From BusinessWeek, here’s an article with 10 tips for delivering effective presentations. this felt like a timely article, as students are starting to deliver presentations in their courses around this time of year.
The author uses Steve Jobs and his product announcements as an example, but many of these tips will work well for any presentation.
My favorite points on the list are:
1) Set the theme. Let the audience know what they will learn from the talk.
4) Use meaningful numbers. Discuss ratios, percentages and results in ways that the audience can understand. Never assume that the audience will do the analysis themselves. I sometimes hear graduate students claim that a company is doing well because it is earning a profit. My follow-up questions focus on their evidence for that claim.
Don’t sweat the small stuff. Product announcements sometimes become awkward when the technology malfunctions. Avoid fancy transitions and tools that take extra preparation, support or time to use.
10) Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. A presentation is a performance. Most of the audience members have delivered presentations themselves, but they won’t cut the presenter much slack. The best content and slides cannot save a boring or poorly delivered presentation.
