Ten Rules for Presenters

Lately, I've been giving lots of presentations, and have six more coming up before the Summer ends. I work pretty hard on my speeches (here are a few examples of my slides) and thought I'd share some of the tips I've learned the hard way in this Ten Rules post. Enjoy!

1.  The greatest gift you can give your audience is a passion for your material. If you don't care for it, they won't care for you.

2.  Your audience’s attention is a lot like your virginity. You only get to lose it once.

3.  PowerPoint is always optional. A great speech doesn't improve when accompanied by slides in a dark room.

4.  If PowerPoint makes it easy to do, you probably shouldn’t do it. Avoid bullet points, clip art and cheesy animated transitions at all cost.

5.  The number of words on a slide is inversely proportional to the attention your audience will give it.

6.  Your slides are not your script. The purpose of PowerPoint is to help others understand your material, not to help you remember it.

7.  Never read your slides. When you do, it suggests to your audience you think they’re incapable of doing so themselves.

8.  The average person remembers just three things from your presentation. Great speakers make certain everyone remembers the same three things.

9.  Unless your presentation tells a story, the audience won't care about the ending -- they’ll just pray for it.
 
10.  Never underestimate the impact a great presentation can have on your audience or your career. Being prepared serves both of them well.

If you'd like to see more Ten Rules posts, you can check them all out here.  If you'd like to read thoughts like these as I have them, follow me on Twitter.