Whether you are a student preparing for yet another project presentation, or a working professional getting ready to present the next milestone, your ability to present to the target audience is a crucial skill.
Presenting with flair at the right moment can skyrocket your career, if you manage to impress the right decision-maker.
A presentation flop can cost you a promotion or an opportunity to get on a new promising project.
For students, presenting the results of their research is often a significant part of their overall mark, and presenting as a team poses additional challenges. How do you succeed?
Prepare a quality product (your slides)
- Prepare the right content for the right audience: what do they need to hear?
- Stay at the level of detail required for the purpose and the audience (high-level for an executive sponsor of the project, detailed for a technical team, and highlighting your thinking process when presenting a student project to a professor).
- Start with a title slide, objectives and agenda, and end with a clear message or conclusion.
- Make the sequence of slides logical, and start as close to the end as possible (detailed background can go in the appendix).
- Know how much time you are given to present and expect 20% less time. If you finish earlier, there will be more time for discussion and questions.
- Give your presentation a good clear professional name (avoid version numbers, cryptic acronyms and any mentions of “draft”)
- Always cite your sources.
To make a good impression
- Talk to your audience, look at the audience frequently
- Make points relevant to your audience
- Do not read from slides, pieces of paper or your phones – use slides as keynotes
- Keep slides readable: larger fonts, horizontal text, good contrast between background and text
- Keep animations subtle so that they do not distract from the content. It’s easy to get carried away and overdo it.
- Always test your deck in presentation mode
When presenting as a team
- Present your team members when you begin.
- Refer to everyone by their names when passing the presentation to the next person.
- Agree in advance on who is presenting what and who is driving the presentation.
- Listen and pay attention when your team members are presenting: you might have to build on what they said when it’s your turn.
- Never talk or look negative (laughing or rolling your eyes) while your team members are presenting, even if they are not doing a good job.
- If you are the first to present, be mindful of those going last – do not talk for too long and don’t hog the limelight.
- Do not stand in front of other people, move around if necessary to give everyone space and appear cohesive.
To complete presentation within allotted time:
- Practice delivery (a dry run is especially key for a successful team presentation).
- Keep the introduction brief. When presenting as a team, think about the person who has to go last.
- Focus on key slides and key messages.
- Remember that you do not have to read everything on the slide, or explain every arrow on a diagram. Focus on a few key points and move on.
- Agree on a “please move on” signal. If presenting alone, keep your eye on the clock or ask someone to give you a time check. Some remote clickers can give you a vibration warning.
To be a good audience
- Listen with respect, do not talk while others are presenting.
- Don’t go in and out or talk on the phone during presentations.
- Listen carefully and be prepared to ask questions or share feedback.
- Stay until the end even if the part you were interested in is done. You may learn something new.
Little things matter
- When comparing something e.g. current state to the future state, compare “apples to apples”: specific aspects of business (current channels and future channels) or similar metrics (e.g. current and future customer retention).
- When you want to mention numbers – include them on the slides (it’s OK to cut down on text and replace it with numbers and statistics – you can explain the numbers when presenting).
- Avoid vertical and angular text.
- Point to relevant parts of the slide using a laser pointer or the PowerPoint “pointer” feature
- Refer to this blog post for more tips.
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