11 Things You Should Never Say During A Presentation

Did you know more people fear public speaking than death? Perhaps fear is what causes people to default to unhelpful and filler comments during a presentation. I do a lot of public speaking and go to many events each month and over time I have picked up some things people say during their presentations that I believe you should avoid. While I can’t help you knock out the fear, here are my top 11 things to not say during a presentation.

1. “I’ll keep this short.”

First, if you say this, nobody will believe you. Second, if your presentation is informative and inspiring, length really doesn’t matter.

2. “I have a lot of information to go over.”

Note: This is NOT how to get your audience excited about your presentation. Warning your audience that you have a lot of information to go over induces immediate yawns.

3. “Hello, can you hear me?”

Test out the audio well before your audience arrives. You should already know that yes, in fact, your audience can hear you because you and the tech gurus tested it before your audience arrived.

4. “I didn’t have much time to prepare.”

And now you want them to hang on your every word? It’s not going to happen with such an uninspiring intro. You’re also disrespecting the attendees’ time by telling them that you aren’t bringing them your best.

5. “And these are my colleagues”

While it is admirable to show who else is on your team and who you work with, but a one-after-one intro is always welcome, you don’t really need to let the cat out of the bag about your nerves. It can cause people to prejudge your presentation and tune out.

6. “Um, I’ll have to read this slide to you because the font is really small.”

Presentation slides shouldn’t have dense text on them, nor should you read slides to the audience. And, you should always practice your presentation and know in advance of giving it live that there are problems with the visuals you plan to use.

7. “Um” and other filler words

This is certainly a hard habit to break, but practice makes perfect to eliminate filler words such as “uh,” “like” and “you know” from your presentation. They distract from your delivery.

8. “I’m very tired” or another excuse

Never start your presentation with an excuse. The audience just wants to get your very best, whatever that is for you on that day.

9. “Don’t take notes. I’ll post the presentation online later.”

Thank you for making the presentation available to others later, but it’s not your place to police how people interact with your presentation. It’s possible that they want to write down a thought that occurred to them as you present. Allow them to write, doodle, take pictures or notes to their heart’s content.

10. “I’m out of time, but I’ll just run through these 12 slides really fast.”

Worthwhile or waste of time? I say it’s the latter. Practice is key to avoiding this situation. Remember, focus on your message and make sure you deliver it. Getting through all the slides is not a requirement if you give the audience what they need to receive your message.

11. “Any questions?”

You should control the close, and it should not be an open invite for your audience to ask questions. Often they won’t have any or they won’t be on point with the lasting impression you want them to walk away with. You can ask for questions at other points in your presentation, but save the last comment for you to close and close strong with your most important point.

I hope next time you give a presentation, you avoid saying these 11 things. What have you heard people say time and time again when giving presentations that you wish the presenters would avoid?

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