66 things that will strengthen your presentation!

As I have banged on about of late, I've been in attendance at a conference for the past three days. Over the course, I've had the privilege of seeing some world class brains on a variety of issues do excellent and engaging presentations, and then there were others who maybe were something less.

No different from any conference then! I began jotting a few questions that I would suggest future presenters read and think about before they get around to deliver the talk. In part, this began as a bit of a venting process during poor presentations, but upon reflection, I actually think that each point is actually quite valid. Even (especially) the ones written in frustration.

So here they are, my list of things to think about when preparing a presentation:

• 
  
• What are you trying to say?
  
• Is it worth saying?
  
• Have you actually thought about what it is that you will say?
  
• Is there anything new or original in what it is that you have to say?
  
• Are you attempting to construct an argument?
  
• If so, does it progress in a logical manner?
  
• If not, is it worth presenting at a conference?
  
• Have you considered what material may be unnecessary?
  
• Are you prepared to discard all that which is unnecessary?
  
• If not, why not?
  
• Have you considered whether anyone will be interested in what it is that you have to say?
  
• Are you interested in what it is that you have to say?
  
• If not, why bother saying it?
  
• Have you considered the relevance (or otherwise) of the material that you wish to present?
  
• Have you ‘tested’ you material on anyone?
  
• If not, why not?
  
• Are you comfortable talking about the topic that you intend to talk about in a general setting?
  
• If not, why have you chosen to present on this topic?
  
• Will you be reading directly from prepared notes?
  
• If so, is this absolutely necessary?
  
• Do you intend to engage eye contact with anyone through the course of your presentation?
  
• Have you given any thought on visual aids?
  
• Are you going to use PowerPoint?
  
• Why are you using PowerPoint?
  
• Have you given any specific thought to the material that you are including in your PowerPoint presentation?
  
• If not, why are you using PowerPoint?
  
• If so, have you really given thought to your PowerPoint slides? REALLY?
  
• Do you feel that 50 slides in a 25-minute presentation is an effective use of PowerPoint?
  
• Is a floral theme appropriate for charts tracking mortality rates?
  
• Are ‘themed slides’ EVER appropriate for conference papers?
  
• How much information are you loading onto your graphics?
  
• How much do you think is too much?
  
• How long will you leave each slide up?
  
• Is this enough time?
  
• If not, do you really need the visual aide?
  
• Have you considered altering the tone and inflection of your voice at any point in your talk?
  
• What about movement? Do you plan to move at all?
  
• If not, why not? Do you have a specific reason for standing still throughout the presentation?
  
• Are you at all interested in engaging your audience?
  
• Have you given any thought about how you might go about engaging you audience?
  
• Have you given any thought to what engages you as an audience member?
  
• Are you familiar with the notion of a ‘colourful anecdote’?
  
• Have you considered the appropriateness (or otherwise) of any ‘colourful anecdote/s’ you are thinking of using?
  
• Are you aware of the dangers of condescension?
  
• Have you considered whether any of the comments that you intend to make are libellous?
  
• If so, are these comments really necessary?
  
• Are you familiar with the concept of ‘self-deprecation’ and its ability to ease tension within an audience?
  
• Do you have a significant fear of speaking in front of a group of people?
  
• Have you thought about what those fears are grounded in?
  
• Have you thought about whether someone else in your department or organisation might be better placed to deliver a public presentation?
  
• Have you considered doing a poster?
  
• Have you checked your PowerPoint presentation for spelling and grammar?
  
• Are you familiar with the rules around using apostrophes?
  
• Are you familiar with apostrophe?
  
• Do you plan to cry during your presentation?
  
• If so, could you try not to?
  
• Do you intend on introducing further questions for the audience to take away with them to consider?
  
• If not, can you think of any that may stimulate people to think about your work after you have finished?
  

BROADLY THEN:

• WHAT are you saying?
  
• WHY are you saying it?
  
• HOW are you saying it?
  
• WHY are you saying it HOW you are saying it?
  

If you have asked and answered these questions, ask yourself this:

• Is it still worth saying?
  
• Will people benefit from hearing it?
  
• Is this the best way of saying it?
  
• Has this process aided in any way of saying it better?