pocket guide to delivering effective presentations

Effective PresentationsA Guide

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The Four Key Elements

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3

4

Understanding your audience

Preparing your content

Delivering content

Controlling the environment

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1. Understanding your audience

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Did you know…

The average attention span is only 20 minutes

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What do they do?What are their roles?What are their preferences?

What do they need to learn?What do they already know?

What would a generic profile of them look like?

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What questions might your audience want to ask?

Prepare for tricky questions…

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Do you use any technical jargon that might be difficult for the audience to understand?

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What will leave your audience wanting more?

How will you capture attention?

2. Preparing Your Content

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Often, it helps to draft on a piece of paper what you want each slide to look like.Don’t let a computer stifle your creativity!

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Use splashes of colour

that stand out!

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WhiteSpaceCanAppear Calming And Clean

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ArialGill Sans MTTahoma

Sans serif fonts are the most readable…

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In your text, use three-part sentence structures to increase the impact of the statement…

Veni vidi vici

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Always distinguish the

important

parts of your slides.

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Less is often more. Presentations will oftenbe most effective when there are amaximum of six lines of text and

a maximum of seven words per line.More than one paragraph decreases attention and

can cause the audience to read on.

3. Delivering confidently

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Take speaker notes. Even if you don’t use them you will feel more confidentknowing they are there.

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Pay attention to what you’re going to wear. You may have hundreds of eyes on you. Look the part as well as sounding the part!

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Modulate your voice – speak as if to a friend rather than an audience.

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Summarise key points at the end of the presentation. It will reinforce your messages.

4. Controlling the Environment

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Practice in the same environment, or a similar environment, to which you will be presenting in

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Keep the lights on!

Don’t shy away, be bold, confident and memorable.

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Have a back up plan in case of any technical problems…

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1.Understanding your audience2.Preparing your content3.Delivering confidently4.Controlling the environment

Summary