Creating & Planning Powerful Presentations

• Plan
  • Decide on a topic
  • Commit to a central idea
  • Do your audience analysis
  • Conceptualize your visuals
• Prepare
  • Organize main points and supporting evidence
  • Outline transitions, a compelling attention-getter, and a meaningful conclusion. Write like you talk!
  • Develop presentation aids
  • Never forget your audience!
  • Edit for time, language, and content. Show, don’t tell!
• Practice
  • Speak your presentation outline out loud. Time yourself. Adjust content to meet time constraints.
  • Reduce to notes or a speaking outline. Write reminders to slow down, pause, etc. Use highlighters or larger fonts to make content quickly accessible to you.
  • Practice out loud and upright, being mindful of stance, gestures, etc. Record yourself or practice with an audience and get their feedback.
  • Work on technique — vocal variety, use of pause, meaningful gestures. 
  • Practice with visual aids. If possible, practice in the same space you will be presenting.

• Do
  • Use simple language
  • Use complete imagery
  • Use vivid language (create rhythm, metaphors)
• Don't
  • Use jargon
  • Use biased language
  • Use slang
• Tips
  • Limit amount of info on slides & posters
  • Use readable fonts
  • Don’t read your presentation slides
• Formal vs. Informal Language: Things to Consider
  • Is the event formal or informal?
  • A commencement address calls for more formal speech, while a roast is more informal
  • Is the audience familiar or unfamiliar?
  • If the speaker has no relationship with the audience, language may be more formal
    

• Questions to answer:
  • Who
    • is the audience (demographics, psychographics)?
  • What
    • is the problem?
    • does the audience know about the subject?
    • do you want the audience to do?
  • Where
    • will you deliver the message (situational, contextual analysis)?
  • When
    • will you deliver the message (situational, contextual analysis)?
  • Why
    • are you speaking to them (situational, contextual analysis)?
    • should your audience care about your issue?
  • How
    • does the problem affect your audience?
    • does your audience feel about the problem?
    • will you deliver your message (situational, contextual analysis)?
    • might your audience resist?
      
    • can you solve the problem?
      

Remember: check your sources for accuracy & orally cite them in your speech!

• Examples
  • Can be real or hypothetical. Use to clarify, personalize & reinforce ideas
  • Brief - use to quickly make a point
  • Extended - used when making a lengthier explanation
• Statistics
  • Numerical data used to quantify your assertions. Use sparingly
  • Mean - the average number in a group
  • Median - the middle number in a group
  • Mode - the most frequent number
• Testimony
  • Quotes or paraphrases.
  • Expert: recognized experts on the topic
  • Peer: people with firsthand knowledge or experience with the subject
• Narrative/Stories
  • A way to add ethos and pathos. Can be real
    

• Props
  • Physical objects that help illustrate a point. Make sure that it is appropriate and that the audience can see it and hear it!
• Pictures
  • Photos, illustrations, diagrams, and maps that help clarify information. Make sure the audience can see it!
• Data and Statistics
  • Charts, graphs and tables that help explain numbers. Make sure these numbers are represented correctly!
• Multimedia
  • Audio and visual that help to explain or support ideas. Make sure that equipment works, volume is set to an appropriate level and that audience can see!
    

• Presentation Tips
  • Choose aids that complement your presentation, not replace it entirely
  • Keep presentation aids simple and avoid clutter
  • Keep text easy to read by using appropriate font sizes and types
  • Choose colors that are easy on the eyes and keep them consistent throughout your presentation.
• Presenting Tips
  • Practice with presentation aids in advance and prepare for equipment failure and other mishaps
  • Use visual clues in your speech notes, such as an advance slide
  • Time yourself using slides
  • Use blank slides in spots where the presentation doesn’t need any
  • Avoid speaking to presentation aids
    

Remember to test equipment in advance and always have a backup! For example, if you lose your internet connection, use a phone line. 

• Lighting: Use natural light: face the window or a desk lamp. To manage shadows, use only direct light, never side light or backlight. 
• Background: Avoid distractions: keep your background clean and plain.
• Perspective: Avoid facial distortion: Don’t sit too close or too far from the camera.
• Eye Contact: Maintain good eye contact: look directly into the camera, not the screen. Keep the camera level with your face and prop up as necessary.
• Etiquette: Control for background noises and distractions: keep audio muted unless speaking.

• Practice: Remember, practice makes perfect! Try out your presentation on and off camera.
• Be Energetic: Maintain eye contact. Vary pitch, volume and rhythm to keep audience engaged.
• Stay Focused: Minimize distractions in your setting.
• Engage the Audience: Consider presentation aids, time for questions and other audience engagement tactics as appropriate.
• Clothing: Solid colors are best. Avoid white or black as they “blob” on camera.

• Use Headphones: Using headphones or earbuds will make your voice clearer and background noises softer
• Computer Audio: Select Join with Computer Audio at the beginning of the call, then mute yourself by clicking the microphone icon
• Muting Etiquette: Keep yourself muted until it’s your time to speak to eliminate potential background noise. Remember to unmute yourself when you’re called on!
• Chat Features: To type a question via text, use the all chat feature. You can also talk to individuals using private chat. 
• Remember that when your instructor records the lecture, both the all chat and private chat will be made public!
• Raise Your Hand: Have a question, or just need to get your instructor’s attention? Use the Raise Your Hand feature to voice your concerns!