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Written by Brent Lacey on July 5, 2020 . Posted in Early Career and Young Professionals , Practice Management .

17 “Do’s” and “Don’ts” for Giving a Great Presentation

Public speaking is the #1 fear for a huge percentage of people .  It’s above the fear of dying for many people.  How can you think about giving a great presentation when you’re worried about even giving a basic presentation?

I’ve been doing public speaking events for over a decade, but it definitely wasn’t an easy journey.  It’s hard to get comfortable talking in front of groups of 10 people, let alone a hundred or a thousand.  Still, this is a skill that you can learn and even master with some study and practice.

Let’s look at some major “do’s” and “don’ts” for creating a great presentation.

11 “Do’s” for Giving a Great Presentation

1. believe that giving a great presentation is a learnable skill..

Giving a good presentation is a learnable skill.   Even true introverts can give excellent presentations.   In fact, introverted people actually tend to plan better presentations though they may be more afraid to give them.  Extroverts are more likely to “wing it” but are more naturally comfortable being on a stage.

Both approaches have value, but both have their pitfalls.  Learning to give a great speech isn’t like putting a hammer to a nail.  It’s an organic process, and it takes time to get good at it.  But, through practice and repetition, you can be an amazing presenter !

2. Prepare for the presentation!

It takes a tremendous amount of work to make something appear effortless.  My general rule of thumb is to allocate 45-60 minutes of preparation time for every 5 minutes of speaking time .  So, for an hour-long presentation, I may prepare 10-12 hours ahead of time.

One important question is whether script the entire speech.  It depends on what you’re speaking about, but it’s generally advisable to not script 100% of your remarks.  It’s good to rehearse but not “sound rehearsed.”  Outline the presentation, make notes of any stories you want to tell and major points to drive home.  But, it’s not critical that you script every single word.

You can also prepare by having great-looking slides that will impress your audience.  That will give you more confidence going into the presentation.

3. When you’re with your peers, it’s ok to “speak your geek.”

Know your audience!  If you’re speaking to a group of colleagues, you don’t need to “dumb things down.”  It’s good to speak in layman’s terms with patients and audiences who are unfamiliar with your work.  However, with peers, feel free to use technical jargon that’s widely understood.

4. Use stories to transform your communication.

Listeners will only remember data 5% of the time, but they’ll remember stories 60% of the time .  That’s because stories are how we naturally communuicate !  Our brains are wired to think that way.

Listen to the podcast episode with Nancy Duarte to learn the formula for creating the most memorable story.  

Every presentation is more memorable with stories.  In fact, stories may be the only parts of your presentation that anyone remembers.  One thing you can do is build a “story library” for yourself.  Basically, that’s a collection of 10-20 stories that are memorable/impactful to you that you can pull out and use in a variety of different presentations when the need arises.

5. Develop a good “pre-talk ritual.”

Immediately prior to your presentation, what are you doing to get yourself ready to go up on stage?  Some people like to “pump themselves up,” and others prefer to “calm themselves down.”  I’m more of a calm-yourself-down kind of presenter.

If I’m presenting at a conference, for example, I like to sit in on the presentation right before mine and just listen.  I shut my brain off and don’t think about my presentation at all.  It’s helpful for me to be calm and just relax.  Otherwise, I find that I “get in my head” too much and I start getting anxious.

I know other people that prefer to listen to some Rocky music and box an imaginary punching bag.  Whatever your needs, pick a pre-talk ritual that helps you get in the right frame of mind so you can go out on that stage and crush it!

6. Follow the structure of a great presentation as outlined in Nancy Duarte’s podcast episode.

Jump to 19:52 to hear Nancy eloquently express the formula of a great presentation.  This is backed by thousands of analyses from the greatest speeches in history.

7. Use repetition, familiar phrases, imagery, and metaphors to help transport the audience.

If you’ve ever listened to Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, you’ll hear him use a lot of references that would have been familiar to his audience.  These references include Scriptures, hymns, and cultural references.

He also used repetition to great effect.  The phrase “I have a dream” appears 8 times in his speech.  That repetition made the speech more memorable and helped transport the audience to a new plane of comprehension.

8. Have the right level of emotional appeal to fit your audience.

Passion and emotion are good, but it needs to fit the “mood” of the audience to some degree.  You’re probably not going to do well giving a eulogy if you’re yelling and pumping people up like it’s halftime at the Super Bowl.

Emotional appeals are good and can help audience members  feel  the weight of your words in a more high-impact way.  Just make sure to “read the room” as you consider how to bring emotion into the presentation.  Sitting in the presentation before yours can be a great way to gauge how the people in the room are feeling.

9. Use your presentation to translate to real growth in your business.

If you’re doing public speaking, what’s the point?  That is, what value does the speaking engagement bring to your business?  If you’re just in it to make money or get some experience, that’s fine as far as that goes.  But, a speaking engagement could be more valuable in propelling your business growth forward.

Are you going to a conference ?  You can network with other presenters and look for opportunities to collaborate.  You could meet the attendees and perhaps earn some new clients.

Speeches can also help establish you as a thought leader.  If your speech is being recorded, a great presentation can even be an opportunity for free promotion.

Whatever your plan, be intentional!  If you get invited to speak at an event, take that opportunity and use it for real business growth!

10. Use a speaking coach.

I haven’t used a speaking coach before, but I’ve definitely been considering it since my interview with Nancy Duarte .  Even the most seasoned veterans can benefit from coaching.

A good speaking coach can show you how to change your inflection, insert pauses and places to emphasize your points, and help you craft the structure of your speech.  You might not be able to afford one when you’re first starting out, but it’s worth considering if you’re going to be doing public speaking on a regular basis.

11. Use data to support your presentation.

Data are important to support the validity and authority of your talk, but you’ve got to weave it effectively into the story structure.  Don’t just spout random bits of data with no context.  Offer the data as supporting evidence within your story narrative.

6 “Don’ts” for Giving a Great Presentation

1. don’t be the hero in your story..

Always be the guide in your story !  The  audience is the hero.  You don’t want to be Luke Skywalker!   You want to be Yoda!!  The hero is the lead character in the story.  If you make yourself the hero, the audience who already thinks of themselves as the hero sees you as competition in the story.

If you play the guide instead, the audience looks to you to help them solve their problems.  Always be the guide, not the hero!!

2. Don’t be afraid to speak “off the cuff” occasionally.

I don’t generally advise “winging it,” but sometimes a little extemporaneous speaking is called for.  This is where the “story library” idea can come in handy.  You may be able to tell the same story in a variety of settings and emphasize different aspects of the story each time.  This strategy can give the feel of spontaneity but with the confidence of you generally knowing what you’re going to say.

3. Don’t create slides in a “linear fashion.”

When you’re creating a slide deck, don’t just do it in a linear fashion (e.g. slide 1, slide 2, etc).   Start with the “guiding light” or main central point, and then every slide serves to drive home that central point.  You should be constantly driving your audience towards that central point.  All slides support that central point because it may be the only point your audience remembers.

4. Don’t read directly off the powerpoint slides.

I have gotten up and left in the middle of lectures when the lecturer was reading directly off the slides.  It’s so boring!  I can read faster than they talk.  They aren’t saying anything new by the time I’m finished reading, so I’m ready to move on to the next thing.

Powerpoint slides are fine, and you can even use it as a sort of teleprompter, but just don’t read directly off it!  Did you know you can hit the “B” button to turn your screen black or “W” to turn the screen white?    Then, you could use the powerpoint as a teleprompter and the audience doesn’t see it.

Put one central point on each slide and use it as a way to jog your memory for what you want to say.  You can have a couple of hundred slides with only one point or image per slide and it’s better than having 20 that are jam-packed with too much info.

5. Don’t use the podium as a crutch.

Move around the stage!   It projects confidence and keeps the audience engaged.  The best way to feel comfortable moving around the stage is spending a lot of time preparing the presentation beforehand.  Then, you’ll feel more confident breaking away from the podium.

6. Don’t be so afraid of public speaking that you never give it a try!

Public speaking is a genuine fear for a lot of people, but it’s so much fun!  You can do it!  Just give it a shot!

Final Thoughts

Public speaking isn’t an innate talent, and it’s not limited to extreme extroverts and “naturally charismatic” people.   Anyone can learn to be a public speaker.   If you’re worried about how it’ll go, start small.  Join the Toastmasters or similar club in your area.  Get with a speaking coach.  Read, study, and learn the tips and techniques of the best speakers.

Then, start looking for opportunities to speak to others.  Start with yourself, your friends, and your family.  Move up to local clubs and organizations, then gradually step it up from there.  There’s so much value in being good at public speaking, and I think it’s worth it to step out in faith and try!

Further Reading

• Listen to the companion podcast episode with Nancy Duarte
• 5 Big Mistakes Physicians Make with Social Media
• What Makes a Great Physician Leader?  10 Lessons from a Surgeon General.

Please leave a comment below!  What’s your top tip for someone interested in public speaking?

Full Disclosure: Some of the links to the resources listed above may be affiliate links, which means that I will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. But it doesn’t cost you anything extra—it’s just a way to show you appreciate what we do here. Thanks for this.

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Presentation Do’s and Don’ts for a Winning Deck

• October 2, 2023

Presentations have long been a powerful medium for conveying information, engaging audiences, showing information in visual ways, and leaving a lasting impact.

However, there’s something of an art to creating effective slides that takes careful consideration of design, content, and delivery. Here are some of the main presentation do’s and don’ts to keep in mind for the next time you’re in front of an audience.

Contents Toggle 1. The do’s 2. The dont’s

1. the do’s.

Know what you’re doing

Before diving into slide creation, clarify to yourself what the purpose of the presentation actually is. Think about what you want to achieve, who’s going to be presented to, and the key messages you wish to convey. This may seem obvious, but having a plan before diving in can really create a better flow of information.

Use visuals

Presentations come with the advantage of having space for images, charts, tables and so on. Not only will they help bring different colours and shapes to the content, they will break up the text and keep attention spans as high as possible. Keep in mind that any visuals you use are of high-quality, well-sized, and properly aligned with the content. As stated by The Presentation Training Institute , visual content has a lasting impact on the audience’s memory. Three hours later, they can recall 85% of what they saw, compared to 70% of what they heard. Three days later, the gap widens: 60% vs. 10%.

Stay consistent

Consistency in design elements across slides creates a cohesive and professional visual identity. Use a consistent color scheme, typography, and slide layout throughout your presentation to keep things looking smooth. Consider utilizing Master Slides or templates to ensure consistent formatting and design across all slides.

Remember visual hierarchy

Establish a clear visual hierarchy to guide your audience’s attention and emphasize key points. Use font size, bolding, color contrast, and layout to distinguish between headings, subheadings, and body text to make sure that the information flow is logical and easily digestible.

Tell a story

This one is a bit of a cliché, but is still important! Structure your slides in a narrative format that begins with an attention-grabbing introduction, presents supporting information, and concludes with a memorable takeaway. Remember to use common storytelling techniques, anecdotes, and examples to make your content relatable and engaging.

Practice and keep time

One of the most important things ahead of your presentation is to practice, practice, practice. Make sure your slides flow smoothly and fit within your time limit. Nobody wants a presentation to go on forever, so keep a decent pace and remember to leave room for questions and discussion at the end.

Use white space

White space is the empty space on your slides, which you shouldn’t consider as ‘wasted’. It makes your slides easier to read, gives them a clean look, and highlights the important parts. Don’t cram your slides with too much information, as this will end up being confusing or distracting.

Know your audience

Think about who you are talking to and what they need to know. Do they like deep dives into data, or do they prefer to know the headlines only. Use phrases and visuals that they can understand and relate to, with plenty of examples and references that matter to them.

Connect with the audience

If appropriate, make your presentation fun and interactive (within reason). Ask questions, do polls, or use other features to get your audience involved. You can also use slides to start group discussions, brainstorming sessions, or reflection exercises. Here’s a fantastic resource from Icebreaker Speech on h ow to connect with audiences before and during a presentation .

Get feedback

Every presentation is a chance to grow and get better, so if its an internal presentation, ask for feedback to find out what worked, and what didn’t. If you’ve been working on it for too long, you’ll not notice mistakes, or sections that can be edited down, so if you can, get feedback before the presentation itself to make sure it’s as good as it can be.

2. The dont’s

Only rely on text

Slides can do more than show words: They can also show images, videos, audio clips, or animations that make your presentation more exciting and memorable. Use different media to appeal to different senses and make your presentation more lively and varied, or risk losing the attention of your audience.

Forget to proofread and edit

Even if you’re proofread your presentation 12 times, there will still likely be typos or formatting errors that can be embarrassing when shown in front a bunch of people – especially if they are clients, or you’re doing a job interview task. After using spellcheck and the usual tools to check it, ask someone else to give it a good read as well. They will have fresh eyes and will be much better placed to spot any problems you missed.

Overwhelm with too much data

Resist the temptation to include every detail on your slides, and instead focus on key points, essential data, and impactful visuals. Your slides should provide a framework for your narrative, prompting discussion and elaboration, rather than bombarding your audience with too much data. If needed, you can print and hand out supplementary materials that go into more depth.

Overuse bullet points

Bullet points can be handy for listing key facts, but they can also be boring and dull when used slide after slide. Mix it up with short sentences, impact statements, quotes, images, charts and infographics. Otherwise, you might as well be showing them a completely plain and unworked word document.

Read from your slides

Your slides are there to help you, not do all the work. Don’t just read what’s on the screen or use your slides as a script. Instead, look at your audience and talk to them, using the slides as visual guides and summaries of the information you want to get across.

Forget about readability

Readability is paramount in effective slide design, so avoid using small fonts or complex typefaces are difficult to read. Stick to legible fonts, and ensure a sufficient contrast between the text and the background – for instance, yellow text on a white background.

Overload the text

One common mistake is cramming slides with excessive text that goes on for paragraphs. Instead, use concise and impactful phrases or keywords to convey your message, with any extra information being expressed verbally.

Overuse Transitions Or Animations

While animations and slide transitions can add visual interest, excessive use can be distracting and detract from your message. Opt for subtle and purposeful animations that enhance the flow and comprehension of your content, instead of having your words and images spin, zoom or bounce into view.

Use low-quality graphics

Low-resolution images, pixelated graphics, and stretched visuals can detract from the professionalism of your slides. Invest time in finding high-quality visuals or create custom graphics to maintain a polished appearance. Also, avoid using using clip art or generic stock images, as these can be easily spotted, lessening the impact of your work

You’re good to go

A good presentation can go a long way if done correctly. Of course, the human element of nerves plays its part, but if you know that you have a great deck, it will help with your confidence, and will get your messages across in engaging and professional ways. All of the above presentation do’s and don’ts can be achieved with OfficeSuite Slides , built to create beautiful presentations, allowing you to easily create decks that get the job done, and then some.

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College classroom presentations and public speaking: 10 dos and don’ts.

BY KATE LARSON

Public speaking is a skill that’s valued by employers the world over, which is why many courses at university include presentations as part of their assessment criteria.

While some might assume presenting in front of your classmates is easier than a room of strangers, in many cases, it’s not. To make sure you’ve got the confidence to put your best foot forward, we’ve compiled a list of ten essential presentations dos and don’ts.

Even the most confident of public speakers should never wing a presentation. Rehearsing will make you feel more comfortable with what you’re presenting, which will, in turn, stop you from freezing in front of your classmates.

Use Imagery

Human brains process images 60,000 times faster than text. Therefore, you should always try to present your findings in an aesthetically-pleasing presentation that visualizes numerical data into charts. If design isn’t your thing, try using a free online presentation maker such as Flipsnack. Presentation tools such as these allow you to add sound, images, video, and other media to slides using a simple click and drop format.

  Reduce the Word Count

Each slide you create should focus on communicating one point. The written content on that slide should support what you’re about to expand on orally. Although there isn’t a limit on how many words you should use per slide, a good rule of thumb is that it shouldn’t take longer than ten seconds to read. Keeping to this rule will allow your classmates the time to take in the information before you begin talking. It will also give you a brief moment to compose yourself between slides.

Get Your Classmates Involved

One easy way to capture the attention of your classmates (and teacher) is to ask them questions during your presentation. These questions can be broken down into two main categories: rhetorical and interactive.

Rhetorical questions aren’t designed to elicit a verbal response from a listener but will keep them engaged in what you’re telling them. Some examples include:

“How many times have you thought about…?”

“How many of you have gone…?”

Interactive questions, one the other hand, encourage verbal participation from an audience. They should, however, be close-ended. Otherwise, you may find yourself listening to an array of responses, or, worst of all, none at all. Some examples include:

“Out of these options, which is your favorite?”

“By a show of hands, how many of you agree with this opinion?

Keep Eye Contact

Eye contact is what connects you to your listeners. It creates the impression that you’re confident in what you’re presenting. If you’re not looking at your audience, they’re not looking at you. When that happens, it’s easy for their concentration to drift.

Speak Too Quickly

Nerves have a profound effect on the speed in which we talk. Professor Raymond H. Hull explained in his 2017 book, The Art of Presenting: Your Competitive Edge, how fast talkers can reach speeds that exceed the brain’s natural ability to understand what is being said without concerted effort. Although there isn’t an overnight cure to speaking too quickly, recording yourself and listening back is a good way of comprehending just how easy it’s for listeners to take in what you’re saying.

Forget Your Personality

Don’t worry if you’re not naturally confident or charismatic. These aren’t necessarily prerequisites for a good presentation. What you do need to be, however, is relatable and honest. Your audience needs to feel a human element in your presentation so that they feel a connection with you, and consequently, your presentation.

Read Your Slides Aloud

This follows on from the last point. Simply reading aloud what is written on your slides points to a lack of preparation. Worst yet, it’s boring. Using physical cue cards to jot down the important pieces of information to convey for each slide is the easiest way to overcome this problem. Write small hints that will help to jog your memory when presenting. Remember, you shouldn’t just repeat what is already on your slide; you need to expand on it.

  Try to Be Funny

Humor that reads well on paper doesn’t always translate well to speech. Unfortunately, a joke that lands flat on its face could see your confidence plummet and affect the rest of your presentation. For those reasons alone, it’s best to leave humor out of your presentations until you become more confident in public speaking.

Forget to Prepare for Questions

Q&A sessions are common at the end of a presentation. If your lecturer has asked you to prepare for this, try to envisage the types of questions you may be asked and prepare some appropriate responses.

Kate Larson is a college student and aspiring blogger, who has a strong interest in the environment and personal well-being. She enjoys travelling and reading, as well as writing novels.

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Don’t Present Without These 16 PowerPoint Dos and Don’ts

Table of Contents

Have you ever struggled to hold your audience’s interest during a presentation? Painstakingly created slide after slide only to be met with bored, disengaged faces? 

Even the most confident speakers can falter when it comes to crafting compelling PowerPoint decks. Without proper slide design best practices, it’s easy to lose your audience in a sea of dense text, chaotic graphics, and disorganized content.

You don’t have to suffer through presenting lackluster slides anymore. In fact, following simple PowerPoint best practices can totally transform your deck from meh to marvelous.

In this post, we’ll share 16 PowerPoint dos and don’ts to level up your presentations and captivate audiences. These tips will help you create professional, visually striking slides your viewers will remember.

16 Dos And Don’ts Of Powerpoint Presentations

Here are some important 16 presentation dos and don’ts you need to keep in mind while creating slides and presenting them.

PowerPoint Dos

Let’s start with the best practices and strategies to implement when designing PowerPoint presentations . What techniques should you use to create memorable, polished slides?

1. Keep It Simple With Minimalist Design

Let’s start with a common mistake – overcrowded, distracting slide design. We get the temptation to tart up slides with fancy backgrounds. But resist the urge! Fancy templates with complex colored patterns or photos unrelated to your content just make it harder to digest key information.

Instead, embrace the power of simplicity. Stick to minimalist templates and avoid template themes with extra decorations. Use neutral backgrounds and empty negative space to let your content shine. Remember, your audience came for your message, not for clip art kittens. Keep slides clean and attention stays where it should be.

2. Cut the Clutter – Follow the 6×6 Rule

Now for another slide buzzkill – mammoth blocks of dense text. You may be tempted to pack slides with long sentences and paragraphs. Don’t give in! Text-heavy slides are guaranteed to lose audiences fast.

For easy-to-digest nuggets, follow the handy 6×6 rule. Limit slides to just 6 lines of text maximum, with each line containing 6 words max. Anything more turns into an overwhelming wall of words.

Stick to concise phrases, short sentences, and bulleted lists. Use just keywords and supporting stats – leave nonessential info out. With this less is more approach, key points will stick better.

SlidesAI is a text-to-presentation add-on tool that converts walls of text into beautiful slides. It does this automatically generate condensed phrases and bullet points from your text ensuring clutter-free slides throughout your presentation.

3. Boost Engagement With Quality Visuals

Speaking of key points sticking better…you know what helps even more? Quality graphics and visuals!

Research shows we process images 60,000 times faster than text. So reinforce your points with strong visuals. Use high-resolution photos, charts, illustrations, and infographics. But avoid clipart or random stock photos – ensure every graphic clearly supports your narrative.

Well-designed visuals make presentations more memorable and engaging. Just remember to optimize graphics for high-resolution viewing and include alt-text (alternative text) descriptions for accessibility. Then watch those visual aids boost information retention and audience interest.

SlidesAI has a library of 1.5M high-quality premium stock images that you can select and include in your slides.

4. Create Brand Consistency With Formatting

Imagine a presentation where every slide had a totally different layout, colors, and font… no visual consistency at all. It would look sloppy and amateurish, right?

Formatting matters – big time! Brand your presentation by using consistent design elements throughout all your slides.

Pick one professional font combination and stick to it. Limit your color palette to 2-3 colors max. Maintain alignment and space elements consistently.

With unified branding, your deck will feel polished, intentional, and visually pleasing. Bonus – consistent branding also boosts memorability as the audience becomes familiar with your “look”.

SlidesAI ensures complete branding consistency across all presentation slides by applying your color schemes , fonts, etc to designs through artificial intelligence.

5. Check Accessibility Settings

Speaking of memorability, if some audience members can’t actually view your slides, they certainly won’t remember your message.

Ensure your presentation is inclusive and accessible to all by checking key settings. Use color contrast and legible fonts so those with visual impairments can still grasp the content. Optimize images with alt text descriptions. Verify videos are captioned.

It may take a bit more effort up front but making your presentation accessible opens your message to a wider audience. It also demonstrates corporate responsibility.

6. Create Custom Icons and Illustrations

Most PowerPoint templates come with generic icons. However, you can amplify brand personality and memorability by creating custom icons and simple illustrations.

Don’t just use a generic checkmark when you can insert your own branded indicator relevant to your company. Design illustrated characters to represent concepts. Even use emojis strategically to inject fun and improve recall.

Handcrafted visuals, even if basic in style, make presentations stand out and drive home key points better than generic clip art ever could.

7. Use Subtle Animations – But Not Too Many!

Animations, when used well, can help guide the audience’s eye and transition between ideas smoothly. Emphasize key points and important transitions with subtle animations.

Entrance and exit effects can focus attention while builds and motion path animations can demonstrate processes dynamically. Use sparingly and subtly for the best impact.

But avoid going animation crazy with sounds and excessive movement. That becomes more distracting than engaging. Limit animations so they enhance content rather than detract.

8. Pace Your Delivery

Creating stellar slides is an excellent start but don’t stop there. The live delivery is just as crucial. Invest time practicing your presentation with your slides.

Rehearse the flow and pace of your narrative. Refine and memorize transitions between slides . Nail your timing to keep the audience engaged. Get so comfortable delivering your content that the slides become natural visual aids.

With great slides and honed delivery skills, your audience will hang on to your every word from the introduction to a powerful conclusion.

PowerPoint Donts

Just as important as the dos are the don’ts. What pitfalls should you avoid when designing PowerPoint presentations?

9. Don’t Use Distracting Backgrounds

Remember our tip to embrace minimalism? Well, the opposite is using distracting backgrounds. Avoid loud colors, complex patterns, or images totally unrelated to your content. At best, they are distracting. At worst, they make key info harder to comprehend.

Stick to simple, neutral backgrounds. If using an image, ensure it directly reinforces your narrative. Anything extra risks your message getting visually lost. Keep backgrounds clean so content remains the focal point.

SlidesAI avoids using distracting backgrounds like crowded templates or unrelated images in the presentations. It focuses on simple, clean backgrounds to keep attention on your key content.

10. Don’t Overwhelm With Walls of Text

We covered the 6×6 text limit rule earlier. But even with 6 lines and 6 words, slides can become text walls without good visual breakdown. Big blocks of text are tiring to read and make retainment tough.

Instead, thoughtfully chunk text into concise sections. Use headers, subheaders, and bullet points to organize key bits. Align text left for easier scanning. Supplement with supporting imagery. Breaking up text improves comprehension drastically.

11. Don’t Rely On Boring Bullets

Speaking of bulleted lists, bullet overkill is another issue that turns slides into snore fests. Slides crammed with back-to-back bullet points lose audiences fast. The endless text blurs together with minimal memorability.

For memorable content, limit bullets to key takeaways only. Then reinforce each point visually – a photo, icon, chart, etc. Quality visuals boost memorability way more than a slide stuffed with 11 bullet points ever could.

12. Don’t Use Inconsistent Formatting

Remember, formatting matters! Shifting layouts, fonts, and color schemes appear disjointed and sloppy. The mismatched design screams amateur hour.

Establish a visual style and stick to it slide to slide. Use the same fonts, limit your color palette, and space elements consistently. Most importantly – maintain alignment across all slides. With unified branding, your presentation will look polished and professional.

SlidesAI ensures your presentation formatting stays consistent slide to slide by applying your preferred color palette, fonts, etc through its intelligent algorithms.

13. Don’t Include Unnecessary Animations

Animations can be great for guiding the viewer’s eye and demonstrating motion. But avoid going overboard. Excessive animations, sounds, and movement become more distracting than engaging.

Use animations subtly and intentionally . Emphasize only key points and important transitions with simple builds or entrance effects. Anything superfluous, whether flying text or whooshing sounds, pulls attention away rather than enhancing content.

Keep it simple and purposeful. Let smooth, minimal animations work behind the scenes rather than take center stage away from your narrative.

14. Don’t Use Unsupported Graphics

Only include images, photos, charts, etc that directly support the ideas and messaging in your presentation. Don’t insert fluffy visuals that have no clear tie to your content.

Every visual aid you present should clearly reinforce your narrative rather than derail tangents. Unsupported graphics quickly become distractions. They also undermine your credibility if audiences can’t grasp the connection.

Keep it focused. Be intentional about every visual you include. Remove anything superfluous that doesn’t serve a purpose.

15. Don’t Plagiarize Content

While it’s fine to find inspiration from other presentations, copying chunks of text or visuals without proper attribution is unethical. Never pass off someone else’s hard work as your own.

Always credit sources directly within your presentation if incorporating external ideas, quotes, charts, images, etc. Also, avoid violating copyright laws by inserting visuals without licensing them appropriately first.

Your presentation should showcase your unique ideas, voice, and message. Ensure you create original content or properly cite anything derived from others. Your integrity depends on it.

16. Don’t Wing Your Speech

With great slides completed, don’t just wing it on presentation day. The live delivery is just as crucial. Invest time to refine your pacing, transitions, slide timing, and flow.

Practice your speech thoroughly with the deck so your narrative and movements feel natural. Nail down transition phrases between slides. Get 100% comfortable presenting your content.

With stellar slides and a well-rehearsed delivery, your presentation is sure to wow audiences from start to finish.

There you have it – 16 PowerPoint dos and don’ts for creating memorable, professional PowerPoint presentations. Apply the dos to make high-impact slides, and avoid the don’ts for mistake-free presentations.

Put these PowerPoint best practices into play and watch your ordinary slides transform into extraordinary visual stories. Your audiences will be engaged from start to finish.

But even with these tips, crafting stunning presentations can be time-intensive. Instead, let SlidesAI do the work for you using the power of AI.

SlidesAI integrates with Google Slides and PowerPoint (coming soon) to instantly generate professional presentation decks from your content. Simply input your text – SlidesAI will turn them into visually cohesive slides designed for audience engagement.

SlidesAI saves tons of time by handling slide layouts, formats, graphic design, and branding tailored to you. The AI delivers presentation-ready slides in seconds.

Take your Presentation skills from amateur to pro – try SlidesAI for free today!

What are the dos and don’ts of PowerPoint presentations?

Key PowerPoint dos include simple designs, concise text, quality visuals, consistency, accessibility, custom icons, subtle animations, and practice. Don’ts involve distracting backgrounds, walls of text, boring bullets, inconsistent formatting, excessive animations, irrelevant graphics, plagiarism, and winging it.

What is the 5 by 5 rule in PowerPoint?

The 5 by 5 rule recommends having no more than 5 lines of text per slide and 5 words per line. This keeps each slide focused and text easy to digest. Too much text overwhelms audiences.

What is the 7 rule on a PowerPoint presentation?

The 7 rule states that your slides should have no more than 7 bullet points. Like the 5 by 5 rule, this maintains simplicity for the audience. More than 7 bulleted items become hard to retain.

What are the 5 rules of PowerPoint?

5 key rules are: don’t cram slides with too much text, minimize slides for emphasis, utilize quality visuals, stick to a consistent format, and limit animations. Following these makes presentations professional, clean, and engaging.

Frequently Asked Questions

Key PowerPoint dos include simple designs, concise text, quality visuals, consistency, accessibility, custom icons, subtle animations, and practice. Don'ts involve distracting backgrounds, walls of text, boring bullets, inconsistent formatting, excessive animations, irrelevant graphics, plagiarism, and winging it.

5 key rules are: don't cram slides with too much text, minimize slides for emphasis, utilize quality visuals, stick to a consistent format, and limit animations. Following these makes presentations professional, clean, and engaging.

Save Time and Effortlessly Create Presentations with SlidesAI

• Tips & news
• Infographics

The Do’s and Don’ts When Giving a Presentation

Average: 5 ( 1 vote)

Making a presentation is simply expressing your thoughts or ideas in front of an audience. But, sometimes it doesn’t feel that simple, does it?

Whether you’re a student, board member, or key employee of an MNC; you will probably be asked to give a presentation at some point in your career.

Some people are comfortable with their skills in presenting and can deliver with ease, but there are many who find it difficult to sustain a good performance.

Presenting isn’t easy, but these tips will help you connect with your audience when you are presenting.

Here are some tips to practice for your next presentation:

Confident body language

Stand tall with your head high, pull your shoulders back, and put your feet shoulder-length apart.

Keep your arms relaxed and free to gesture naturally as you speak.

Positive expressions

Lively eyes that gaze around the room will make the audience feel connected to you.

Smile when it is appropriate for your content.

The more the audience feels you are engaged with them, the more they will be invested in what you say.

Goal shaping

Surely, you have an idea of what you would like to say in your presentation.

But, what is just as important is how you say it.

Consider what the goal of your presentation is: to inform, to evoke emotion, or to persuade.

Shape your phrasing, and choose the appropriate words, to accomplish this goal.

Audience engagement

Engaging the audience is key.

According to a study by Microsoft, the average attention span for a human being was eight seconds in 2016.

In 2000, it was twelve seconds.

Now, even more, a presenter must be captivating to keep the attention of its audience.

So, when you are ready to give a presentation, consider the infographic created by Walkerstone called Do’s and Don’ts of presenting .

About the Author: Sarah Brown  is good at marketing and communications and likes to think that most people leave inspired if they hear her speak.

See the original posting  here.

What are some of the crucial lessons you’ve learned about being a speaker? We'd love to hear your stories (and maybe feature you in an upcoming article!) Contact us here.

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Do’s and Don’ts Tips for an Effective Presentation

Provided by the  International Finance Corporation

Good presentation skills are vital to your success at work, both individual success and the company success. With poor presentation skills you cannot inspire and retain your employees, sell your products, attract the funding you need for your new venture, nor evolve in your career.

Improve your presentation skills with the following tips:

• Know your audience.
• Make an outline of what you will present with 3 or 4 main points.
• Familiarize yourself with the location and equipment before presenting.
• Use simple sentences.
• Use examples to illustrate your ideas.
• Practice your presentation.
• Breathe deeply, relax and smile at your audience before presenting.
• Use body language to reflect the content of the presentation.
• Make eye contact at random with audience.
• Talk to audience, don’t talk about them.
• Give the audience chances to join in your presentation.
• Use humor, when appropriate.
• Use too much jargon or specialized words/expressions.
• Turn your back to the audience.
• Have no eye contact during your presentation or fix your eye contact on one person.
• Talk and do something else at the same time.
• Move constantly in front of the audience.
• Distract your audience by doing something like jingling any metal objects in your pocket.
• Move your hands too much.
• Fold your arms either on your front or your back.
• Keep your hands in your pockets during your presenting.
• Dress yourself gaudily or wear too many ornaments.
• Imitate someone’s style.

For more resources:

• Find out how to close successfully your sales by  honing your sales presentation skills
• Explore ‘ How to get what you want through effective communication ’
• Learn  how to run an effective meeting
• Save time and money with those  tips about better managing your time

Copyright © 2000 – 2017, International Finance Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, www.ifc.org

The material in this work is copyrighted. Copying and/or transmitting portions or all of this work without permission may be a violation of applicable law.  IFC does not guarantee the accuracy, reliability or completeness of the content included in this work, or for the conclusions or judgments described herein, and accepts no responsibility or  liability for any omissions or errors (including, without limitation, typographical errors and technical errors) in the content whatsoever or for reliance thereon.

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Do’s and Don’ts of PowerPoint Presentations | Creating Effective Powerpoint Presentations

In the modern business and academic landscapes, PowerPoint has become an essential communication tool. Though the software makes it simple to create sleek, visually appealing slides, crafting a truly effective PowerPoint requires strategy and finesse. This article will provide extensive tips and guidelines to help you create professional, polished presentations that fully engage audiences and clearly convey information. Therefore take a few minutes and check out what are the actual dos and don’ts.

Table of Contents

Do’s of PowerPoint Presentations

Effective PowerPoint presentations are not just about creating slides; they are about engaging your audience and conveying your message with clarity. Here are the essential do’s to keep in mind –

Follow the 10/20/30 Rule

Coined by PowerPoint expert Guy Kawasaki, this formula ensures impactful presentations. Use no more than 10 slides, present for no longer than 20 minutes, and use a minimum font size of 30 points. This prevents slides from becoming cluttered and text-heavy, ensuring your audience can easily absorb the information.

Use High-Quality Graphics and Images

Visuals play a crucial role in capturing your audience’s attention. High-resolution images appear crisp and clear when projected, making your presentation more visually appealing. Use relevant photos, charts, and graphs, but avoid generic clipart. When using charts, ensure they are legible and avoid problematic red/green color combinations.

Maintain Consistent Style and Theme

Consistency in your presentation design is key to creating a polished, professional look. Stick to a single cohesive font style, color scheme, and layout. Avoid the temptation to overuse transitions or animations, as this can detract from your message’s clarity.

Practice and Time Your Presentation

Rehearse your presentation multiple times while timing yourself. This will help you refine your pacing and ensure a smooth flow of information. Adjust anything that needs modification to fit within the time limits without rushing or dragging.

Engage Your Audience

Your audience’s engagement is crucial to the success of your presentation. Keep them actively involved by maintaining eye contact, asking rhetorical questions, using humor, and limiting the time you spend facing the screen. Engaging your audience can help maintain their focus and interest.

Provide Handouts if Appropriate

Handouts can be valuable for your audience to take notes and reference details later. However, avoid the common mistake of simply printing your slides. Instead, use handouts to summarize key takeaways and essential information, helping your audience retain the most important points.

Arrive Early to Prepare

Arriving early at the presentation location allows you to meet attendees, check equipment, adjust the room setup, and get comfortably settled before starting. This preparation time ensures a smoother start and helps to reduce any pre-presentation jitters.

Check Equipment and Connectivity

Technical glitches can be a presenter’s worst nightmare. To avoid this, thoroughly test the projector, slides, microphone, pointer, Wi-Fi, and any other equipment or connectivity requirements ahead of time. Identifying and addressing technical issues in advance will help your presentation run smoothly.

Don’ts of PowerPoint Presentations

While knowing what to do is important, understanding what not to do is equally crucial. Here are the common pitfalls to avoid in your PowerPoint presentations –

Don’t Make Slides Too Text-Heavy

Each slide should convey its core point with a few bullet points or a short paragraph. Elaborate verbally rather than overwhelming your slides with dense blocks of text. Remember, your audience should listen to you, not read your presentation verbatim.

Avoid Complex Builds and Transitions

Fancy animations between slides may seem appealing but can end up being distracting and time-consuming. Stick to simple transitions like fades or wipes for a more seamless presentation experience.

Don’t Use Unreadable Color Schemes

Light text on dark backgrounds or busy backgrounds can make slides hard to read when projected. Opt for high-contrast color options to ensure readability.

Steer Clear of Clip Art

Cheesy or overused clip art can make your presentation look unprofessional. Instead, opt for original graphics or high-quality stock images that enhance the visual appeal of your slides.

Don’t Read Directly from Slides

Your slides should support your spoken words, not replace them. Speak conversationally and use slides as visual aids rather than reading bulleted lists word-for-word.

Don’t Overwhelm with Too Many Slides

Limit the number of slides in your presentation. For a 30-minute presentation, it’s recommended to keep it within 10-15 slides at most. More slides can make it challenging to delve into topics properly and maintain your audience’s engagement.

Don’t Go Over Time Limit

Rehearse and refine your presentation to ensure you stay within your allotted time. Use a timer to help you stay on track and make any necessary adjustments to avoid running too short or too long.

Don’t Forget Accessibility Needs

Make your presentation inclusive by ensuring text color contrast is suitable for those with color blindness. Add alt text for images to make your content accessible to all, and check for screen reader compatibility to accommodate individuals with visual impairments.

Final Verdict

With mindful planning, preparation, and presentation strategy, PowerPoint can elevate any presentation. Avoid common missteps like slide overload, distracting builds, and boring stock images. Instead, focus on simplifying topics, visualizing concepts, practicing delivery, and actively engaging your listeners. Following the dos and don’ts outlined above will allow your presentation and message to shine.

People Also Ask

Q: how many slides are recommended for a 30-minute powerpoint presentation.

Experts recommend limiting a 30-minute PowerPoint presentation to 10-15 slides maximum. This ensures adequate time for discussing and explaining each point or topic thoroughly.

Q: What is the ideal font size for text in PowerPoint slides?

To ensure text remains clearly legible and readable in a projected presentation, use a minimum font size of 30 points. Larger font sizes of 44-54 points are ideal for titles and headers.

Q: Should you provide printed handouts of your PowerPoint presentation?

Handouts allow audience members to take notes and reference presentation details later on. However, simply printing all your slides as handouts results in people tuning out during the actual presentation. Instead, summarize key takeaways, facts, statistics, and conclusions on handouts.

Q: What file types work best for graphics and images in PowerPoint?

JPEG, PNG, and GIF files are optimized for PowerPoint. Ensure all images are high resolution so they appear crisp and not pixelated or distorted when projected.

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7 Dos and Don'ts of Body Language to Enhance Public Speaking

Hanisha Kapoor

Did you know: 60-65 percent of all human communication is nonverbal? Even when a person is standing still, a person’s body is telling a story.

Yes, your body can strongly put across your message than the words. And in some cases, your body language and words just don’t match.

Then what happens?

You contradict yourself, put yourself in a bad light and make it worse for your audience to comprehend you.

Don’t let this happen to you.

Escape from the bad body language habits to enhance your message.

Are you looking to conduct a training to educate your team or colleagues on effective business communication? Click here to access our Comprehensive Training Curriculum On Business Communication to ensure you are ready to hit the ground running!

Click here to access the Comprehensive Training Curriculum On Business Communication

Here we are going to tell you 7 don'ts and 7 dos while you are on the stage delivering a presentation or speech to make sure your body language is as good as your content.

Don’t Ever:

1) Fold hands/arms : It indicates that you are unenthusiastic about the speech or the presentation. You are not open to others and their ideas. Folding arms could imply that you may have gone into your shell and you are uncomfortable in the presence of others.

2) Look down or off into space : You are on the stage with purpose. You are not there to talk to the ceiling or to the floor. If you look down or off into the space, it shows that you are not interested in the audience, or in the whole idea of being there.

3) Jiggle legs : Reason why people shake their legs is restlessness. Either you are unprepared or you just got bored of the situation. Either ways, you jiggle your legs. Better go prepared and add some humor to your presentation so that you don’t let yourself and your audience get bored.

4) Fidget with objects : Clicking pens, playing with paper clips may show you as impatient, bored, nervous, and restless. Not just this, audience will end up seeing you fidgeting and will not pay attention to what is being said.

5) Turn your back to the audience : When you do it, you bore them. As a result, you lose them. You portray as if you don’t care about them.

6) Roll eyes : This is a way of telling your audience that you don’t respect them. Or that maybe you are lying. Of course, we are not saying that you are a liar. But you might come across as one if you do so.

7) Hold objects in front of your body : You are separating yourself from others. You immediately create a bridge between you and your audience when you cover your body. Your entire body is visible to the audience when you are standing. They can communicate well with a standing person. In case, you have to sit, make sure you don’t cover your body with unnecessary stuff such as files or books in your hands. Just sit straight and talk.

1) Make eye contact : Always make an eye contact with your audience. Eye contact represents that you are interested in the conversation. It shows that you are speaking information, showing attention and interest. When you look your audience in the eye, they will in turn pay more attention to you and to what you are saying because they will feel engaged and a part of your conversation.

2) Open arms : Keep your arms open. Open arms display that you are confident about your content. You have a confidence in your message. Also, you are open to new ideas. You are not a threat to your audience. You would like to indulge in the conversation with your audience.

3) Mobility : A little movement is necessary during the presentation. Do not just standstill at one place. Use the stage while speaking to keep the environment active and positive. Walk towards the audience to encourage them to participate in the conversation.

4) Face expressions : Face expressions are an integral part of any speech. Face expressions alone can make your audience understand the meaning of the message. Let your emotions come out while saying each word. It shows that you mean them. Your audience will immediately connect with you.

5) Power Posing : Make your speech more effective by adopting power posing. This is not something you have to do whilst the speech is on. Try power posing before the speech for effective results. According to the social psychologist, Amy Cuddy, power posing can make us feel more powerful, strong and secured about ourselves. Simple postures such as “hands on our hips and arms in V” can boost our confidence level.

6) Open palms or be hands on : Talk with the palms open. It is a sign of honesty. Closed palms indicate that you are hiding something and come across as a threat to your audience. Avoid keeping hands in your pockets or by the side. Rather use hands gestures to emphasize your words.

7) Smile : There is nothing better than smiling. It shows that a person is credible, confident, and trustworthy. It exudes positivity and charm about the person who is delivering a speech.

Adopt these body language tips to enhance your public speaking.

Now you are aware of what you should avoid doing on the stage and what you should always do to make your stage presence a hit.

And always remember to smile.

Looking for innovative PowerPoint Slides Design? Let us help you. Contact our Presentation Design Agency to ease your work.

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Dos and Don’ts for Your Oral Presentation

• Keep to the time limit at all cost!
• Always look at your audience.
• Always try to speak rather than read from your notes.
• Speak loudly and clearly and try to maintain eye contact with your listeners. Make regular breaks of 3 seconds.
• Give your listeners the chance to ask questions (you could tell them beforehand whether you would like them to keep their questions until the end of the presentation or whether they can ask in the course of it).
• the most important points (but not your whole presentation!),
• all the sources you have used,
• perhaps important quotations or examples,
• an image or information you think is vital.
• Always spell-check the handout.
• Use visualising materials, e.g. mind-maps, tables, transparency, pictures, film sequences,...
• Remember to entertain your audience, keep them active and awake, e.g. by discussion questions, small activities, provoking statements,...
• Always practice in advance.
• Be on time for your presentation, check and prepare all the technical devices you need before class starts.
• Remember: Next time, you are in the audience so treat your listeners in the same way as you want to be treated.
• Don’t ever exceed the time limit.
• Never turn away from your audience
• Don’t read from your text, speak freely.
• Don’t mumble, don’t speak too quickly.
• Don’t look down, don’t fiddle around with something (e.g. your hair or a pen) ;-).
• Never download material from the internet when preparing your handout without acknowledging it: write your own text.
• Don’t send your audience to sleep.

-> For some general guidelines:

Presler, Gerd und Jürgen Döhmann: Referate schreiben – Referate halten. Ein Ratgeber. München: Fink, 2004.

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Five Do’s & Five Don’ts of Delivering a Presentation

Whether you present frequently in your job or you present just once in a while, our Head of Training and Development has put together some simple but effective Do’s and Don’ts to help you get deliver good, strong presentations to your colleagues, stakeholders and customers:

Presenting Dos:

• DO be yourself – gather feedback from trusted people about what you do well when interacting at work. This will give you a solid foundation to add extra attributes to and overcomes the challenge that people sometimes perceive of having to become a different person to present well.
• DO slow down – practice speaking out loud fairly slowly and make a conscious effort to slow yourself down when the presentation starts. The tendency is to rush (sometimes to get through it!) but this accelerates any nerves and can hinder clarity of speech.
• DO ask questions early – Q&A doesn’t need to be just at the end of a presentation. We are used to getting responses when we communicate so just hearing other people can make us feel less “in the spotlight”.
• DO learn from others – if you watch what you think is a really good presentation, have a think about what made it so engaging and try some of those things in your own presentations. Practice first though and get some feedback from a peer before you do it ‘on the day’!
• DO use acronyms or memorable alliteration – a strong presentation will focus around three key points and making these three key points memorable will give your audience some ‘take-aways’. Try using simple alliteration. For example:

‘Every presentation should be delivered with…Confidence, Conviction, Control’.

Presenting Don’ts:

• DON’T use a font size (PowerPoint) of anything less than 30! The writing is too small and you have too much text on one slide!
• DON’T wing it! You are risking everything if you don’t prepare and people will feel that their investment of time isn’t being taken seriously.
• DON’T end abruptly – ensure your presentation is rounded off nicely. A good way of doing this is by asking yourself the question ‘so what?’ How does the presentation you have delivered relate to your audience? What action do you want the audience to take as a result? Summarising these things can be a great way to draw things to a close.
• DON’T read from the projected screen (PowerPoint) – you will have your back to the audience and will appear underprepared. And it will be pretty boring too!
• DON’T be afraid to enter the ‘death zone’ – this is the space between you (the presenter) and the audience. Walk around and use the space you have – this will help you to relax, look less rigid and feel less isolated.

Remember that whether you are delivering to a group of 10 or a group of 100, the same rules apply. If larger audiences make you more nervous, try ‘acting as if’ you’re in front of a smaller group. Envision the room where you’ve been practicing in, rather than the audience you’re actually faced with. But make sure this doesn’t prevent you from making eye contact throughout!

The latest course dates for our Presenting with Impact course have been released! Click here to book onto the course…

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Oral Presentations: Do’s & Don’ts

• Be organized! The more organized and focused your presentation is, the more relaxed you’ll feel.
• Breathe! It helps you relax.
• Don’t try to cover too much material. Remember you only have 7-10 minutes.
• Do speak clearly, slowly and at an appropriate level for your audience.
• Use vocabulary that is appropriate for your audience. If you use new vocabulary, make sure you explain it and write it on the board.
• Do make eye contact with all members of your audience.
• Do move around.
• Do use hand gestures.
• Do allow the audience to ask questions at the end of your presentation.
• Don’t read your presentation. You can use short notes, but reading a presentation is unnatural; also, it makes it very difficult for your audience to follow.
• Do practice your presentation with a partner or in front of the mirror.
• Do remember to thank your audience and introduce the next speaker.
• English Grammar
• In-Text/ Parenthetical Citation confusion
• how have you been impacted by someone this year
• Is there a good way to use ChatGPT and other AI systems for learning?