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Open Thread: Your best tip on doing presentations
Merlin Mann | Nov 18 2005
As I mentioned yesterday, I’ll be leading a discussion on Tinderbox and “the trusted system” tomorrow. Probably running a few Keynote slides, but mostly just casually chatting with a small group of enthusiastic Tinderbox fans. I’m not a seasoned public speaker by anyone’s estimation, so I’ve made my share of rookie mistakes in the past (hint: avoid doing a rambling, overlong talk without slides at ETech; people get confused, hungry, and eventually want to defenestrate you). So, as I prep myself for tomorrow, I turn to you guys: What’s your best presentation tip? What’s the “never break it” rule for PowerPoint/Keynote decks? What’s your favorite site, article, or link on great presentations? How do I get that Lessig-, Jobs-, or Veen-like fu that makes audiences so giddy? (Self-links are okay within reason here) I’ll be over here imagining people in their underwear, but I’d love to hear your best advice on this stuff. Update 2005-11-19 21:37:26I’ve posted the slides from my talk today along with links to some of the posts and cool applications I mentioned. Summary: went well! Very enthusiastic group – great questions and conversations. And no one threw rotten vegetables. Elin liked it, and that’s good enough for me. :-) 79 Comments
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 Prep your note cards carefully....Submitted by Patrick (not verified) on November 18, 2005 - 10:10am.
Prep your note cards carefully. I use 3x5 cards with just a few keywords on them so I can glance down and pick up a key point. I also use very few cards. If I had a three minute talk, I might use just one card with four words on it. Emphasize whats important and necessary for the audience to understand. You know way more than your audience, so pull the key bits out for them. Practice before hand, especially any phrases that might be hard to say. Avoid cliches. Slow down your speech so you don’t run through the material to fast. If you have a joke, slow down on that so your audience has time to laugh. Don’t use powerpoint as a crutch (How about, don’t use powerpoint!). Please, please practice. » POSTED IN:
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