unless the presentation is ready soon

[Guide!] How To Give a Presentation When You are NOT Prepared?

By: Author Shrot Katewa

Presentations are a powerful way of conveying messages to your colleagues, employees, or even prospective clients. But, there are times when you have been given a really short notice and you just don’t have time to prepare for a presentation! So, what can you do in such situations and how should you give a presentation when you are not prepared for it?

If you are not prepared to give a presentation, start by calming yourself down. Jot down 3 to 5 points as key takeaways. Then, make a short presentation with images and one-line text. Speak slowly and allow audience participation. Remember – your audience doesn’t know that you are not prepared.

In this article, I will discuss everything you need to know about giving a presentation when unprepared. Tips that I’m sharing below are from my own personal experiences. It has worked for me, and I hope it does for you as well. So, keep reading!

Giving a Presentation when you are NOT Prepared!

Giving a presentation is not hard even when you are not prepared for it. But, it is the fear of failure, especially in front of others, that compounds the problem.

So, any time you are in a situation when you are not prepared for a presentation, remove the audience from the picture temporarily. Imagine that you have to explain the topic (that you have been assigned for the presentation) to a friend. What would you have said? How would you have explained to him or her?

Once you’ve got that soaked in, take a deep breath and try some of the following tips on how to give a presentation when you are not prepared!

1. Calm Yourself Down

Everything is a lot more difficult when you are flustered and in a rush. That is why calming yourself down just before giving your speech or presentation, will help you focus on all the next steps that we will talk about in the rest of this article.

Calming yourself down can be done quite easily, in fact, one of the best ways to do it is just to tell yourself to be calm. Tell yourself that the worst thing that can happen is not the end of the world and that you shouldn’t even worry about it because you know you are going to give the best presentation possible.

I know, I tried to make it seem easy. But, as I mentioned earlier, just take a few breaths and do what I mentioned above. It will surely help.

2. Focus on 3 to 5 Key Takeaways for your Audience

As mentioned earlier, think of how you would have explained the topic of your presentation to your colleague or a friend. Then, introspect and observe the points that you just thought of and make a note of these points. This will help you create an outline for your presentation.

Identify a few key takeaways for your audience. Then, using the outline you just arrived at, build up your talking points. Remember the 3 things that you want each of your point to convey –

State your point
Talk about the “why” of your point.
Talk about what your point means. Share some anecdotal or personal experience.
Depending on your type of presentation you can also include the “where”, the “consequence” and the “how” of your points.

Try and include the aforementioned structure for your talking points as this will help build your presentation.

3. Use Images and One Line Text

This trick is super helpful especially if you are short on time!

Okay, so let’s say that you have to give a presentation and you have to do it really quickly. You don’t have much time to prepare but you need to get it done. Well, making an image-based presentation can really do the trick for you.

Use a lot of images, possibly one on every slide. Then, with those images, include only one line of text. This should be the key point that you are trying to convey through that slide.

This allows you to do 2 things –

Forces your audience to focus on you rather than read the text on the slides.
Saves you time to create, write, and design the content for your presentation; thereby allowing you at least some time for practising the presentation!

Furthermore, this will also force you to keep your talking point short and precise and make your presentation look structured and professional.

Also, when you are not reading the text from the slides (which you perhaps would have otherwise done if there was more than one line of text on the slide), the presentation delivery feels natural and you will come across as a person who has indeed prepared for the presentation.

4. Speak Slowly

This kind of ties-in with being calm.

If you are flustered, you will find yourself talking very fast. This is one of the quickest ways to lose your audience’s attention and also a sure way to put yourself under more pressure.

From when you introduce yourself, you want to speak slowly and clearly. Speaking slowly will also give you enough time to think about what you are going to say next.

When I say speak slowly, I don’t want you to sound mentally challenged. What I mean is take enough pauses during your presentation. Don’t be afraid to take pauses in between sentences to recoup your thoughts while allowing your audience to soak all the information that you’ve just shared.

Trust me, if you do this right, the only thing that you will be doing is creating suspense within your audience. This means that they want to hear what you have to say next, even more, that’s actually a win-win for you.

5. Think Before you Say Something

Again, as with speaking slowly, take your time to formulate your sentences. Think about what you are going to say and then say it. If you make a mistake and you maybe mumble something, don’t shy away and don’t don’t cave in.

Instead of caving in, when you make a mistake, just rehash what you are going to say. You can do it like this “oh excuse me, what I meant was…” and then just carry on with your presentation. Your audience really will not mind a few fumbles as long as you stay calm.

This will also ensure that you don’t use filler words as those are a real mood-killer!

So, speak slowly and take a brief moment to think before you say something.

6. Keep all your Talking Points Short and to the Point

Keep all of your talking points short and precise. Stick to the point and do not venture off in your mind and start rambling on about random things. This is one of the easiest ways to tell if somebody is unprepared.

It is important to note that there is a difference between rambling on about something and including your audience and then responding to their thoughts and opinions.

When you do respond to the audience, that is not rambling on, they are just giving you talking points that help your presentation.

7. Look Carefully at Each Slide Before you Engage the Audience

When you aren’t prepared for a presentation, the last thing that you want to do is to start fumbling your words or having to look back at a slide multiple times. Look at each slide carefully to prevent any unwanted fumbles on your part.

If you don’t want the audience to know that you weren’t prepared, give them time to absorb everything on the slide. In reality, you are busy preparing your points for the slide and your audience is busy looking at the slide.

The audience might actually be grateful that you weren’t in a rush and you gave them the necessary time to fully understand your presentation.

8. Include the Audience by Allowing them to Participate

If you are unprepared to the point where you don’t really know what you are going to talk about and have to give the presentation on the fly, there is one trick that can help you. This is especially if you need to go past a certain amount of time.

Including the audience in your presentation will not only help you increase the length of your presentation but it has a number of benefits as well. Here are a few of those benefits.

You will hold the attention of your audience for longer.
They will understand the presentation better.
You will be able to take some talking points away from your audience.

That is just a handful of relevant benefits.

Some of the ways you can include audience participation is by –

Asking them questions or their opinion on certain key points of the presentation.
Including a small activity that involves knowledge sharing and exchange of ideas such as a group discussion on a topic.
Include an ice-breaker at the beginning of your presentation.

9. Share Anecdotal Experience Wherever Possible – Make it Personal

Sharing anecdotal experience makes your presentation unique. It gives the audience your perspective of a certain topic.

Storytelling is a great way of sharing your personal experience. You can include any personal experiences that are unique to the point or the message you are trying to convey with the specific slide. However, do make sure that it is linked with the presentation and the key point of the slide.

Personal experiences also keep the audience more engaged experience something that is unique which draws their attention towards you as a speaker. Little personal touches go a long way not only when giving a presentation but also when dealing with clients.

10. Remember, your Audience Doesn’t Know that you are NOT prepared!

It is important to remember that only YOU know that you haven’t been able to prepare. Your audience is not aware of that! So, as long as you don’t give away any hints of lack of preparedness, they are never going to find out that you aren’t prepared.

You can use any one or multiple tips mentioned above and trick the audience into believing that you are indeed prepared for the presentation.

Final Thoughts

Giving a presentation especially when you are not prepared doesn’t have to be that hard. Perhaps you may feel nervous the first time. It is absolutely normal. But, remember to stay calm and be confident. You surely will be able to deliver the presentation with great success.

Hopefully, this article has helped you, and I hope that you will not have to be nervous the next time you get caught off-guard. Remember to bookmark this page so that you do not forget anything.

How to Start and End a Presentation: 10 Practical Tips to Grab Attention and Make an Impact

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By Al Boicheva

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2 years ago

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No matter how well-crafted and planned the body of your presentation, its impact depends on its opening and ending. On one hand, you have 30 seconds to grab your audience’s attention so people would be interested in hearing what you have to say. On the other, your ending is what your audience will be left with and will shape how they feel about your presentation and how they’ll remember it. This might be like a lot of pressure but the truth is, it’s easier than it sounds. This is why, in this article, we will help you achieve this and more with 10 practical tips on how to start and end a presentation effectively .

Article overview: The Opening: 5 Tips To Get Your Audience Invested 1. The Hook 2. Transition 3. Personal Story 4. Build Tension with Silence 5. Use Startling Statistics The Ending: 5 Tips To Make an Impact 1. The Rule of Three 2. Come Full Circle 3. Food for Thought Question Ending 4. Inspire with Personal Involvement 5. Make Your Audience Laugh

5 Practical Tips on How to Start a Presentation

Imagine you spent weeks preparing an amazing presentation with lots of valuable insight that you just can’t wait to share with your audience. Unfortunately, only a few minutes in, you notice that most of your viewers are on their phones scrolling and barely paying any attention to what you have to say. What happened?

Presenters and speakers often start with a long introduction. They introduce themselves, share how excited they are, thank the audience for attending, explain what they’re going to speak about in a minute, why the topic is important, etc. This might take only one or two minutes, however, when it comes to presentation, two minutes without telling anything interesting might result in losing your audience. In fact, you only have 30 seconds to grab your audience’s attention .

This is why, no matter the topic and goal of your presentation, you must always captivate your audience’s attention first. Leave the introductions and summaries for later .

In this section, we’ll talk about ways to hook your audience in the first 30 seconds and get them invested in what you have to say in your presentation.

1. The Hook

Anything unpredictable that catches you off-guard, will get your attention.

This tactic, masterfully named as a metaphor for attracting fish with a juicy worm on a hook, refers to a few-second short story, metaphor, shocking fact, statistics, analogy, controversial statement, or anything unconventional and unexpected that will capture your viewer’s imagination. We’ll have a look at three examples for hooks.

1.1 Bold Claim

“Here’s all you have to know about men and women: women are crazy, men are stupid.” This opening line by stand-up comedy legend George Carlin is a great example of a hook in the form of a bold claim. If you’re confident enough with your presentation and you have a bold claim up to your sleeve, don’t save it for the end. Instead, shoot that bullet confidently the second you start your presentation. It will immediately catch your audience off-guard and you will have it paying attention to your every word after that.

Here are some examples for bold claim starters in presentations and public speaking.

“What you’re doing right now at this very moment is killing you.” ( Nilofer Merchant )
“Sadly, in the next 18 minutes when I do our chat, four Americans that are alive will be dead through the food that they eat.” ( Jamie Oliver )
“I’m going to try to increase the lifespan of every single person in this room by seven and a half minutes. Literally, you will live seven and a half minutes longer than you would have otherwise just because you watched this talk.” ( Jane McGonagall )
“I don’t want to alarm anybody in this room. However, it’s just come to my attention that the person to your right is a liar.” ( Pamela Meyer )

1.2 Imagine

One of the greatest ways to get attention and start strong is through storytelling. People love stories and are always interested in hearing one. In fact, many presentations may revolve around a story or just use small anecdotes to enhance their message. With this being said, amongst the best methods to create a compelling story is to get your audience involved. To do so, make them imagine themselves in the shoes of the main character. This attention-grabber invites your viewers to create a mental image and get emotionally invested.

Here are examples of speeches starting with the Imagine play:

“I want you, guys, to imagine that you’re a soldier, running through the battlefield. Now, you’re shot in the leg with a bullet that severs your femoral artery. This bleed is extremely traumatic and can kill you in less than 3 minutes. Unfortunately, by the time a medic actually gets to you, what the medic has on his or her belt can take 5 minutes or more with the application of pressure to stop that type of bleed.” ( Joe Landolina )
“Imagine a big explosion as you climb through 3000 feet. Imagine a plane full of smoke, imagine an engine going clack-clack-clack-clack-clack. Well, I had a unique seat that day.”( Ric Elias )

1.3. Humourous Twists

Great stories have unexpected plot twists. The best stories, however, have a funny plot twist. Depending on your topic, you can start by telling your story, get your audience in the mood for a serious talk, and then contradict all expectations with a hilarious spin.

“I need to make a confession at the outset here. A little over 20 years ago I did something that I regret. Something that I’m not particularly proud of. Something that in many ways I wish no one would ever know. But here I feel kind of obliged to reveal. In the late 1980s, in a moment of youthful indiscretion, I went to law school.” ( Daniel Pink )

2. Transition

Your next step would be to make an organic transition between your hook and the main point of your presentation. You can do this seamlessly or by linking directly with “I tell you this, because”, “This brings us to…”. Mohammed Qahtani, for example, does this transition so smoothly, that you’ll never even catch it.

First, as a hook, he chooses to use a prop. He literally goes on stage and lights a cigarette, capitalizing on unpredictability, originality, bold statement, humor, and immediately uses the second hook in the form of a provocative question, asking the audience “You think smoking kills?”. The third thing he does is strike with shocking data that he immediately admits to being fake. He already has the audience on the tip of his fingers. Having accomplished that, Mohammed Qahtani is ready to finally move to the body of the presentation and reveal his actual message.

3. Personal Story

Another storytelling technique besides making people from your audience imagine themselves in a particular situation, is to start with your own personal story. One that is relevant to the topic of your presentation. Your personal involvement and experience give you credibility in the eyes of the viewers, and, as we mentioned, everyone loves to hear an interesting story. This is because stories are relatable, easy to identify with communicating honesty, openness, and connection.

4. Build Tension with Silence

Interestingly enough, saying nothing is also a very powerful option. In fact, standing in front of an audience and confidently keeping silent is as powerful as making a bold statement. Silence will definitely build tension and pique your audience’s curiosity about what you have to say. Be careful, however, as this technique requires knowing your timing.

5. Use Startling Statistics

Sometimes you just can’t think of a story, a joke, or a specific statement that is bold enough. And that’s okay. As a last resort, but also a pretty effective one, you can always rely on curious shocking statistics, related to your topic, to instantly gain people’s attention. Take your time researching curious statistics that will emphasize the seriousness of your topic or as a tool to start over the top.

To sum it up, your presentation opening follows 5 steps:

Hook: You immediately strike your audience instantly with something interesting and unconventional they wouldn’t expect.
Transition: You link your hook to your main point.
Introduction: Once you already have your audience’s attention, you can finally make a very brief introduction with something relevant to your topic.
Preview: Give your audience a brief preview of what you’re going to talk about.
Benefits: Tell your audience how will they benefit from listening to your presentation. (ex. “By the end, you will already know how to…”)

Keep in mind, that your opening, consisting of these 5 steps, should be brief and ideally not exceed 2 minutes . If you manage to make a great hook, transition, introduction, review and list the benefits in 2 minutes, you already have your audience’s full attention and they will be listening to your every word throughout the body of your presentation.

5 Practical Tips on How to End a Presentation

Let’s consider this situation. You start watching a movie that instantly opens with a jaw-dropping suspenseful scene that raises questions and makes you want to unravel the mystery. This scene will certainly make your stay through the movie. You are very invested, you love the story, the build-up keeps you on the edge of your seat until the end when the reveal is so underwhelming, you feel disappointed. The ending doesn’t fit the intensity of the story and feels incomplete and rushed. How does this relate to your presentation?

Having a great start for your presentation is what will keep your audience interested in what you have to say. However, the end is what your audience will be left with and will shape how they feel about your presentation and how they’ll remember it. In short, if you fail your opening, you will still be able to catch up with your presentation and capitalize with a great closing line. But an underwhelming conclusion can kill the velocity of a good presentation and ruin the overall experience.

Let’s look at some practical tips and examples by great presenters to get inspired and never let that happen.

1. The Rule of Three

This powerful technique in speech writing refers to the collection of three words, phrases, sentences, or lines. In photography, there’s a similar rule, known as the Rule of Thirds, that serves to divide an image into three. In writing, the Rule of Three combines a collection of thoughts into three entities with combined brevity and rhythm to create a pattern.

Information presented in a group of three sticks in our heads better than in other groups. This is why this principle presents your ideas in more enjoyable and memorable ways for your audience. It also serves to divide up a speech or emphasize a certain message. Let’s see a couple of examples where the rule is applied in different forms.

Examples of the Rule of three in Speeches

“ I came, I saw, I conquered .” (Veni, Vidi, Vici. ) by Julius Caesar in a letter to the Roman Senate
“…this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people , shall not perish from the earth.” from Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
“ It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you’d have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. lt means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.” from Steve Job’s Stanford Commencement Speech

In Veni Vidi Vici, the rule serves to divide the concept of Caesar’s victory into three parts to prolong the conclusion in order to give it more power. The “came” and “ saw” parts are technically obvious and unnecessary in terms of context. However, they serve to build up the conclusion of conquering, creating a story, rhythm, and, ultimately, a memorable and powerful line. A single “I conquered” wouldn’t impress the Senate that much, let alone become such a legendary phrase preserved in history.

Lincoln’s famous speech ending shows an excellent practice of the Rule of Three in the form of repetition to emphasize the new role of the Government. “That Government of the people shaw not perish from the earth.” would still be a good line, however, the repetition makes it way more powerful and memorable.

And last, Steve Job uses the Rule of Three in the form of repetition to accomplish building up the conclusion and emphasizing what “it means”. This repetition gives rhythm and helps the audience to be more receptive, stay focused, and follow the speaker to the final conclusion.

You can also use the Rule of Three to close your presentation by giving your audience two negatives and ending with a positive . Typical structures would be “This is not… this is not… but it is”; “You wouldn’t… you wouldn’t… but you would..”, etc.

For example, you can conclude a speech about self-growth with something similar to “Your future isn’t a matter of chance, it isn’t a matter of circumstances, it’s a matter of choice.”

2. Come Full Circle

In short, this means capitalizing on your message by ending your presentation the exact way you started it . If done right, this is a powerful tool to make an impact. Usually, you begin your presentation with a statement that piques your audience’s curiosity. You use it to set the topic and start building on it. You take your audience on a journey, you make them start at one point, follow them through the entire journey, and make them end at the same point. By repeating the opening line as an ending, now the message makes more sense, it’s way more personal and makes a satisfying logical conclusion .

A good example of this comes from Yubing Zang in her speech “Life Begins at the End of Your Comfort Zone.” The speaker opens her TED talk with that same line to take you on a journey. You experience her story, you learn how fear is the biggest thief of dreams while comfort is a drug that keeps you from following them. After that strong message, she finishes with that same phrase. In the end, this phrase isn’t just an abstract quote, now it makes more sense and feels more real and personal.

You can also use the full circle method to start and finish your presentation with the same question. As an opening line, your question will make your audience think. It will compel them to listen to your presentation and learn the answers. As an ending, however, this same question will become rhetorical .

And speaking of questions…

3. Food for Thought Question Ending

The easiest way to end a speech on a good note is to leave your audience with a question. The kind of open-ended question that will inspire your audience to reflect on . Such questions can be so inviting, they will give your audience something exciting to think about and even think of throughout the day.

Examples of open-ended questions, depending on your topic, could sound like this.

What if it doesn’t work out that way?
What does this look like for you?
If you could do it over again, what would you do differently?

Unlike close-ended questions that the viewers can answer immediately on the spot and forget about your speech later, interesting open-ended questions that give them food for thought will inevitably surface on occasion.

For example, Lera Boroditski closes her topic on “How Language Shapes the Way We Think” with ” And that gives you the opportunity to ask: why do I think the way that I do? How could I think differently? And also, what thoughts do I wish to create?”

In order for your open-ended question to become food for thought, make sure your presentation raises it organically . It should sound like a relevant and logical conclusion to what you’ve built during your speech. Otherwise, the question would be forced and would seem like coming from nowhere. The best way to think of such an open-ended question is to reflect on what is the question you wished to answer during your presentation but couldn’t. Something that doesn’t have a solution yet.

Why do people fear losing things that they do not even have yet?
Why do we strive for perfection if it is not attainable?
How much control do you have over your life?
When will we reach a point where terraforming Mars will be our only chance at human survival? How can you influence this deadline?

This will give a great puzzle for your audience to solve and something to remember your presentation with, for a long time.

4. Inspire with Personal Involvement

If you have a story to share, don’t hesitate to inspire your audience with it during your own presentations.

This method is most powerful when we share a personal story or experience . Our vulnerability and personal touch are what will help you inspire your audience without sounding insincere or forcing them a piece of advice out of nowhere. The key here is to have credibility and personal involvement . It might come from your degree, accomplishments, or from your life’s story. Also, make sure the story is relatable and encourages empathy from your audience.

Steve Jobs gave a commencement speech at Stanford University sharing his personal experiences in order to inspire change in his audience’s mindset. He uses his authority and credibility to shape the spirit of leadership and entrepreneurship in young people. He aims to inspire people that they should learn to color outside the lines instead of following the patterns and structure of society. And he serves as a great example with his own life story and accomplishments .

Which makes the ending memorable and impactful: “ Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. Stay hungry. Stay foolish. ”

In conclusion, the entire speech builds up to this conclusion making it powerful as the personal involvement and experience make it sincere and inspirational.

5. Make Your Audience Laugh

If your topic allows it, one of the best ways to make your presentation memorable and a great experience for your audience is to end with a joke. Just make sure to craft a joke that relates to the main point of your presentation.

As an example for this tip, we chose the TED talk of webcartoonist Randall Munroe where he answers simple what-if questions using math, physics, logic, and -you guessed it- humor.

He ends by sharing an allegedly personal experience about receiving an email from a reader with a single subject line “Urgent”. “And this was the entire email: If people had wheels and could fly, how would we differentiate them from airplanes? Urgent. And I think that there are some questions math just cannot answer. ”

Final Words

In conclusion, the start and end of your presentation are crucial to its success. No matter the topic and goal of your presentation, you must always captivate your audience’s attention first, leaving the introductions and summaries for later. Having a great start for your presentation is what will keep your audience interested in what you have to say. However, the end is what your audience will be left with and will shape how they feel about your presentation and how they’ll remember it. We hope we managed to inspire your inner public speaker to rock your presentation like a pro.

In the meantime, you could also check some more insights on related topics, gather inspiration, or simply grab a freebie?

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Al Boicheva

Al is an illustrator at GraphicMama with out-of-the-box thinking and a passion for anything creative. In her free time, you will see her drooling over tattoo art, Manga, and horror movies.

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How to open a presentation: what to say and how to say it

In the moment before a presentation begins, there’s an air of anticipation. The audience waits expectantly. The way you manage the next minute will determine how the rest of the presentation goes. How do you win that minute? By mastering (1) what to say and (2) how to say it.

1. what you say, the opening is the most consequential part of your presentation, so you should spend a disproportionate amount of time working on your first few sentences and first few slides. i script my opening and rehearse it repeatedly -- because when you start strong, you boost your own confidence, and you reassure your audience that they’re in good hands. your opening needs to:, convey who you are . unless you all know each other, the audience is wondering who you are and where you’re going to take them. give them a sense – but not more than a couple sentences. it could be a simple statement about where you come from and why the things you will say matter. for example: thank you, bonnie, for that introduction i’m really delighted to do this, because i feel kinship with all of you in the audience: ten years ago, bonnie was my boss. sharing a joke or an amusing anecdote can win over an audience right at the start. but the risk is high, too. you need to be comfortable telling a joke. you need to know what your audience will be comfortable with. and you need to be prepared to move on quickly if the joke misses., get to the point. you’ll have the full attention of the audience when you begin. don’t squander that with informal asides, apologies for a stuffy nose, or multiple thank-yous. after a few words that convey who you are, hit the audience with an eyepopping number, a surprising assertion, or a relevant story that sets up your presentation. for example: according to the federal reserve, 40% of american adults don’t have the cash or savings to cover a $400 emergency expense. or in 1939, albert einstein wrote secretly to president roosevelt about atomic weapons. after a scientific briefing, roosevelt called in his military aide, general pa watson. “pa this requires action” thus began the manhattan project, a sprawling collaboration…, deliver your big idea. the opening builds up to your big idea -- a single sentence that conveys your point of view and what’s at stake. the big idea is the main point you’re trying to make in your presentation. for example: customer experience is everyone’s business., or ai and bioengineering will change the world more than anything in human history., once you’ve made your bold assertion, your presentation begins in earnest, 2. how you say it, you do not need to memorize your opening – but you do want to practice it enough that you know your storyline cold, so you know what’s coming next and how you want to transition to it. you should be so comfortable with your story that you can:, look at your audience, not your notes . the goal of practice: to be able to put down your notes and talk directly to the audience. you can’t do that if you’re reading your presentation. if it’s a virtual event, look into the eye of your webcam, not at the thumbnails of your audience on the screen., “be here now.” when i start, i invoke the buddhist admonition: be here now. i don’t let my attention waver for a moment; i think only about what i’m saying and how it’s being seen and heard by the audience. , go big . your presentation presence should be larger than your everyday affect. no need to be theatrical – but more-than-usual animation in your voice and gestures tells the audience you’ve got something good for them that you’re eager to convey. the audience expects you to go big: from their perspective, you put yourself up for this, and they want you to own the moment., these best practices will lift your entire presentation. but they’re especially important at the start, where they set you on course for a great delivery. clear narratives can help you create the best opening for your topic and your style, and then help you deliver it with confidence and conviction. let us know how we can help you: [email protected]., your presentations aren’t great. it’s not your fault. (the science says so.).

.css-1qrtm5m{display:block;margin-bottom:8px;text-transform:uppercase;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5714285714285714;-webkit-letter-spacing:-0.35px;-moz-letter-spacing:-0.35px;-ms-letter-spacing:-0.35px;letter-spacing:-0.35px;font-weight:300;color:#606F7B;}@media (min-width:600px){.css-1qrtm5m{font-size:16px;line-height:1.625;-webkit-letter-spacing:-0.5px;-moz-letter-spacing:-0.5px;-ms-letter-spacing:-0.5px;letter-spacing:-0.5px;}} Best Practices 5 essential preparation steps for a successful presentation

by Tom Rielly • June 15, 2020

Keeping your presentation visuals minimalistic, simple, and clear is just one important step to remember when designing a hit presentation. Leaving nothing to chance, great presenters prove quite methodical as they prepare. Here’s a checklist for everything you need to keep in mind before your next presentation:

1. Choose the right software for your needs

The easiest way to select the right presentation software for you is to simply find the one that is native to your device. For example, if you have a Mac, use Apple Keynote, if you work on Windows, use PowerPoint. Google Slides is recommended if you’re working with someone, as it makes collaboration very easy. Another software option is Prezi: a specialty tool called Prezi that creates a presentation using motion, zoom, and panning across one giant visual space.

2. Organize your files

As you develop your script and visuals, you will need to start assembling all the assets for your slides. Create a unique folder on your computer to hold these items. Keep the folder organized by media type (presentation drafts, photos, videos, scripts) and back them up frequently to the Cloud or external disk. Label each file with a specific descriptive name, e.g. “Susan Johnson singing magpie 2020”, as opposed to “IMG_4043.jpg”, which can make it confusing to find your assets. The more organized you are up front, the easier preparing for your presentation will be.

3. Prepare your presentation materials

Make sure your presentation materials (script, graphics, actual slides) are saved in at least two safe spots (for example, your computer and an external USB drive) and are backed-up frequently. If you are using an online presentation software, such as Google Slides, be sure to also download a copy of your presentation in case the internet connection is unreliable. Having all the individual assets on hand in addition to your presentation slides can be helpful if you experience tech issues before presenting, or if you need to make any last minute changes. Make sure to label your final presentation with the title and your name so it’s easy to find.

4. Practice, practice, practice!

Remember, practice makes perfect. People often run out of time making their presentations and have no time to practice. Most TED speakers practice at least ten times. Neuroscientist Jill-Bolte Taylor gave one of the most successful Talks in TED history with nearly 27 million views. How did she do it? She practiced her Talk over 40 times! By rehearsing multiple times you will naturally memorize your Talk, which means you won’t need note cards when you give your final presentation.

5. Do a final test run

Before presenting, make sure the equipment you need is working properly. It’s generally good practice to rehearse standing on the exact stage with the exact lighting using the exact computer that you will be using in your final presentation.

Here’s a quick checklist of what to look for when testing your equipment:

If you're not using your own computer, the one provided might be slower and have trouble playing media. If you have videos or other media, make sure they play correctly
Test the projector to make sure it’s HD
Make sure images are clear
Test the sound of any clips you use, as this is what goes wrong most frequently
If you’re using a mic, test the volume

Don’t let technical issues or other blunders overshadow your presentation. By following these guidelines, and with a little preparation, you can engineer out the problems BEFORE they happen.

Ready to learn more about how to make your presentation even better? Get TED Masterclass and develop your ideas into TED-style talks

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You Can’t Over Prepare for a Presentation

Writing a speech or presentation is challenging, and memorizing it takes even more time and effort. But whether you’re speaking at a conference, setting a direction for your team, or persuading upper management to greenlight an idea, it’s important to know your presentation cold. Transitions can be especially tricky, so break your talk into sections and rehearse the shifts between the sections. Note any troublesome segues and practice them repeatedly. Then, spend time each day memorizing your speech. You might consider recording and listening to it whenever you’re driving, exercising, or running errands. Or you can rehearse a portion of your script right before bedtime or multitask as you brush your teeth. Finally, have a plan for any slip-ups. Prepare two or three go-to phrases, such as, “Let me refer to my notes,” or “I’m struggling to remember my next point. Let me take a moment and step back.” The lapse will be less awkward for everyone when you don’t panic and do what you need to move on.

Source: This tip is adapted from “Don’t Just Memorize Your Next Presentation — Know It Cold,” by Sabina Nawaz

Partner Center

7 Big Mistakes to Avoid in Your Next Presentation

For many people, presenting in front of an audience—or even just a small room filled with trusted coworkers—can be a nightmare scenario. Not only are many of us afraid of public speaking , some of us also don’t even know how to give a good presentation. And it’s all too easy to make a mistake—or 10—in a presentation when fear and inexperience combine.

But luckily, the most common presentation mistakes are easy to avoid. We spoke with two experts to find out the mistakes you’re most likely to make, and how you can fix them.

1 You’re not engaging the audience.

Even if you don’t have a fear of public speaking , it’s not always easy to engage an audience.

“Sometimes, presenters get caught up in their own heads,” explains Emily Murphy, lecturer in business communications at Indiana University Kelley School of Business. “They forget there are people out there in the audience—people who want to make a connection with the speaker.”

An easy way to engage with your audience is to use non-verbal cues, such as making eye contact. Murphy also suggests asking the audience questions throughout your presentation. This last tip packs a double-punch: not only are you engaging your audience, but they have added incentive to pay attention to you if they know you may call on them.

2 You’re reading from the screen.

The quickest way to bore your audience is to read straight from your slides or a computer screen. “I have literally seen people with their backs to the audience reading the slide word for word,” says marketing and brand consultant Jeff Magnuson . But, “the audience can read too,” Magnuson reminds us, which means you’re not adding any value to your presentation if you’re simply reading it. “Instead, you should know the material and tell it directly to the audience in a clear and confident way,” he instructs. “Have a copy of the slides printed out in front of you or have the laptop facing you so you can glance down to see where you are.”

3 Your PowerPoint is too busy.

Your visual aids—such as PowerPoint slides and other projections—are meant to help the audience. “But they are never meant to take away from the focus of the presentation, which is you,” reminds Murphy. That’s what you risk when you build a presentation that looks too busy. “PowerPoint slides that contain too much writing, or are too busy with graphs, charts, and other visuals, will distract the audience from your words,” she says. So, in other words, apply the KISS principle—keep it simple, sweetie—to your presentation slides and art too.

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4 You didn’t personalize your presentation.

Fact: “No one wants to listen to a dry and data-filled presentation,” says Murphy. “Even if the topic of your presentation is mostly data, there are still ways to make it interesting and to catch the audience’s attention.” So be sure to personalize your presentation with stories and examples—and don’t be afraid to use humor. “Tell a story about yourself or someone else that fits into the subject of the presentation,” Murphy recommends. “The more ‘human’ you can make the presentation, the better the chances that someone will be listening.”

5 You didn’t rehearse.

You’ve heard the saying, “practice makes perfect.” Yet, Magnuson warns that many people don’t practice their presentation before giving it—and that’s a big mistake, he says. “Every presentation should be rehearsed—unless, of course, someone is asked to present at the last possible moment,” says Magnuson. “Rehearsing the material allows confidence to build and the presenter will not be hung upon details because he or she will really know what he or she is presenting. Additionally, when someone interrupts—which they definitely will—the presenter can pick up where he or she left off without issue. Don’t simply memorize.”

6 You forgot to smile.

Magnuson admits it sounds hokey, “but a smile can quickly put the room at ease and give the presenter confidence.” Plus, smiling helps avoid some of the mistakes we covered earlier, such as engaging with the audience and not only reading from a screen. Magnuson says that the only time you should avoid smiling during a presentation is if you’re delivering bad or somber news. “Otherwise, relax and smile,” he says. “Along with rehearsing, simply practice smiling while you talk. It may feel unnatural but it will go a long way in your presentation.”

7 You didn’t expect the unexpected.

Like it or not, something will likely go wrong during your presentation, whether a projector doesn’t work, the lights go out, or your laptop won’t load the file you need. “These issues can be unavoidable,” admits Murphy. “But the better prepared you are, the more able you are to handle when things go wrong and go with the flow. Someone who panics and appears frazzled when things go wrong can lose credibility. But if you are able to complete the presentation under difficult circumstances, your credibility and presentation will soar.”

Luyện tập tổng hợp

trắc nghiệm
bài tập sgk

Nguyễn Khánh Huyền

Unless the presentation is ready soon, we’ll have to back out of the project.

A. We’ll get the project back if the proposal is ready soon

B. If we don’t complete the presentation, we’ll lose the project

C. The president is ready to back the project we presented.

D. We will have to start the project before the presentation is done.

( giải thích hộ mình với )

Nguyễn Thị Thu Hằng

combine each pair of these sentences , using if

1. he can do a part to save the environment by buying recycled products

2. putting garbage into the bins is one answer to minimize pollution

2. we should take the mao with us or we will lose out way on the street

4. ellen can borrow it , but she must give ir back next week

5. the authorities are thinking if raising the petrol peices . i will have to cycle to work

Quan Lạc Hạ Nguy

B1 : Viết lại câu

1, In spite of his illness, he did well in the examination

--> Although

2, The water is too dirty for us to use

--> The water is so

3, It's 2 months since we last tasted that kind of food

--> We haven't

4, The project wasn't explained carefully by the manager

--> The manager didn't

5, I never suspect that my money has been stolen she said to her son

--> She told her son

B2 : Viết lại câu có sử dụng thì trong ngoặc

1, I wanted to finish my homework, so I stayed up late last night (as)

--> I stayed

2, My brother is strong. He can carry that table (enough)

--> My brother

3, Mr.Lam teaches English. Mr.Hai teaches Math (subject)

--> Mr.Lam doesn't

4, I'd rather not see him tomorrow (want)

Quynh Existn't

Choose the best option to complete each of the following sentences

1. If I ______ the bus this afternoon, I will get a taxi instead.

A. miss B. will miss C. missed D. had missed

2. `We’ll have to go without John if he ______ soon.

A. won't arrive B. will arrive C. arrives D. doesn't arrive

3. If you ______ your homework, I _____ you watch TV.

A. won't do/ let B. did/ won't let C. don't do/ won't let D. won't do/ don't let

4. If you _____ this switch, the computer _____ on.

A. press/ comes B. will press/ comes C. press/ can come D. have pressed/ will comes

5. “Would you like some cake?”- “no thanks. If I ________ cake, I ______ fat.”

A. eat/ will get B. ate/ would get C. would eat/could get D. am eating/ will get

6. Pam broke her arm in the accident. It____ much worse if she hadn't been wearing her seat belt.

A. will be B. would have been C. was D. were

7. “My boss made me work overtime again.”_ “if I _____ you, I _____ my job.”

A. were/ would have quit B. am/ will quit C. was/ must quit D. were/ would quit

8. “I don't know whether to take that job or not”_“_____ you, I _____ it. ”

A. if I had been/ would have taken B. should I be/ will take C. if I were/would have taken

D. I were/ would take

9. If you _____ me about the bad service, we'd have eaten there.

A. didn't tell B. wouldn't have told C. hadn't told D. had told

10. The teacher was absent today, so class was canceled. If she _____ absent again tomorrow, class____ tomorrow, too.

A. is/ will cancel B. is/ will be canceled C. was/ would be canceled D. was/ would cancel

11. If he ____ me, I'll be ready to help him.

A. ask B. will ask C. asks D. to ask

12. When winter comes, I ____ a new coat.

A. buying B. buy C. will buy D. buys

13. What would Tom do if he ____ the truth?

A. would know B. has know C. knows D. knew

14. If I ____ you, I wouldn't do that.

A. be B. were C. was D. had been

15. If I had been absent from class yesterday, I____ the math test

A. would missed B. would have missed C. will miss D. miss

16. If I _____ a millionaire, I ______ a Civic Honda.

A. am/ will buy B. was/ would buy C. was/ would have bought D. were/ would buy

17. “ Here is my phone number”- “thanks, I _______ you a call if I _____ some help.”

A. will give/ will need B. would give/ needed C. will give/ need D. give/ need

18. If I _____ wings, I _____ take an airplane to fly home.

A. have/ won't have to B. had/ wouldn't have to C. have/ will have to D. had/ didn't have to

19. I think you should stop smoking.

A. if I am you, I will stop smoking. B. if I were you, I will stop smoking.

C. if I were you, I would stop smoking. D. if I had been you, I would stop smoking.

20. We did not visit the museum because we had no time.

A. If we have time, we will visit the museum. B. If we had time, we would visit the museum.

C. If we had had time, we would have visited the museum. D. If we had had time, we will visit the museum.

21. ______You work harder, you will be sacked.

A. Whether B. If C. However D. Unless

22. Unless you _____ quiet, I'll scream.

A. don't keep B. keep C. kept D. didn't keep

23. I won't wake unless I ______ the alarm.

A. don't hear B. heard C. hear D. didn't hear

24. ______, he would have been able to pass the exam.

A. If he studied more B. If he were studying more C. studying more D. If he had studied more

25. If I had had some more money, I _______ that book.

A. Would buy B. will buy C. would have bought D. all are correct

26. ______ if I take a map.

A. I will get lost B. I will not get lost C. I would get lost D. I would not get lost

27. If cauliflowers ______ from extreme temperatures, the heads get discolored.

A. will not be protected B. are not protected C. were not protected D. are not being protected

28. • ______ I have time, I will go with you,

A. If B. Unless C. So D. So that

29. If you had told me that this was going to happen, I ___ it.

A. would never have believed B. don’t believe C. hadn’t believed D. can’t believe

30. If Jake ___ to go on the trip, would you have gone?

A. doesn’t agree B. didn’t agree C. hadn’t agreed D. wouldn’t agree

Minh Thư Trần

1)Most people have agreed that............................................must be banned. (forest)

2)Smoking is very...................................................to our health. (harm)

3)Man is.........................................destroying the Earth. (slow)

4)Scientists are looking for an effective way to....................................energy consumption. (reduction)

5)A lot of countries in the world are ready using.......................................energy. (sun)

6)It rained heavily. We were...............................................wet. (complete)

7)Can you tell me the reasons for........................................Mother's Day? (celebrate)

8)If we.................................................the water, we will have no fresh water to use. (pollution)

aannnn thiênnn

1. You should go to the lecture”

- The teacher advised us _________________________________

2. You must hurry or we’ll miss the train.

- Unless we ___________________________________________

3. It’s not difficult to make bread.

- Bread is _____________________________________________

4. Jack said, “I have studied English for five years, Mary.”

- Jack told_____________________________________________

5. Unless they leave a lamp beside that hole, somebody will fall into it.

- If__________________________________________________

6. The workers repaired the bridge last week, therefore, we can now drive on it

7. No one could open the door of the house.

- The door ____________________________________________

8. We were born in a city. It is very small.

- The city in ___________________________________________

9. She has studied French for five years.

- She began____________________________________________

10. They left very early in the morning. They didn’t want anybody to see them.(so that)

-____________________________________________________

11. He collects old coins. He is likes it.

- He is fond___________________________________________

12. She said, “ Do you have a new car, Jack ?”

- She asked____________________________________________

13. He said to her, “ Give my regards to your parents.”

- He told______________________________________________

14. “Don’t talk to that man, Jenny”, she said.

- She ________________________________________________

15. I didn’t understand the lesson because I didn’t go to school yesterday.

16. Jane can’t go to your party because you don’t invite her.

17. They haven’t finished their homework yet because it is too long and difficult.

- If _________________________________________________

18. Jim was absent because he was ill.

- Because of___________________________________________

19. We were late for the play because of the long line at the ticket-window.

- Because there ________________________________________

20. I couldn’t see anything because it was so dark.

21. Because the weather is warm and damp, rice grows very well here.

22. Jane never says a hard word to Tom because of her love for him.

- Because Jane_______ _______________________________________________________________________________________

23. Nobody could solve this mathematical problem.

® This ______________________________________________

24. They believe that he will pass the final exam.

® He ________________________________________________

25. She was too old to carry that heavy case.

® She was so _________________________________________

26. He seldom keeps his promise.

® Seldom____________________________________________

27. I have never travelled by plane in my life.

® Never

Dương Thanh Ngân

1.The book was about an exciting adventure.We read it two days ago.

The book..............................................................................

2.The teacher is carrying out a project to help the poor students in this school.(being)

A project......................................................................................

Nguyễn Ngọc Huyền Anh

1, I didn't have enough money, so I didn't buy that latop.

=> If....................................................................................

2, I don't have enough money, so I can't buy that expensive dictionary.

=> If...........................................................................................................

3, We must do our homework well or the teacher will get angry with us.

=> Unless......................................................................................

4, You will catch a cold if you don't keep your feet dry.

=> Unless...................................................................

5, She didn't know you were in hospital, so she didn't visit you.

=> If......................................................................

6, Unless you water the plants everyday, they will die.

=> If.......................................................

7, If the police had found out him, he would have been introduce.

=> Had...........................................................

8, We couldn't have got the prize if our father hadn't encourage us.

=> If it........................................................................

9, Without Nam's help, I wouldn't have been able to slove thif difficulty.

=> If Nam.........................................................

10, John is fat because he eats so many chips.

=> If........................................................................

11, Thanks to Laura's support, I was able to finish the project.

=> Had Laura................................................................

12, With a lot of luck, you may get your novel published.

=> If you.................................................

13, My advice is that Mary should apply for that job.

=> If I...............................................................

14, We can't survice when there is no air.

=> Without................................................

15, Your warming helped prevent my failture in the test.

=> Had it......................................................................

16, They will go swimming if it is sunny.

=> Unless.............................................

17, We could have lost that match if there hadn't been efforts from everyone of us.

=> Without efforts...............................................................

* Mọi người giúp mình với =]

Ngọc Thảo Phạm

1. Is this the style of hair? Your wife wants to have it.

2. The professor is excellent. I am taking his course.

3. The girl chatted with him yesterday. She arrived here at 6:30.

4. The young man lives in the corner. He rides an expensive motorbike.

5. I’m reading the book. I bought it in 1996.

6. I will introduce you the man. He is sharing the flat with me.

7. The young man is talking to our teacher. He is Ba’s brother.

8. We visited the monument. It was built a hundred years ago.

9. The boys are interested in football. It is a popular game all over the world.

10. The boy gave his parents big hugs before he left. He went abroad to study.

11. Children like to eat ice-cream. It can cause toothache.

12. The woman is my mother. She understands me best.

13. The park has a lake in it. The park is near our house.

14. This article praises the national heroes. The history books have forgotten them.

15. What was the name of the boy? You borrowed these books from him.

16. I’ll introduce you to the man. His support for the project is essential.

17. The dam is nearly empty. We receive our water supply from it.

18. The clerk doesn’t work here any more. You asked about him.

19. I don’t like people. People lose their tempers easily.

20. It is the important matter. We are interested in it.

Question 61 : _____ people are still uncertain, we cannot really predict the outcome of the election.

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How to Recover From Mistakes

Public Speaking Mistakes Happen to Everyone

Tell me if this rings a bell: You’re going along, giving a great speech or presentation, when all of a sudden you draw a complete blank. Your train of thought has derailed. It’s about to crash and burn and take your presentation with it.

You look to the audience nervously, then you fidget and shuffle through your notes. You’re desperate for something, anything, to jog your memory and get you back on track. How can this be happening? You practiced . You know the material inside and out. Then suddenly a word or phrase in your notes catches your eye and you breathe a heavy sigh of relief as you pick up and keep going. But now you’re mortified. Everyone knows you messed up and it’s all they’re going to remember of your presentation, right?

Making Mistakes in Public: It’s Okay

It doesn’t matter how often you give presentations or for how many years you’ve been giving them, you’re going to a make a mistake sooner or later. And sometimes it won’t even be your fault: Technology can malfunction, equipment can break. You have to accept that mistakes are a part of life, and they’re certainly a part of public speaking. And believe it or not, making a mistake every once in a while is a good thing because it teaches you how to handle those mistakes with confidence and grace.

Public speaking is an incredibly valuable skill to learn, but if you’re just getting started at it, the mere thought of making a mistake can send you into a panic. Is it really possible to survive a blunder or two and not ruin the entire presentation?

Presentation Skills Take Practice

Once again I’m going to emphasize the importance of practising. Except this time, it’s not just the presentation I’m going to say you need to practice, but the mistakes you make, too. That’s right, I said practice your mistakes.

No, that doesn’t mean you should intentionally make mistakes while you practice, but you’re probably going to make a lot of them until you’ve worked all the bugs out. And I want you to practice correcting yourself, regaining your composure, and moving on. Don’t stop because you made a mistake—because that’s not an option during your time on stage. You have to keep going. If you stop at every mistake, you’ll succeed at just one thing: drawing attention to the mistake and away from the real message.

No matter what, keep talking. Sometimes you’ll mispronounce a word; sometimes you’ll use the wrong word; sometimes you’ll get tongue twisted. Maybe your Powerpoint presentation will fail or you’ll lose your train of thought. Whatever it is, be ready with a good-natured joke and move on. Dwelling on a mistake serves no purpose other than breaking your confidence and allowing it to overshadow your presentation. And let’s face it: If you tripped over one or two words in your 15-minute presentation, I’d say there’s more to celebrate than grieve.

Public Speaking Isn’t Perfect

At Effective Presentations, we can’t guarantee you’ll never make a mistake during a presentation, but we can guarantee we’ll equip you with the skills you need to handle a slip-up. It’s not the end of the world if you make a mistake. (The end of the world would have come for us a long time ago if it was!) A confident speaker can shrug off a mistake and keep moving forward. The mistake will long be forgotten by your audience and you’ll look like a total pro.

How do you recover from a public speaking blooper? Tell us about it in the Comments section. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn and Google+ where we are always posting great tips and advice to improve your presentation skills.

12 Comments

Excellent blog. We focus too much on being ‘perfect’ when in reality, that’s an impossible goal.

Always looking for new tips- thank you!

How true it is…Not if but when

Great read, always nice to know your not alone…

Everyone makes mistakes its just how you recover from them that matters. Great article!

Love this advice. Part of my problem is that I don’t always know I’m making a public speaking blooper until after the fact. For example if my body language is being awkward, I won’t know until someone tells me later, or I see a video. So I like the idea of practicing to iron out those issues.

The key is not to panic and just roll with whatever happens

Basically, strive for excellence–not perfection (which is impossible anyway.) Great blog!

Excellent points made here. Thanks for another great article.

I hate messing up! (It’s good to have someone say it’s okay, though.)

I crashed and burned today. This after doing really well a week before. Now I am nervous about how I will handled the next one. I floundered from the beginning and never gained my footing. I’m sure I felt worse that it was, but I promise you the audience knew.

Nothing is worse than making a mistake on stage and you completely stop apologize. It throws off my whole flow! I like the advice saying I should just keep moving forward.

8 Tips Ahead Of Your Big Day: The Big Presentation Tips

Are you preparing for your next big presentation? Aside from preparing, writing, and practicing your speech, there are certain other actions you should do to ensure you are truly prepared for the big day.

Nothing is more stressful than having an impending big day that you are meant to carry and feeling unprepared for it.

It causes feelings of anxiety and can impact your day-to-day, as the pressure starts to build up.

Well, like anything in work and life, anything big and hairy needs to be broken down into smaller chewable, digestible steps.

In this blog, we’ll reveal 8 amazing big presentation preparation techniques that will take you through the process of preparing for a big presentation.

Whether you’re a seasoned pro or a scared newcomer to public speaking, these tips can help you feel confident and self-assured when it’s time to face the audience.

Let’s discover the important stages for preparing a big presentation.

Step By Step Process To Prepare For a Big Presentation

Now, let’s have a look at some of the major steps in creating a big presentation, from topic selection to presentation delivery, so you can learn how to create a big presentation:

Choose Your Presentation Topic Wisely

Know Your Audience

Brainstorm Ideas

Prepare A Solid Presentation Plan

Decide What Will Be Presentation Format

Build Your Presentation Slides

Make Sure You Do Enough Practice Before Delivering The Big Presentation

Don’t Forget To Check Out The Setup

Choosing the correct topic for your presentation is one of the wisest things you can do for a big presentation.

A broad topic definition is likely to raise the expectation of doing justice to all the areas covered under that broad topic while a narrow one can impact the very idea of it being a big presentation. The key point is that definitions you are likely to come up with run the risk of missing the mark.

It is important to recognize what people are looking for from your big presentation. This will allow you to refine the topic and speak to the audience when setting the agenda for the meeting. Make a data-driven presentation based on the most recent information on an interesting issue, as well as your professional opinion or research.

Building on the previous topic, asking people their expectations from the meeting is a good idea. Yet it is not enough, it is important to know your audience as well. This may be easy if you have been interacting with the people you would be presenting to. If not, it is recommended you get insights about the key players in the audience, their backgrounds, pet peeves, etc. Understanding who you’re presenting to and the likely dynamics in the room will help you stay grounded, and ensure your messages are apt to what the audience is most amenable to receiving.

Brainstorming is an important next step in our series of preparation tips for a big presentation. The reason why we think this is an important step in the early stages is that as a presenter you are likely to have your blind spots, and as a human, you are likely to have your own biases. A good quality brainstorming session allows you to identify those and make course corrections early on in the game.

Consider brainstorming with your team members, members of the intended audience, or even unconnected people, just to see how the ideas resonate and whether they are making common sense to a lay observer.

It’s now time to put together your presenting strategy. This is where you organize your thoughts from your planned agenda, audience insights, and brainstorming into a basic outline.

An excellent approach to achieve this is to use what experts call horizontal logic to look across your slides for the main storyline. Each of these parts of the story will eventually become distinct sections of your big presentation.

Each of these sections becomes placeholders for you to build the “Vertical Logic”. This is where you put key bullets with facts, quotations, and statistics.

You should have a solid notion of the content of your slides at the end of this procedure. This is an important component of preparing for a big presentation.

At this time, an important decision to make is how you are planning to present. Part of it may be related to the content itself but part is also dependent on what type of a presenter you are. This step will allow you to know how you will deliver the presentation: Storytelling, Facilitation, Analyst style, Instructional, etc.

Refer to our blog Ten Presenting Styles. What Kind Are You? for more details.

The decision on the presentation format will ensure you put the right type of effort into designing the slides.

Here are a few more helpful design tips for your next presentation:

Stick to the story and logic. Focus on making each part believable with the right evidence.
Avoid too much gimmickry in terms of heavy graphics or animations.
Don’t go overboard trying to cram too much information on each slide. Make use of minimal data, text, and pictures on each slide; usually, a good rule of thumb is one message per slide.
Pay attention to vision science aspects on how the audience receives and reacts to visual inputs. Choose shapes, sizes, fonts, proportions accordingly. For example, polygon shapes are very well suited to describe futuristic ideas, square shapes tend to work well with communicating methodical approaches like project management. Some fonts types are harder to read than others. Take a look at the SlideUpLift blogs on vision science to get more ideas on this topic.

If you would like to take advantage of templates that already address these needs, use templates from slideuplift.com. Once on the site, you can choose free PowerPoint templates and google slides templates for your presentation. This will help you concentrate on your content rather than worrying about graphic design aspects.

When you’re satisfied with your slides and have prepared for questions, it’s time to practice your presentation. This is where you practice your presentation completely, using both your presentation script and the slides.

Pay attention to anything difficult to speak about while you practice. Make proper modifications to your script and presentation slides. On the big day, you don’t want to be tripping over your words.

Some people prefer to practice alone, but a few friends or trustworthy coworkers can serve as a test audience. It’s an excellent technique to ensure that your information is clear and understandable. Decide whether you will script everything or speak extemporaneously. Know that extemporaneous speaking is different than impromptu speaking and tends to get the maximal audience’s attention.

Continue to practice until you feel you hit the sweet spot in terms of sounding and being natural in delivering your messages This practice will come in handy when delivering a flawless presentation.

When considering how to rehearse for a big presentation, some individuals ignore one aspect: the presentation venue, if it’s a physical venue. If feasible, check it out well in advance of your presentation.

Whether the venue is physical or virtual, one aspect to consider is the presentation gear. You may using a laptop and screen, a projector and screen, or speak on mobile. It is critical to familiarize yourself with the presenting technology so everything works as planned.

You must test everything out so there are no shocks on the big day if you do this.

Few Templates To Get Started

Project Kickoff

Source: Project Kickoff by SlideUpLift

30 60 90 Plan For Managers

Source: 30 60 90 Plan For Managers by SlideUpLift

Source: Executive Summary by SlideUpLift

Wrapping It Up

It’s now your time to get ready for a big presentation. You’ve learned several important presenting techniques, such as the significance of creating a presentation strategy and practicing your presentation. You’re all set to begin.

How to Create a Timeline in PowerPoint Presentation?

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how to give the perfect presentation

Step-by-step – before & during the presentation, 6 important steps for presentations success, before the presentation, rehearsing your presentation.

Effective speakers recognize the value of practice. Rehearsing will enable you to detect bugs in your presentation, look and feel more comfortable, improve the effectiveness of your gestures, reduce annoying mannerisms, ensure a powerful start and finish, help present your visuals smoothly, and finish on time.

If possible, try to rehearse your presentation several times in the same way. Do it exactly as you will when speaking. Look out for words or expressions that you stumble over and find easier substitutes. Use bold verbs instead of heavy, boring nouns. Use a variety of words and do not repeat unusual vocabulary more than once. For example, if you say there are myriad reasons for doing something, don’t use the word ‘myriad’ again in your presentation. Rehearse in front of a mirror and watch yourself carefully. Smile, make any adjustments and keep fine-tuning till you feel satisfied. The effort will pay off.

If you’re rehearsing alone, pull out questions from a hat and practice answering them at random. If you can find someone to assist you, have the person role-play some questions and situations that may arise. You could also have your assistant point out any flaws in the logic of your presentation or any typos that need correcting on your visuals.

Visiting the Venue

Try to visit the presentation site in advance, if possible. At the least, arrive much earlier than the crowd to check up on arrangements and to avoid anxiety. You don’t want to get stuck in a traffic jam while people are waiting for you. Once you arrive, check the facilities, identify light switches, get acquainted with the maintenance person, arrange for necessary equipment and adjust the temperature in the room so it will be comfortable for the attendees. Try out the podium before your talk. Arrange to raise or lower the microphone or get a booster step if you are short or tall. Position the podium so that you can see the screen shots that your audience will see.

Taking Control

What you do in the last thirty minutes before your presentation can greatly affect the quality of your presentation. Check your appearance and use the washroom. Find a quiet place (perhaps in the toilet) and collect your thoughts. Visualize yourself giving a successful presentation. When you step into the presentations room, hotel lobby, or training centre, start building rapport with your audience long before you begin your formal presentation. The members of your audience will start forming an impression, based mostly on body language, as soon as they see you in the room. While walking around the lobby or having coffee before your presentation, take the opportunity to meet some of your audience members. Walk around confidently, introduce yourself and try to get to know them. Ask questions to show you are interested in who they are, what they do, where they came from, how they heard about the presentation or any other related information. Create empathy by showing you care about them. Smile, relax, and feel as confident as you do whenever you talk to people one-on-one.

DURING THE PRESENTATION

Establishing rapport.

“They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” This well-known piece of advice underlines the importance of establishing rapport with your audience. By establishing and maintaining a personal and friendly relationship with the audience from the start of your presentation, you are more likely to receive a positive response. The question remains: how do you make this connection? We have all seen famous orators sway an audience. These talented speakers are using techniques which you too can learn and master.

The key to establishing rapport with your audience is emotion. However, not all emotions will work to your advantage. Consider what kind of emotion you want to evoke in your listeners. Your goal should be to get your audience members to feel as you feel about your argument.

In all cases, remember that a message delivered with sincerity and enthusiasm can succeed where the same words delivered without enthusiasm would fail. This is one of the most important factors in successful persuasion. If you want to be enthusiastic, act enthusiastic! If you cannot relate to behaving in an enthusiastic way, it may help to think of someone you know or admire who is enthusiastic and imagine that person is giving the presentation. Or imagine someone who is super calm and relaxed. Take on the calm but enthusiastic persona of that individual until your own self-image expands to allow in the “new you”.

Reading Audience Signals

During the presentation, remember to adapt to the needs of the audience whenever necessary. Look out for audience body language that signals exhaustion, confusion or disagreement. Interpret a quizzical look, a scowl or folded arms. If you pick up on such non-verbal signals, respond appropriately by providing more examples, breaking for a short question and answer session or requesting some feedback. This will enable any misunderstandings to be clarified earlier in the presentation and dissipate any growing frustrations.

Being Likable

In today’s informal business environment, another important factor in effective communication is how likable you are. This quality is hard to define or teach but the likable person generally projects an image of optimism, concern for others, the ability to see opportunities, the ability to handle stress, the ability to laugh often especially at oneself, the ability to perform well in a crisis, and the ability to be humble in success.

So, prepare well. Then, you’ll have every reason to be confident. After all, you are a likable person. You’re enthusiastic about what you’re doing. You know your material. You’ve rehearsed as many times as necessary to master the material and feel comfortable with the flow of words. You’re ready… and it shows!

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About Presentation Prep

Being able to speak in public can change your life! Presentation Prep is your complete, free guide to delivering speeches, lectures, and presentations more successfully and confidently. Whether you're a native English-speaker who suffers from public speaking anxiety, or a non-native speaker who needs guidelines for presenting to international audiences, this site will give you everything you need. Presentation Prep is written by Rebecca Ezekiel, an experienced corporate trainer who specializes in the areas of communications, presentations, and cross-cultural skills. Her online English language training videos are watched by millions of students worldwide.

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Presentation Anxiety: How to Overcome Stage Fright (Complete Guide)

Tyler Ellis

Glossophobia, the fear of public speaking, is thought to affect as much as 75% of the population. For both students and professionals alike, this phobia tends to take the form of presentation anxiety. So, how can we overcome stage fright and presentation anxiety once and for all?

While avoiding presentations may bring some short-term relief to your anxiety, this will worsen your stage fright in the long-run. To overcome presentation anxiety long-term, presentation tools and gradual practice are the most effective solutions.

Maybe, right now, you’re extremely anxious about a presentation coming up. Maybe the only thought racing through your mind is how in the world am I going to get out of giving this presentation?

No worries. This guide is going to cover everything – and I mean everything – you’ll need to know. Make sure not to skip the section on “alternative ways of presenting,” I think you’ll find those really useful!

No need to stress; let’s get right into this.

What Causes Presentation Anxiety?

First things first… why do we feel presentation anxiety in the first place?

Sure, we might expect our heart to pound and breathing to accelerate as we walk along the edge of a cliff – but during a presentation? What part of talking about George Washington Carver inventing peanut butter should cause our hands to tremble and our voice to stutter?

Well, as it turns out, presentation anxiety is caused by ancient mechanisms in our brain responsible for our survival. For anxious people, our brain perceives being the center of attention in large group to be a threat. This triggers the “fight or flight” response, causing us to panic as we try and escape our uncomfortable setting.

Obviously, we are in no real danger while giving a class presentation or work presentation. Many years of evolution, however, have trained us to avoid stage fright with a passion. In ancient times, being surround by a (potentially angry) mob could have fatal consequences; as could being humiliated, rejected, or otherwise cast out from the tribe.

For many of us – especially those of us prone to social anxiety – such fears have stuck with us since caveman times. It’s important we remember these fears are harmless. Just being aware of their nature can help with this process. Despite what your brain and body may be telling you, these feelings of anxiety are not dangerous; they are going to pass.

Feel free to check out this article for a better understanding of the evolutionary psychology behind anxiety .

How to Get Out of a Presentation

I recommend against avoidance in most cases, as it only reinforces our anxiety in the long-run.

However, I know what it’s like to be a student with presentation anxiety.

I know how hard it is juggling academics, a social life, relationships, and newly blossoming anxieties all at once. I know that it can get so bad the most logical option feels like dropping out of school altogether. I don’t want you to feel like you have to do that.

So, if you’re really just not ready to overcome your stage fright:

Intentionally Choose Classes That Don’t Require Presentations
Tell the Teacher or Professor About What You’re Going Through
Ask the Teacher or Professor for Alternative Assignments
For Group Presentations, Ask Someone Else to Take the Lead
Present Your Assignment in an Alternative Format Using Presentation Tools and Software (more on this in a bit)

If this seems a bit vague, it’s only because I’ve actually dedicated an entire article to this topic already. Check out this piece on how to get out of giving a presentation in class for more help with this.

Like I said, ultimately, avoidance is a poor strategy. However, I believe it’s just as detrimental to be “forced” into facing our fears before we are mentally prepared to do so. Having been there myself, I want you to be able to rest easy knowing that you do have some options here.

For this guide, however, I want to focus more on how to actually overcome presentation anxiety and stage fright.

My secret is – believe it or not – I get incredibly nervous before public speaking, no matter how big the crowd or the audience and, um, despite the fact that I laugh and joke all the time I get incredibly nervous, if not anxious, actually, before going into rooms full of people when I'm wearing a suit... And now that I've confessed that, I'll probably be even more worried that people are looking at me.

Prince Harry - Duke of Sussex, Member of the British Royal Family

How to Stop a Panic Attack While Presenting in Class

When I first started having panic attacks, I had no idea what they were or why they were happening. Prior to my first panic attack, I had never had an issue with public speaking or presentation anxiety at all. In fact, I had voluntarily participated in several clubs and activities that required public speaking.

Yet, when my first few panic attacks started (I was around 16 at the time), they would occur in any random situation. Wherever they occurred, I'd quickly develop a phobia associated with that location or situation. One such random panic attack occurred – you guessed it – during a class presentation.

While this experience was terrifying, embarrassing, and extremely uncomfortable, I had – fortunately – managed to keep it together enough for most people not to notice. For the many class presentations that would follow, however, I had to develop some tricks to stop panic attacks while presenting in class.

Here’s what worked for me:

Volunteer to go first. This may seem strange, but I always felt it easier to volunteer first and get it out of the way. Oftentimes, it’s easier to deal with presentation anxiety when we don’t feel cornered. By choosing to do it yourself, you maintain some control of the situation and get the jump on things before anticipation anxiety kicks in .
Remember you are not going to die. This is just a panic attack, and it’s going to pass. It may be uncomfortable, but it will be over within a few moments.
Take control of your breathing. 478 breathing is a simple technique that works. Simply breathe in for 4 seconds through the nose, hold for 7 seconds, exhale for 8 seconds through the mouth.
Find a focus object. Choose a point, or several points, to focus on in the room. This could be a ceiling tile, a lightbulb, a pile of books, anything. Whenever your thoughts start to wander or spiral out of control, recenter your thoughts on that focus object.
Try and remember the other times you’ve given a class presentation with anxiety. Chances are, this isn’t your first time. Remember those past successes and visualize this presentation as one where you overcome stage fright as well. If your mind is drawn to a time when it didn’t go so well, at least remind yourself that it passed and you survived it; just as you’ll survive this one.
If you have a friend in the class, look to them from time to time. Flash them a smile or a wink, and try not to laugh out loud while you’re up there. This may seem silly, but I’d rather stifle a laugh than grapple a panic attack.
Remember that no one’s really paying attention. Just as you were sitting at your desk nervously thinking about your own turn to present, most people are doing the exact same now. And even if they’re not anxious, they’re probably zoned out or drifting off; it’s quite difficult to keep an involuntary crowd’s attention. Trust me, they’re probably not thinking about you much.

These are just a few ways to stop a panic attack while presenting in class. Of course, just about any method for stopping panic attacks can work well here, so feel free to explore our site a bit to learn some other methods.

There are only two types of speakers in the world:

1. The nervous

Mark Twain - American humorist, novelist, and travel writer

Alternative Ways of Presenting to Help Overcome Stage Fright

If you take nothing else from this article, I believe that this is the section that can help anxious students and professionals with stage fright the most. When I was dealing with presentation anxiety myself, most of these options didn’t even exist. If you’re anxious about standing in front of class and presenting, any of these could be fantastic alternatives to presenting.

Basically, any of these presentation software tools can help you to quickly create a visually stunning presentation; all without having to speak in front of the class. They utilize audio, video, and/or animation to create informative videos that get the point across even more effectively than conventional presentations.

For the most part, all a teacher or boss really cares about is that you:

Put hard work and dedication into your assignment
Learned something throughout the process
Are able to communicate what you learned to educate your peers

Telling the teacher “Sorry, I just can’t present today,” won’t meet any of these points, and is likely to land you a failed grade.

Instead, ask your teacher if you can use one of these presentation tools to create an even more engaging and informative presentation. This way, it’ll seem like you’ve put in the most effort in the class, rather than the least; all without having to speak in front of the class.

Here are the automated presentation tools I currently use myself and recommend:

I go into much greater detail on these tools here: automated presentation software . Before buying anything, I strongly suggest giving that article a read. Otherwise, Toonly and Doodly are my top picks.

What is the Best Presentation Anxiety Medication for Stage Fright?

Giving a presentation in high school or college can be extremely stressful for many people. If standing in front of the class feels like an impossible task, you may be wondering about presentation anxiety medication. So… what are the best drugs for presentation anxiety?

Since I’m not a doctor, I can only offer you a friendly opinion here.

In general, I think it’s a good idea to steer clear of anti-anxiety medication whenever it isn’t absolutely necessary. If your doctor prescribes you presentation anxiety medication, so be it. In the long-run, however, this can often create cycles of reliance and dependence that are best avoided.

But what about taking an over-the-counter supplement for anxiety before a presentation?

I have personally found one supplement to help me relax and communicate more confidently. This is my favorite supplement for stage fright, as it has helped me tremendously in situations where I would normally feel a bit socially anxious. I’ve used this supplement for presentations, job interviews, and even first dates.

My favorite supplement for presentation anxiety symptoms is phenibut. It just helps me feel significantly calmer while simultaneously boosting my sociability and confidence. This supplement is extremely affordable and legally sold online in most countries. If you want to learn a bit more about it, I have an article going into greater depth about phenibut here.

I do urge responsibility when using phenibut, as you don’t want to become reliant on it. But if it makes the difference between shirking your presentation vs. delivering a great one, I highly recommend it.

Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning

Winston Churchill - Former Prime Minister of the UK, Famous Orator

Tips for How to Present a Project Effectively

Few things help to eliminate anticipation anxiety like truly preparing for the situation. If your fears are rooted in delivering a poor or ineffective presentation, take some time to prepare.

Here are some tips for how to present a project effectively:

How to Present a Project Effectively chart

How to Overcome Stage Fright and Presentation Anxiety

There are many strategies we can take when dealing with our presentation anxiety or stage fright. Here are three of the most common strategies:

Complete Avoidance – Post-college, public speaking occasions like presentations are pretty few and far between. As an adult, it isn’t too difficult to avoid presentations, although not overcoming stage fright can be a hinderance in many career fields.
Reluctant and Occasional – Here’s where most people in the world probably fall. Most of us aren’t 100% comfortable with presenting, yet we suck it up and get it done when we have to. This isn’t a bad place to be, although it's uncomfortable occasionally.
Conquering Presentation Anxiety – Some brave souls will choose to completely crush their fear of public speaking, overcoming stage fright and glossophobia entirely. This path is not for the faint of heart, as it isn’t easy; however, it has the largest payoff in the end with regard to career and confidence.

We’ve already discussed strategies for the first two earlier in this guide. Let’s now focus on the third.

How can we overcome presentation anxiety and glossophobia?

Well, whenever we want to eliminate a fear or phobia long-term, the best way to do so is through exposure therapy. We do have a full article on how to extinguish fears through exposure therapy if you’re curious to really understand this process.

For now, I’ll fill you in on the basics:

By gradually stepping outside of our comfort zone and exposing ourselves to our fears, we can eliminate those fears over time. The key here is that we are stepping a bit outside our comfort zone, but not immersing ourselves so fully to induce panic. In other words: challenge yourself at a fair pace.

comfort zone vs growth zone vs panic zone

So how do we apply this to overcome presentation anxiety and stage fright?

My suggestion would be to identify the smallest voluntary step you can take outside of your comfort zone without panicking. Perhaps presenting may induce a panic attack, but are you at least able to read aloud from your seat? Perhaps reading aloud is difficult, but could you at least volunteer an answer from time to time?

This process will be as unique as a fingerprint for each person, as we all have different comfort zones and stressors. Try and find where your comfort zone ends and take small steps just outside of it. With repeated practice, you’ll notice your comfort zone expanding as you become more confident with the activity.

In general, here are some opportunities you may find useful for stepping outside of your comfort zone:

Start raising your hand more often to ask or answer questions
Volunteer to read aloud or answer a problem on the board whenever you’re feeling confident
Create a presentation using presentation software (recommendations above), but see if you can actually get through it without relying on the audio. If you get too nervous, you can use it
Rather than trying to get out of a presentation, ask your groupmates if you could take a lesser role with speaking; perhaps you could do more of the research to make up for it
Seek out your local Toastmasters group to practice public speaking away from the pressures of your own social circles
Try and attend small open mic nights and similar opportunities to gain experience with public speaking

Fun Fact: I successfully avoided presentations for the majority of my high school and college career. Afterward, I wound up working several jobs that forced me to confront this fear. First came a sales job, and next came a job that required me to speak in front of 150-200 people multiple times per day.

Turns out, I liked money more than I disliked public speaking.

List of Famous People with Public Speaking Anxiety

Sometimes a bit of solidarity goes a long way. Here’s a list of famous/successful people who have long been known to have suffered from public speaking anxiety:

Winston Churchill
Mahatma Gandhi
Abraham Lincoln
Prince Harry
Warren Buffet
Mark Zuckerberg
Sigmund Freud
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Tiger Woods
Rowan Atkinson
Jackie Chan
Thomas Jefferson
Margaret Thatcher
Princess Diana
Eleanor Roosevelt
Sir Richard Branson

As you can see… we’ve got some big names up there. And this is just a very small list of successful people who have been open about their public speaking anxiety – to say nothing of the silent majority!

Never forget, you’re far from alone in experiencing this – you can absolutely overcome presentation anxiety, stage fright, and glossophobia if you wish to!

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About the Author

Years of personal experience with anxiety disorders and panic attacks have led me to devise some pretty creative ways to keep my anxiety in check. In the past, anxiety and panic attacks felt like something I'd have to live with forever. Nowadays, panic attacks are a distant memory for me, and I'm free to pursue passions like writing and traveling the world. Hopefully, the information on this website can help you achieve the same. I do all the writing here myself, so don't hesitate to reach out with questions!

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How to Rehearse a Presentation: 5 Simple Steps

by Rob Biesenbach | Presentation/Speech Tips

In my workshops I share the technique that works for me. Participants have found it to be one of their most valued takeaways, so here is my totally not-patented five-step process for how to rehearse a presentation.

First, though, let me cover a couple of key questions.

Why is Rehearsal Important?

I wish it could go without saying that rehearsal is important, but time and again I’ve seen executives sabotage themselves by not taking the process seriously . They procrastinate, change their minds, and futz with their content all the way up to the last minute, leaving themselves no time to actually practice their delivery.

And it usually shows. People who think they’re better when they “wing it” are kidding themselves . Even professional improvisers — who perform shows where they make up the content on the spot — rehearse!

So in case there’s any question about it, here are three reasons why rehearsal is absolutely vital :

The better you know your material, the more poised and confident you will appear (and be).
Practicing helps you refine your ideas and improve your content so you make the biggest impact possible.
Rehearsing is the only way to know if you have too much content — and one of the most common and aggravating mistakes I see presenters make is when they go over their allotted time or blow through the last part of their presentation at warp speed.

How Long Should You Rehearse?

When people ask how much time they should spend rehearsing their presentations, they usually don’t like my answer : “ As much as humanly possible .”

(Which at least sounds more manageable than one expert’s answer: 30 hours !)

The question I suspect they’re really asking is, “What’s the minimum amount of prep time I can get away with ?” They seem to be looking for some secret shortcut or hack.

The truth is, there is no magic bullet . Rehearsing a speech involves time and effort. And though my process is simple, it’s not necessarily easy. It takes work.

How Should You Rehearse?

First, let me tell you how NOT to rehearse a presentation. Rehearsing does not mean sitting in front of your computer , tabbing through your slides and running through the presentation in your head.

Instead you need to get on your feet and deliver it in full voice , just as you would in an actual presentation situation. You might find this embarrassing, so shut your office door and put out a “Do Not Disturb” sign.

Set up your computer so the screen is visible as you move about the room (which you would do in an actual presentation) and follow these five steps. Think of the steps as “sets” at the gym — you can perform as many “reps” per set as you have time for.

1. Current Slide + Timer + Next Slide + Notes

Set up your presentation deck in “rehearsal” mode . In PowerPoint, go to Slideshow>Presenter View. In Keynote (for Mac) go to Play>Rehearse Slideshow.

You can customize the display to show a variety of elements on the screen. Start with Current Slide, Next Slide, Notes and Timer. Like so:

As you start practicing you will likely have to stop and start and consult your notes . That’s fine. Run through it that way until you’re fairly comfortable.

2. Current Slide + Timer + Next Slide

Next, put your presentation notes on “hide” and start running through it again. Stop as needed to check your notes, but try to get to a point where you no longer need them.

3. Current Slide + Timer

Now this is where it gets tricky. Up to now you’ve had the luxury of seeing your next slide so you know what’s coming next . The reason that’s important is that it helps you transition from one slide to another in a way that’s smooth and fluid, eliminating unnecessary pauses as you advance through the presentation.

So in this step you’re going to hide the “Next Slide” display and start running it again. You will definitely end up pausing and stumbling and even backtracking when you’ve guessed wrong about what comes next. But keep working the material until you’re comfortable.

In each of these three steps you should use the timer to keep you on track . Your early stumble-throughs will probably run longer than your allotted time, but as you go along you’ll want to make sure you come in at or under that mark. And if you can’t, you’ll need to make some cuts.

4. No Slides at All

Here it gets really hard. Close your laptop or exit the presentation and run through it without the benefit of your visuals .

This step is the equivalent of actors rehearsing a play “off book” for the first time. They put down their scripts and perform their role from memory.

But they are aided by being in the familiar environment of the theater — they’re on stage, in costume, interacting with their fellow players. So there’s an abundance of sensory cues to guide them .

In the same way, you’re in your own imaginary but focused environment , shut away in your office, free of outside distraction, conjuring a stage and audience in your mind.

If you can successfully get through your presentation in this mode, congratulations. You’re doing very well. But if you want to take it up a notch, advance to the next step.

5. Leave the Office

Actors know they’ve got their part down when they can leave the rehearsal space and recite their lines (out loud or in their head) while they’re doing other things — commuting on the train, showering, grocery shopping, working out, etc.

It’s harder than it sounds — it’s like patting your head and rubbing your belly at the same time. So get out into the world, do other things, and keep running your presentation .

If you can manage that, you’re in great shape. BUT, there is one big and important difference between actors and presenters …

Don’t Memorize; Internalize

Actors learn their lines verbatim. But if you try to memorize your presentation word-for-word, you’ll have a hard time delivering it in a way that sounds natural and real. So instead, you want to internalize the material.

What that means is, you know it well enough that you’re conversant and fluent . You will phrase things differently in every iteration, but the core ideas you express are consistent over time . You have room to improvise around the margins.

Overwhelmed? Don’t Be

By now you’re probably thinking, “This is a helluva lot of work!” That’s true, it is.

But the answer to the question of how much effort you should put into practicing your presentation is simply this: “How important is the presentation?”

Is it a talk that can make or break your year or career? Like an opportunity to impress your organization’s leaders or to establish your reputation among industry peers or to allay people’s concerns about big changes coming their way?

Then I would recommend going all out . Maybe even hitting that 30-hour benchmark.

For lesser occasions, you can do fewer “reps” in each of the sets above.

At minimum, though, you should practice your open and close as much as you possibly can . The first and last impressions you make on your audience are the most important, so you want to come on and and go out strong .

The Effort You Devote to Rehearsal is Up to You

The amount of effort you put into rehearsing your presentation is obviously your choice. What do your ideas deserve? What does your audience deserve? What do your career and reputation deserve?

Those, ultimately, are the questions you need to answer.

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How to keep to time during your presentation

by Olivia Mitchell | 33 comments

Photo credit: zoutedrop

Do you regularly go over time when you’re delivering a presentation? If a time limit has been set for your presentation, then it’s your responsibility to finish it within that time. Consider it as part of the contract between you and your audience.

Here are some tips to help you keep to time:

1. Decide on your “talking time”

You can’t keep to time unless you know beforehand how long you should be talking. Your “talking time” is different than the total time you’ve been given for your presentation for two reasons:

You need to allow time for questions. This may be decided by the meeting organizer. If not, as a rule of thumb I would allow 20-25% of your presentation time for questions.
Generally, live presentations take longer than the rehearsal. This is because of a combination of factors. You might start a couple of minutes late, you might take longer to make a point, and there may be other interruptions that delay you.

So if your presentation time is one hour, your talking time will be 40 minutes (15 minutes for questions and 5 minutes for interruptions and delays).

2. Find out how long it takes to deliver your material

This is a prerequisite to being able to keep to time. If you don’t know long your talk takes how can you hope to meet the time limit. Many presenters are very bad at judging how long it will take to deliver something. Seriously bad. On our courses, we ask participants to prepare a five minute talk. One time, a participant talked for 23 minutes! When we asked how long it was she thought that she had been talking for about seven minutes.

Time yourself early on in your planning process. This will save you time and agony. If you leave timing your presentation till the end of your planning process you’re likely to find that you’ve prepared too much material which will mean you have to edit your presentation . And editing is can be agonizing when you’ve grown attached to your material.

3. Write a timed schedule for your presentation

When you do a final rehearsal , note down the time that each segment takes and then take that information to prepare a timed schedule. So say your presentation started at 3pm your schedule would look like this:

3 pm Opening 3.05 Part 1 3.15 Part 2 3.25 Part 3 3.35 Closing 3.40 Stop talking

That means that during the live presentation, you’ll be able to easily tell whether you’re keeping to time. Note that it’s not enough to know that each part takes 10 minutes. In the presentation itself you won’t have the head space available to calculate whether you’re ahead or behind.

4. Write assertions so that you don’t waffle

Waffling is one of the things that can make a live presentation go longer than the rehearsal. Here’s what can happen: you make your point but the audience looks blank. So you elaborate on it some more, and then some more… and before you know it you’re waffling. The antidote to this is proper planning. During you’re planning, write each point as a full sentence (not a bullet-point) which expresses what you want to get across. You may later reduce this to a keyword or phrase in your notes but you’ll have done the hard thinking required. It’s much better to do your thinking before, rather than during, the presentation. For more on this see How to avoid waffling .

5. Have a clock or timekeeper

You can’t manage your time unless you can see the time. And you can’t rely on every meeting or conference room having a clock. Have a small, but easily readable, travel clock that you can put on the lectern or even in front of you on the stage. Make sure you can read it at a distance without your glasses on. There are remotes that also have a countdown timer and that will buzz you at 5 minutes and 2 minutes before the end of your presentation.

6. Start on time

Many presentations go over time simply because they started late. Lisa Braithwaite recently wrote about this issue in her post: You never have as much time as you want . Often that’s because the presenter or meeting organizer has decided to wait for late-comers. Like Lisa, if I’m in control then I’ll start on time. I don’t see why people who have made the effort to be on time should be penalized by having to wait for people who are late.

You may be concerned that people who are late will miss out on crucial information. So don’t start with crucial material. Instead open with a relevant and engaging story which leads into your first main point. The stragglers will come in while you’re telling your story.

7. Be ready to adapt

Despite all your advance preparations you may still run out of time. The solution is not simply to talk faster! Work out ahead of time what segment you will drop if this should happen. Make a note of the first slide number after the dropped segment. By keying in the number of that slide and then pressing ‘Enter’ you will jump straight to that slide. This is much more professional than clicking through your slides. Your audience need never know that you had to edit on the fly.

Go well with keeping to time in your next presentation! If you have any other tips that have helped you keep to time share them in the comments.

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33 Comments

Excellent post as always. I am going to read further what you’ve written about assertions and waffling (I love these descriptive words, by the way). I’m curious: do you always speak with notes, and do you recommend this? When I do a presentation supported with Keynote or PPT slides, I don’t use notes. I figure if I know my material well, I don’t need them. So far, this method has served me well. (However, I do print out 6 slides per page with the slide numbers, in case I need to flip back to a particular slide, using the method you’ve described.)

I just made your post this week’s compulsory reading for my students 🙂

What I like to do to keep a check on myself is printing out my slide thumbnails all on one page. I make a screenshot from the lightbox view in Keynote or slider sorter view in PPT (which keeps the slide numbers) and then I mark certain slides with the anticipated time in large and friendly red numbers: 10:45 hs. 11:15 hs

As you go along, check real time vs. planned time.

This works really well with longer talks or workshops.

After the talk I can immediately make any corrections necessary and see where I planned poorly or where I can tighten things a bit. It is also a great help for »next time.«

With shorter talks keep a large *analog* antique pocket watch nearby. It is like a large checkered handkerchief: it is so obvious is does not bother anyone. I find I still understand analog watch faces faster than the timer in presenter’s view.

Putting your anticipated times on your screenshot printout is a great idea.

I can relate to your preference for the analog watch. Delivering a presentation is such a full-on activity that everything else should be super-easy for you.

Thanks for your appreciation. I do always have notes within reach. I don’t normally look at them, but every so often I’ll have a mind blank where I go to myself “was there another point I wanted to make here.”. I’ll stop talking, look at my notes, find the point I wanted to make, look up again, find someone to talk to and start talking. I also do what you do with the printout of my slides. I find this useful because it means I can also see what slide is coming next and introduce it, rather than simply clicking and then talking. More about this here . Olivia

I can see how it would be useful to add the notes, in case of brain freeze!

Also, I usually do put time stamps on the slide printouts, so I know how I’m doing for time at major junctures of the presentation (example: when I’m playing an audio clip — so I can check the time while the audience watches). I usually just take off my watch and put it somewhere where I can see it, when there’s no clock in the room.

Great post. Going over the allotted time is annoying to the audience, the organisers and other speakers. I have found for me, if I plan to leave some time slack in my presentation it helps in keeping to time , i.e. if I have 30 minute slot I plan to deliver a 25 minute speech etc. It helps to keep me on time. If I finish early the time can always be utilised – a longer break, questions etc.

Yes, nobody ever minds a presentation ending early!

Good advice, as always – and knowing what to cut in advance is absolutely critical!

You mention a way of skipping slides – for people using Keynote there’s a better way, don’t forget. The menu option allows you to see different slides on your laptop without them showing on your screen and deciding where to go next – if you want to. That way you can edit on the fly with even more dignity and (importantly) the transitions are protected in a way that they’re sometimes not if you do ‘jumping’ in PowerPoint.

I get that Keynote is better in every respect!

I keep using Powerpoint to be the same as 99.98% of my clients.

Thanks for this thorough discussion of staying on time, Olivia! And thanks for the link to my recent post.

My suggestion for keeping track of the time is to use a regular kitchen countdown timer. Because of this: “…you won’t have the head space available to calculate whether you’re ahead or behind…” I find it harder to keep track of my time when looking at a clock, especially if we’ve started late. If I have a countdown timer, I know exactly how much time is left without having to do “clock subtraction” on the fly.

But I do also like to use approximate clock times on my notes, as you mentioned in #3. It does give a general idea of where I should be at a given time.

…..Hi Lisa… at risk of sounding like a stuck record about this… 🙂 “Get a Mac”. Keynote has this kind of function built in!

PS: Do you think Mr Jobs would give me commission? 😉

Haha Simon! Yes, you should get a commission for that.

That’s a great idea if you want to stand in front of your computer the whole time. My timer is usually on a table where I’m also keeping my props, handouts, water, etc., because who knows where the laptop is going to end up!

Good point about the laptop not always being in front of you. I make sure mine is. I take a 50M VGA cable with me in case the event organisers want the laptop to be somewhere near their projector – that way I can pretty much ensure having enough cable to keep everyone happy! 🙂

Mind you, 50M VGA cable isn’t a light thing to carry!

You Apple fanboy :-).

Good point about the countdown time being easier. Given Anke’s point it’s all about finding out what works best for you in the heat of the presentation.

great post! Two comments: 1) 25% for interaction in my opinion is no longer sufficiant. Attendants nowadays want to be involved and strive for a shared outcome, so interaction is key. I would suggest to take at least 50%. The real great speakers shorten their story to the lenght of a teaser and are willing to rely on the fact, that they will be able to deliver the rest of their content in response to questions and discussion. 2) take into account that when you try your speech at home, you might talk faster than on stage. That is because nobody is really listening and you allready know the stuff. I often write text for voice-overs and have to add at least 10% to be on the safe side.

It’s interesting that you suggest devoting 50% of the presentation time to audience interaction. I tend to agree with you for my own presentations, but I know that not everyone is ready for that, so for this particular post I stuck to the more conventional 25%. In other posts, I have encouraged people to consider taking questions throughout their presentation rather than making the audience wait till the end.

Good point to about talking faster and your experience with voice-overs. Of course, some people talk even faster during their live presentation because they just want to get it over and done with! So it can be quite individual.

Important post Olivia – going over time is one of the top annoyances for audiences, and it is so easy to avoid!

It is really important to schedule in time for questions, too. In any type of presentation, this is the point at which you can really understand what your audience wants, and justify your views to them. This opportunity should never be underestimated!

Thanks again for a great post.

Hi Jessica I agree with you about the importance of questions. We should also examine the convention of leaving questions till the end of a presentation. Olivia

Great post, as usual.

Among the technics I am using to respect my time, their is “hierarchical structure” and their is a printout plan of my presentation (most of the time, a mind map.)

On my plan, their is the timing of my presentation, and I am using A big iPod as a timer (their is a stopwatch built in).

This way, it is easy to know where I should be at any given moment and to adjust myself.

I wrote a post about this : How to respect allowed time. I explain what is the “hierarchical structure” technic. http://presentability.com/2010/01/29/how-to-respect-allowed-time/

For the questions: it depends of the situation. You have to be strategic. My preference is to have good interaction with the audience by accepting question anytime. I usually don’t have a dedicated question period at the end.

Denis Francois Gravel

Hi Denis That’s a useful post laying out your method for planning a presentation and keeping to time.

I arrive a little belatedly, but still wanted to thank you for the useful points and comments.

My ideal route is to have a time-keeper; at larger international events I find that the event organisers tend to have someone dedicated to this task; provided that you have timed your presentation reasonably well it shouldn’t be a shock when you get the 15 minute board (or whatever).

One very useful tip that’s related to time-keeping that I learned ten minutes before speaking at an event in Brazil; if you’re being ‘live translated’ you need to know how the translated language compares in terms of word density to your own; Latin languages are about a third longer to say the same thing. Fortunately I was able to adapt my presentation as I went, but it’s not an oversight I’ll ever make again!

On the back of reading your post I went to the App Store and downloaded ‘pClock’ for 59p (I have no affiliation to the product): it gives you a large countdown timer that changes colour at pre-specified timing points (it can also give a vibration or sound reminder too).

As for Keynote, I’ve heard it’s very good but I too use PowerPoint and provided that you don’t let it dictate your presentation format or style it’s a capable tool. It’s undoubtedly tarnished by association with the masses of people who, were they to have had access to it, would have made dreary presentations in Keynote too!

Prezi (www.prezi.com) looks really interesting; if I ever have the time to investigate it I could be tempted to switch to that because I think it could deliver an entirely different experience.

Philip Graves

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Hi Philip Thank you very much for adding the benefits of your experience, especially, on the issue of being interpreted. I agree that latin languages use more words, but I wonder whether that actually makes the time longer. My mother is a simultaneous interpreter (English-French) – I’ll ask her. But it doesn’t make sense to me because otherwise the interpreter would constantly be falling behind. And a competent simultaneous interpreter is just that – simultaneous. Olivia

Hi Olivia – a couple of people who’ve had the duty of simultaneously translating me complain that I’m particularly hard to translate live because there is almost no redundancy in my speech and no filler words… they told me they typically use these times to catch up.

(That was into Japanese though, so many things are very different to French or (other?) Latin languages.)

Hello! If you are being interpreted try and talk to the interpreters beforehand. Have a script ready for them (this can be sent days beforehand through the event organiser). Even just a few notes give us a chance to adapt to your vocabulary and mode of thinking. We typically try and follow your trail of thoughts so it helps a great deal.

I would also recommend using less metaphors than usual. But more importantly as already suggested by Simon make a short pause between your sentences and this will give time for interpreters to catch up with you.

Just had a skype call with my mother (Florence above). She added some more useful thoughts.

Don’t slow down your rate of talking, just wait a beat between sentences. Different languages have different ways of ordering words within a sentence, so if you slow down or pause within a sentence, the interpreter may not have enough words to be able to carry on interpreting.

You don’t have to wait for the interpreter to finish interpreting before starting your next sentence. They’re trained to listen and to speak at the same time.

My experience is that unless you have extremely good simultaneous translation (like you get at big international meetings like the UN) you do need to insert a significantly longer pause between sentences – particularly sentences with technical content – than you would normally to let the translation catch up a bit. This is particularly the case if you are speaking English as our bigger vocabulary often makes things easier to say with fewer words. Agree with your translator before hand a signal for “slow down” to make sure she or he isn’t getting swamped by your speed of delivery (it is particualrly important to keep looking for this signal if the translators’ booth isn’t in your normal line of sight) and give them a copy of your slides and any notes so they can check for unfamiliar words or technical vocabulary ahead of time. Provided your audience are using earphones you don’t however need to wait until the translator has finished a sentence before starting the next. If your slides are in the wrong language for some of your audience don’t forget to talk through the slide – “this graphic shows average weekly family spending on xxxx in US dollars on the vertical axis against age of children on the horizontal axis, blue dots mean zzzzzz” and so on.

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This article on the importance of keeping to time during presentations is a true gem.

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My experience is that unless you have extremely good simultaneous translation (like you get at big

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How to End a Presentation (+ Useful Phrases)

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Most people are aware of the power of first impressions.

However, our appearance and the first words we utter are only one part of the impact we have on others.

Arguably, the final words we exchange during an interaction can have an even more lasting effect . And that applies to public speaking, too.

Obviously, the way you introduce yourself and the topic you’ll be discussing is important.

However, the end of a presentation should also be recognized as a crucial part of the experience .

With that in mind, this article will walk you through some:

Things you should consider before drafting your conclusion,
Tips for ending a presentation memorably,
Mistakes you should avoid, and
Phrases you can use to wrap up your speech.

But, before we discuss how to end a presentation, let’s establish why having an impactful conclusion is so essential.

Why is it important to have an impactful ending for your presentation?

In our article about starting a presentation , we explained how the steps of the motivated sequence framework correspond to the structure of the average presentation or speech.

As we have established, the introduction of a presentation mirrors the first step of that model. That means that one of its main goals is to get the listeners’ attention .

The central part of the speech, or the body , corresponds to the second, third, and fourth steps of the motivated sequence framework. In other words, it has to:

Introduce the audience’s need (or identify a problem the listeners are having),
Offer a way to satisfy (or resolve) that need, and
Help the listeners visualize the successful implementation of the speaker’s solution.

Having checked off these points, we arrive at the conclusion , i.e., the subject of this article.

That stage of a presentation corresponds to the final step of the motivated sequence model — which consists of the call to action .

So, the conclusion of a presentation allows the speaker to drive their point home and nudge the audience toward performing a specific action.

However, that’s not the only purpose of a conclusion.

According to the authors of Business Communication: Process & Product , the final section of a presentation should achieve 3 goals . It should:

Summarize the main themes of the presentation,
Leave the audience with a specific and noteworthy takeaway (i.e. propose a specific course of action), and
Include a statement that allows the speaker to leave the podium (or pass the mic) gracefully.

Above all, the ending of a presentation should be memorable , akin to the punchline of a joke.

Having said that, let’s talk about some factors you should consider as you’re writing the conclusion of your speech.

Things to consider before crafting the conclusion of your presentation

If you’re trying to figure out how to end a presentation, knowing the goals of a conclusion should help.

However, those objectives are only one part of the puzzle. To get the others, you should also consider:

Your audience’s demographic breakdown,
The general purpose of your presentation ,
The specific purpose of your presentation , and
Your thesis statement .

With that in mind, let’s see how each of these factors can help you develop an impactful conclusion for your presentation.

Factor #1: The demographic breakdown of the audience

As we have noted in our article about starting presentations, understanding the demographic breakdown of one’s audience is a crucial part of drafting a speech .

After all, the audience affects all of the choices we make — from the way we present ourselves to the vocabulary and the supporting materials we use during our presentations.

In our quest to learn more about the effect an audience can have on a presentation, we spoke to Persuasion Strategist Juliet Huck .

Having spent a significant portion of her professional career preparing people to take the witness stand, Huck knows a thing or two about adjusting one’s messaging to fit the preferences of one’s audience. She says:

“[The] ending [of] every presentation should be different and always based on the background of your audience. This should not be a blanket statement. It also depends on if you are educating your audience or persuading them to make a decision in your favor. You must do the homework on your audience prior to giving a presentation and end by leading them to your desired conclusion by giving them a conclusion they can relate to.”

But, if you’re not entirely sure how to take your audience into account when drafting your conclusion, consider the following questions:

How will your audience connect to the topic you’re discussing?
How can you relate the information you’re sharing to the listeners’ needs?
What would make your audience think back on your presentation in positive terms?
What would be the most effective way to get your point across to this specific audience?

Knowing whether your audience is friendly, neutral, uninterested, or hostile will also help you adjust your approach.

If nothing else, it’ll tell you whether you should stick to the facts or feel free to deliver a more casual or rousing speech.

Examples of different audience breakdowns

In our article about starting a presentation, we demonstrated our tips through 3 fictional speakers. So, let’s use the same presenters to illustrate this point.

Nick Mulder is talking about the dangers of phishing. He introduced himself as the head of the security department. So, we can assume that he’s speaking to an audience of fellow employees, perhaps even through video conferencing software. Therefore, he was addressing an internal problem the company was having in front of a fairly receptive audience.
Joan Miller is talking about how artificial intelligence is changing the future of the marketing industry. In her introduction, she mentioned having over four decades of experience in marketing. Consequently, we can infer that she’s speaking to an audience of marketing specialists who were previously unaware of her credentials.
Milo Green is talking about employee retention. In his introduction, he indicated that the audience may know him as the founder of Green & Co. So, he’s probably famous enough to be recognized by at least a portion of his audience. Between that and the subject of his presentation, we can assume that he’s talking to the upper management of other companies.

From our examples, we can see how the identity of the speaker and their level of familiarity with the listeners might affect the way they prepare their presentations .

Factor #2: The general purpose of your presentation

Understanding the general purpose of a speech brings you one step closer to knowing how to end a presentation.

According to the authors of Communicating at Work , most presentations can be sorted into one of 3 categories based on that factor. In that regard, your presentation could be:

Informative , aiming to expand the listeners’ knowledge and/or help them acquire a specific skill,
Persuasive , with the goal of changing the listeners’ opinions or encouraging them to behave a certain way, or
Entertaining , which is good for getting the audience to relax and look forward to upcoming speakers or events.

The general purpose of your presentation will naturally affect your conclusion because it will change what you choose to emphasize.

💡 Pumble Pro Tip

The basic goal of your presentation could correspond with the type of presentation you’re giving. To learn more about presentation types and styles, check out this article:

Presentation types and styles explained

Examples of defining the general purpose of a presentation

Let’s see how our imaginary presenters would define the general purpose of their presentations.

The general purpose of our phishing expert’s presentation is informative . The speaker’s primary goal is to teach his coworkers how to recognize and defend themselves against phishing attempts.
Our marketing expert’s presentation is persuasive . She wants to change her listeners’ minds and make them more open to using AI in their marketing campaigns.
The last speaker’s presentation about employee retention is also persuasive . After all, the speaker is attempting to show his listeners how they can increase the employee retention rate at their own companies. However, depending on the circumstances surrounding the speech, it could also take on some entertaining qualities.

Factor #3: The specific purpose of your presentation

The specific purpose of a presentation is essentially the outcome you’re looking to achieve with your speech. Defining this goal will require you to know the answers to the following questions :

Who do you want to influence?
What do you want them to think or do?
How, when, and where do you want them to do it?

Ideally, the specific goal you come up with should be realistic and highly specific .

To that end, the authors of Communicating at Work recommend setting measurable goals . So, for example, instead of thinking: “ I want to get approval for my project. ”,

“I want my manager to let me set aside one day per week to work on this project. I also want them to let me ask one or two other people to help me with it.”

Having this kind of goal in mind will help you figure out how to wrap up your presentation.

Examples of defining the specific purpose of a presentation

So, how would our 3 speakers specify the desired outcomes of their presentations in measurable terms? Let’s see:

“I want the people in my company to understand the dangers of phishing attacks. They should learn the exact steps they need to take when they see a suspicious email in their inbox.”

“I want these marketing experts to be more knowledgeable about the way artificial intelligence works right now and understand how they can incorporate that software into their professional practice.”

“I want managers and HR professionals to know how they can make their companies a better place to work so they can keep their employee retention rate high.”

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Factor #4: Your thesis statement

Ultimately, defining the general and specific goals of your presentation is a great way to keep yourself on track when crafting your speech.

However, the audience doesn’t need to know those goals.

Instead, they can hear your thesis statement — a summary of your overall message .

You can treat this statement as the throughline of your presentation. It will appear at least once in the introduction, followed by a few repetitions throughout the body of the presentation.

Finally, you’ll also want to include that same idea in your conclusion at least once.

In addition to keeping you, as the speaker, grounded, that repetition also keeps your audience from wondering what your presentation is about .

Examples of defining the thesis statement of a presentation

So, what would a thesis statement look like in practice? Let’s hear it from our fictional presenters:

“Identifying and reporting phishing emails will save the company’s information and money in the long term.”

“Right now, artificial intelligence isn’t as advanced as people think it is. However, we can still use it for marketing purposes as long as we make sure the process doesn’t begin and end with AI.”

“Improving your employee retention rate makes employees more engaged with their work and saves the company time and money that would otherwise go to training new personnel.”

How to end a presentation with a bang: 10 tips + examples

Now that we know why having an impactful conclusion is so crucial, it’s time to find the right way to achieve your goals.

To that end, we have highlighted 10 tips that might help you wrap up your presentation .

Reiterate the key points and your core message.
Mirror your opening statement.
Elicit a response.
Engage the audience.
Call to action.
Hand out materials.
Acknowledge your contributors.
Provide contact information.
Thank the audience.
Ask for feedback.

Of course, many of these methods we’ll discuss can be combined. However, your choices may be limited depending on the factors we have previously mentioned.

Tip #1: Reiterate the key points and your core message

Making sure the audience remembers your main points is one of the most important objectives your conclusion should accomplish.

With that in mind, you should dedicate some time at the end of your speech to reinforcing what you were trying to say throughout your presentation.

Take it from Mark Beal , Assistant Professor of Professional Practice, Communication, at Rutgers University:

“Every presentation should deliver and consistently reinforce three key message points. Most audience members will not recall more than three messages. Some may only recall one or two. With that [in mind], an engaging and effective presentation should conclude with the three messages the presenter wants the audience to take away.”

In essence, you’ll want to summarize your presentation by reiterating up to 3 key points and then repeating your thesis statement.

You could even translate this tip to your presentation slides. As Juliet Huck says:

“Your last slide should always draw your audience to your desired conclusion. [It] should be your billboard message , as we remember 70% of what we see and 20% of what we hear.”

We can see what that might look like through the example of our imaginary presentation on the dangers of phishing, below.

The final slide of a presentation about phishing

Tip #2: Mirror your opening statement

According to the authors of Communicating at Work , splitting a narrative between the introduction and the conclusion of your presentation is a good way to keep your audience’s attention.

Assistant Professor of Rhetorical Communication at the State University of New York, Dr. Lee M. Pierce , agrees:

“Psychological closure is looping back to the beginning to give the audience a sense of a closed circle. Don’t add new information in the conclusion, just tie the presentation up with a bow. [For example,] I always customize my closings based on the opening of the speech. During a TEDx Talk on Beyoncé’s ‘Formation,’ I began by walking out to the introduction to the song, and then I ended by walking off to the end of the song.”

The above quote demonstrates that this tip can be useful no matter which method you used to start your presentation .

You can use it to put a new spin on a statistic you shared in the introduction, give a story you told a different ending, or finish the punchline of a joke you started with.

Overall, coming back to the theme you introduced at the beginning of your speech should make your presentation seem more complete and intentional .

Phrases you can use to reflect the introduction of your presentation in the conclusion

With all that being said, let’s see how our imaginary speakers would mirror the opening lines of their presentations in their conclusion.

Having started with a phishing statistic, our first speaker might say:

“Going back to the number we started with, remember that the Anti-Phishing Working Group has recorded 1,270,883 individual phishing attacks in the third quarter of 2022 — and that number is always on the rise. Luckily, you now have all the information you need to avoid becoming a part of that statistic.”

Our second speaker would have announced her plans to survey her listeners at the beginning of her presentation. In her conclusion, she might say:

“At the beginning of my presentation, I asked you to answer a quick survey on whether you’d be willing to work with AI. If you look back at your phones, you’ll see a different link in the #general channel on Pumble . Let’s see if this talk has managed to sway some opinions!”

Lastly, our final speaker might refer back to a humorous statement he made about chaining one’s employees to their desks to ensure that employee retention rates stay high.

“Once you start making your company a better place to work, your employees will happily perform their daily tasks — without being glued to their desks.”

Tip #3: Elicit a response

Making an audience experience strong emotions is always a good thing, but especially as the presentation comes to a close.

Putting the listeners in a contemplative mood or, even better, a cheerful one, means that they’ll be more likely to remember you and the points you made after your presentation ends.

On top of that, concluding your presentation in this manner would allow you to step off the stage gracefully, which is one of the main goals your conclusion should accomplish.

Now, depending on the type of presentation you’re delivering and, indeed, your style of presenting, you could elicit a response by:

Ending with a short but powerful statement ,
Asking a thought-provoking rhetorical question ,
Relying on an impactful statistic or a quote , or even
Inserting a funny picture or a meme on your final presentation slide.

Any one of these methods could help you solidify yourself and your message in the minds of the audience.

Phrases you can use to elicit a response from the audience

So, how would our 3 presenters try to get a response from their audiences? Well, they might use the following statements.

“Ultimately, the best defense against phishing attacks is human intelligence. You, alone, can ensure that your information remains secure by implementing the checklist I’ve shared today.”

“So, let me ask you again. Would you be willing to incorporate AI into your marketing campaign?”

“Hey, if the conditions you’re offering to your employees are good enough — there’s no need to keep them glued to their desks.”

Tip #4: Engage the audience

As we’ll discuss later on, having a Q&A session at the end of your presentation doesn’t always pan out the way you want it to.

Even so, getting your audience — or at least a few select listeners — to verbally respond to you can go a long way toward making you seem like a more engaging speaker.

Still, you can’t implement this tip without a strategy. You want to lead your audience to a certain type of response .

Professional speaker, career change consultant, and host of the Career Relaunch® podcast, Joseph Liu , had this to say:

“I often invite attendees to share what action they’re going to take amongst the potential ones I’ve covered throughout the presentation or to at least commit to taking some sort of action.”

Speaker, author, and editorial producer at CNN, Nadia Bilchik , agrees:

“If time allows, I always ask participants to share their biggest takeaway.”

The quote above also highlights the importance of being aware of the time as you are concluding a presentation — which is another thing we’ll talk about later.

For now, we’ll just boil this tip down to the following statement: if possible, try to make people verbalize or at least think about the knowledge they’re taking away from your speech .

Phrases you can use to engage the audience

Going back to our imaginary speakers, let’s see how this tip might work in practice.

“As we approach my conclusion, I’d like for us to reflect on everything we’ve learned here today. So, let me turn the spotlight on you all. Does anyone remember how to recognize a phishing email without opening it?”

“Now, I’m sure everyone here has some idea of how they might incorporate AI into their next marketing campaign. Is anyone willing to share their strategy?”

“Alright! Pop quiz time — don’t worry, I won’t grade you. Can you all shout out the main 3 ways to increase employee retention? Number 1?”

Tip #5: Call to action

Once you have finished reiterating your core message and making sure you have your audience’s attention, you need to be able to direct the listeners to the next step.

As Michelle Gladieux , author of Communicate with Courage and President of Gladieux Consulting, an employee coaching provider, would put it:

“What can the audience DO with the information you’ve shared? Suggest a positive, fruitful next step or, even better, suggest several, and let your presentation participants choose among options that have panned out well for others.”

In her workshops, Gladieux says:

“We ask participants to document at least one goal for behavior change that is specific, measurable, and time-based, and take a bonus step of inviting them to name one person they’ll tell about their goal for added accountability.”

According to the authors of Communicating at Work , there are 2 ways to deliver a call to action at the end of your presentation. Namely, you can either phrase it as:

An appeal or a question (e.g. “If any of this sounds interesting, you can learn more by signing up for our newsletter through the link on the screen behind me.” ), or
A challenge or a demand (e.g. “Now, you can keep doing what you’re doing and getting lackluster results. Or, you can sign up for our newsletter to receive tips that will help you upgrade your strategy.” ).

As always, your choice will depend on the factors we have listed at the top of this article.

Phrases you can use to call the audience to action

Let’s see what our fictional speakers’ calls to action might look like.

“Remember, even if you happen to open a phishing email, you’ll be able to deal with it easily by forwarding it to this email address. That’s the main thing you need to remember from this talk.”

“I bet many of you could come up with even more creative ways to incorporate AI into your marketing campaigns. So, how about this: if you fill out the form I’m about to send you, I’ll check in with you in about three months. Those of you who succeed in using AI in a meaningful way will get a chance to share your insights on this very stage next year!”

“I have a challenge for those of you who are ready to meet me at my level. I want you to sign a pledge, promising to boost your employee retention rate by 10% in the next year. We had a similar experiment at one of my talks a couple of years back, and even I was surprised by the results.”

If you decide to accompany this part of your speech with a call to action slide, keep Juliet Huck’s advice in mind:

“A call to action slide is not always persuasive. Persuasion is not a call to action — it is a directed action. To ‘call’ means someone can say no, but to ‘persuade’ [is to] direct your audience to your desired conclusion based on a number of steps.”

In effect, that means that your call to action should be the final step of your persuasion strategy.

You should start building to that desired outcome well before you get to the end of your presentation.

Tip #6: Hand out materials

The ending of a presentation is the perfect time to give the audience a keepsake of your speech .

But, keep in mind that a memento doesn’t have to be a physical item. As Michelle Gladieux would say:

“I like to direct my audiences to free downloadable resources on our website for those who want to continue their personal and professional growth as leaders and communicators.”

So, sharing resources through email or a business messaging app would work just as well.

Of course, you don’t have to hold off until the conclusion of your presentation to give your audience something to remember you by. Gladieux also shared a method she used in her workshops:

“[Most of our] participants have our high-quality original workbooks in hand during the presentation and available later as a tangible resource. Folks add notes, take short assessments, and work on case studies when we teach using workbooks. If we use presentation slides, we keep the content as engaging visually as possible and short on words.”

If your budget allows you to do something similar, that might be a good way to make the audience remember you.

Phrases you can use before handing out materials

In the scenarios we have conjured up, the speakers might introduce their additional materials like so.

“If you’re interested in learning more about phishing and how you can defend yourself from future attacks, you’ll find more information by following the link on the screen.”

“Now, at this point, I see that my associates have already started delivering some additional materials and miscellaneous goodies to you. I hope you’ll use them to workshop further ideas for using AI in your marketing strategies.”

“I’ll go ahead and forward these presentation slides as well as some additional resources for improving employee retention to you all.”

The third speaker uses the team communication app, Pumble, to share additional resources

If you’re looking for a convenient way to deliver additional resources to the attendees of your speech, Pumble is a great option. This article offers some practical tips for using business messaging software for educational purposes — including online conferences:

Using Pumble for teaching and learning

Tip #7: Acknowledge contributors

If you’re delivering a business presentation as a representative of a team or a department, you can also use the final moments of your speech to acknowledge everyone who worked on the presentation with you.

On the one hand, you could simply thank your team in general terms and leave it at that.

Alternatively, you could highlight the individual contributions of specific team members if you want to make sure their effort doesn’t go unnoticed.

Phrases you can use to acknowledge your contributors

Here’s how our fictitious presenters might acknowledge the people who helped them create their presentations:

“Before I sign off, I’d like to take a moment to thank Jill and Vanessa from the security team, who helped me compile the data and create the slides you just saw.”

“Finally, I’d like to acknowledge that this presentation wouldn’t be half as informative without the experts who helped me understand the technical side of AI.”

“Now, let’s all give it up for my wonderful team, who helped me organize this lecture.”

Improve communication and collaboration for increased team efficiency with Pumble.

Tip #8: Provide contact information

Business presentations often double as networking opportunities , both for presenters and for audience members.

With that in mind, you might want to put your contact information on one of your closing slides.

For one, doing so would show the audience how they can get in touch with you after your presentation ends. After all, they may have additional questions or even interesting business opportunities for you.

On top of that, putting your contact information on the last slide is also a good way to remind the audience of your name and credentials .

For that reason, our second imaginary speaker might have “Joan Miller — Chief Marketing Officer at Happy Media” on her final slide.

Phrases you can use to provide contact information

So, how would our presenters encourage their audience to keep in touch? Well, they might say:

“I’m always happy to answer any of your security or phishing-related questions on Pumble. You’ll find me by clicking the plus sign next to the direct messages section and searching my name, Nick Mulder.”

“If you all have any follow-up questions for me or one of the AI experts I’ve spoken to, you’ll find all of our contact information on this slide.”

“If you want to stay up to date on Green & Co’s latest news, follow us on LinkedIn.”

The first speaker asked his coworkers to contact him through direct messages on the business communication app, Pumble

Tip #9: Thank the audience

Many presenters find a way to incorporate a “ thank you ” slide at the end of their presentations.

If you want to express your appreciation to your audience members , you could do the same thing.

However, as we’ll soon discuss, many of the experts we’ve spoken to would advise against having pointless visuals at the end of your presentation.

After all, you want to leave the audience with something memorable to take away from your speech.

Still, if you want to thank the audience, you could always make that final slide serve multiple functions .

For example, a “thank you” slide can also contain the speaker’s contact information, as well as additional resources.

This example “thank you” slide above features a QR code (you can create one using a QR code generator ) leading to more resources — it prompts the audience to find the speaker on various social media platforms.

Tip #10: Ask for feedback

Lastly, some speakers might benefit from knowing what the audience thinks about their delivery and other aspects of their presentation.

That’s why some of the experts we’ve spoken to suggest that conducting a brief survey of the audience could be a good activity to end a presentation with.

Rutgers University professor, Mark Beal, says that:

“Offering audience members the opportunity to take a concise survey at the conclusion of a presentation will result in valuable insights that will inform how to consistently evolve and improve a presentation. […] We use the last few minutes of seminars to allow participants to answer a few questions about what was most useful in our content and delivery, and what, in that individual’s opinion, could improve.”

Michelle Gladieux is also an advocate for audience surveys, saying:

“I’ve delivered thousands of training workshops and keynotes and never miss an opportunity to ask for feedback formally (in writing), informally (in conversation), or both. As you might guess, I advise every presenter reading this to do the same.”

You could encourage this type of feedback by:

Asking attendees to share their thoughts on your presentation after you step off the stage,
Setting up a notebook near the door and asking people to jot down their thoughts as they exit,
Having a suggestion box for hand-written feedback notes, or
Creating an anonymous survey online and linking to it on your presentation slides.

Most presenters nowadays tend to rely on technology to compile audience feedback, but the method you use will depend on the circumstances surrounding your presentation.

If you’ve never had to ask for feedback before, you might find this article interesting:

How to ask your manager for feedback

The worst ways to end a presentation

Having gone through the best practices for concluding a presentation memorably, we also wanted to know what are some of the mistakes speakers should avoid as they reach the end of their speech.

The experts we have spoken to have identified 5 of the worst ways to end a presentation :

Overloading your final slide.
Settling for a lackluster closer.
Ending with a Q&A session.
Not having time for any questions at all.
Going over your time.

So, let’s see what makes these mistakes so bad.

Mistake #1: Overloading your final slide

Overloading your presentation slides isn’t a mistake you can make only at the end of your presentation.

Professional speakers know that slides are only there to accompany your speech — they shouldn’t be the main event.

As Nadia Bilchik says:

“Slides are only there to support your message. Towards the end of the presentation, I may even stop the slideshow entirely and just have a black screen. At the very end of the presentation, my suggestion is to have a slide up with the next steps or a call to action.”

Dr. Lee M. Pierce also tends to use blank slides:

“I always end and begin with blank slides. As a speaker, you’re trying to build connection and rapport between you and the audience, not between the audience and your slide deck.”

Therefore, putting too much information onto a single slide can make the speaker seem unprepared, in addition to overwhelming the audience.

When in doubt, remember Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 rule :

No more than 10 slides per presentation,
Keep your presentations under 20 minutes, and
The text on your slides should never be smaller than 30-point font.

Mistake #2: Settling for a lackluster closer

If your goal is to become a proficient speaker, you’ll have to stop using uninspired closers like:

“Well, I guess that’s it.”
“That’s pretty much all I had to say.”
“That’s about it from me. Can we get some applause?”

The audience will respond if you say something deserving of a response.

Instead of using these bland lines, remember Juliet Huck’s advice:

“Never end your presentation without closing the loop of your beginning theme and being specific when asking for your desire conclusion.”

As we have established, it’s best to conclude your speech by bringing back your thesis statement and key points.

Finishing with weak visuals is similarly offensive — and here we’re not just talking about presentation slides.

Remember, body language is an important component of our communication .

Fidgeting as your presentation comes to a close or slumping your posture as soon as you’re finished speaking won’t do.

As Michelle Gladieux would say:

“Never end a presentation seeming happy to be done, even if you are! Be certain you’re happy to be the presenter before you begin, or find someone else to do it.”

In other words, try not to show signs of anxiety during your presentation .

Maintain a confident demeanor for as long as you remain on stage or as long as you’re on camera, in the case of virtual meetings .

Mistake #3: Ending with a Q&A session

One of the experts we have spoken to, Nadia Bilchik, was particularly adamant about not ending presentations with Q&A sessions.

“Never ever end a presentation on a question-and-answer session. I have seen numerous presenters end by asking ‘Any questions?’ Too often there are no questions, and the presenter is left looking deflated and muttering ‘Thank you.’ [If there are] no questions, you can always say ‘A question I’m often asked is…’ or ‘Something I would like to reiterate is…’ Never end your presentation without your audience being clear about what they are expected to do with the information you have just shared.”

Adding that you can:

“Ask for questions, comments, and concerns, and only then end with a quick wrap-up. The goal is to end with your audience being clear on their next steps.”

Even if the listeners do have questions, there’s a good reason not to have a Q&A session at the very end of your presentation.

Namely, there’s always a chance that someone will ask a question that completely derails the conversation.

If you have the Q&A portion right before your conclusion, you’ll have time to reiterate your core message and proceed with a memorable closing statement .

For reference, you can ask for questions by saying:

“Before I close out this lecture, do you guys have any questions for me?”

Then, if there are no questions, you can still proceed to your conclusion without losing face.

A Q&A session is one of the best ways to make your presentations more interactive — but it’s not the only way to go about it. To learn more, check out this article:

18 Ways to make presentations more interactive and engaging

Mistake #4: Not having time for any questions at all

Ending with a Q&A session could be a problem — but, perhaps, not as big of a problem as not taking questions at all.

As Mark Beal would say:

“Not giving the audience the opportunity to participate in the presentation via a question and answer session is another ineffective way to end a presentation. Audiences want to have a voice in a presentation. They will be more engaged with the presentation content and recall it more effectively if given the opportunity to participate in the presentation and interact with the presenter.”

Dr. Lee M. Pierce adds:

“It’s always good to leave at least 15 minutes for questions. Leaving 5 minutes is annoying and pointless. Also, be prepared that the audience may not have questions or not feel comfortable just jumping in, so have some of your own questions ready to offer them. You can say something like, ‘Just to put it out there, if I were going to ask me a question, I’d ask…’ ”

Now, both Nadia Bilchik and Lee M. Pierce have mentioned phrases you can use if no one comes forth with a question.

You’ll notice that the sentences they have come up with will require you to consider the questions you may be asked ahead of time .

In addition to helping you create a better presentation, doing this will also allow you to answer any questions effortlessly.

Mistake #5: Going over your time

Last but not least, many of the professional speakers we have interviewed have stressed the importance of ending one’s presentation on time.

Michelle Gladieux said it best:

“The best way to end a presentation is ON TIME. Respect others’ time commitments by not running over. You can always hang around for a while to speak with people who have more to say or more to ask.”

Dr. Lee M. Pierce agrees:

“The worst thing you can do is run over time. If you were given 45 minutes for a presentation plus 15 minutes for Q & A, you should end at 45 minutes — better if you end at 35 or 40.”

Then again, according to Guy Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 rule, even going over the 20-minute mark could risk boring and alienating one’s audience.

Useful phrases for ending a presentation

In the course of our research, we’ve found many practical phrases one might use to wrap up a presentation.

We even had experts send in their suggestions. For example, Nadia Bilchik says:

“I always end with a very quick summary of the content, a definitive call to action, and a reiteration of the benefits to the audience. This is a superb model, and I have shared it with thousands of individuals who have found it immensely valuable. Use this as your framework: What I have looked at today… What I am asking you to do… The benefits are…”

Other phrases you might use at the end of your presentation include:

“To recap, we’ve discussed…”

“Throughout this presentation, we talked about…”

“In other words,…”

“To wrap up/conclude,…”

“In short, I’d like to highlight…”

“To put it simply,…”

“In conclusion…”

“In summary, the goal of my presentation…”

“If there’s one thing you take away from my presentation…”

“In bringing my presentation to a close, I wanted to…”

If you’d like to incorporate a call to action, you might say:

“I’m counting on you to…”

“After this presentation, I’d like to ask you to…”

“Please take a minute to…”

“Next time you (see a suspicious email), remember to (forward it to this email address).”

To end with a quote, you could say:

“Let me leave you with this quote…”

“That reminds me of the old saying…”

Lastly, more useful phrases include:

“Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.”

“For more information, head to the link on the screen.”

“Thank you for your time/attention.”

“I hope you found this presentation informative/useful/insightful.”

Remember: the last words you say should make it abundantly clear that your presentation has ended.

What should your final slide look like?

If you don’t want to leave your final slide blank as some of the experts we have talked to would recommend, there are other ways to fill that space.

Joseph Liu told us:

“I tend to make it very clear the presentation is coming to an end by having a slide that says, ‘Closing Thoughts’ or something to that effect. I recommend ending with a recap of your content, reconnecting with the initial hook you used at the start, and finally, some sort of call to action.”

Mark Beal has a similar formula for his closing slides, saying:

“The final slides of my presentation include: A slide featuring three key messages/takeaways, A question and answer slide to engage the audience at the conclusion in the same manner a presenter wants to engage an audience at the start of a presentation, and A final slide including the presenter’s contact information and a website address where they can learn more information. This slide can include a QR code that the audience can screenshot and access the presenter’s website or another digital destination.”

Between these two suggestions and the many examples we have included throughout our guide, you ought to have a clear picture of what your final slide might look like.

End your presentations with a bang on Pumble

Knowing how to end a presentation effectively is a skill like any other — you’re bound to get better through practice and repetition.

To get the most out of your presentations, make sure to give them on Pumble.

Pumble — a team communication and collaboration app — allows you to have the most interactive, efficient presentations thanks to:

The video conferencing feature that allows you to share your knowledge with a large group of people,
The screen sharing feature that allows you share your presentation,
The in-call message feature, to ensure your audience can participate (and send questions for the FAQ partition of the presentation, for example), and
The blur background feature, that ensures your audience’s attention is always on you and you alone.

Secure, real-time communication for professionals.

Olga Milicevic is a communication researcher and author dedicated to making your professional life a bit easier. She believes that everyone should have the tools necessary to respond to their coworkers’ requests and communicate their own professional needs clearly and kindly.

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Texas Rangers RHP Max Scherzer is ‘turning a corner,’ could be ready sooner than expected

The 39-year-old star pitcher underwent surgery for a herniated disc in december and, at the time, was expected to be sidelined until june or july..

Texas Rangers starting pitcher Max Scherzer greets teammates before the season opener at...

By Shawn McFarland

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ARLINGTON — Another week, another positive update for Rangers right-handed pitcher Max Scherzer.

Scherzer threw a 40-pitch bullpen on Tuesday and is scheduled to throw a live bullpen sometime next week. His progress has caused even manager Bruce Bochy to acknowledge a faster-than-expected return timeline.

Related: Texas Rangers’ Max Scherzer throws bullpen, offers insight into possible return date

“Max is doing great,” Bochy said Wednesday. “He’s antsy to get things going. He’s already moved the needle a couple of times on when he’ll be ready. If all goes well, he will be ready sooner than expected.”

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Scherzer — who has maintained that he’s effectively in spring training ramp-up mode now — can technically be reinstated from the 15-day injured list at any time, though his own quasi-spring schedule lines up with a late-May return. The Rangers opted to not place him on the 60-day injured list as they did with fellow rehabs Jacob deGrom and Tyler Mahle at the start of the regular season.

Related: How Texas Rangers’ Max Scherzer has learned to balance a competitive fire with patience

“I really feel like I’m kind of turning a corner here in terms of rehab,” Scherzer said. “I’m recovering from bullpens and feeling normal. Looking to get a live BP next week, and then get going here. Should be getting out on a rehab [assignment] pretty soon then.”

The 39-year-old right-hander underwent surgery for a herniated disc in December and, at the time, was expected to be sidelined until June or July. He reported positive progress at several key checkpoints — the six-week mark in January and the 12-week mark in March — and said Wednesday that he felt symptom-free and in an “extremely good position” by the three-month mark post-operation.

Related: Rangers’ Max Scherzer has surgery to repair herniated disk, will miss start of the season

“That’s just allowed me to kind of have a normal ramp-up program,” Scherzer said. “I’m not going fast, I’m not trying to cut corners, I’m not trying to do anything more than what my body just allows me to. That’s ‘be myself’ and get myself to this position where, here we are April 10, and I’m ready to get to the bullpens next week.”

Scherzer, who yielded a 3.20 ERA in eight starts for the Rangers last regular season, returned earlier than expected from a teres major strain last fall. Scherzer was deemed “unlikely” to pitch in last year’s playoffs but returned in time to throw in both the ALCS and World Series before back spasms shut him down during Game 3 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

“Let’s be honest, he’s not a spring chicken,” Bochy said. “For him to bounce back like this and be doing so well, yeah, I am amazed. It shows you why this guy is as great as he is and why he’s going to the Hall of Fame.”

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Shawn McFarland , SportsDay HS reporter . Shawn covers preps for SportsDay HS. He joined The Dallas Morning News after covering UConn basketball, football and high school sports for The Hartford Courant. A Boston area native, Shawn graduated from Springfield College in 2018 and previously worked for The Boston Globe and Baseball America.