Presenting: 1. Planning

Presenting
There are four stages in preparing a presentation:

1. Planning
2. Preparing
3. Practicing
4. Presenting
1. Planning
What? Why? Where?
Answer the following questions
o Who is your audience?
o Why are they there?
o What is the subject of your speech?
o What is the purpose of your speech?
o How long will it be?
o Where will it take place?
o Will you use visual aids?
Simplicity
Simplicity is the key to a good presentation. Here are a few tips:
o Focus on the most important points
o Have one key message around which you base your presentation
o Write down 3 things that you want the audience to take away with them
Develop an outline
The outline allows you to order your thoughts logically and establish a good
structure for your presentation
Here are a few tips:
o Don't open PowerPoint
o Work in a form (e.g. pen & paper) that allows you be creative
Good presentations have an engaging beginning, a more detailed middle and
a final summary ending.
Website: http://student-learning.tcd.ie Email:student.learning@tcd.ie 1

a) Beginning
This includes a thesis statement or overview. Try to get the attention of the
audience with an interesting fact, a question, something humorous or an eye-
catching visual aid. The first few minutes are critical!
b) Middle
This part of your talk covers the main points (remember the Kiss principle,
“Keep It Simple Stupid”). This is where you develop your position. Try to link
your ideas coherently so the presentation flows and makes sense.
c) End
This is where you briefly sum up your talk by restating the main points and
presenting your conclusions. Make sure to thank people and ask for
comments/questions.
More?
o For more tips on planning your presentation see:
http://www.garrreynolds.com/Presentation/prep.html
2. Preparing
Preparing your presentation is straightforward if you've planned your talk well
and have a logical well-developed outline and structure. Nowadays,
PowerPoint dominates presentations. Remember it is only a small element of
your presentation. The following tips should help you in your preparation:
3 friends
Prepare 3 documents for your presentation:
 Your notes which no else sees
 Handouts with more detailed information & references
 Visual aids (usually PowerPoint) that support your talk and help
engage the audience.
Visual Aids
Make sure visual aids are clear, simple and uncluttered. If using overhead
transparencies or slides, limit the text using as large a font as possible (30+).
You can also use flipcharts, videos, displays, etc. Have back ups!
PowerPoint Tips
Keep text to a minimum - avoid full sentences, keep bullets to a minimum, use
a sans-serif font ( like Arial or Helvetica) - serif fonts are harder for people to

read on screens (e.g. Times New Roman). Use colour to focus people on the
most important details. Use images to support your content.
o letters (avoid ALL UPPERCASE)
o Keep backgrounds simple, avoid patterns
o Dark text on light background for bright rooms
o Light text on dark background for dark rooms.
More?
o A video tutorial on using PowerPoint:
http://podcast.tcd.ie/groups/studentlearning/weblog/5c141/Effective_Pr
esentations_Using_PowerPoint.html#
o Images for your Presentation: http://sxc.hu/ (free) www.istockphoto.com
(commercial)
o PowerPoint Themes:
http://www.presentationmagazine.com/free_powerpoint_template.htm
(free) http://www.presentationload.com (commercial)
3. Practicing
Most people never practice delivering their presentation. It is essential. It
gives you a chance to correct things you don’t like and it gives you
confidence.
Preparation and practice are the best medicine for nerves:
1. Become familiar with the venue - practice there if possible.
2. Try imagining the room and giving the presentation in a successful way.
3. Use positive thoughts.
4. Know your material
5. Anticipate what might go wrong and prepare ahead, i.e. a glass of water in
case your mouth goes dry.
6. Take a deep breath, inhaling through the nose and exhaling through your
mouth to relieve tension – no one can see you do it!
7. If you need to use a script, make sure that it’s written in casual spoken
language. Most people end up writing their script in the style of an essay and
it is subsequently very dense and difficult to listen to. Even the best speakers
often write down the wording of key phrases.
8. Have a bottle of water – it will help you pause naturally, stop your voice from
going dry and it also helps to relax you.
9. Work out what you are going to do with your body: are you going to stand
behind the podium? If so, how can you ensure you connect with the
audience? If you are going to stand in front of the audience, what are you

going to do with your hands? Body language has a significant impact on an
audience’s impression, whether they trust you etc. (here’s an example of BAD
body language: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPcCvQdux3s)
10. Before your talk, build up your confidence and warm up your voice by asking
questions in previous presentations or by talking to audience members as
they come into the room.
11. Finally, make sure you have some time before your talk to relax and take your
mind off your presentation. If you’ve prepared your material and practiced
your presentation, you’ll be fine!
4. Presenting
If you've followed the previous steps, then on the day you can focus on
delivering your presentation in the most engaging way.
o If possible check out the room to ensure everything works and you
have an idea of the layout.
o Try not to “read” your talk. Use cue cards to prompt your memory.
o Use a conversational tone. Make sure you are speaking loud enough to
be heard.
o Be aware of your body language i.e. maintain eye contact. Face the
audience and try smiling occasionally!
o Try to be enthusiastic.
o Make sure to pause between points, indicating to the audience a
change and helps to slow down your pace.
More?
o more delivery tips see here:
http://www.garrreynolds.com/Presentation/delivery.html
o many examples of examplary presentations at http://www.ted.com
A Few Final Tips

A few points remember for future presentations are the following:
- Never EVER read the text on your slides
- Use images where appropriate to support your point
- Drip feed information to the audience (e.g. one bullet point at a time)
- Be ruthless with the amount of text you use - never use sentences, try
to stick to key phrases
- Use colour on your slides to draw the eye to the important detail
- Put the most important detail up front on your slide, so that it jumps
out.
- Use a sans-serif font (a font without the squiggly things) such as Arial or
Helvetica

- Force yourself to use at least font size 30 - this will help you cut down
text as well!
- Think of an interesting way in to your presentation for the audience, this
could be an image, a story from your experience or a funny story.

General Guidelines for Presenting
Garr Reynolds 10 tips to presenting
1. Keep it simple
2. Limit bullets & text
3. Limit transitions and animations
4. Use high-quality graphics

 Avoid using PowerPoint Clip Art or other cartoonish
line art.
 Again, if it is included in the software, your audience
has seen it a million times before.
5. Have a visual theme but avoid Powerpoint templates
6. Use appropriate charts

Always be asking yourself, "How much detail do I need?"
Presenters are usually guilty of including too much data in
their on-screen charts.
7. Use colour well

Colour evokes feelings. Colour is emotional. The right
colour can help persuade and motivate. Studies show that
colour usage can increase interest and improve learning
comprehension and retention.
8. Choose your fonts well

Gill Sans as it is somewhere in between a serif and a sans-
serif font and is professional yet friendly and
"conversational."
9. Use Audio & Video
10. Spend time with the slide sorter
For more detail on these points visit this website:

http://www.garrreynolds.com/Presentation/index.html
10/20/30 Rule

Guy Kawaski’s 10/20/30 Rule of Powerpoint states that a
presentation:
“should have ten slides, last no more than twenty

minutes, and contain no font smaller than thirty
points.”

1
Ten is the optimal number of slides in a
PowerPoint presentation because a
normal human being cannot
comprehend more than ten concepts in a
meeting
0
2
0
“You should give your ten slides in
twenty minutes. Sure, you have an hour
time slot, but you’re using a Windows
laptop, so it will take forty minutes to
make it work with the projector. Even if
setup goes perfectly, people will arrive
late and have to leave early. In a perfect
world, you give your pitch in twenty
minutes, and you have forty minutes left
for discussion.”
3
The reason people use a small font is twofold:
-> they don’t know their material well enough
-> they think that more text is more convincing.
0 Force yourself to use no font smaller than thirty

points. It will make your presentations better
because it requires you to find the most salient
points and to know how to explain them well.

If you would prefer to see a presentation of the 10/20/30 rule
visit this website:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liQLdRk0Ziw
For more detail on the 10/20/30 rule visit this website:
http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2005/12/the_102030_rule.html
PowerPoint Accessibility
AHEAD guidelines 2008
 Minimum font size of 18 (ideally 30)
 Try to use easily read fonts (sans serif) like Arial
 Limit the amount of onscreen information
 Avoid blocks of text
 Use ‘bold’ to highlight points rather than underlining
 Use bullet points rather than sentences
 Use pictures or simple diagrams to illustrate points
 Use double rather than single spacing
 Use both uppercase and lowercase letters (avoid ALL

UPPERCASE)
 Use sufficient colours and brightness for better visibility
 Keep backgrounds simple, avoid patterns

 Have a theme: Maintain consistency of style and colour
through presentation
 Dark text on light background for bright rooms & light text
on dark background for dark rooms.
http://www.ahead.ie

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Presenting

There are four stages in preparing a presentation:

Website: http://student-learning.tcd.ie Email:student.learning@tcd.ie 1

 Your notes which no else sees

 Handouts with more detailed information & references

Website: http://student-learning.tcd.ie Email:student.learning@tcd.ie 2

Website: http://student-learning.tcd.ie Email:student.learning@tcd.ie 3

A Few Final Tips

Website: http://student-learning.tcd.ie Email:student.learning@tcd.ie 4

Website: http://student-learning.tcd.ie Email:student.learning@tcd.ie 5

Garr Reynolds 10 tips to presenting

2. Limit bullets & text

3. Limit transitions and animations

4. Use high-quality graphics

5. Have a visual theme but avoid Powerpoint templates

6. Use appropriate charts

7. Use colour well

8. Choose your fonts well

9. Use Audio & Video

10. Spend time with the slide sorter

For more detail on these points visit this website:

Website: http://student-learning.tcd.ie Email:student.learning@tcd.ie 6

“should have ten slides, last no more than twenty

Website: http://student-learning.tcd.ie Email:student.learning@tcd.ie 7

-> they don’t know their material well enough

-> they think that more text is more convincing.

0 Force yourself to use no font smaller than thirty

Website: http://student-learning.tcd.ie Email:student.learning@tcd.ie 8

AHEAD guidelines 2008

 Minimum font size of 18 (ideally 30)

 Try to use easily read fonts (sans serif) like Arial

 Limit the amount of onscreen information

 Avoid blocks of text

 Use ‘bold’ to highlight points rather than underlining

 Use bullet points rather than sentences

 Use pictures or simple diagrams to illustrate points

 Use double rather than single spacing

 Use both uppercase and lowercase letters (avoid ALL

 Use sufficient colours and brightness for better visibility

 Keep backgrounds simple, avoid patterns

Website: http://student-learning.tcd.ie Email:student.learning@tcd.ie 9

Website: http://student-learning.tcd.ie Email:student.learning@tcd.ie 10

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