2. 2
Presentation Skills
Ideas, concepts or issues talked about or spoken
to a group or audience
Public speaking is one of the most feared things
“I could make such a fool of myself”
Skills required to give a good presentation can
be developed
Preparation is the Key
3. 3
Outline
• General Guidelines
• Slide Do’s and Don’ts
− Handouts
− Powerpoint Navigation
• Delivery Do’s and Don’ts
− How to Handle Questions
• Final Thoughts
4. 4
Why are presentation skills important?
• Job Hunting
• Academia (Crucial to Tenure)
− Conferences, Seminars, Teaching classes
• Industry (Way of Life)
− Training, Project Reports, Reports to Management
• Other
− Speaking in church, politics, fund raising,
community service, etc.
6. 6
General Guidelines
• Purpose
− You need to define your purpose for giving
the presentation
> Teach, Persuade, Prove, Review, Expository,
Impress, Put to Sleep, Entertain?
− Often your goal is a high level overview,
even for a technical presentation
− Don’t tell them everything you did, you’ll
bore them
7. 7
General Guidelines
• Organization
− Always have an outline
− Tell them what you’re going to tell them,
then tell them, then tell them what you told
them
> Hint: I am doing this for this presentation
− Problem then solution
> Not just “data then solution” or “solution
then problem”
8. 8
General Guidelines
• Preparation
− An unprepared presenter loses the
audience before even starting
− Practice makes perfect and builds
confidence
− Arrive early, make sure everything is set
up
− Dress appropriately
> Better to dress up than down
− Slides should be done well in advance
9. 9
General Guidelines
• Time
− Be sure you know how much time you have while
preparing the presentation
> Not 5 minutes before you start
− It is better to end early than to go over
> Always have a watch or clock in view
− You’ll never have enough time to tell everything so
stick to the most important
− Rule of thumb
> At most 1 slide per minute of presentation
> Better to plan 2 minutes for each slide
10. 10
General Guidelines
• Audience
− Be sure you know your audience well
− Tailor presentation to your audience
> Failure to do this is probably the biggest mistake people
make
> You should never give the same presentation twice
− Are there multiple audiences?
> If so, direct different slides to different audiences
− Watch the audience for clues
11. 11
Slide Do’s and Don’ts
• “PowerPoint doesn’t give presentations –
PowerPoint makes slides”
− From microsoft.com website
• Your comments should be more compelling
than the slides
• You shouldn’t put everything on the slide
− K.I.S.S. Principle
12. 12
Slide Do’s and Don’ts
• Do include 50% white space
• Do make it obvious which section of your
outline you’re in
• Do make each slide stand on its own
− Generally 1 main point for each slide
• Do use animation
− Don’t overuse it
> Makes it difficult and annoying to navigate
13. 13
Slide Do’s and Don’ts
• Do include written conclusion for every
graph
− Don’t forget to add meaningful labels, titles,
captions, etc. to graphs
Percentage
IndustryAcademia
NoYesNoYes
100
80
60
40
20
0
Percentage of People Needing Presentation Skills
Conclusion - It is important to learn presentation skills!
14. 14
Slide Do’s and Don’ts
• Don’t use yellow text
− Do use dark text and bold
• Do use formatting and color to emphasize
(e.g. POPTA)
• Don’t include unrelated pictures
15. 15
Slide Do’s and Don’ts
• Don’t include periods at the end of a
bullet.
• Don’t do proofs
• Do include a journal name with a
reference
− Jensen, Jones-Farmer, Champ, and Woodall (2006,
Journal of Quality Technology)
16. 16
Slide Do’s and Don’ts
• Don’t do serif fonts (like Times New
Roman)
• Do use sans serif fonts (like Arial)
− or Tahoma
17. 17
Slide Do’s and Don’ts
• Do save your file using “embedded fonts”
− File menu->Save As->Tools (in upper right hand
corner)->Save Options->Embed True Type Fonts
18. 18
Slide Do’s and Don’ts
• Don’t just copy formulas and equations
from your work (dissertation, paper, etc.)
− Also known as “equationitis”
− Do use formulas and equations sparingly
− Do explain all notation used
19. 19
Slide Do’s and Don’ts
• Do chek yor speling for mestakes
− Typos instantly destroy credibility and convey
lack of preparation
− Do have someone else read through
presentation
• Do acknowledge previous work and help
• Do use a template if using PowerPoint
• Do put title slide at the end
23. 23
Slide Do’s and Don’ts
• Don’t use a dark background like this
− Even if using a lighter font color
− Harder to read, especially from the back
− More likely to put people asleep
− Handouts often don’t look very good
24. 24
Slide Do’s and Don’ts
• Do use occasional “spice” or “pace
breakers”
− Humor
− Pictures
− Sound
− Animation
− Questions (Not just
Yes/No)
− Surveys
− Quizzes
− Videos
− Physical Objects
− Top Ten Lists
− Etc.
For example . . .
A pace breaker can do this for your audience
26. 26
Handouts
• Use them if they help achieve your
objective
− Especially for technical presentations
− Greatly increases retention
• Often best to pass out at the end
− You want to keep the audience engaged
27. 27
Navigation in PowerPoint
• Always go through your presentation in
slide show mode before giving it
− Multiple times
• Use keyboard short cuts, not the mouse
• F1 (in slide show mode)
− To bring up the list of all shortcut keys
(Escape to hide the list)
− Use this while practicing to help you learn
the navigation
28. 28
Navigation in PowerPoint
• To start slide show mode
− F5 (Automatically takes you to start of
presentation)
• To end slide show mode
− Escape
29. 29
Navigation in PowerPoint
• Home
− To go to the beginning slide
• End
− To go to last slide
• Type the slide #, then Enter
− To jump to any particular slide
• B
− Black screen
• W
− White screen
30. 30
Delivery Do’s and Don’ts
• Don’t read or “parrot” the slides
− Otherwise, why give a presentation?
• Do use the slides as a cue
− Let audience read
• Do use pointers sparingly
− They magnify nervousness
− Create slides and use animation that
emphasize your points
31. 31
Delivery Do’s and Don’ts
• Do plan breaks for longer presentations
− 10 minutes for every hour
• Do be passionate about the topic
− Have fun, this is your opportunity
− If your audience doesn’t know why your topic is
important, you’ve lost them
• Don’t forget to practice
− Record yourself, tape yourself, or use a mirror
− Reading through slides does not count as practice
32. 32
Delivery Do’s and Don’ts
• Do relax, use nerves to your advantage
− Breathe deeply, pause as needed
− Don’t go too fast
− Do watch out for mannerisms
> “Um . . um”
• Do empty your pockets and hands
• Don’t point at computer, point at the
screen
33. 33
Delivery Do’s and Don’ts
• Do use body language to help make a point
− Purposeful movements
• Do use appropriate posture
− Don’t slouch
− Sitting implies informality
• Do move around if possible
− Don’t pace
− Don’t be hyperactive
− Center yourself, rearrange setup if needed
34. 34
Delivery Do’s and Don’ts
• Do face audience more than slides
− Don’t talk to the screen or wall
• Do vary your voice
− Don’t speak in monotone
− Most people speak too soft, not too loud
• Do memorize slide numbers for key slides
− Or transition points
• Do get honest feedback from someone you trust
36. 36
Handling Questions
• Welcome them
− Lots of questions are either a sign of:
> Interest in what you are talking about
– Audience internalizing
> Failure to communicate an idea
– Meaning that the person still wants to
understand
• Always repeat the question
1. For you to make sure you understood it
2. For audience to make sure they heard it
37. 37
Handling Questions
• Answer the question to the audience
− Then check back to the individual for
confirmation
• Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know”
− Better than mumbling or fumbling an
answer
38. 38
Final thoughts
• POPTA
• Good slides go a long way
• Practice, practice, practice
• Remember that the audience wants you to
succeed
• Use other resources (Books, web, etc.)
• Anyone can learn to be a better presenter!
