101 Ways to Improve Your Presentation

There are literally thousands of skills, techniques and habits that can improve your presentation. Here are 101 of them:

1. Follow a proven plan for outlining and delivering a successful presentation
2. Recruit a mentor to help you through the development of your speech
3. Practice!
4. Use an example about yourself
5. Organize your speech with a definite opening, conclusion and a few points in the middle
6. Clearly state your speech goal at the beginning
7. Make sure every element of your speech focuses on that goal
8. Examine your word choice carefully
9. Structure your sentences
10. Research and know your audience before you present to them
11. Let the audience get to know you
12. Prepare in advance
13. Pronounce your words clearly
14. Use no notes unless you have statistics to report that must be perfect in translation
15. Deliver your speech to someone and ask for their feedback
16. Select a topic appropriate to the audience
17. Have a clear message
18. End your speech with some of the words used at the beginning
19. Lead your audience to a defined goal
20. Support your points with examples
21. Transition smoothly from one section of your presentation to the next
22. Use current facts from your research
23. Have a logical flow of points
24. Have an attention-getting beginning
25. Be sincere
26. Be convincing
27. Appear confident to your audience
28. Channel your nervousness into “enthusiasm”
29. Smile naturally without going overboard
30. Provide vivid descriptions, stories and examples that paint a picture
31. Eliminate jargon
32. Reduce words that are not supportive of your point
33. Use correct grammar
34. Shorten your word length
35. Eliminate trite canned jokes from your presentation
36. Use action verbs
37. Stand still until moving is appropriate to the presentation
38. Stand centered in front of the group and use movement to the sides to present sections of your speech or to make specific points
39. Only read a speech if getting every single word perfectly correct is essential to the success of your presentation
40. Only use a lectern if you are going to read your presentation
41. Use hand gestures even if you are reading your speech from a lectern
42. Never clasp your hands on the side or top of the lectern
43. Eliminate the word AH or UM from your presentation
44. Use gestures that are natural and appropriate to the feel of your speech
45. Explore facial expressions
46. Make eye contact with everyone in your audience
47. Express your message rather than just say it
48. Hold your arms at your side until a gesture makes sense to use
49. Avoid clasping your hands unless you’re demonstrating how to make a snowball
50. Analyze your posture by video recording your presentation during rehearsal
51. Be balanced in your stance instead of leaning to one side or the other
52. Pause to give your audience time to laugh
53. Raise and lower your voice volume throughout your presentation to emphasize points
54. Project your voice using your diaphragm instead of just your throat
55. Slow your speech rate in parts of your presentation when you want people to focus and remember a specific point
56. Speed up your speech rate when you want to raise the energy level in the room
57. Warm-up your voice prior to your speaking with various voice exercises
58. Never drink milk or eat ice cream within four hours of speaking
59. Put a slice of lemon in a glass of water and sip on it 30 minutes before your presentation and during to keep your voice loose
60. Support your main points with researched statistics
61. Use personal testimony to backup your claim
62. Plan for using your stories and tell them, but don’t write them out word-for-word
63. Never share a story unless you also have a point to share at the end of the story
64. Display your findings on a visual aid for the audience to see
65. Use more than one source to research findings
66. Your opinion is good, but researched proof is better
67. Use 7 words or less per line on your visual
68. Use 5 or less lines per screen in PowerPoint slides or flip chart sheets
69. Always bring a handout in case your technology fails
70. Make 10-20% more copies of your handout than you think you’ll need
71. Have at least two people review your visual aids for typos before completing your presentation prep work
72. Use black markers and fresh markers on white boards
73. Use visual aids appropriate to your personality
74. Choose font sizes that can be easily read from the back of your presentation room
75. Select visual aids that you are “at ease” with and that do not require a struggle for you to use or setup
76. Craft your visuals so that your message is remembered
77. Invest in quality designed slides
78. Bullet points are cliche so you should never use them on PowerPoint slides
79. Incorporate video into your presentation
80. Be persuasive in your call to action
81. Show you have the interest of the audience as your top priority
82. Use logic to win your audience
83. Apply emotion to connect with your audience so they see your side of the point
84. Establish your credibility on the subject early in your presentation
85. Know your audience’s self-interest and tailor your speech to it
86. Ask your audience if they agree
87. Challenge the audience to consider something they might have thought otherwise of before
88. Be positive
89. Plan humorous statements right before a major point you want the audience to remember
90. Dress slightly better than most of your audience
91. Polish your shoes before any presentation
92. If you wear a dress shirt and suit to present, have them both pressed before your presentation
93. Use a clicker to move from screen to screen in your PowerPoint
94. Always face the audience and never turn your back on them
95. Place your laptop on a table in front of you so you never have to turn and look at the screen
96. Hold a hand-held microphone with the same hand for the duration of your talk, unless the presentation is longer than 10 minutes
97. Test all microphone and sound devices before you take the stage
98. If you use a lapel mic, be sure to have a hand-held (hard wired) mic nearby in case you have to move to the hand-held
99. Prepare a written introduction for the person introducing you to the audience
100. Use 16 point font and two line spaces between each sentence for your written introduction
101. Never end your presentation with “thank you” because the audience should be thanking you with applause at the end

About 80 of these 101 came from my paraphrasing of suggestions and sequences of steps provided in the Competent Communicator manual supplied by Toastmasters International.

When a new member joins Toastmasters, the Competent Communicator manual is the first manual they receive to work through ten presentation projects. Each project focuses on the development of a certain group of skills such as vocal variety or researching a topic or using visual aids.

The topic you choose is up to you.

You’ve just been introduced to 101 ways to improve your presentation skills. And, now you know the origin of most of those suggestions.

Now all you need is a supportive environment to work through those skill building objectives and practice them!

That is the purpose of a Toastmasters club.

Come and visit our Toastmasters club in Aurora Colorado and see how it all works. We meet every Thursday from 11:30am to 1pm. Check our About Us page for directions to our meeting location at Colorado Technical University (CTU).

We hope to see YOU at a George Sutton Toastmasters meeting soon!