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How to Make a Good Presentation

Oral presentations, regardless of the audience, need preparation. Below you will find some tips to help you make a good presentation.
One pupil standing at the board with a teacher. The other pupils are gathered around a table. The other pupils clap. Photo.
Image: Science Photo Library, NTB / CC BY-NC 4.0

Make an outline

Make a rough outline of your presentation. Begin with the main headings, and add details afterwards. Be sure to develop your presentation in a logical manner. The easier a speech or oral presentation is to follow, the more the audience will remember the content.

Know your audience

Always consider your audience when giving your presentation. Giving a presentation in front of your own class will be different from giving a talk in front of a group of parents, or a group of working professionals. Adjust the use of multimedia, graphics, design, and audio to fit the age group. If the talk is supposed to be serious, you don’t want to put in loud, flashy fonts and funny graphics and clip-art.

Structure

Have a relevant title. Have a clear introduction and a conclusion. Give different points individual headlines and individual slides. It is better to use several slides than to have too much information on one slide. Include a source list.

Design

Less is more

A common mistake is to include too many visual elements – pictures, animations etc. It is a good rule of thumb to keep it simple. The rule less is more should be applied to any presentation. Too much information and too many special effects can be confusing for an audience and distract from the main message.

Make sure you only put what is important to the audience on the slide. It should be information they will want to remember and make a note of. Do not put your whole script on the slides. Limit yourself to key words that contain important information.

Use big fonts

Make sure that text and images are clearly visible from the back of the room. It is better to use more slides than to have a presentation that the audience cannot see or read.

Colour contrast

You should always contrast text and background. Either use a light text on a dark background or a dark text on a light background. You may have to take the light in the room into consideration. In a bright room where you cannot close the curtains, use a light background and a dark text. Think visual balance!

Images and graphics

Images, graphics, and clip art should always complement the text. If it is not clearly relevant to what you have to say you may as well leave it out. It is also a good idea to limit the number of pictures, charts, or graphs to one per slide. Pictures can easily be grouped together.

Animation

Don't go overboard with animations. Your audience may get caught up in fast-moving text transitions and miss the entire point of your message. Choose a transition speed that is easy to follow.

Movies and sound

Movies and sound that demonstrate or support your information should always be chosen with care. It is a good idea to download movie/video bits as well as sound clips directly to your computer. That way, you avoid the risk that external website links don't work on the day of your presentation. It is also possible to synchronise sound clip and slide. Make sure you check with your teacher if it is OK to spend part of your allotted time showing film clips or playing music.

Rehearse

As the old saying goes, 'practice makes perfect', and giving a presentation is no exception. Clicking through your slides at home the day before your presentation is not sufficient preparation. It is necessary to time your presentation and make sure that each technical feature works according to plan. Talk through each slide as if you were giving the presentation.

Checklist for the presentation:

Below is a checklist you can use when rehearsing a presentation:

Structure:

  • Do I have a clear introduction, main part, and conclusion?

  • Have I used titles and headlines to structure my slides?

  • Have I met the overall time requirement?

  • If working with a partner, have we divided the different parts between us and practised?

  • Have I time left for questions?

  • Are my notes short bullet points and not pages of writing?

  • Am I prepared to speak freely and not read from a written manuscript?

  • Have I saved my presentation to another storage program/service in addition to my computer's hard drive?

  • Do I have a plan B in case any external links do not work on the day of my presentation?

  • Do I have the necessary equipment (i.e. connection or audio cable)?

  • Have I included a list of sources?

  • Do I know how to pronounce difficult words?

  • Am I prepared to define or explain any difficult but important terms?

Things to think about as you give the presentation:

Voice:

  • Practise speaking clearly and loudly enough so that the people at the back of the room will hear you.

  • Avoid reading to the audience; try to speak as naturally as possible.

  • Try to express enthusiasm for the subject you are talking about.

Body language:

  • It is OK to use gestures to underline a point.

  • Do not move in a way that will distract the audience. Avoid swaying, fidgeting, putting your hands in your pockets, etc.

  • Face the audience. Do not turn to look at the screen unless you want to point something out.

Tips for controlling your nerves

  • Public speaking can be nerve-racking for anyone, and sometimes even seasoned speakers will get the jitters. The first thing to realise is that this is very common, and perfectly OK.

  • While you should face your audience, it can be daunting to make eye contact with them. If looking at the audience makes you feel more nervous, pick a neutral spot in the room and focus on that.

  • Know your topic well. Being prepared greatly reduces the risk of going blank. If you prepare by explaining your topic in different ways rather than just memorising a script, you reduce the risk of forgetting what you wanted to say.

  • Check the equipment you are going to use beforehand. Having to struggle with an uncooperative screen while the audience is becoming restless may cause unnecessary stress.

  • Address specific worries. What frightens you about public speaking? Try to pin down exactly what you are afraid of and address the issue. Is it likely to happen? Does it really matter if it happens? It can help to talk about it with a friend, your teacher, or a parent.

  • Visualise your success. Picture yourself speaking and that you are doing well. Thinking positive thoughts about yourself reduces stress.

  • Breathe deeply. One method to reduce stress by breathing is to hold your breath for as long as you can, and then inhaling and exhaling deeply three times in a row.

  • Don't be afraid to take a moment to remember the next thing you want to say. Allowing for silence may be scary, but it will not detract from your presentation.

  • Give yourself credit for what you achieve, rather than criticism for what you feel you didn't accomplish. If public speaking terrifies you, it is a victory just to try.