Effective Presentation Techniques

Effective Presentation Techniques – The Top 10

We have condensed all of the presentation techniques down to the most effective. Here are the Top 10 effective presentation techniques.

1. Use visual aids

Using pictures in your presentations instead of words can double the chances of meeting your objectives.

2. Keep it short and sweet

There is an old adage that said – “No one ever complained of a presentation being too short.” Nothing kills a presentation more than going on too long.

There are some college professors who will penalise a short presentation (most lecturers see no problem in droning on) , but for most people a shorter presentation is better. Keep your presentation to under 22 minutes if you can.

3. Use the rule of three

A simple technique is that people tend to only remember three things. Work out what the three messages that you want your audience to take away and structure your presentation around them. Use a maximum of three points on a slide.

4. Rehearse

Practice makes for perfect performance. Many experts say that rehearsal is the biggest single thing that you can do to improve your performance. Perform your presentation out loud at least four times. One of these should be in front of a real scary audience. Family, friends or colleagues. Even the dog is better than nothing.

5. Tell stories

All presentations are a type of theatre. Tell stories and anecdotes to help illustrate points. It all helps to make your presentation more effective and memorable.

6. Lose the bullet points – don’t put your speaker notes up on the screen

Bullet points are the kiss of death for most presentations. Most people use bullet points as a form of speaker notes. To make your presentation more effective put your speaker notes in your notes and not up on the screen.

7. Video yourself

Set up a video camera and video yourself presenting. You will see all sorts of mistakes that you are making, from how you are standing, if you are jangling keys, to how well your presentation is structured.

8. Know what slide is coming next

You should always know when presenting which slide is coming up next. It sounds very powerful when you say “On the next slide [Click] you will see…”, rather than than a period of confusion when the next slide appears.

9. Have a back-up plan

Murphy’s law normally applies during a presentation. Technology not working, power cuts, projector blowing a bulb, spilling coffee on your front, not enough power leads, no loudspeakers, presentation displays strangely on the laptop – all of these are things that have happened in presentations that I have given.

Have a back-up plan. Take with you the following items – a printed out set of slides – (you can hold these up to the audience if you need to), a CD or data stick of your presentation, a laptop with your slides on it. Just in case it goes wrong.

Guess what? When you have back-ups – you seldom need to use them.

10. Check out the presentation room

Arrive early and check out the presentation room. If you can make sure that you see your slides loaded onto the PC and working on the screen. Work out where you will need to stand.

Do you agree or disagree with any of these effective presentation techniques? Have you have any experiences like this? Add it in to the comments box below.

30 August 2007

Filed under Presentations Theme Single (new)

Comments on: Effective Presentation Techniques – The Top 10

thanxxx alott for the informationn
they r very usful…

Posted by maryam — 14 September 2007 @ 4:59 pm

They are truly powerful which everyone should apply to make his/her presentation a complete success.

Posted by Mona — 19 September 2007 @ 4:45 pm

Thank you! Really interesting and important material.

Posted by Anonymous — 29 October 2007 @ 9:47 pm

thank you for the top 10 effective presentation techniques

Posted by waqas — 3 December 2007 @ 9:11 pm

Simple yet very powerful

Posted by Bopanna S U — 19 December 2007 @ 9:04 am

One thing to add to point 6
Indeed, speaker notes should not be on the slides. Nothing is more boring when sombebody reads exactly what is on the slides, I’d better take a copy home and read it in quietness then.

Posted by Benjamin Kietzmann — 31 March 2008 @ 5:06 am

well….i thought i wouldn’t be lucky but im just da luckiest person in the world who know these different presentation techniques…. but well done i will use these tips while preparing my presentation for accounting…
thank you …
Nice day…

Posted by Simoa Vitale — 16 April 2008 @ 12:16 am

thts really an amazing to have these presentation techniques.i’ll do my best to follow it while delivering my presentation.

Posted by Uzma — 29 July 2008 @ 3:54 am

i shall teach these techniques to my students when insha Allah i will be an instructor of spoken English.

Posted by Uzma — 29 July 2008 @ 4:37 am

Great!
Anything on stage fright?

Posted by Anonymous — 15 August 2008 @ 7:19 am

A speaker should keep an eye contact with all the people in the room while giving the presentation .

Rest the tips are useful .Thank u

Posted by Pushpita Dhar — 28 August 2008 @ 7:17 am

i think all the technique are excellent

Posted by abhijeet — 31 August 2008 @ 9:12 pm

Its really helpful.

Thanks & Regards
Shiva.

Posted by Shivakumar — 10 September 2008 @ 8:20 am

this is corny

Posted by ur mom — 25 September 2008 @ 7:26 pm

very interesting for me, when you prepare a presentation

Posted by mpz — 27 October 2008 @ 6:52 pm

According to me you have missed the most vital thing “Know your audience”

Posted by Vishy — 31 October 2008 @ 11:32 am

Nothing has been said about the element of interaction. It’s clear that a presentation is being made, but, if the audience is engaged, there might be greater attention to the entire presentation.

This is just my take, views may vary.

Posted by Lesha — 3 November 2008 @ 5:35 pm

I am a facilitator in community forestry.these points are powerful materials. However I would like if you can explain more about the number 6. What to use instead of bullets. I have in my mind that slides are the guide of my presentation so I have to use bullets?.
On the other side, could you please send me a short presentation prepared with these techiniques and observe the application. at least, one slide I can to observe how is a slide well prepared.

Thanks a million from Colombia

Posted by Fernando Ortiz — 5 November 2008 @ 6:12 pm

Thank for this 10 points!

Posted by Viviana — 12 November 2008 @ 9:33 pm

I have been training and I feel these are the 10 most important points as well

Posted by Raji — 20 November 2008 @ 1:18 pm

I find these techniques quite useful, I have to do a presentation on Vending Machines to my head teacher – and you made very strong and strategic points. I’m only in Year 7…

Posted by Hamz — 9 December 2008 @ 7:21 pm

This is highly informative and without doubt, very effective

Posted by SUNDAY ADEBOWALE — 5 January 2009 @ 5:21 pm

very good and effective…use this techniques to have a successful presention

Posted by Akshay Singh (FIJI) — 14 January 2009 @ 10:49 pm

I was just making a presentation & I have come to know that my presentation is simply boring & killing.
Any way, very effective & informative points.

Posted by Adnan — 7 February 2009 @ 12:00 pm

Life changing, thank you.

Posted by Group 6F — 27 February 2009 @ 1:47 pm

I am going to be facilitating a parenting course in a few weeks and loved the idea of of the rule of three to present my message.

Posted by Ruby — 6 March 2009 @ 8:00 pm

tanks fot the info is so important to my life

Posted by bati — 23 March 2009 @ 7:41 pm

thankx 2 you for providing me such an informative material. . .

but u forget to mention about dressing of a presenter and can u plzzzzzzzzzzz send me a slide which is one of d perfect one’s. . .

Posted by shamma — 24 March 2009 @ 9:41 am

thanks alot………
you khnow i will try to do all these tips
in my presentations….

Posted by mohmd belel — 2 April 2009 @ 9:53 am

[...] a site which has the top ten effective presentation techniques and they make sense to [...]

Posted by Intuitech -NGOs & Tech — 4 April 2009 @ 1:48 am

Like mpz I also think there should be a section/point on knowing your audience.

Roughly (and shortly) speaking there are three styles of learning that each might influence an otherwise excellent presentation: Visual, auditory and sensitive.

The visual learners prefer imagery (Seeing is believing) and requires few words to every slide. Use images, diagrams, tables and such.

The auditory prefers verbal explanations and responses. Encourage questions during the presentation and be prepared to go outside the presentation if it is appropriate. Watch your tone, pitch and volume of voice. Donâ€™t drone

The sensitive learners needs to be connected to you. Use brief statements and demonstrations immediately followed by Q&A. Donâ€™t focus on logic and external elements. Share personal values and experiences. Show empathy and understanding.

Just a short remark

Posted by ArchMarV — 6 April 2009 @ 10:10 am

Thanks a lot. Its really very helpful for update and improving my life.

Posted by Priyatosh Gupta — 10 April 2009 @ 8:38 am

[...] presentation techniques We have condensed all of the presentation techniques down to the most effective. Here are the Top 10 effective presentation techniques. [...]

Posted by presentation techniques « Lynn’s Blog — 11 May 2009 @ 9:13 am

[...] C. Good advices from this link and my comments [...]

Posted by Study “Presentation” « Librarians in Troubles — 11 May 2009 @ 9:45 am

these are realy good tips for presentation.i think there should be some more easy tips which can make our presentation more effective.

Posted by noor-ul-ain — 16 May 2009 @ 7:48 pm

It is really nice and helpful

Posted by Shoaib — 28 May 2009 @ 4:36 am

Thank you, it was really helpful, I used to put bullets in my slides, now not anymore, thanks again!

Posted by claudia — 5 June 2009 @ 9:27 pm

thank u.. that’s really powerful

Posted by nesss — 6 June 2009 @ 12:25 am

Guess this is really useful..as we say nothing is perfect but this can go to a great extent forming base, helping individual to build further on these lines!!

Posted by Ajit Garve — 21 June 2009 @ 6:18 pm

i hope my presentation would go well

Posted by aesha — 26 June 2009 @ 2:58 pm

Thanks a lot, really helpful!

Posted by Osas — 22 July 2009 @ 10:20 am

Very good points the 10 ones; also
Know the subject, know your audience, be confident when you present your concise presentation which might be effective if you add spice to it (related stories / jockes…) and wake up calls (sudden questions at randomly picked up person from the audience), and for better memorisation, make your objectives clear at beggining and summarise the essential points at the end(using primacy and recency effects at work)… I mostly liked the Murphy’s law, the worst sure happens to the one who does not have a back up plan. Thanks a million…
From Ethiopia

Posted by Anonymous — 2 September 2009 @ 1:09 pm

Brilliant trigger points. How can I overcome shyness in students who have the Knowledge but can’t present? It is so frustrating.

Posted by Bobby — 5 September 2009 @ 8:32 am

thanks to you, i won my pitch for the new coca cola commercials they are releasing over here in the states! i make that about $4.5 million U.S i owe you for these tips:)!

Posted by joe — 25 September 2009 @ 12:26 pm

Congratulations for your tips on effective teaching presentation!
However , how can a teacher in a remote area of Burundi or Malawi get access to some of the materials you have earlier mentioned such as CD, Laptop,… Fine !
May you please suggest what may replace those HITechs that are not available to most of Third World School?
May God bless you!
Nayingunge from Burundi.

Posted by Anonymous — 27 September 2009 @ 6:45 pm

thank you, i believe that with practice i will get better.

Posted by Mugisha Jonathan — 12 October 2009 @ 8:57 am

thanks to providing perfect informatiom about presentation techniques ,they are really so usefull while preparing any kind of ppt or presentation,its everything

Posted by brijkishor bhopal — 24 October 2009 @ 7:58 pm

Experience…
Great

Posted by Levon — 11 November 2009 @ 10:12 pm

Very nice Techniq
Great Jobs

Posted by Imam Tech — 25 November 2009 @ 1:42 pm

very well instructions

Posted by sagar gite — 7 February 2010 @ 2:59 pm

thanks ..tomorrow is my presentation I’ll apply all the points.IT REALLY BOOST ME UP!!!!!!
thanks again

Posted by sumina — 7 March 2010 @ 6:27 pm