do's and don'ts presentation skills

6 dos and don’ts for next-level slides, from a TED presentation expert

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Want to prevent yawns and glazed-over eyes? Before you deliver your next speech, pitch or address, learn how to create exceptional slides by following these rules (with real before-and-afters).

Slides are an expected and crucial part of most speeches, presentations, pitches and addresses. They can simplify complex information or messages, showcase relevant images, and help hold an audience’s attention. But quite often, the best slides aren’t those that make people sit up and comment on how good they are; instead, they’re the ones that people take in without really noticing because the content is effortlessly conveyed and matches the speaker’s words so well.

These days, showing high-quality slides is more important than ever. “We’re living in a visual culture,” says Paul Jurczynski , the cofounder of Improve Presentation and one of the people who works with TED speakers to overhaul their slides. “Everything is visual. Instagram is on fire, and you don’t often see bad images on there. The same trend has come to presentations.”

He says there is no “right” number of slides. However, it’s important that every single one shown — even the blank ones (more on those later) — be, as Jurczynski puts it, “connected with the story you’re telling.” Here, he shares 6 specific tips for creating the most effective slides. ( Note: All of the examples below were taken from the actual slides of TED speakers. )

1. Do keep your slides simple and succinct

“The most common mistake I see is slides that are overcrowded. People tend to want to spell everything out and cover too much information,” says Jurczynski. Not only are these everything-but-the-kitchen-sink slides unattractive and amateurish, they also divert your audience’s attention away from what you’re saying. You want them to listen to the words that you slaved over, not get distracted by unscrambling a jam-packed slide.

“The golden rule is to have one claim or idea per slide. If you have more to say, put it on the next slide,” says Jurczynski. Another hallmark of a successful slide: The words and images are placed in a way that begins where the audience’s eyes naturally go and then follows their gaze. Use the position, size, shape and color of your visuals to make it clear what should come first, second and so on. “You don’t just control what the audience sees; you have to control how they see it,” says Jurczynski.

BEFORE: Too crowded 

After: easy to absorb.

2. Do choose colors and fonts with care

Colors and fonts are like the herbs and spices of your presentation. When used wisely and with intention, they’ll enhance your slides; but when tossed in haphazardly, they’ll make it an unappealing mess.

Let’s start with color. “Color is a key way to communicate visually and to evoke emotion,” says Jurczynski. “It can be a game changer.” Your impulse might be to pick your favorite hue and start from there, but he advises, “it’s important to use color with a purpose.” For example, if you’re giving a presentation about a positive topic, you’ll want to use bright, playful colors. But if you’re speaking about a serious subject such as gun violence or lung cancer, you’d probably go for darker or neutral colors.

While it’s fine to use a variety of colors in your presentation, overall you should adhere to a consistent color scheme, or palette. “The good news is you don’t need a degree in color theory to build a palette,” says Jurczynski. Check out one of the many free sites — such as Coolors or Color Hunt — that can help you assemble color schemes.

With fonts, settle on just one or two, and make sure they match the tone of your presentation. “You don’t have to stick to the fonts that you have in PowerPoint,” or whatever program you’re using, says Jurczynski. “People are now designing and sharing fonts that are easy to install in different programs. It’s been an amazing breakthrough.” Experiment. Try swapping a commonly used font like Arial for Lato or Bebas , two of many lesser known fonts available online. Most important: “Use a big enough font, which people often forget to do,” advises Jurczynski. Your text has to be both legible and large enough to read from the back of the room, he recommends — about 30 points or so.

BEFORE: Weak and hard-to-read font, muddy colors 

AFTER: Strong font, color that’s striking but not jarring

3. Don’t settle for visual cliches

When you’re attempting to illustrate concepts, go beyond the first idea that comes to your mind. Why? The reason it appears so readily may be because it’s a cliché. For example, “a light bulb as a symbol for innovation has gotten really tired,” says Jurczynski. Other oft-used metaphors include a bull’s-eye target or shaking hands. After you’ve come up with your symbol or idea, he advises people to resist the lure of Google images (where there are too many low-quality and clichéd choices) and browse other free image sites such as Unsplash to find more unique visuals. One trick: If you do use stock, amp it up with a color overlay (as in the pic at the top of this article) or tweak it in some other way to counteract — or at least muffle — its stock-i-ness.

One potential source of pictures is much closer at hand. “If it fits the storyline, I encourage people to use their own images,” says Jurczynski. “Like one TED Talk where the speaker, a doctor, used photos of his experience treating people in Africa. That was all he needed. They were very powerful.” Major caveat: Any personal photos must support your speech or presentation. Do not squander your audience’s precious time by showing them a gratuitous picture of your children or grandparents — beautiful as they may be.

BEFORE: Fake-looking stock photo to illustrate teamwork 

After: eye-catching photo of nature to illustrate teamwork.

4. Don’t get bogged down by charts and graphs

Less is also more when it comes to data visualization. Keep any charts or graphs streamlined. When building them, ask yourself these questions:

What do I want the audience to take away from my infographic?

Why is it important for them to know this?

How does it tie into my overall story or message?

You may need to highlight key numbers or data points by using color, bolding, enlarging or some other visual treatment that makes them pop.

Maps are another commonly used infographic. Again, exercise restraint and use them only if they enhance your talk. “Sometimes, people put a map because they don’t know what else to show,” says Jurczynski. He suggests employing labels, color schemes or highlighting to direct your audience where to look. He adds, if you have the skill or know an artist, “you may even consider a hand-drawn map.”

BEFORE: Yikes! What’s important?!? AFTER: The takeaway is clear

5. don’t be scared of blank slides.

It may seem counterintuitive, but at certain points in your speech or pitch, the best visual is … no visual at all. “At the beginning, I was not a fan of blank slides,” says Jurczynski. “But the more talks I’ve seen, the more a fan I am of them, because sometimes you want all the attention on yourself and you don’t want people distracted by what they see in the slides. Or, you might use them to give the audience a visual break from a series of slides. Or maybe you want to shift the mood or tempo of the presentation.”

The blank slide is the visual equivalent of a pause, and most stories could use at least one. And with blank slides, Jurczynski has one main “don’t”: “You cannot use white blank slides, because if you do, people will see it and think something is broken.”

6. Do remember to practice

The easiest way to figure out if your slides really work? Recruit a colleague, friend or family member, and run through your entire presentation with them. Sometimes, people can get so carried away with rehearsing their delivery and memorizing their words that they forget to make sure their slides complement and synch up with what they’re saying.

“Even if you have the best visual s in the world, you need to practice in front of someone else. Once you start practicing, you may see, ‘I’m talking about a sad story, but on the slide behind me, I have something funny and that doesn’t make sense,'” says Jurczynski. “Or, ‘Oh, this could be a good place for a blank slide.’”

About the author

Amanda Miller manages curation for partner events at TED.

• business advice
• data visualization
• idea visualization
• presentation literacy
• public speaking

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How to Make a “Good” Presentation “Great”

• Guy Kawasaki

Remember: Less is more.

A strong presentation is so much more than information pasted onto a series of slides with fancy backgrounds. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others. Here are some unique elements that make a presentation stand out.

• Fonts: Sans Serif fonts such as Helvetica or Arial are preferred for their clean lines, which make them easy to digest at various sizes and distances. Limit the number of font styles to two: one for headings and another for body text, to avoid visual confusion or distractions.
• Colors: Colors can evoke emotions and highlight critical points, but their overuse can lead to a cluttered and confusing presentation. A limited palette of two to three main colors, complemented by a simple background, can help you draw attention to key elements without overwhelming the audience.
• Pictures: Pictures can communicate complex ideas quickly and memorably but choosing the right images is key. Images or pictures should be big (perhaps 20-25% of the page), bold, and have a clear purpose that complements the slide’s text.
• Layout: Don’t overcrowd your slides with too much information. When in doubt, adhere to the principle of simplicity, and aim for a clean and uncluttered layout with plenty of white space around text and images. Think phrases and bullets, not sentences.

As an intern or early career professional, chances are that you’ll be tasked with making or giving a presentation in the near future. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others.

• Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist at Canva and was the former chief evangelist at Apple. Guy is the author of 16 books including Think Remarkable : 9 Paths to Transform Your Life and Make a Difference.

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

Table of Contents

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

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

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

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

16 Dos And Don’ts Of Powerpoint Presentations

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

PowerPoint Dos

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

1. Keep It Simple With Minimalist Design

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3. Boost Engagement With Quality Visuals

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

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

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

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

4. Create Brand Consistency With Formatting

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

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

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

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

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

5. Check Accessibility Settings

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

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

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

6. Create Custom Icons and Illustrations

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

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

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

7. Use Subtle Animations – But Not Too Many!

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

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

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

8. Pace Your Delivery

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

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

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

PowerPoint Donts

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

9. Don’t Use Distracting Backgrounds

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

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

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

10. Don’t Overwhelm With Walls of Text

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

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

11. Don’t Rely On Boring Bullets

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

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

12. Don’t Use Inconsistent Formatting

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

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

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

13. Don’t Include Unnecessary Animations

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

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

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

14. Don’t Use Unsupported Graphics

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

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

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

15. Don’t Plagiarize Content

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

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

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

16. Don’t Wing Your Speech

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What is the 5 by 5 rule in PowerPoint?

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

What is the 7 rule on a PowerPoint presentation?

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

What are the 5 rules of PowerPoint?

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

Frequently Asked Questions

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

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

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Do’s and Don’ts

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Do’s and Don’ts of Designing PowerPoint Presentations – What’s Important

Animations Bullet Point Presentations Business Presentation Corporate Presentation Design Data Visualization PowerPoint Design PowerPoint Presentation Professional Presentation Design

Discover the essential do's and don'ts of designing PowerPoint presentations. This will ensure you never struggle to maintain your audience's interest again. If you've ever crafted slides only to face a crowd of disengaged onlookers, you know how crucial engaging presentations are. Even seasoned speakers can stumble if their PowerPoint lacks clarity and visual appeal. By mastering how to make the best PowerPoint presentation, you can ensure that you deliver your message concisely and memorably. It helps you avoid the pitfalls of overwhelming text and disorganized designs.

8 Do's And 8 Don’ts Of PowerPoint Presentations

When it comes to the do's and don'ts of designing PowerPoint presentations, understanding the key elements can make all the difference. Whether you're aiming to inform, persuade, or engage, the way you design your slides plays a pivotal role in how your message is received. By focusing on essential design principles and avoiding common pitfalls, you can create a presentation that not only looks professional but also resonates with your audience. Let's delve into the crucial do's and don'ts that will elevate your PowerPoint skills and help you deliver your message effectively.

8 PowerPoint Do's: Enhancing Your Slides for Impact

1. opt for minimalist design.

Simplicity is key in the do's and don'ts of designing PowerPoint presentations. A minimalist design helps your audience focus on what's important without getting distracted by too many details. This approach, emphasizing how to make the best PowerPoint presentation, involves using a clean layout, ample white space, and limiting the number of elements on each slide. By keeping it simple, you enable your audience to absorb and retain the information more effectively.

2. Eliminate Clutter with Design Rules

Effective presentation design is all about clarity and engagement. The 5-5-5 rule suggests limiting yourself to five words per line, five lines per slide, and five text-heavy slides in a row to avoid overwhelming your audience. The 10-20-30 rule by Guy Kawasaki advocates for 10 slides in a 20-minute presentation with a minimum 30-point font size. Lastly, the 6x6 rule recommends no more than six bullet points per slide and six words per bullet. These guidelines help in creating slides that are easy to follow and impactful.

3. Enhance Engagement with Quality Visuals

Using high-quality visuals is a fundamental aspect of PowerPoint presentation do's and don'ts. Graphics, images, and charts serve as powerful visual aids that can make your presentation more engaging and easier to understand. They can break up text, illustrate points, and add a layer of storytelling to your presentation. Remember, a relevant and striking visual can convey your message more powerfully than words alone.

4. Foster Brand Consistency

Consistency in your presentation's formatting reinforces your brand and message. This involves using a consistent color palette, typography, and design elements throughout your slides. Such a consistent design not only looks professional but also makes your presentation more coherent and memorable to the audience.

5. Prioritize Accessibility

Ensuring your PowerPoint is accessible to everyone, including individuals with disabilities, is crucial. This means checking color contrasts, providing text alternatives for images, and ensuring your presentation can be navigated without a mouse. Making your presentation accessible is a key step in being inclusive and reaching a wider audience effectively.

6. Incorporate Custom Icons and Illustrations

Custom icons and illustrations can add a unique and personal touch to your presentation, making it stand out. These design elements, tailored to your message, can enhance understanding and retention. Avoid generic clip art in favor of custom graphics that align with your content and branding.

7. Employ Subtle Animations

Animations can be a useful tool when used sparingly. They should enhance, not distract, helping to emphasize key points or transition smoothly between topics. Subtle animations can guide your audience's attention and contribute to a dynamic and engaging presentation.

8. Control Your Presentation's Pace

Timing is everything. Pacing your delivery ensures that your audience stays engaged and can absorb the information you're presenting. It's important to allocate time wisely, giving each slide its moment, without rushing or dragging the presentation.

8 PowerPoint Don'ts: Avoiding Common Pitfalls

1. avoid busy backgrounds.

Distracting backgrounds can make your text hard to read and divert attention from your main message. Stick to simple, clean backgrounds that support your content rather than competing with it. This helps keep your audience focused on what you're saying, not where you're saying it.

2. Refrain from Overloading Slides with Text

Too much text can overwhelm your audience, making it hard for them to follow along and retain information. Use bullet points strategically to convey information concisely and keep your audience engaged. Remember, slides are there to support your speech, not to serve as a script.

3. Move Beyond Basic Bullets

While bullet points are a common feature in presentations, relying solely on them can become monotonous. Mix up your slide formats with visuals, charts, and other elements to keep your audience interested and engaged. This variety can make your presentation more dynamic and memorable.

4. Maintain Formatting Consistency

Inconsistent formatting can be jarring and detract from your message's professionalism. Ensure that your slides are uniformly styled in terms of fonts, colors, and layout. This consistency helps build a cohesive narrative throughout your presentation.

5. Limit Animation Use

While animations can add interest, too many can be distracting and detract from your message. Use animations purposefully and sparingly to enhance your presentation without overwhelming your audience with too much motion.

6. Avoid Using Unsupported Graphics

Ensure that all your graphics and visuals are supported by your presentation software and the hardware you'll be using. Unsupported graphics can lead to technical issues that disrupt your flow and distract your audience.

7. Never Plagiarize

Originality is key in presentation design. Ensure all your content is original or properly credited. Plagiarizing not only undermines your credibility but also disrespects the original content creators.

8. Don't Improvise Your Speech

In designing PowerPoint presentations, don't overlook the importance of rehearsing your speech. It's not just the slides that matter but also how you present them. Spend time aligning your speech with your visuals to keep the audience engaged. Practicing ensures your delivery is smooth and your information clear, making your professional PowerPoint presentations effective. Thorough preparation will help you captivate your audience from start to finish.

In the realm of PowerPoint presentation do's and don'ts, striking the right balance between informative content and engaging design is crucial. By adhering to these guidelines, you're not just creating slides; you're crafting a narrative that captures and retains your audience's attention. Remember, the success of your presentation hinges on both the clarity of your content and the effectiveness of your design. As you employ these strategies in your professional PowerPoint presentations, you'll not only keep your audience engaged but also convey information in a way that's impactful and memorable. Embrace these practices to ensure your next presentation stands out for all the right reasons.

Come to Deck Sherpa for Professional PowerPoint Presentations

Understanding and implementing the do's and don'ts of designing PowerPoint presentations is crucial for maintaining your audience's engagement and effectively delivering your message. These guidelines are not just rules; they are the building blocks for creating slides that are clear, impactful, and memorable. By focusing on essential design elements like minimalism, consistency, and quality visuals, you can elevate your presentation and ensure your message resonates with your audience. Following these principles helps in avoiding common pitfalls that can detract from your presentation's effectiveness, ensuring your key points are communicated clearly and your audience stays connected throughout your presentation.

Looking to make your next PowerPoint presentation stand out? Deck Sherpa, India's leading presentation design agency, is here to help. Our expert design team is well-versed in all these essential tips, crafting presentations that captivate and inform, for clients both in India and around the globe. Whether you're presenting locally or on an international stage, let us help you create a presentation that resonates and engages. Visit our Showcase page on the Deck Sherpa website to see our work and discover how we can elevate your next presentation. Let's make your message unforgettable together.

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Q. What are the dos and don’ts of PowerPoint presentations? A. The dos and don'ts of PowerPoint presentations include keeping a simple design, using high-quality visuals, maintaining consistency, and avoiding overwhelming text or distracting animations. Q. What are presentation design rules? A. Presentation design rules include guidelines like the 5-5-5 rule, the 10-20-30 rule, and the 6x6 rule, which help in creating clear, impactful, and engaging slides. Q. What is the 7 rule in PowerPoint? A. The 7 rule in PowerPoint suggests limiting each slide to no more than seven bullet points and seven words per bullet to ensure clarity and retain audience engagement.

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5 dos and don’ts of presentation design.

Three out of every 5 people are visual learners. The human brain processes visuals 60,000X faster than any amount of text. And we remember 80% of what we see , compared to 20% of what we read and only 10% of what we hear. That’s why presentation design – from the intentional stringing together of text into a compelling narrative to the precise selection of relevant and attention-grabbing visuals – should be an essential aspect to any presenter’s agenda. There is a science, an art, a simple list of best practices to designing a presentation with impact. Below are five Do’s and Don’ts of presentation design that every presenter needs to know:

1. Do use the Rule of Thirds

The effective employment of this design tactic doesn’t involve experience with design software, much less a background in design.

Envision an image or slide as a grid, which is split up into three chunks of equal size horizontally and vertically . If you want to elevate yourself from amateur to professional presenter, utilize the vertical Rule of Thirds and place the object of an image to the left or right side. With an image of an animal or a person, always put the eyes in the horizontal upper third of the imaginary grid.

This design principle helps a presenter effectively harness the influence of their deck’s visuals, while creating opportunity for more white space.

2. Do include visuals

Minimal text, more images – every presenter’s new design mantra. Rightly so, considering that images increase retention by 42%.

To enhance whatever message you are trying to get across to an audience, always incorporate a relevant visual . Research has determined that if you present a piece of information with just text or in a verbal manner, your audience will only remember 10% of it three days later. However, include a relevant image and members will remember 65% of the information a few days after the presentation.

3. Do choose stock photography wisely

Have you ever witnessed a presentation where most every slide looked like the designer was trying to choose an even stockier photo than the one before it? Selecting the most appropriate stock image for each slide can seem like a daunting task. The ability to spot the differences between an insanely hokey stock image and a professional and alluring one separates the savvy from the lazy.

When searching for a stock image, you will likely have to revise your search terms until you receive a solid search query. Instead of searching for office desk, try office desk black and white or office desk modern.

To find stock images, check out iStock and Fotolia and purchase photos for under $10 per image. Or, make a compromise on library size and image options for free resources such as Pexel or Flickr .

4. Do continue learning

Just because you may not have adequate presentation design skills now, doesn’t mean you can’t ever obtain them. Take advantage of low-cost online education opportunities like those offered through Lynda.com and enhance your design software capabilities.

Start small by learning how to precisely crop an image in Photoshop. Or start big and learn how to design a data visualization in Illustrator. Virtually anything you desire to know is literally at your fingertips.

5. Do update old presentations

Busy professionals and presenters likely don’t have gobs of time to devote to producing embellished, wholly unique content for every media channel that exists today. The good thing is, all of the time spent on one deck isn’t in vain if you continue to revisit it in the months and years following a presentation. Update the design to reflect current trends. Then, use the deck and elements of it to distribute quality content on social media and LinkedIn.

1. Don’t overload slides with text

Take a cue from human psychology and minimize the amount of text you put on any one slide. According to Cognitive Load Theory, the more complex information a presenter places on a slide, the more easily our brains will become overloaded as we try to process the information chunk.

A simple way to cut down the extraneous load of content starts with providing an overview of what your audience can expect to hear throughout your talk. According to Matt Abrahams of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, audiences can retain structured presentations 40% easier than freeform presentations. Other strategies include presenting one idea per slide, eliminating jargon from your deck, and of course, utilizing visuals.

2. Don’t use bullet points

The whole premise of bullet points is that an individual is attempting to display more than one piece of information on each slide. Therefore, if you are adhering to the guidelines outlined in Don’t #1, you should have no use for the dreaded bullet points at all. If that isn’t enough to persuade you away from those little dots, take into account this 2014 study , which discovered that audience members experience enhanced difficulty paying attention to bulleted lists, as well as agreeing with and recalling them.

A relevant, high-quality visual will relay whatever point you want to make more effectively and efficiently than any bulleted list could even dream of accomplishing. Friends don’t let friends use bulleted lists…and we consider you our friend.

3. Don’t rely on templates

Presentation templates are tempting. But don’t give in to their ease and conveniency. Once you get started working within one, you’ll swirl into a rabbit hole of bullet points and lackluster slide designs.

On top of that, templates convey one ugly truth to your audience. That you don’t care about the presentation you are giving. That you didn’t even try. Swap the restriction of a template for a bold background image and a little bit of large text.

4. Don’t use low-resolution images

Spreading low-resolution images and subpar photography throughout your presentation will only set a negative tone. Primarily, it will project unprofessionalism, a lack of expertise, and an altogether lack of enthusiasm in your own ideas and thoughts.

All of that to say… Put the time and effort into selecting high-resolution images and well-intentioned photography. Because the majority of your audience will be visually-driven, the clarity and quality of your images is paramount to the ultimate success of your presentation and message.

5. Don’t abuse charts and graphs

You’ve seen it before. Some presenter has shown you an atrocity of bar and line graphs and pie charts (oh my!). Despite their best intentions, you probably didn’t retain the message they hoped you would from that slide. According to a recent study conducted by Harvard and MIT researchers, people prefer unique data visualizations over traditional formats. Consider displaying information with a clean, crisp, creative data visualization .

You can design an engaging, professional, and elegant presentation – whether you graduated with a degree in graphic design or have never opened up an Adobe Creative Suites program. If you keep these 10 tips and tricks in mind, you will be one step closer to delivering a compelling, creative, and timeless deck.  

• Latest Posts

Gabrielle Reed

+gabrielle reed, latest posts by gabrielle reed ( see all ).

• The 8-Step Guide to Approaching Presentations with a Journalistic Mindset - 21st June 2016
• 5 Dos and Don’ts of Presentation Design - 12th May 2016

18th June 2016 at 7:08 pm

Good basic tips that anyone can put into practice. Taking charts out of ppt and into illustrator is a sure way to improve the quality of them and having a limited colour palette immediately makes them look more professional…oh and not too many different type sizes.

27th July 2016 at 11:57 pm

Just keep the context and audience of the presentation in mind. While overloaded graphics are bad either way, simply putting one number on the screen will have an academic audience ask “Where’s the data?” and unique visualizations have to be finely tuned so as not to generate the impression as to be an effort to distract with high quality visuals from low quality data… Us scientists are a suspicious lot 😉

Mulesoft Course

10th August 2021 at 4:24 pm

Hello, this post has valuable information. Appreciate the efforts you put into writing this, and sharing with us.

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9 Dos and Don’ts of Presenting

Henry Caplan explains what you should and shouldn’t do during your next presentation.

1. Do – Manage your nerves

Often our nerves are internalised. There is always a difference between our perception of ourselves and how others see us. Sometimes this perspective can help with nerves as well.

So seek out feedback from people you trust when practising, but during your presentation take your time and try to enjoy your moment; chances are you don’t look anywhere near as nervous as you feel.

Remember, trying to deny nerves makes them worse. You can use nerves as energy.

2. Don’t – Use filler words

Many presentations begin with ‘so… um…’ and we all have moments where a filler creeps in. They take up space and they make us look unprofessional or unprepared, even when we’re not.

Instead of saying ‘errr…’ as you move to the next point or answer a question, take your time and take a breath if you have to. Silence for a couple of seconds is more powerful than a ‘well, er, anyway…’ ever will be.

3. Do – Move your hands but not without purpose

Failing to move your hands during a presentation is a sure way of making you look stiff and nervous.

I recommend starting with a relaxed one hand over the other about at the belly button in front of you. This is hands at rest; a fixed position when we want to be still.

Next position is hands in motion. You can have quite an impact when you use your hands to illustrate a point. Then when you complete a gesture, back to hands at rest.

I am not a fan of holding a pencil, pen, notes, clicker, clasping a podium. It tends to either be distracting or deaden our energy.

The only question I ever ask around hands is… Are you moving them with purpose? A sure-fire way to know if you are moving with purpose is if a gesture has an end. If not, you’re probably fidgeting.

Can you have your hands by your side? Absolutely, as long as they are not behind your back, in your pockets, flailing around or clasping onto something for dear life.

4. Don’t – Visualise your presentation going badly

It can be very easy for some people to get caught up in thoughts of their presentation going badly, and because they become preoccupied by their own fears, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Try to focus on what you’re saying and what’s coming up next, but if you start to become self-conscious remember to take your time and find your position, and that it’s probably going better than you might fear. Resist the desire to analyse your progress whilst still giving your talk.

5. Don’t – Panic if you make a mistake

If you need to reiterate a point you perhaps garbled or gave incorrect information for, calmly correct yourself and don’t apologise; apologising is unnecessary, wastes time, and can make you look weak.

6. Do – Humanise your audience

If you can ask a question as you set up, you are already building the relationship and establishing rapport. By humanising your audience, you can also manage nerves. Sometimes even starting a talk with a question can create a response that helps you focus outward and reduces nerves.

If you build the audience up in your mind as a room of brutal critics, and fail to recognise that they’re human and have flaws and worries of their own, you risk overloading your nerves and failing to reach out to them.

7. Don’t – Let your guard down

Especially relevant after your presentation has finished, relaxing is good but letting your guard down with a ‘thank God that’s over, I hate public speaking,’ sort of phrase won’t do anything for your professional image.

The credibility of your presentation can be severely damaged if you become too friendly with the audience or reveal things you shouldn’t afterwards.

They don’t need to know how nervous you were. Relax and remember you’re still presenting until you leave the room.

8. Do – Ask questions

The question and answer session is easily forgotten at the end of a presentation, but is vital to demonstrating your knowledge and settling any problems. Answering questions clearly can really give the audience the sense that you know what you’re talking about.

The final Q & A is important, but it’s also good to ask questions throughout the presentation. This keeps the audience engaged and can be a useful tool if you forget anything or need a moment to find your place.

Henry Caplan

9. Do – Enjoy it

It’s a tough call for many people who dread giving presentations, but try to enjoy it! You’ve got a room full of people listening to you!

If you are too nervous or can’t enjoy it, try to learn from it, and just think – next time you’ll be a little bit better.

With thanks to Henry Caplan, an Interpersonal Skills Consultant at Working Voices

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

Provided by the  International Finance Corporation

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

Improve your presentation skills with the following tips:

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

For more resources:

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

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

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

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

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Mastering Public Speaking: Do’s and Don’ts – Avoid Mistakes

Public speaking can be scary for many. But, with the right skills and techniques, anyone can become an expert. Avoid these common mistakes when speaking in public by mastering “ Public Speaking: Do’s and Don’ts” !

• Inadequate preparation can lead to disorganization and forgetting your points. So, take time to research, organize your thoughts and practice your delivery.
• Avoid using jargon or complex language . Choose words that everyone will understand. This helps your message reach the audience.
• Engage with the audience instead of just focusing on yourself. This can be done by making eye contact, using appropriate body language and actively listening.

Now for a fun fact – one of the greatest public speakers was Winston Churchill ! During WW2, his speeches inspired and rallied the British people. He is still an inspiration for aspiring public speakers today!

Public Speaking: Do’s and Don’ts!

Do’s of public speaking.

Public Speaking is an essential skill to have for success . To master it, there are some tips that can help individuals become powerful communicators. With these, speakers can captivate their audience and deliver compelling talks!

• Connect with your audience: Get to know them! Conduct research on their demographics and interests. Tailor your speech for them to keep them interested.
• Practice: Rehearse multiple times to be familiar with the content and timing. This will boost your confidence and enable you to speak fluently without relying on notes.
• Utilize body language: Use gestures, facial expressions, and posture to accentuate key points. This improves your presence and helps establish a connection.
• Structure your speech: Begin with an interesting introduction, followed by main points supported by evidence. Conclude with a memorable summary that reinforces key takeaways.
• Engage the senses: Incorporate visual aids and storytelling techniques to captivate listeners. Maintain eye contact as it conveys sincerity and builds trust.
• Speak clearly and enunciate words properly. Vary speeds to maintain interest. Ask rhetorical questions for participation. Be prepared with contingency plans for technical difficulties or interruptions.

By following these dos, speakers can make their presentations unique. With these strategies, they can engage their audience, establish credibility, and leave a lasting impression. Effective communication involves connecting with the audience on a deeper level.

Also Read: Find Your Passion: A Path to Self-Discovery and Fulfillment

Don’ts of Public Speaking

Public speaking can be a real challenge for many people. To make sure your presentation is successful and captures your audience, it’s important to avoid the “Don’ts of Public Speaking.” These common mistakes must be avoided to make sure your speech is impactful and memorable.

• Never read directly from slides or notes. This stops the connection with your audience and reduces the effect of your message. Use visuals to add to your presentation instead.
• Don’t use too much technical jargon. This can confuse and isolate your listeners, making it hard for them to understand. Use simple, concise language that everyone can understand.
• Avoid speaking quickly or mumbling. Your audience won’t follow or understand your message. Speak clearly and at a good speed, allowing time for pauses and to emphasize main points.
• Don’t forget to look at your audience. Not making eye contact creates a wall between you and the people listening, reducing their engagement and trust in you as a speaker. Make eye contact throughout your presentation to build a relationship.
• Don’t clutter slides with too much text or visuals. This overloads your audience and takes away from the main points of your presentation. Use bullet points and visual aids to communicate information properly.
• No memorization without practicing or truly understanding the content. This makes you sound robotic and dull, which will make the audience lose interest. Practice delivering your speech while making sure you understand it.

Also, consider trying these tips for your public speaking:

Practice pacing yourself by including pauses during your speech. This gives time for reflection and creates excitement among your listeners.

Include stories to connect emotionally with your audience. Share personal experiences or stories they can relate to to make your speech more engaging and unforgettable.

Use body language like hand gestures and facial expressions correctly to strengthen your message and improve your delivery. Be conscious of how you use nonverbal cues to help your presentation.

Also Read: Top 100 Commonly Used A to Z Phrasal Verbs for English Fluency

Got a speech to give? Here’s a pro tip – practice it loads of times! That way, your delivery will be smooth and your message will come across loud and clear. Know More – The Fluent Life

FAQs – Public Speaking: Do’s and Don’ts

Q1: What are common mistakes to avoid in public speaking? A: Some common mistakes to avoid in public speaking include not preparing adequately, speaking too fast or too softly, relying too heavily on notes, using filler words, failing to engage the audience, and not maintaining eye contact.

Q2: How can I overcome stage fright while public speaking? A: To overcome stage frigh t, you can practice beforehand to build confidence, visualize yourself succeeding, take deep breaths to relax, focus on your message rather than the audience’s reaction, and start with smaller speaking engagements to gradually increase your comfort level.

Q3: Is it important to rehearse a speech before delivering it in public? A: Yes, it is crucial to rehearse a speech before delivering it in public. Rehearsing helps you become familiar with the content, timing, and flow of your speech, allowing you to feel more confident and natural during the actual presentation.

Q4: What are some effective ways to engage the audience during a speech? A: Effective ways to engage the audience during a speech include using storytelling techniques, incorporating humor, asking rhetorical questions, using visual aids, including interactive elements like polls or group activities, and maintaining a conversational tone.

Q5: Should I avoid using visual aids during a presentation? A: No, visual aids can enhance your presentation when used appropriately. They can help convey complex information, engage visual learners, and make your speech more memorable. However, it is important to ensure that visual aids complement your speech rather than distract from it.

Q6: What body language tips should I keep in mind while speaking in public? A: Some body language tips to keep in mind while speaking in public include standing tall with good posture, using hand gestures to emphasize key points, maintaining steady and purposeful movements, smiling and making eye contact with the audience, and avoiding distracting habits like fidgeting or excessive pacing.

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• Presentation Design

Presentation Design Dos and Don’ts

• By: Kelly Allison

There are endless presentations out there, but very few are compelling and engaging enough to motivate audiences to action. That’s because creating a truly excellent presentation requires a level of design skill and knowledge that many people don’t yet have.

But you certainly don’t need to go to design school to create a high-quality presentation—you just need to have a strong idea of what works and what doesn’t. (Hint: Bullet points never work.)

Don’t use a lot of a text in your slides. If you pack your slides with lengthy text, then your audience is going to be straining to read what’s written rather than listening to what you have to say. Plus, large text blocks are the opposite of visually compelling.

Do use as few words as possible on each slide. Remember, the purpose of your slides is to create compelling visuals that complement your message; they’re not supposed to deliver the message the for you.

Don’t use the same font size throughout your slides. A uniform font throughout your presentation is not only a drag to read, but it fails to put emphasis on the most important parts of your message.

Do  switch up font sizes throughout each slide. Making the most important words bigger and bolder allows your audience to take in the most valuable information first before moving on to the supporting content.

Don’t use bullet points. According to a 2014 study , audiences that viewed a bullet-point presentation had a significantly more difficult time paying attention and recalling information than those that viewed graphic-infused presentations.

Do use graphics to support your points. Rather than use bullet points, convey your information through compelling visuals and graphics. In addition to being more entertaining to look at, they also make it faster and easier for your audience to process information.

Don’t use a wide range of colors. A lot of newbie presenters think that more color means more compelling, when in reality, using an overabundance of hues can lead to a visually chaotic and confusing design.

Do adhere to a cohesive color palette. Choose three to five main colors to use throughout your presentation and try not to stray from them. This will ensure your presentation looks clean and cohesive while being more satisfying to look at.

Don’t center your text. A chunk of text or an image in the center of every slide makes all of your slides blend together, making it much more difficult for your audience to separate their attention from one point to the next.

Do switch up the alignment of your visuals. By left-aligning some images, right-aligning others, and including a few center-aligned images, you’re creating much more visual interest for your audience. Just be sure that when you use left and right alignment that you use another image or color on the other side to create a balanced visual.

Don’t use very detailed images and fonts. While detailed fonts and images can be beautiful up close, they can be difficult and confusing to interpret from the perspective of your audience.

Do use simple images and fonts. The goal of your presentation is to deliver a clear and simple message, so your fonts and images should be just that. Use clean, easy-to-read fonts and simple graphics with just a few colors to ensure your message is delivered with clarity.

Want more hands-on help developing your next presentation? Then check out Ethos3’s presentation design services .

Kelly Allison

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10 Dos and Don'ts for Technical Presentations

Designing a technical PowerPoint presentation

• Brock University

Yuri_Arcurs / Getty Images

When using PowerPoint or other presentation software for a technical presentation, your primary concerns should be:

• How technical should this presentation be?
• Can I make this information clear and concise?

A technical presentation is the most difficult type of presentation to make. Your audience may include highly skilled individuals as well as those who are not as familiar with the concepts or terminology. You will need to address both learning styles. Audience analysis is an important skill in itself and should be one of the first items on your presentation checklist.

• Keep the fonts consistent in both style and size throughout the whole presentation.
• Use common ​ fonts that are available on every computer , such as Arial, Times New Roman, or Calibri. This way, there will not be any surprises if the computer used for the presentation does not have the unusual font you chose installed, and therefore substitutes another font.
• Include relevant photos and graphics such as simple charts or diagrams. Consider whether the audience can understand the information presented or if you need to simplify the chart/diagram for clarity.
• Make sure that graphics are of good quality so the information is easily deciphered at the back of the room.
• Make labels on charts large enough to be read at a distance.
• Use heightened contrast on your slides. Consider creating the same presentation in two formats — one presentation with dark text on a light background, and a second, duplicate presentation using light text on a dark background. This way, you are ready for either a very dark room or very bright room to present in and can choose the suitable presentation accordingly.
• Keep the number of slides to a minimum. Present only what is necessary and don't overwhelm the audience with too much information. Technical information is hard enough to digest.
• Allow time for a question period at the end of your presentation.
• Know everything about your topic so that you are prepared for any question that arises, even if the question was not covered in the material you presented.
• Have detailed handouts ready to give out after the presentation. This allows the audience to later reflect on the presentation and the information is ready at hand for any necessary follow-up.

The Don'ts

• Don't confuse the audience with disorganized slides so that the purpose of the presentation is not crystal clear.
• Don't overwhelm your audience with busy slides. Think of that old cliché — "less is more."
• Don't use small images or small text on your slides. Think about those people at the back of the room.
• Don't use script type fonts. They are notoriously difficult to read at the best of times, let alone on a screen.
• Don't use more than three or four related points on each slide.
• Don't use a fancy background . It may be pretty or even on topic, but the text will be difficult to read. Keep to a subtle backdrop for the information.
• Don't add pictures for the sake of decoration. Make sure there is a point to be made and that information is obvious to the viewer.
• Don't use sounds or animations unless they are to emphasize a point. Even then, it is risky as they can detract from the main focus of the presentation.
• Don't use acronyms unless all members of the audience are familiar with them.
• Don't include more than four or five items on a chart. Even though Excel charts can be made to show great detail, a slideshow is not the place for this information. Stick to important facts only.

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eHealth Strategy & Development

Presentation skills Do’s & Don’ts

Updated December 17, 2018

The importance of presentation skills It is very sad that so many influential, bright-minded presenters with a deep expertise in their fields lose their audiences due to inadequate presentation skills. It is also about respect for the people in the audience, their time should not be wasted. Both event organizers and presenters need to do everything they can to add value to the audience. So here are some useful tips that I have accumulated over the years.

. Advice for speakers

. do’s.

• Think carefully before the event: what does this audience want to hear?  Hint: they are not interested in hearing how great you or your company are, they want to learn new things that can make them more successful.
• Use story-telling and your passion.  Find a story about people (yourself and others) that illustrates your message and tell it with your passion. Storytelling always beats lectures!
• Tell the audience not to take notes , say that you will email or post your presentation summary online immediately afterwards.
• Keep an eye contact with the audience and move around the stage , don’t hold on to the speaker stand. Use a clicker to control your presentation. Remember that 70% of your communication is in your body language!
• Engage the audience during your talk , at least every 10 minutes. For example by letting them vote on a question with their hands or green/red cards or mentometers.
• Slow down, speak slower than usual and add pauses for emphasis. This enables the audience to take in what you are saying and increases their understanding. It also gives you more respect. Never try to cram a 30-minute speech into a 20-minute time slot, that is a big no-no!
• It is important that you have a monitor with your slides in front of you, so you don’t have to turn around to see what is on the big screen. Also valuable is to have your laptop in front of you in presenter mode so that you see both the current slide and the next slide in front of you, it makes it much easier to make good transitions in your talk.
• Be visual, use pictures and videos that illustrate your points. Read my lips: less text, more visuals! You can do great presentations without any visuals,  but then you have to be a master storyteller.
• Design the slides so that they are easy to see from the back of the room. This means very big text sizes and images that fill the whole screen. The classic mistake is to sit in front of your laptop screen and design the slides for that arms-length distance, so step back 2-3 meters and see if you still can see everything. Also, avoid using borders, they are just wasted space. Remember: there are never any borders around the movie at the cinema!
• Make your slides in the 16:9 format. The old standard 4:3 is totally outdated, just look at your TV at home.
• Use a dark background on your slides, as it is easier to read for the audience and much better for the video cameras. (Yes, black text on white is considered easier to read, but that applies to large amounts of texts and we are not using that here, are we?) Also, a large projection of a white slide next to yourself in a dimly lit room will make you look darker and remove the focus from you.
• Avoid monotony by using variation and surprises in your slide styles during your presentation.
• Engage the audience.  Ask questions and have them put their hands up, in order to raise the energy level in the room.
• Focus on 2 or maybe 3 things that you want to talk about, never more than 3 things.  Explain the challenge you are working with and then tell the story and visualize the solution.
• Build your presentation based on the classic drama formula : Start with a Set-up, then Present the problem(s), then proceed to the Confrontation and finally the Resolution. This has worked for all of us humans for thousands of years!
• Hire a speaker coach that helps you improve your body language and voice.
• Use a spell checker on all your slides. Takes only a minute, saves your face.
• If you present in another language than your native, consult a language tutor to improve your pronunciation as much as possible. Getting your message out is about being understood and respected.
• Test your presentation on other people beforehand and videotape yourself. Listen to their feedback and watch yourself: would you understand and appreciate your presentation?
• If you have a Q&A session after your talk , announce that it will be short, maximum 5 minutes and that you will show a wrap-up or case story illustrating your message after the Q&A session. That way you avoid draining the enthusiasm of the audience by long-winded Q&A sessions and you keep the audience in the room
• End your presentation by showing a slide with a key question, or action point aimed at the audience, to encourage discussions afterwards. Also, show you contact details and the link to your presentation summary on your blog, or on an internet service like Slideshare.
• Create a presentation summary that can be emailed or put on your home page or blog. The summary should not be all your slides, nstead, put together 3-4 slides that explain your key messages with pictures and very short texts. Add text notes to the slides with key messages and URLs to web sites.

Don’ts

• Don’t read word by word from your script. You will sound like a robot and miss the all-important eye contact with the audience. Use stiff cue cards with key words and starter sentences instead.
• Don’t read out loud from text bullets in your slides. If you have to use text bullets, keep them very short and very few per slide, then first let the audience read it and then expand on the subject using your own words.
• Don’t use complete sentences in your slides . Your voice shall tell the story, and the slides shall only support it.
• Don’t speak with a too low or monotonous voice.  If people can’t hear you well at the back of the room, or if you don’t have any energy in your voice, you will lose the attention of the audience in a minute. Hire a voice coach!
• Don’t talk too fast and try to cram a 45-minute presentation into a 30-minute time slot by speaking at a machine-gun pace.
• Don’t start talking immediately on top of your slides . Let the audience interpret the slide for a while, then add your insights.
• Don’t use hard-to-read fonts or garish backgrounds.
• Don’t use cute or unusual photos that are not illustrating exactly what you are talking about. It distracts the audience; nobody will hear what you are saying.
• Don’t use effects , such as texts that tumble into the slide or any other disturbing transitions. The interesting stuff should be in your content, not in the effects.
• Don’t use any acronyms without spelling them out and explaining what they mean.
• Don’t waste your audience’s time by presenting the history and organization of your organisation. Unless it is essential to understand your presentation, which is very, very seldom.
• Don’t use a corporate slide template that displays the logo on each and every slide. Such templates should be banned everywhere, and they add no value to the audience. Remember, the audience is not there to learn about your company. The only place you can put your company logo is at the end, together with your name and contact details.
• Don’t mention tips verbally like “be sure to check out the website www.fancynewstuff.com, it has great features” without displaying a slide with both a picture of the web site and the URL in big letters + a note stating that the URL will be in your posted presentation.
• Don’t hide behind the computer or speaker stand . Make sure the audience see you and maintain eye contact with them. But beware of pacing around the stage.
• Don’t stand in the projector beam, ever. It is totally distracting for the audience to see garbled text projected all over your head.
• Don’t end by simply summarizing what you have talked about . Instead, show your passion for your message and that you want the audience to succeed as a result of the message of your talk.

See also my post “ Conferences Do’s and Don’ts “

I also recommend these tips: Death by Powerpoint This Presentation Trick Makes You Sound Brilliant

Published by

Henrik ahlén.

I am an eHealth Strategist in Stockholm, Sweden I drive eHealth development projects from needs analysis and idea generation to service design and implementation. See my LinkedIn profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mrhenrikahlen View all posts by Henrik Ahlén

21 thoughts on “Presentation skills Do’s & Don’ts”

All of these do’s and don’ts will definitely gonna help me to make a great presentation. Thank you for making such a informative article.

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very fine piece ,useful for classroom of pg students

fine and simple to use in the classes

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Love this post. Thereäs a lot of conferences out there, but too few to edit/lead/council them (and their staff).

Great tips! Just following this guidelines alone could really help improve a presentation. Anyone new to presenting should review each suggestion before hitting the stage.

I particularly enjoyed your tips for a seminar organizer. Great ideas to help the flow, and appear more organized! Having online participants able to join in the discussion….very cool.

You might enjoying checking this out… there is free advice and presentation training….oh and a link to a REALLY GREAT T.E.D. presentation that I think you would enjoy.

Its pretty cool: http://www.presentationgravity.com

be well! Kristin

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Excellent tips. Thanks a lot for that. Especially number 10 in do’s: the classic drama structure. This gives the whole presentation some dynamics. And prevents the audience to drift off to somewhere else in their minds.

Hanna: I agree that the Identity 2.0 presentation is impressive, but I do not think it is an effective way of communicating a message.

The stream of images totally overwhelms the content that the presenter wants us to understand. This is eye candy and not a professional way of presenting.

I am all for using illustrative pictures with little text, as opposed to bullet-text filled slides. But every image must support the message.

Thank you for your good advices. This is also a way of using ppt for your presentation. Impressive! http://identity20.com/media/OSCON2005/

My first internet- experience was not successful. But anyway I keep posting from time to time. All information online is for people to discuss. I think this is the most important thing why internet is so popular everywhere

Henrik, an excellent range of things to keep in mind! In turn I published a “guide” about presentations ( http://www.weconverse.com/guides/presentationsteknik-sv/ , in Swedish).

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Many excellent points – thank you Henrik!

I was at Internetdagarna and was again amazed (and bored stiff) over speakers with slides with 15 paragraphs of 10 pt Arial-text … and then a red line around the three last unreadable paragraphs, with the comment “these are probably the most important”..!!!

I confess that I use too many slides, and rely on text to much, in my presentations. But I’m trying to get more visual.

However, I think that variation and contrast are important to a good presentation. For example, if a number of slides have been visuals or keywords, a slide with a single complete sentence – perhaps as a major conclusion, in bold, great type! – will be a stark and sudden contrast.

You could then let this slide speak for itself in complete silence for a while as a contrst to using your voice the rest of the time.

It’s always good to surprise the listener with the unexpected element. Like ONE single moving image/text/transition, at the appropriate moment. A little drama is efficient!

And could there be different optimal ppt-styles for different genres? If your aim is pure propaganda, convincing the audience – are there some styles more suited for that? If you want a true discussion, is another style better? If you just want to tell a story, give the numbers?

There was a good book on graphic design by Bob Gill, called “Forget all the rules about graphic design. Including this one.” I have always liked that zen-like approach. If you forget “this one”, the you should follow the rules. Including the rule that says you shouldn’t follow the rules …! 🙂

I really liked this one. If u ever is going to have presentation..one shoud read this first!

Really valuable information!

Henrik, That is a very efficient way of expressing how to do it and how to not do it. Instructions for presentations. Perhaps a version to have in the mobile phone, or to print on a piece of paper. Paper!? Did I just write “paper?” Your conferences were all about the web, le web – rite? Johan

Hello Henrik – really interesting reading. I think that you are totally on the right track regarding less PPT and more hands on discussions. Although I belive that the format might vary dependent on the presentation setting, I have seen some really interesting ppt’s. So adding another bullet to your do’s would be more illustrations /pictures and less bullets. Many thanks / Tomas B

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