Learning from others to give better presentations

Last Wednesday I was invited to give a presentation at the Ferry Shipping Summit in Amsterdam. I was one of the more than 30 lecturers over the two-day event. I love to do this! Although I have been giving a lot of presentations recently, you always learn from others.

I wrote down some things that are useful for my next presentations, and for yours too I hope.

• Be well prepared. Know your slides by heart.
• Respect and love your audience. Enjoy the feeling of being there with them, and be happy that they are there to listen to you. Wow! What an honor to be there.
• Think about your body. Stand proud, strong, right. Don't lean towards the microphone. Don't hold the desk with your hands.
• Have eye contact with the whole room. Don't look just in front, or worse, on your notes.
• If you can have a headset you will be have more possibilities to move around. Gives a more dynamic presentation and a better contact with the audience (rather than the safe place behind the desk).
• Simple slides with good pictures and the minimum of words. They are there to listen, not to read.
• Less is more.
• Don't hesitate to be entertaining. People like some show.
• Story telling. It works. Catch attention immediately.
• Humor. Works too.
• Surprise your audience. Shake them up.
• Be bold sometimes.
• Use your voice. Change your intonation. Whisper. Shout. Question.
• Use your hands in a good way, with clear movements.
• Simple slides (a speaker, Alistair Eagles had one slide showing a pickled onion jar. After telling the story he switched off the beamer and gave his presentation without slides. And this presentation will be remembered most.)
• Be passionate and positive.

So, there were notes to myself. And I hope they are useful for you too!

Don't hesitate to add your own opinion.