Presentation Tips: Delivery
Talking
- Prefer a comfortable conversational style to stiff, formal
language, but don't use slang except for humor or emphasis.
- Vary the pitch of your voice.
Tip: you probably aren't aware of your voice changes, so ask
a friend to evaluate your modulation.
- Speak loudly and clearly, projecting your voice.
- Don't talk with your back to the audience (at least, not too often).
- Pace your delivery carefully, no more than 100 words a minute.
- Pause for effect where appropriate (10-second pauses).
Don't worry about `awkward silences',
they are never as awkward to the audience as they seem to you, the speaker.
- Avoid trite phrases such as "basically", "like", "you know".
Most importantly, avoid "um" and "uh".
Posture
- You should, in general, stand still. Pacing and shuffling your feet
are no-no's.
- Sometimes, it helps to move around for effect, but not often
enough that it becomes a distraction.
- For obvious reasons, avoid blocking the projection. One way is to
stand way back to the left of the screen and use your hands or a laser
pointer to point to items of interest on the screen.
- Gesticulate for emphasis if useful.
- Keep your hands mostly out of your pockets.
- Avoid: fingering keys or pocket chance, twirling hair, tapping
feet, tapping the table/lectern
- If you are presenting slides on a laptop, use the laptop
as a "teleprompter".
Coping with nervousness
- It's more important not to appear nervous than to actually not
be nervous.
- Sustain eye contact with the audience as much as you can.
Look at individuals and hold their gaze for at least 10 seconds.
Spread your gaze around as uniformly as possible.
- Rehearsal is the most effective way to battle nervousness.
- Getting started is the hardest part:
- Take 5-6 deep breaths in an unobvious way a minute before starting (usually, as
you are being introduced).
- Rehearse an opening phrase, even if it's trite, e.g.,
"I'm glad to be here ... "
- Prefer an opening line that relates to someone the audience
knows, frequently the host, e.g., "When Bob asked me to give a
talk on ... " (a tiny anecdote).
- Look directly at the front row and try to imagine them
as your friends.
Focus
- The audience wants to hear a story. Accordingly, do your best
to make your presentation a story:
a start (teaser), a middle and, most importantly, a conclusion.
- Use visual aids and pictures where possible.
- Make sure there's a take-home message emphasized at the end of
the talk.
- In a technical talk, focus on these three items:
(1) convey enough background (explain the problem);
(2) explain your key contribution;
(3) summarize by explaining the impact (the take-home message).
- In a 10-15 minute talk, you can really communicate one key
idea. In a 30-45 minute talk, you can convey one key idea, and some
detail related to the idea. Try not to give talks longer than 45 minutes.
- Always finish your talk within the time limit.
Awareness
- Watch the audience to observe its reaction.
- Don't be afraid to ask questions like "Can you hear me at the
back?" by asking someone (yes, point to them) in the back row directly.
- Periodically check that the slides are projecting well.
- Always stop to fix a problem. For example, stop to adjust the
the screen angle; don't adjust as you are talking.
- If you know your audience, you will know how much latitude you
have with respect to humor:`. Use it!