Recently I posted a question about Presentation Mistakes. I asked people what their pet peeves were when it come to presenters. Here are the highlights from the responses. (Or as Levar Burton would say, “You don’t have to take my word for it.”)
“Too often I see people who don’t pay attention to the audience’s expectations…”
“Some individuals fail to provide the necessary context prior to delivering their presentation(s).”
“Arrive early and be prepared for minor glitches. Doubly true if you are speaking about technology or public speaking.”
“Be enthusiastic and sincere. If you sound bored, your audience will be bored; but don’t be so over-the-top that you sound fake.”
“Know more than what you tell the audience. Otherwise when that last slide appears announcing Q&A, you’re intellectually naked. Anticipate likely questions and do your research. “
“Speak clearly, don’t mumble, and be sure everyone can hear you.”
“Powerpoint, slides, video, etc. are support for the speaker, not the other way around. Do not just read the slides! (I like Powerpoint slides with charts, tables, illustrations, etc., and just enough text to cue the speaker.”
“Presenters who can’t work around a little inconvenience.”
“Not showing up showing up early enough to make sure all the technical aspects of the presentation are taken care of. It’s hard to give a good presentation if you are flustered and starting 15 minutes late because you couldn’t get your presentation to work on the venue’s AV system, or if the fonts went all weird or the sound system isn’t working. It also doesn’t help build your credibility with the audience”
“One of my pet peeves is when a salesperson (either one-on-one or formal presentation) proceeds without getting approval or buy-in from the client(s) to proceed. Anything after that is a waste of time for everyone concerned.”
“…the biggest problem with so many presentations is that the persenter clearly isn’t enthusiastic about their material or subject. That’s a killer to any presentation in any circumstance. “
“People who don’t speak confidently about their topic
People who stammer, stutter, mumble, or say “um” and “you know?” throughout their presentation.
People who get started and then never check in or pause just to let the audience take it all in and/or ask questions.
People who do not make good eye contact.
People who curse- even inadvertently- yes I have seen this happen!
People who can’t make their point succinctly and find themselves reiterating the same thing a half dozen different ways.
By far the worst is the “um” “like” or “you know”. I once listed to someone speak and in the space of 2 minutes said “like” 22 times. “
“Seems like the basic premise for a presentation is that it MUST involve Power Point. The best preparation for a presentation is your strategy for provoking questions and coming prepared with questions for the audience to consider or answer directly. When possible and when expectations are properly set, avoid or minimize PowerPoint.”
“ALMOST ALL presenters read too much from their slides. Some just read the slides. Slides too complicated to take in the information. Slides that ARE the presentation not simply supportive of it. If it’s all on the slide I don’t need the presenter”
“There are many but the mistakes that I see a lot of presenters make are:
a) Too many slides (based on the 2 minutes per slide rule)
b) Too much on the slide which leads to having to read it or explain it. Another general rule about this too…if the audience can’t get it in like three or four seconds than it is TOO Complicated.
c) Not using Powerpoint/Flash/Keynote (their preferred presentation tool) for what it is designed to be. Namely visual support. Slide are designed to support what you are saying and call attention to what is important (i.e. if you put it all on the screen and make it all bold underline, etc NONE OF IT IS IMPORTANT because there is too much and it all looks the same.
d) overuse of animation just for the sake of animation. Animation is great when it is needed and appropriate but animation just for the sake of animation looks cheap and unprofessional.
d) Lastly not practicing and preparing for your presentation and seeing what works what doesn’t work and hopefully omitting what doesn’t. A good presentation/presenter is well rehearsed and well prepared.”
