Present It! By Meg L Bostick

When creating an effective presentation, one must take into consideration many things. First of all, a presentation should never be too informative to the point that it is overwhelming to the audience. Information overload is never a good thing, as it can cause your audience to become bored, and you don’t want that! To prevent this from happening, minimize not only the amount of information you provide within your slides, but the number of slides you have within your presentation. Next, choose a font that is both interesting and easy to read so your audience does not get a headache trying to read the information you are giving them, yet it is still aesthetically pleasing. Also, to make certain your presentation is aesthetically pleasing, use graphics that make sense with the information and are just as interesting to look at. To ensure that the audience can easily read the information provided, make sure you use bullet points and short sentences. Finally, make sure spelling and grammar are correct!

When delivering an effective presentation make sure to keep eye contact with the audience, making the delivery personable and not “robotic.” Also, it is important to project your voice so everyone in the audience can hear and understand the presentation. Make sure while you are projecting your voice, you are using a steady pace so as not to lose the audience. Never Rush! And finally, use movement and gestures to help animate your presentation and make it that much more interesting. Most importantly, have confidence!

Sources:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint/HA102078641033.aspx

Walter E. Oliu, Charles T. Brusaw, Gerald J. Alred. Writing That Works: Communicating Effectively on the Job. . Ninth Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2007: 499-502.