Tips for making presentations

Know your audience and its expectations. Keep the presentation focused on the objectives.

Position yourself (and the lap top) to the side of the screen where you feel most comfortable. As you work the mouse or cursor button make sure you continue to face the audience and don't turn towards the screen.

When setting up, make sure that you are positioned far enough to one side so that people sitting on your side have a clear view past you.

Talk to the audience – not the screen. Make eye contact frequently; it keeps audience attention on you and the presentation.

The information on the lap top screen is being projected on to the screen. Trust it!  When you are setting up and the image is not on the projector screen – press Fn-F5 to throw the image on to the screen. 

Speak about the subject matter; do not read out what is on the screen. Assume the audience can read the screen for themselves. It is a good idea to check if there are members of the audience with a hearing or vision disability and what special provisions have been made for them.

Whether seated or standing, you should be positioned so that you can see the laptop screen without obviously glancing at it. Rely on your peripheral vision. It allows you to create a smoother and often faster transition. 

Move quickly from slide to slide. Delays or slow transitions are distracting to the audience.

Use your final comments on a slide to manage the transition to the next slide. It smoothes the process and allows you to maintain the flow of your presentation.

Prepare and rehearse. It makes a big difference.  Be familiar with the powerpoint content and what it means - especially if someone else has prepared the presentation for you.

Arrive early and check everything is working and all the leads are firmly plugged in. Cautious people bring an OHP equivalent of the presentation as a back-up, but it’s no use if you don’t have an OHP projector! Similarly, bringing a back-up disk or removable storage device in case one doesn’t work can make people feel comfortable.

If you have your presentation on a disk, load it onto the desktop.  It will play much better. 

Be prepared for complete equipment failure - if you have print-outs for the audience, you can talk to those - or you may have to speak to your own notes.  Powerpoint should supplement your presentation - not be the core component.

Use planned movements and gestures to make your presentation more dynamic and interesting. Less is often more, so don’t overdo it. (That goes for the words on your slides too!)

PowerPoint notes pages are useful for rehearsal purposes or for including a very large and bold font reminder. They are best used when you are working from a lectern with a remote.

It can be helpful to use laser pointers or your hand to highlight something on the screen. Laser pointers work well, but learn to use them without reaching your arm out to point. Like a TV remote, they work over a long distance and it’s the light on the screen you want the audience to follow, not your arm.

The overhead projector (OHP) is still a useful tool and, in the absence of a data projector, you may have to convert your PowerPoint slides to OHP transparencies. Most of the tips from the PowerPoint section above still apply.

Good OHP presentations generally use fewer transparencies than PowerPoint. The process of changing transparencies is inevitably slower and, if you are converting PowerPoint to an OHP presentation, you may need to reduce the number of transparencies.

When setting up the OHP, ensure the lens, mirror and platform are clean. Also check that your transparencies are clearly visible from the back row. Colour OHP transparencies are not always clear, especially when converted from PowerPoint.

Changing transparencies can be distracting. Have your slides organised in a pile to one side of the projector so that your dominant hand can manage the changeover. At the venue, practise replacing transparencies. You may need an additional table.

If possible, get used to placing the transparency you have removed upside down on a pile. This ensures they remain in the correct order for the next use and makes it easier to recover a transparency if someone has a question.

When you prepare the transparencies, make sure the pages are numbered in bold. You only have to drop the pile of transparencies once to experience the confusion of transparencies out of order.

If your transparencies have been prepared with sheets of tissue paper between each, discard the paper before you start.

If you are asked a question during the presentation or are speaking on another issue, switch off the OHP light. The light on the screen tends to attract peoples vision away from you. Many good OHP presenters make extensive use of the ‘light on-light off’ tactic to maintain audience attention. It needs practice and switching the OHP light on and off should be done discreetly.

Use a pen or pencil as a pointer on the transparency platform itself. It will be in focus, be more distinct and free you up to present one step or so away from the OHP. Laser pointers do not always work as well with OHP lighting.

Older OHPs often have noisy fans and old bulbs. If you are compelled to use such a projector, try to ensure that the fan noise does not drown you out or irritate the audience. Also, before you start, check beneath the projector platform to see if a spare bulb has been taped inside.