Giving a presentation: 27 Tips, Tactics & Examples

You need to give a presentation to a group of people….

But, you don’t quite know how to start, what to look for and how to enthuse the audience.

I show you:

1. How to make a good presentation
2. That connects with the audience
3. And where you make your story come across convincingly

Let’s get started…

1. Start with your audience

Before you start making a presentation, it is important to think about the audience that will receive your presentation.

The content needs to be tailored to your audience, some questions that will help you do this:

• What is the age range of your audience?
• What is the audience’s level of knowledge about your topic?
• What are the interests and needs of the audience?
• What is the audience’s attitude toward the topic?
• How many people are in the audience?
• What is the audience trying to get out of the presentation?
• Why is the audience coming to your presentation?

2. Formulate a goal

Without a goal, it is difficult to know what you are trying to accomplish and you will not be able to measure success.

When formulating your goal, keep the following in mind:

• What do you want the audience to do after your presentation?
• What do you want them to remember?
• What do you want them to think or feel?

Avoid commercial intentions, as this causes the audience to question whether what they are hearing is objective.

3. Outline it

Before you actually start working on your presentation in its entirety, it is a good idea to first write it out in broad outline.

A few tips to help you do this:

1. Make sure you have a good introduction: be unique, ask a question, start with a powerful statement or tell a short (personal) story. The beginning is the most important, the first impression counts.
2. Keep it concise and simple: kill your darlings, remove everything that doesn’t add anything.
3. Ensure a logical order: avoid saying that you will explain certain parts later in your presentation, make sure you have a smooth running whole.
4. Tell a story: use storytelling so you can draw people into your story and keep them interested.
5. Don’t cram too much into one slide: make sure you really minimize the content per slide to keep the right focus.
6. End with your key takeaways: people remember the first and last parts of an event best, so end with your key takeaways.
7. Try to keep to the 10-20-30 rule: fewer than 10 slides in less than 20 minutes with a font size of 30.
8. Use metaphors and analogies: this really ensures that the audience understands what you are trying to say.

Good presentations contain logos, ethos and pathos:

1. Logos: how convincing can you make your arguments using data, facts, research etc.
2. Ethos: is about the speaker, how much credibility he/she has in a particular subject.
3. Pathos: pathos is about the connection you have with the audience. Sympathy and empathy can be obtained by using storytelling.

4. Make the presentation

Make sure slides are short and to the point, don’t cram them full of text and don’t use them as a bill to read aloud.

Use a large font so that everyone can read it and play with bold words and colors. It is also good to add visual supporting material, after all, a picture says more than 1,000 words.

It can also be interesting to incorporate short quizzes/games to keep the audience engaged.

5. Practice the presentation

Never forget to practice for an important presentation, in it you will still discover many mistakes in your presentation….

In addition, it is also smart to film yourself during your presentation to improve your non-verbal communication as well.

Also try practicing with music or background noise on, at least something that might reduce your focus. This will make you better prepared for people who are noisy.

How do you deal with nerves?

Prepare yourself mentally, emotionally and technically:

1. Mental preparation: you find that a presentation goes well when you feel comfortable with the content, you know what you are talking about and you have passion for it. So make sure you know what you’re talking about and that you’re convinced of that yourself.
2. Emotional preparation: many people have a fear of speaking in front of a group and don’t like the attention they get in the process. Great speakers often also have a fear of speaking in front of a group, but they have learned to deal with it. Wear clothes you feel professional and good in and make sure you have done some mindfulness exercises beforehand.
3. Technical preparation: regardless of whether you have to speak online, in a large hall or in front of a small group of people, it is important to test whether everything works properly in terms of light, sound and presentation.

6. Give the presentation

There are some tips you can apply in giving the presentation:

1. Dress so you feel confident.
2. Make eye contact with the audience.
3. Ask questions of the audience in between presentations, this ensures that they give commitment to your presentation and that you can better match your content to the answers.
4. Use your hands while presenting.
5. Talk slowly enough so that everyone can follow along.
6. Start strong and finish well, people remember the beginning, the peak and the end of an event best.
7. Make sure you leave enough silences, it makes your point come across better.
8. Be enthusiastic and be sure to radiate that.
9. Make sure you play with your intonation so it doesn’t become monotonous.
10. Avoid jargon, make sure everyone can understand the presentation.

7. Evaluate your performance

After you have given your presentation, it is good to evaluate how you did. This will ultimately help you to progressively improve your presentations.

You can use the following questions as a guide:

• How well did I connect with the audience?
• Did I sound nervous or unsure of myself?
• Did I use filler words?
• Did I maintain eye contact with the audience?
• How well did I handle questions from the audience?
• Did I cover all the material I planned to cover?
• What could I have done better?

You could also ask your audience afterwards to judge your presentation in terms of content and communication. Of course you can also watch the recording of your presentation or evaluate yourself immediately after the presentation.

Get Started…

So, now you’re armed with enough knowledge to make a good presentation….

I’m curious, what do you think is the most effective presentation technique?

Let me know in a comment!

P.S. Need extra help? Send an email to [email protected]

Frequently asked questions