Christine E. Chin, MBBS, FACP Consultant, Department of Medicine

Princess Margaret Hospital

Improving Your Presentation

What not to do Guidelines for presentations Top ten tips

Overview

Speaker reading slides 60%

Text too small 51%

The speaker has all the slides typed out in completely full sentences. 48%

Hard to see colors 37% Moving/flying text & sounds 24% Overly complex charts 22%

Powerpoint Survey: Most Annoying Complaints

Title of presentation Name Title/Affiliation Date

Introductory Slide

Main points, not entire text Bullet followed by capital letter Title – 1st letter of all words in caps < 6 – 8 words per line < 6 – 8 lines per slide < 50 words per slide

Text

Keep font simple e.g. Arial Font size 32 is best At least > 24

San serif fonts are best Without the extra details on letters Cleaner & easier to read

Don’t change font or color within bullets

Text Font

No punctuation - no periods,

commas, question marks (.,?) Check Spelling Punctuation Grammar Capitalization

Grammar

IT WILL TAKE THE AUDIENCE

LONGER TO READ SLIDES THAT ARE ALL UPPER CASE AND IN SENTENCES

Instead, use only uppercase to EMPHASIZE specific text

Better still, use bold or color instead

Don’t Use Bold Letters

Brighter/lighter colors for text Dark colors for background Easier on eyes

Keep consistent color scheme

Colors

Keep simple Use balance Visual contrast Consistent style of images Line Drawing Photo Cartoon

Graphics

Use appropriately Bar charts – to compare totals Area charts – for directional trends Pie charts – for relative proportions

Limit number of items graphed Be consistent with other visual

elements Make sure key is big enough to see

Graphs

Limit use of animation Don’t mix and match transitions Audience won’t be impressed Cause headaches

Does effect enhance or distract? Is effect part of message?

Special Effects

Practice 24 hours beforehand With computer & projector connected Make sure they work Be familiar with equipment

Timing – each slide about 1 minute Don’t read from slides

Practice Your Presentation

Don’t run presentation from floppy

disk or CD Takes too long

Make back-up copy on memory stick & carry separately

Make sure visible at back of room

Practice

Print handouts & notes on white

background Less ink Easier to read from paper

Make speaker’s notes

Handouts

Speak to audience, not to screen Do not stand directly in front of

screen Speak loudly enough to reach

back of room Show confidence

Speaking Skills

Know your material so: No need for prompting No need to read extensively from

notes

Show enthusiasm for topic Use interested, conversational

tone of voice

Speaking Skills

Use humor, as appropriate, to

connect to or to extend content Make eye contact Use good posture Dress appropriately

Speaking/Presentation Skills

Use body movement for effect only Avoid rocking or constant

movement - distracting Stay within allotted time Refrain from empty words or fillers “like”, “you know”, uhm”, “ahm”

Presentation Skills

Silent mode for both audience &

speaker Or give them up to someone

outside

Pagers & Cell Phones

Give credit where due

References

Blank Slides

Use to divide presentation For pause To switch topics

Meet the needs of audience: Remember W II FM i.e. “What’s In It For Me”

3 questions: So what? Who cares? What’s in it for me – audience

member?

Top Ten Tips: Tip #10

Have a clear purpose What goals do you wish to

accomplish

Tip #9

Organize the presentation - Strong opening Limited number of points Strong closing Graceful exit – “Let me summarize the key points….” “A question I am often asked….”

Tip #8

Eliminate unnecessary

information Voltaire: “The secret of a bore is

to tell everything!”

Tip #7

Do not go over your allotted time You lose audience’s interest Organizers get antsy

Tip #6

Concentrate on delivery Face the audience Avoid the dreaded monotone Slow down Nervousness cause rapid speech

Use pauses for effect Avoid the “laser moth” Unnecessary movements of laser pointer

Tip #5

Make it a performance Without being melodramatic Smile Be Enthusiastic Use hand gestures Avoid nervous movements

Tip #4

Take the edge off of nervousness Most anxiety doesn’t show Comfortable posture Avoid figleaf or firing squad postures Avoid both hands in pockets

Voice Eye contact Look at an affirming person in audience

Be prepared

Tip #3

Avoid Fig Leaf & Firing Squad Stances

Use appropriate humor Self-deprecating

Tip #2

Practice, practice, practice

Tip #1

“In Conclusion” “In Summary” “Finally” Most pleasing words for audience

Conclusion

Scott Litin – Presentation Skills for

Physicians: Tips from a Pro Stephen Rossner – Improving Medical

Education: Fat Chance or Slim Hope Garr Reynolds – Presentation Zen Deborah St. James – Writing and

Speaking for Excellence – A Guide for Physicians

References