Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Some Ideas on the 20 Minute Presentation
These ideas have been formulated after watching and assessing many 20 minute presentations.
Keep to time
Only try to make 3 or 4 major points
If you must use Powerpoint then
The best uses of Powerpoint are for
Keep to time
- Test the presentation before you do it. Make sure that it is only 75% of the allotted time.
- It’s better to finish with a few minutes to spare. You can ask for questions and interaction
- Always put a clock in a place that you can see it, if you’re getting behind then be prepared to make some changes on the fly.
Only try to make 3 or 4 major points
- Be clear about what they are
- Don’t get sidetracked
- Don’t shoot off at the mouth when you start to talk
If you must use Powerpoint then
- Limit yourself to 4 slides plus the title slide. Yes, that’s five slides in total.
- Make sure the slides are text light, keep the font size large
- DON’T read the slides, the audience can probably read.
- DON’T look at the screen. Always face the audience, otherwise they might run away.
- DON’T use yellow or orange text. Stick to simple high contrast colors.
- DON’T overuse ‘flyins’ and ‘noises.
The best uses of Powerpoint are for
- Animations
- Prompt to keep you on track
# posted by Ian @ 8:17 PM 
