer questions because they know what they are talking about and have not properly prepared

A Good presentation avoids these problems by including the following:

• Speaker makes good eye contact and has positive ‘open’ body language
• Delivered with ‘pace’ (not speed)
• Has a clear structure
• Stays focussed on the topic given
• Understands the topic they are speaking about
• Gives a clear message
• Clear well thought-through content
• Slides carefully chosen and relevant
• Slides not cluttered or visually confusing
• Speaker can be heard, their voice is controlled
• They have a ‘script’ which does not just repeat the words on the screen
• Gives well thought through answers to questions

Remember: the most important part of the presentation is you! You will be nervous, but by controlling your voice, breathing and body language you can convince everyone that you are cool, confident and actually enjoying the experience.

Remember: work smarter, not harder.

For 1:1 support with any of these issues contact Academic Futures