Five Presentation Mistakes Everyone Makes

A couple weeks back a post on “Owning the room” – important considerations to make an effective presentation.

Now it time for five of the most common, mistakes in making a presentation.

1. Failing to engage emotionally.

• You risk losing your audience when you just “state the facts,”
• open with a story your audience can relate to
• including analogies that make your data more meaningful.

Example:

• If you’re requesting funding to pay for cloud storage, for instance, start by asking, “Why do we need cloud storage?”
• Your answer may be something like “To reduce time to market, reduce overhead costs, and ongoing costs”

2. Busy slides and Reading

• PowerPoint can be a great tool but Problems crop up when you put to much into a slide deck.
• Don’t project an entire document when you speak. No one wants to attend a presentation like this

3. Tired visuals.

• Nothing gets eyes a-glazing like tired overused visuals, aim for originality.

• Low quality and attention to consistency to formatting, visuals will make the presentation look sloppy
• Use consistent formatting and take the time to create original , crisp visuals

4. Speaking in jargon and using acronyms

• Ever listened to a presenter who sounded super-smart without having any idea what they really said?
• Use words that will resonate with those whose support and influence you must earn.
• Avoid highly technical or industry-specific language’ avoid acronyms when possible

Example:

• Consider if your presentation passes the “grandmother test”: If your grandmother wouldn’t understand what you’re talking about, rework your message

5. Going over your allotted time.

• Treat the time slot assigned to you as sacred.
• People in your audience will never scold you for ending early, but they certainly will for ending late.
• people have a 30- to 40-minute presentation tolerance

Related articles

• Own the Room (innov8tivethoughts.wordpress.com)
• 5 Components of a Dull Presentation (lifeinthepr.com)
• Business 101: Perfecting a Pitch (rasmussen.edu)