I like good presentations.
I dislike bad presentations.
I think that there are some things that presenters can do in order to make their presentations better, and there are some things that presenters can do in order to make their presentations worse. I’m hoping to spotlight some things that fit into these categories in order to help people make better presentations. So here comes tip #1.
When you are presenting with a powerpoint, please make sure that the slide that is showing matches what you are saying. If it isn’t, then black out the screen.
It can be very distracting for an audience to be looking at something that is completely different from what you are saying. A powerpoint is there to enhance what you say, not take away from it.
Blacking out the screen is quite easy and can be done in one of two ways.
- Plan ahead and put blank slides throughout your presentation, I like this one the best as it helps me plan a presentation and allows the blank screen to keep with the theme of your presentation.
- Use a keyboard shortcut (b) to black out the screen, it’s pretty easy.
A powerpoint is there to enhance, not distract. So please make sure that what is behind you on the screen matches (or at least doesn’t take away from) what you are saying.
Related posts from calumhenderson.com:
Hey Calum, check this out.
Hey Matt,
Thanks for the link, I have checked out Natalie’s posts before, he covers some great stuff. There are a lot of posts on the web about making good presentations, I’ll probably link to them throughout.