examples of a bad presentation

Blog > Common mistakes in PowerPoint and what makes a bad presentation

Common mistakes in PowerPoint and what makes a bad presentation

08.09.21   •  #powerpoint #tips.

Creating and giving a good presentation is actually not that difficult. If you know how to do it. Otherwise, no matter how much effort you put into it, it can quickly turn out to be a bad presentation.

Here we show you some examples of bad PowerPoint slides and common mistakes that are often made in presentations so that you won’t make them in your next presentation and avoid "Death by PowerPoint".

1. Reading aloud instead of speaking freely

One aspect in bad presentations is often that the text is simply read out. Prepare your presentation so well that you can speak freely. The goal is to build a connection with your audience and get them excited about your topic. However, this will hardly be possible if you only read from a piece of paper or your computer the whole time. Your audience should feel addressed, if you just read off, they will be bored and perceive your presentation as bad, even if your content and your PowerPoint are actually good.

2. Technical Problems

The sound of the video you inserted on a slide is not on, your laptop does not connect to the beamer, or your microphone does not work. These are just some of the problems that could occur during your presentation.

But nothing is more annoying than when technical problems suddenly occur during a presentation or even before, when everyone is waiting for it to start. It interrupts your flow of speech, only distracts the audience from the topic and breaks concentration. So before you get started with your presentation, it is important to first start your PowerPoint in the place where you will give it later, practice there and familiarize yourself with the technology.

• Don't forget the charging cable for your laptop
• Find out beforehand how you can connect your laptop to the beamer. Find out which connection the beamer has and which connection your laptop has. To be on the safe side, take an adapter with you.
• Always have backups of your presentation. Save them on a USB stick and preferably also online in a cloud.
• Take a second laptop and maybe even your own small projector for emergencies. Even if it's not the latest model and the quality is not that good: better bad quality than no presentation at all.

3. Losing the attention of your audience

One of the most common mistakes in presentations is to lose the attention of your audience. Especially in long presentations it is often difficult to keep your audience’s attention and to avoid “Death by PowerPoint”. Anyone who has had this experience knows how uncomfortable it is to give a presentation where you notice that no one is actually really listening to you. Especially if your presentation is an eternally long monologue, it is difficult to get the topic across in an exciting way and to captivate the audience.

Our tip: Include interactive polls or quizzes in your presentation to involve your audience and increase their attention. With the help of SlideLizard, you can ask questions in PowerPoint and your audience can easily vote on their own smartphone. Plus, you can even get anonymous feedback at the end, so you know right away what you can improve next time.

Here we have also summarized further tips for you on how to increase audience engagement.

4. Avoid eye contact

You want your audience to feel engaged in your presentation, but if you avoid eye contact the whole time, they certainly won't. Avoid staring at just one part of the wall, at your paper or your computer. If the participants have the feeling that you are just talking to the wall, it is a bad presentation. Speak to your audience, involve them in your presentation and make it more exciting for them.

But also make sure you don't always look at the same two or three people, but address everyone. If the audience is large, it is often difficult to include everyone, but still try to let your eyes wander a little between your listeners and look into every corner of the room.

5. Speaking incoherently

Avoid jumping from one topic to the next and back again shortly afterwards. Otherwise your audience will not be able to follow you after a while and their thoughts will wander. To prevent this, it is important that your presentation has a good structure and that you work through one topic after the other.

Nervousness can cause even the best to mumble or talk too fast in order to get the presentation over with as quickly as possible. Try to avoid this by taking short pauses to collect yourself, to breathe and to remind yourself to speak slowly.

6. Many colors mixed with each other

Make sure that your presentation is not too colorful. If you mix too many colours, bad presentation slides will result very quickly. A PowerPoint in which all kinds of colors are combined with each other does not look professional, but rather suitable for a children's birthday party.

Think about a rough color palette in advance, which you can then use in your presentation. Colors such as orange or neon green do not look so good in your PowerPoint. Use colors specifically to emphasize important information.

It is also essential to choose colors that help the text to read well. You should have as much contrast as possible between the font and the background. Black writing on a white background is always easy to read, while yellow writing on a white background is probably hard to read.

7. Too minimalistic design

Even though it is often said that "less is more", you should not be too minimalistic in the design of your presentation. A presentation where your slides are blank and only black text on a white background is likely to go down just as badly as if you use too many colors.

Empty presentations are boring and don't really help to capture the attention of your audience. It also looks like you are too lazy to care about the design of your presentation and that you have not put any effort into the preparation. Your PowerPoint doesn't have to be overflowing with colors, animations and images to make it look interesting. Make it simple, but also professional.

8. Too much text

The slides of your presentation should never be overcrowded. Write only the most important key points on your slides and never entire sentences. Your audience should not be able to read exactly the text you are speaking in your PowerPoint. This is rather annoying and leads to being bored quickly. Summarize the most important points that your audience should remember and write them down in short bullet points on your presentation.

9. Many different animations

To avoid bad presentations it is important to never use too many animations. It looks messy and confusing if every text and image is displayed with a different animation. Just leave out animations at all or if you really want to use them then use them only very rarely when you want to draw attention to something specific. Make sure that if you use animations, they are consistent. If you use transitions between the individual slides, these should also always be kept consistent and simple.

10. Too many images

Bad presentation slides often occur when their design ist unclear and unorganised. Images and graphics in presentations are always a good idea to illustrate something and to add some variety. But don't overdo it with them. Too many images can distract from your presentation and look messy. Make sure that the graphics also fit the content and, if you have used several pictures on one slide, ask yourself whether you really need all of them.

11. Too many or unreadable fonts

Never combine too many fonts so that your presentation does not look messy. Use at most two: one for headings and one for text. When choosing fonts, you should also make sure that they are still legible at long distances. Script, italic and decorative fonts are very slow to read, which is why they should be avoided in presentations.

It is not so easy to choose the right font. Therefore, we have summarized for you how to find the best font for your PowerPoint presentation.

12. Images as background

To avoid bad presentations, do not use images as slide backgrounds if there should be also text on them. The picture only distracts from the text and it is difficult to read it because there is not much contrast with the background. It is also harder to see the image because the text in the foreground is distracting. The whole thing looks messy and distracting rather than informative and clear.

13. Reading from the slides

Never just read the exact text from your slides. Your audience can read for themselves, so they will only get bored and in the worst case it will lead to "Death by PowerPoint". You may also give them the feeling that you think they are not able to read for themselves. In addition, you should avoid whole sentences on your slides anyway and only have listed key points that you go into more detail then.

14. Turn your back

Never turn around during your presentation to look at your projected PowerPoint. Not to read from your slides, but also not to make sure the next slide is already displayed. It looks unprofessional and only distracts your audience. In PowerPoint's Speaker View, you can always see which slide is currently being displayed and which one is coming next. Use this to make sure the order fits. You can even take notes in PowerPoint, which are then displayed during your presentation. You can read all about notes in PowerPoint here.

15. Forgetting the time

Always pay attention to the time given. It is annoying when your presentation takes much longer than actually planned and your audience is just waiting for you to stop talking or you are not able to finish your presentation at all. It is just as awkward if your presentation is too short. You have already told everything about your topic, but you should actually talk for at least another ten minutes.

Practice your presentation often enough at home. Talk through your text and time yourself as you go. Then adjust the length so that you can keep to the time given on the day of your presentation.

16. Complicated Structure

The structure of your presentation should not be complicated. Your audience should be able to follow you easily and remember the essential information by the end. When you have finished a part, briefly summarize and repeat the main points before moving on to the next topic. Mention important information more than once to make sure it really gets across to your audience.

However, if the whole thing gets too complicated, it can be easy for your audience to disengage after a while and not take away much new information from your presentation. So a complicated structure can lead to bad presentations and "Death by PowerPoint" pretty quickly.

17. Inappropriate clothes

On the day of your presentation, be sure to choose appropriate clothing. Your appearance should be formal, so avoid casual clothes and stick to professional dress codes. When choosing your clothes, also make sure that they are rather unobtrusive. Your audience should focus on your presentation, not on your appearance.

18. Inappropriate content

Think about who your audience is and adapt your presentation to them. Find out how much they already know about the topic, what they want to learn about it and why they are here in the first place. If you only talk about things your audience already knows, they will get bored pretty soon, but if you throw around a lot of technical terms when your audience has hardly dealt with the topic at all, they will also have a hard time following you. So to avoid "Death by PowerPoint" in this case, it is important to adapt your presentation to your audience.

You can also ask a few questions at the beginning of your presentation to learn more about your audience and then adapt your presentation. With SlideLizard , you can integrate polls directly into your PowerPoint and participants can then easily answer anonymously from their smartphone.

19. Too much or unimportant information

Keep it short and limit yourself to the essentials. The more facts and information you present to your audience, the less they will remember.

Also be sure to leave out information that does not fit the topic or is not relevant. You will only distract from the actual topic and lose the attention of your audience.

20. Monotone voice

If you speak in a monotone voice all the time, you are likely to lose the attention of your audience. Make your narration lively and exciting. Also, be careful not to speak too quietly, but not too loudly either. People should be able to understand you well throughout the whole room. Even if it is not easy for many people, try to deliver your speech with confidence. If you are not enthusiastic about the topic or do not seem enthusiastic, you will not be able to get your audience excited about it.

Examples of bad presentations to download

We have created a PowerPoint with examples of bad presentation slides and how to do it right. You can download it here for free.

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About the author.

Helena Reitinger

Helena supports the SlideLizard team in marketing and design. She loves to express her creativity in texts and graphics.

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The big SlideLizard presentation glossary

Vocalized pause.

A vocalized pause means the pause when the silence between words is filled by the speaker with vocalizations like "um", "uh" and "er".

Slide Layouts

PowerPoint has different types of Slide Layouts. Depending on which type of presentation you make, you will use more or less different slide layouts. Some Slide Types are: title slides, section heading slides, picture with caption slides, blank slides.

.odp file extension

.odp files are similar to .ppt files. It's a presentation which was created with Impress and contains slides with images, texts, effects and media.

Distributed Audience

A Distributed Audience means that the audience you are trying to reach is spread over long distances.

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5 Worst Presentations ever & Why They Went Wrong

I like building and growing simple yet powerful products for the world and the worldwide web.

Published Date : December 7, 2020

Reading Time :

Introduction

Think about the worst presentation ever experienced by you or someone you know. What do you remember about it? Do you remember the topic? Your answer is most probably no. Everyone wants to* deliver a great presentation , so we have ways to help you avoid giving the worst presentation ever of your career, as you’ll see later. First, let’s look at some examples of terrible presentations.

What is the worst presentation you have ever seen?

There are so many examples of the worst presentation ever you can find both online and in real life. These examples show some of the worst presentations ever; some of which make the whole slide painful to look at or read. Can you point out the reasons why each one fails?

5 examples of terrible presentations

The tragic overuse of visual aids.

Image address

The slide has an overlay of text on images showing the topic of the presentation. While* using visual aids is good , it requires a lot more tact to pull off than this worst presentation ever.

Overcomplicated graphs and charts

This slide tells you everything and nothing at the same time. Whatever the graphs are meant to portray is lost in the overwhelming number of charts in the slide.

Too much information

All this text packed into one slide cannot be easy to read. If the audience has to read everything on the slide, there is no need for a presentation.

No one can read this

This is what happens when people go overboard with fancy fonts. How can anybody be expected to read this while listening to the presentation?

Splash of color

Using bold colors is a great move – as long as you don’t pack them all into a painful collage. The colors have no contrast, and thus, the slide is impossible to read.

What makes a presentation terrible?

Several factors go into what makes the worst presentation ever terrible. Now, there are specific rules you have to follow when creating a presentation, and we will get into that. First, let us look at some of the things that ruin a presentation – you might recognize a few of them.

Ten things that make a presentation bad

1. emotionless and stiff delivery.

One mistake many people make is delivering it in a flat, monotonous tone . You need to show some emotion during a presentation, so you don’t lose their attention. Speak with passion and enthusiasm to keep their attention on you.

2. Lecturing instead of presenting

When you’re explaining something, it is very easy to fall into a pattern of talking down to your audience. It is one fast way to lose the audience’s attention. Your tone has to be polite but engaging instead of condescending. The worst presentation ever shark tank viewers know are usually lectures.

3. Blending all your points

You need to have a central topic. And you have to stay on the theme throughout, with your closing statement tying up the central message neatly. If you speak with no defined points, you will give your worst presentation ever. 

4. Avoiding eye contact

Eye contact is a way to get people to focus on you, especially when they don’t know anything about you. If you avoid eye contact with the people listening to you, you can quickly lose their trust. People want to listen to those they trust, and if you seem unsure, it will be harder to pass your message.

5. Not relating to the audience

Many people jump into a presentation without knowing their audience. You need to anticipate their needs, expectations, and questions before you go in to present. Otherwise, you can be saying the right thing to the wrong person.

6. Overdoing your slide design

Your slide design is one of the first things that can make your presentation the worst PowerPoint presentation ever, so don’t mess it up. Be careful, so it doesn’t look tacky and unprofessional. It should reflect the topic and theme.

7. Being too formal

Being formal in the right situation is great, as long as you don’t become stiff and robotic. In the wrong situation, however, you can come off as boring, and ruin your presentation.

8. Using bad body language 

Body language is as important as your spoken language . You can use it to pass across many messages. So, when you have poor body language , you pass the wrong message.

9. Trying too hard

Very few things turn people off than a try-hard. Keep things natural, and be your confident self. Trying too hard is a symptom of unsureness, and it can make you lose favor with the crowd.

10. Making inappropriate jokes and comments

Humor is a great way to connect with your audience and create rapport, but it has to be done right. If you introduce jokes at the wrong place or time, your presentation can become the worst presentation ever very quickly. Study the audience and know when to be serious and when to be funny. Also, keep your jokes clean. 

Avoid embarrassing moments while giving a presentation. Download Orai and start practicing

How do you deal with embarrassing moments?

Everyone has embarrassing moments *sometimes, but it’s how we handle them that makes the difference. Have you recently embarrassed yourself on stage by delivering the worst presentation ever? Well, that’s not the end of the world for you. There are several ways you can get over those embarrassing situations.

• Don’t dwell too much on the situation

These things happen, so the worst thing you can do is dwell on them and let them affect you. Accept that they happened and look for ways to keep them from happening again. For example, if you forgot parts of your speech , you can prepare better next time or carry some flashcards to help.

• Talk to someone about it

Talking to a trusted friend or family member can help you with the embarrassment. It can also change your perspective on things after hearing from someone else. You would be surprised by how many people believe they have given the worst presentation ever.

• Learn to laugh at yourself

When you know how to laugh at yourself, it is easier not to take yourself too seriously, it can help you think positively and learn how to go easier on yourself. 

• Look for a teachable moment

If you see every situation in life as a teachable moment, it can help you put things in perspective . Next time you feel embarrassed, look for the lesson in that situation and learn from it, to not fall into that situation again. You can also learn from others , like the worst presentation ever shark tank shows on TV.

How to avoid the fear

It is very normal to feel fear before a big presentation, especially if you don’t do it often. The fear of public speaking is one of the top phobias among adults, and everyone is scared of giving the worst presentation ever. But there are ways you can get over that fear and speak a lot more confidently in public.

Helpful tips for getting over your fear of presenting

1. prepare adequately beforehand.

Practice is important because you don’t want to go in front of your audience and mess up your speech or forget important parts of the speech . You have to practice at least a few days before your speech .

When you prepare adequately, you feel more confident in your stance, and this confidence can help drive away some of the fear you might have had. Practice your speech right before your presentation so you can make last-minute adjustments.

2. Find out the root of the problem and take care of it

As with other phobias, y our Glossophobia may come from past trauma or another psychological problem . Some people associate presentations with embarrassing events from their past, some have low self-esteem, and some might have legitimate reasons to be afraid of delivering their worst presentation ever.

Whatever your reason, you have to* find out what it is and deal with it . If you’re lucky, you may be able to handle them yourself. Make a list of your worries and find a solution for each one. Otherwise, you can talk to a professional to guide you through it.

3. Think positive thoughts

If you have bad thoughts towards your speaking engagement, try to get your mind positive before your presentation is meant to start. You can do that by meditating, doing some breathing exercises, and getting rid of the negative thoughts in your mind. Try to visualize yourself, giving a good presentation and not the worst presentation ever.

4. Organize your speech 

When your speech is properly organized, you will be a lot less nervous. Create a plan of action and organize everything to the minute. Before you start, check all your props and aids, and make sure they are in place. Go over your speech and arrange your flashcards accordingly. Check your PowerPoint slides themes and designs.

5. Make sure you know what you’re talking about

No matter how good your speech is, you won’t feel confident unless you know it well. People make the mistake of memorizing the lines of the speech without really understanding them. Then, if someone asks a question they didn’t prepare for, they panic. 

You need to understand your presentation’s topic well enough to talk about it in your own words. The confidence that comes from knowing something can overshadow whatever doubts and fear you had before, and you won’t worry too much about giving the worst presentation ever.

How do I calm my nerves before my speech?

The closer a big presentation is, the more nervous you will be . Even accomplished speakers , like the people who give the worst presentation ever shark tank shows, deal with some nerves before a big presentation. However, you need to get rid of them before you deliver your presentation, so they don’t turn out to be your worst presentation ever. 

Ways to calm the nerves before a big talk

• Practice your speech

The importance of practice before any speaking engagement cannot be overemphasized. You can rehearse your speech a few times before you’re due to speak, and that can help you relax a little. You can practice anywhere, as long as you’re comfortable.

Practice your speech with Orai. Get feedback on your tone, tempo, confidence , and conciseness

• Get to the venue earlier

Lateness only helps to compound your nerves and leave you disorganized. Make sure you get to the venue earlier than your allocated time so you can relax for a few minutes and gather yourself. 

• Watch other presenters

You can watch presentations by other orators online to get some tips and to help you relax. If you’re a part of a group, you can watch the other presenters go before your turn. This helps to focus your nerves, and you can learn a helpful tip, so you don’t deliver your worst presentation ever.

• Get used to your environment before the presentation

Take some time and observe the environment where you will present. You can watch the people, pick up on the atmosphere, and get used to it before your time to present. If you don’t feel at home, it can make you deliver your worst presentation ever.

• Engage in self-care before your speech

Selfcare is very important, especially before a presentation. You can practice self-care in many ways, depending on what relaxes you. Some people like reading a book, some prefer walks, and some like meditating. Find the one that suits you and relax your nerves.

Avoidable mistakes people make on PowerPoint presentations

• Packing too much written text on one slide. Your slide can only take a certain amount of text before it becomes the worst PowerPoint presentation ever
• Using complicated diagrams and graphs that the audience cannot understand easily
• Using unnecessary transitions and animations. It’s a slide and not the worst PowerPoint presentation ever
• Breaking the flow of the speech  
• Burying the significant information instead of centering it at the beginning of the presentation
• Using bad contrasts, like white text on pale colors. You need the text and background colors to contrast

Differences between a good presentation and the worst presentation ever

Things you should never say during your speech.

• ‘I don’t know.’

If you don’t know the answer to a question thrown at you during a presentation, offer to get the answer later. Saying you don’t know makes you look unprepared.

• ‘I think.’

Instead, say what you want to say directly. Saying ‘I think’ before making a statement can make you sound unsure of its validity.

• Wrong statements

Every statement you make during your presentation has to be based on facts . Back them up with studies and statistics . You don’t have to state all your references, but you should have them for anyone that asks. This is a problem found in the worst presentation ever shark tank puts on TV

• Filler words

Filler words are crutches that muddle up your speech and make it sound broken. When you rely on filler words, you start to sound unsure and uncertain of what you’re saying. They can also* distract your audience and dilute your message .

• ‘Do you have any questions?’

It doesn’t engage your audience, and it can sound so cliché. Instead, guide them towards asking questions and let them know you will be open to taking questions after your presentation.

Do’s and don’ts of presentations

Many examples of bad presentations exist, like the worst presentation ever shark tank has brought to the TV screen. But nobody wants to be the one delivering the worst presentation ever. With the tips in this article, you can avoid that and also give the worst PowerPoint presentation ever!

Still, confused? No worries, get over your fear of public speaking . Download Orai now and start practicing.

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The Best And Worst PowerPoint Presentation Examples

Who wouldn’t appreciate a PowerPoint presentation that is eye-catching and easy to understand? With the best and worst PowerPoint presentation examples below, you’ll know what makes a good PowerPoint presentation and what makes a bad one.

Engaging presentations are the lifeblood of effective communication in today’s information-driven world. Whether you’re in a boardroom pitching a new idea, standing in front of a classroom of curious learners, or delivering a keyote speech to an interested investor, the ability to create and deliver engaging presentations is a skill that can truly make or break your message. 

Various elements contribute to making a presentation good or bad, from compelling visuals to persuasive delivery; these factors collectively influence how your ideas are received and remembered. So, in this article, we will look at some of the good and bad presentation examples to help you transform your presentations and make them more engaging.

Main Differences Between Good V/S Bad PowerPoint Slides

Knowing the difference between the best and worst PowerPoint presentations is vital for creating engaging presentations.

What Makes A Good PowerPoint Presentation?

Have you ever wondered how you differentiate between a good design v/s bad design PPT? In this section, we’ll look at some examples of making PowerPoint presentations that inspire and engage the audience. Look at what’s behind the slides that stick in mind long after the projector is turned off:

• Less text, more impact
• Choose a color scheme that works
• Proper balance of animation and texts
• Logical flow of information
• Context-relevant graphics or illustrations

READ MORE: The Golden Rules for Impactful Presentations 

1. Less Text, More Impact

Imagine your presentation as a visual storybook. Less text on each slide means your audience can focus on your story, not squint at paragraphs. Use striking images or a single powerful phrase to grab attention. It makes your presentation look impressive and helps people remember the article’s key points. Keeping about 30 words per slide or 6-8 lines in your presentation will help maintain a proper flow of words and pictures, resulting in a fluid presentation.

2. Choose A Color Scheme That Works

You don’t need to be an artist to pick the right colors. A good presentation uses colors that work together nicely. Choosing harmonizing colors can guide the audience to focus on important information. Choose colors that look good together and don’t hurt the eyes. Microsoft Office’s color schemes can save the day if you’re short on ideas. Avoid using light colors on a dark background and vice versa.

3. Proper Balance Of Animation And Texts

Animations and transitions can be like party crashers in your presentation if not used wisely. They might steal the show from your message. A top-notch presentation keeps both animations and texts in check, ensuring they don’t overpower each other. However, don’t ditch them altogether! Use transitions and animations only to highlight key points. For example, make bullet points appear individually instead of all at once. It keeps your audience focused.

READ MORE: How to add animation in PowerPoint?  

4. Logical Flow Of Information

Think of your presentation as a road trip. Imagine if your GPS gave you all mixed up directions. Chaos, right? Similarly, your slides need a logical order and a roadmap. Maintaining the logical flow of your slides helps the audience follow the information easily. A logical flow makes your message clear and easy to remember. It’s like telling a great story with a beginning, middle, and end.

EXPLORE: Flowchart PowerPoint Templates

5. Context-Relevant Graphics Or Illustrations

A picture speaks volumes. Our brains love visuals. Using context-related graphs, photos, and illustrations that complement your slides can amp up important pointers and keep your audience engaged during the presentation. However, while presenting, make sure to explain why a graphic or a picture is there. Explaining the graphics verbally makes your message crystal clear and memorable.

EXPLORE: Want to create stunning presentations? Check out our presentation services !

A PowerPoint presentation shall excel in these aspects of making it engaging, informative, and memorable. These good PowerPoint presentation examples could help you make a better PPT in one or more areas, not leaving the audience disengaged or confused. 

While it’s important to look at good presentation examples, it’s equally important to avoid mistakes that can turn your presentation dull.

What Makes A Bad PowerPoint Presentation?

Ever been in a room with a presentation that made you want to escape through the nearest exit? We’ve all been there! In this section, we’ll highlight some common mistakes that turn a good presentation into a dull one. With many examples of good and bad PowerPoint slides on the internet, we have listed some bad examples that show the ‘DON’Ts’ and ‘AVOID AT ALL COSTS’ of PowerPoint mistakes:

• Image behind the text
• Using only bullet points and no paragraphs
• Having no symmetry in texts and pointers
• Being too minimal
• Keeping text too small

1. Image Behind The Text

Anyone who considered utilizing an image as a background most likely missed the memo. Text and images simply do not work together. One of the worst PowerPoint presentation examples is text overlaid on an image. Keeping the image in the background complicates understanding the text, and the main image should be clarified. Finding a text color that shines out in the background is nearly tough because all of those colors merely draw your attention away from the words. To avoid this calamity, avoid utilizing photos as slide backgrounds when you have text to highlight.

EXPLORE: Best PowerPoint Backgrounds Collection

2. Using Only Bullet Points And No Paragraphs

To make a presentation audience-friendly, reducing paragraphs to bullet points is a wise choice. However, it is critical to emphasize that this is more than simply putting only bullet points and leaving out all paragraphs. Using 5-8 bullet points is ideal for a slide. If the text size shrinks to 12 or 10 points, you’ve written a lot. Lengthy bullet points tend to bore the audience; some might even think of them as paragraphs.

3. Having No Symmetry In Texts And Pointers

A lack of balance or alignment between textual material and supporting visual elements, such as arrows, bullets, etc., can make your presentations appear unpleasant. When text and pointers are strewn about, it’s difficult for the audience to follow a logical flow of information; a common bad PowerPoint slide example to avoid at any cost. Your audience will be obsessed with deciphering the relationship between the text and graphics if your presentation needs more harmony.

4. Being Too Minimal

Being too minimalistic is as bad as overdoing it. Not having the required text on slides or keeping them blank makes them dull and non-engaging. You don’t need a color explosion or too many texts, but bringing some life to your slides is always a good idea. Using pre-made PowerPoint templates is a good idea to keep your content balanced; however, it is best not to leave blank spaces. A blank slide with no colors or text might give the impression of minimal effort. Strive for a balanced approach to keep your audience engaged and awake.

EXPLORE: 40,000+ PowerPoint Templates and Google Slides Themes

5. Keeping Text Too Small

Another thing to avoid is making your font size too tiny, almost like the size of a peanut. The size of the font is extremely important in any presentation. Think of it like trying to enjoy a beautiful scenic view through a tiny keyhole – not very enjoyable, is it? It’s the same with your PowerPoint. Your slides can be perfect with great colors, and graphics, but it’s a bummer if your audience can’t read them. A simple trick is to stand at the back of the room where you’ll present. If you can read the font comfortably, then you should be fine!

READ MORE: Best Presentation Fonts

A bad PowerPoint presentation will dismiss all your efforts and disengage your audience. To look more, avoid these bad PowerPoint presentation examples at any cost while making your next presentation.

We have carefully curated a visual appearance of how your PowerPoint presentations change by following the aforementioned points.

A good PowerPoint presentation is a balance – not too much, not too little. It’s about enhancing your message, not taking the spotlight away from you. However, striking that balance requires a lot of practice and trial and error.

You can always opt for presentation design services , like SlideUpLift. It gives you the advantage and access to presentation specialists. We design visually appealing presentations, with modern design elements, graphics, and illustrations; maintaining a perfect balance of every element. 

Whether you want to customize your slides completely or just tailor the color or font, we ensure that your brand or personal style always reflects in your presentation. 

Explore from our collection of 40,000+ PowerPoint templates and Google Slides themes. Utilize our presentation design services to create stunning PPTs. Give us a try with our custom-slides service , or schedule a call with us to know more!

What is the biggest difference between the best and worst PowerPoint presentations?

A good PowerPoint presentation effectively communicates its message, engages the audience, and uses visuals, layout, and content in a clear and compelling manner. In contrast, a bad PPT has cluttered slides, too much text, poor design choices, or distracting elements that hinder understanding.

How can I avoid making a bad PowerPoint presentation?

To avoid creating a bad PowerPoint presentation, focus on simplicity, use visuals wisely, keep text concise, maintain a logical flow, use appropriate fonts and colors, and avoid excessive animations or irrelevant content. Seek feedback from peers or experts to improve your overall presentation.

What role do visuals play in differentiating a good design v/s bad design PPT?

In a good presentation, visuals support and clarify key points. While in a bad one, they may be excessive, distracting, or irrelevant, overshadowing the main message.

How important is the audience's experience in determining the quality of a PowerPoint presentation?

The audience’s experience is essential in evaluating a presentation. A good PPT keeps the audience engaged and attentive compared to a bad PPT, which leads to disengagement and confusion.

How can I fix my bad PowerPoint presentation?

You can fix your PowerPoint presentation by opting SlideUpLift as your presentation buddy. With over 40,000+ PowerPoint Templates and Google Slides Themes to explore, you can choose what’s best for you. In case you have very specific presentation needs, you can opt for their presentation design services or custom slide service to create stunning PPTs. Schedule a call to know more.

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10 Common Presentation Mistakes

Avoiding common pitfalls in your presentations.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

Most of us have experienced dull, irrelevant or confusing presentations. But think back to the last really great presentation you saw – one that was informative, motivating and inspiring. Wouldn't you love to be able to present like that?

This article looks at 10 of the most common mistakes that speakers make when giving presentations. By avoiding these, you'll make your presentations stand out – for all of the right reasons, and none of the wrong ones.

Mistake 1: Not Preparing Enough

Steve Jobs was a famously inspiring speaker. His speeches may have looked effortless, but, in reality, each one took days or weeks of preparation.

Careful preparation is essential. The amount of time you spend on planning depends on your situation, but it's a good idea to start early – you can never be too well-prepared.

Proper preparation also helps you to manage presentation nerves . When you know your material inside and out, you're far less likely to feel nervous. Our presentation planning checklist and Skillbook " Even Better Presentations " can help you to plan your next event properly.

Mistake 2: Not Familiarizing Yourself With the Venue and Equipment

Imagine that your presentation starts in an hour. You arrive at the venue and, to your horror, the projector won't work with your laptop. The slides you spent hours preparing are useless. This is a disaster!

You can avoid a situation like this by taking time to familiarize yourself with the venue and available equipment at least once before your presentation.

Often, the sorts of problems that can jeopardize your presentation will be situations beyond your control, but this doesn't mean that you're helpless. Conduct a risk analysis to identify potential issues, and come up with a good "Plan B" for each one.

Mistake 3: Ignoring Your Audience

Sometimes, speakers can get so wrapped up in delivering their presentations that they forget about the needs of their audience.

Start your presentation by telling your audience what to expect. Let them know what you'll cover first, whether and when you'll stop for a break, if you'll be taking questions during the presentation, and so on.

Providing these "signposts" up front will give your audience a clear idea of what to expect, so that they can relax and concentrate on your presentation.

Mistake 4: Using Inappropriate Content

The primary purpose of any presentation is to share information with others, so it's important to consider the level you'll pitch it at.

Do some research on your audience. Why are they here? How much do they already know about your topic, and what do they most want to learn from you? It's no use giving a presentation that's so full of jargon that no one understands you. But you wouldn't want to patronize people, either.

Try to put yourself in people's shoes, to get a clearer idea about their needs and motivations. You can also greet individuals as they arrive on the day, and ask questions to get a feel for their level of knowledge. This will also help you to personalize your presentation and make a connection with each person in your audience, so that they'll be more attentive to what you say.

Mistake 5: Being Too Verbose

Short, concise presentations are often more powerful than verbose ones. Try to limit yourself to a few main points. If you take too long getting to your point, you risk losing your audience's attention.

The average adult has a 15- to 20-minute attention span. So, if you want to keep your audience engaged, stick to the point! During the planning phase, make a note of the themes you want to cover and how you want to get them across. Then, when you start filling out the details, ask yourself: "Does my audience really need to know this?"

Our articles on the 7 Cs of Communication and Communications Planning have more tips for communicating in a clear, concise way.

Mistake 6: Using Ineffective Visuals

Poor slides can spoil a good presentation, so it's worth spending time getting yours right.

We've all seen slides with garish colors, unnecessary animation, or fonts that are too small to read. The most effective presentation visuals aren't flashy – they're concise and consistent.

When choosing colors, think about where the presentation will take place. A dark background with light or white text works best in dark rooms, while a white background with dark text is easier to see in a brightly lit room.

Choose your pictures carefully, too. High-quality graphics can clarify complex information and lift an otherwise plain screen, but low-quality images can make your presentation appear unprofessional. Unless an image is contributing something, embrace the negative space – less clutter means greater understanding. Use animation sparingly, too – a dancing logo or emoji will only distract your audience.

Mistake 7: Overcrowding Text

The best rule of thumb for text is to keep it simple . Don't try to cram too much information into your slides. Aim for a maximum of three to four words within each bullet point, and no more than three bullets per slide.

This doesn't mean that you should spread your content over dozens of slides. Limit yourself to 10 slides or fewer for a 30-minute presentation. Look at each slide, story or graph carefully. Ask yourself what it adds to the presentation, and remove it if it isn't important.

Mistake 8: Speaking Incoherently

Even though we spend a significant part of the day talking to one another, speaking to an audience is a surprisingly difficult skill, and it's one that we need to practice.

If nerves make you rush through a presentation, your audience could miss your most important points. Use centering or deep breathing techniques to suppress the urge to rush. If you do begin to babble, take a moment to collect yourself. Breathe deeply, and enunciate each word clearly, while you focus on speaking more slowly.

Our article on better public speaking has strategies and tips that you can use to become a more engaging speaker. One useful technique is storytelling – stories can be powerful tools for inspiring and engaging others. Our Expert Interviews with Annette Simmons and Paul Smith have tips that you can use to tell great stories.

Mistake 9: Showing a Lack of Dynamism

Another common mistake is to freeze in one spot for the duration of your presentation.

Some presenters feel most comfortable behind the podium. Try to emulate great speakers like Steve Jobs , who moved purposefully around the stage during his presentations.

As well as working the stage, he used gestures and body language to communicate his excitement and passion for his subject. Pay attention to what your hands are doing – they're important for communicating emotion. But only use gestures if they feel natural, and avoid being too flamboyant with your arms, unless you want to make your audience laugh!

See our Expert Interview, " Winning Body Language ," to learn more about body language and what it says to your audience.

Mistake 10: Avoiding Eye Contact

Have you ever been to a presentation where the speaker spent all of their time looking at their notes, the screen, the floor, or even at the ceiling? How did this make you feel?

Meeting a person's gaze establishes a personal connection, and even a quick glance can keep people engaged. If your audience is small enough, try to make eye contact with each individual at least once.

If the audience is too large for this, try looking at people's foreheads. The individual may not interpret it as eye contact, but those sitting around them will.

It takes practice and effort to deliver a good presentation. But, if you know how to avoid the pitfalls, your presentations will be great.

Common presentation mistakes include not preparing properly, delivering inappropriate content, and speaking poorly.

Time spent on careful planning always pays dividends. Check out the venue, and familiarize yourself with equipment in advance to avoid possible problems.

Keep your content clear and concise, with visual aids to match. And make sure that you pitch it at the right level for your audience's understanding, so that your presentation doesn't patronize or bewilder.

Remember, public speaking is a performance. Practice speaking clearly with a slower pace than your normal speech to avoid "rapid-fire" delivery. Use eye contact, body language and gestures that complement your message to keep your audience engaged.

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10 Presentation Design Mistakes to Avoid (With Examples)

One of the most important aspects of a successful presentation is designing an effective slideshow. Unfortunately, it’s also a part most professionals often neglect or don’t pay attention to.

This is why most of the bad presentation designs share a pattern. They are usually made using the default PowerPoint templates. They use the same default fonts as every other presentation. They also include terrible stock photos. And try to stuff as much information as possible into a single slide.

We noticed all these mistakes and more while exploring some of the most popular presentations on SlideShare. They were slideshows with thousands and even millions of views. But, they were riddled with mistakes and flaws.

In this guide, we show you how these mistakes can be harmful as well as give you tips on how to avoid them. Of course, we made sure to include some examples as well.

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1. Adding Too Many Slides

One of the biggest mistakes you can do when designing a presentation is adding way too many slides. This not only makes your presentation unnecessarily long but it can also affect the audience’s engagement. After a few slides, your audience will surely lose interest in your presentation.

Rand Fishkin is a well-known entrepreneur in the marketing industry. This is one of his presentations that received over 100,000 views. And it features 95 slides. We believe it could’ve generated more views if he had made the presentation shorter.

A presentation with 95 slides is a bit of an overkill, even when it’s made for an online platform like SlideShare.

Solution: Follow the 10/20/30 Rule

The 10/20/30 rule is a concept introduced by expert marketer Guy Kawasaki . The rule recommends that you limit your presentation to 10 slides, lasting only 20 minutes, and using a font size of 30 points.

Even though the rule states to limit the presentation to 10 slides, it’s perfectly fine to design a 20-slide presentation or even one with 30 slides. Just don’t drag it too far.

2. Information Overload

Statistics and research data are important for backing your claims. Even in your presentations, you can include stats and data to add more validity and authority. However, you should also remember not to over-do it.

A good example is this popular SlideShare presentation with more than 1 million views. Since this is a tech report slideshow, it includes lots of stats and data. But the designer has made the mistake of trying to include too much data into every slide in the presentation.

If this slideshow were to present to a large audience at a big hall, most of the audience won’t even be able to read it without binoculars.

Solution: Visualize Stats and Data

A great way to present data is to visualize them. Instead of adding numbers and long paragraphs of text, use charts and graphs to visualize them. Or use infographics and illustrations.

3. Choosing the Wrong Colors

How long did it take for you to read the title of this slide? Believe it or not, it looks just the same throughout the entire slideshow.

The biggest mistake of this presentation design is using images as the background. Then using colors that doesn’t highlight the text made it even worse and rendered the text completely unreadable.

Solution: Create a Color Palette

Make sure that you start your presentation design by preparing a color palette . It should include primary and secondary colors that you use throughout each slide. This will make your presentation design look more consistent.

4. Using Terrible Fonts

Fonts play a key role in improving the readability in not just presentations but in all kinds of designs. Your choice of font is enough for the audience to decide whether you’re a professional or an amateur.

In this case, the slide speaks for itself. Not only the font choice is terrible but without any spacing between the paragraphs, the entire slide and the presentation is hardly readable. How did this presentation generate over 290,000 views? We’ll never know.

Solution: Avoid the Default Fonts

As a rule of thumb, try to avoid using the default fonts installed on your computer. These fonts aren’t designed for professional work. Instead, consider using a custom font. There are thousands of free and premium fonts with great designs. Use them!

5. Adding Images from Google

You could tell by just looking at this slide that this person is using images from Google search. It looks like the designer lazily downloaded images from Google search and copy-pasted a screenshot onto the image. Without even taking the time to align the screenshot to fit the device or removing the white background of the image.

Or he probably added a white background to the images after realizing the black iPhone blends into the black background. Most of the images used throughout this slideshow are pretty terrible as well.

Solution: Use High-Quality Mockups and Images

The solution is simple. Don’t use images from Google! Instead, use high-quality images from a free stock image site or use a premium source. Also, if you want to use devices in slides, make sure to use device mockup templates .

6. Poor Content Formatting

There are many things wrong with this slideshow. It uses terrible colors with ugly fonts, the font sizes are also too big, uneven shapes, and the list goes on.

One thing to remember here is that even though apps like PowerPoint and Keynote gives you lots of options for drawing shapes and a color palette with unlimited choices, you don’t have to use them all.

Solution: Use a Minimal and Consistent Layout

Plan a content layout to be used with each and every slide of your presentation. Use a minimalist content layout and don’t be afraid to use lots of white space in your slides. Or, you can use a pre-made PowerPoint or Keynote template with a better design.

7. Writing Long Paragraphs

Adding long paragraphs of text in slides is never a good way to present your ideas to an audience. After all, that’s what the speech is for. The slides, however, need to be just a summary of what you’re trying to convince your audience.

Don’t make the mistake of writing long paragraphs that turns your slideshow into a document. And, more importantly, don’t read from the slides.

Solution: Keep It Short

As the author Stephen Keague said, “no audience ever complained about a presentation or speech being too short”. It takes skill to summarize an idea with just a few words. You should always try to use shorter sentences and lots of titles, headings, and bullet points in your slideshows.

8. Not Using Images

This entire presentation doesn’t have a single image in any of its slides, except for the company logo. Images are a great way to keep your audience fully engaged with your presentations. Some expert speakers even use images to add humor as well.

The saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” is popular for a reason. Instead of writing 200-words long paragraphs, use images to summarize messages and also to add context.

Solution: Use Icons, Illustrations, and Graphics

You don’t always have to add photos or images to make your presentations look more attractive. Instead, you can use other types of graphics and colorful icons. Or even illustrations and infographics to make each slide more entertaining.

9. Designing Repetitive Slides

This presentation about Internet Trends is one of the most popular slideshows on SlideShare with more than 4 million views. If you go through the slides you’ll notice the entire presentation is filled with nothing but charts and graphs.

Your audience will easily get bored and lose attention when your presentation has too many slides containing the same type of content.

Solution: Use a Mix of Content

Make sure to use different types of content throughout the slides. Add text, images, shapes, icons, and other elements to create each slide more engaging than the other.

10. Using Complex Infographics

Even though images and graphics are great for visualizing data, it’s important to use the right designs to showcase the data without confusing the audience.

For example, this slideshow made by HootSuite is filled with stats and data. Most of which look fine. Except for a few slides that include complicated designs filled with information all over the place.

Solution: Design Simpler Graphics

There are many great online tools you can use to design your own infographics and visuals. Use them. But, also remember to use simpler designs that are easier to understand for all audiences.

In Conclusion

There’s no such thing as the perfect presentation design. Every slideshow has its flaws. But, if you learn to avoid the common mistakes, you’ll have a much higher chance of winning over your audience and delivering a more engaging presentation.

If you don’t have any slideshow design experience, consider picking one of the bee PowerPoint templates or best Keynote templates . They feature designs made by professionals and you won’t have to worry about making any mistakes again.

The 10 Most Common Presentation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

January 02, 2024

Many of us make common mistakes in our business presentations. Often these presentation mistakes are ways of working that seem efficient (but are not) such as: (1) planning your talk with PowerPoint, (2) writing your talk without planning, (3) skipping practise sessions and (4) narrating dull slides.

To help you avoid common presentation mistakes  that many of us regularly make, you have here some examples of the most common mistakes.

Each of these presenting mistakes are ‘false friends’ – where you feel as if you are making progress but in reality you are diverting from the true path and giving yourself more work than necessary.

Study these presentation mistakes and identify where you can improve.

• Do you avoid planning your presentation up front?
• Are you too quick to start producing presentation slides?
• Are you reluctant to try out your presentation ideas on others early in the process?
• Do you use boring safe language?
• Do you try and say too much in your presentations?
• Are you unsure how to bring your presentation to life with levity.

These are all simple, natural presenting mistakes that cause thousands of presentations every day to be less effective than they should be.

While avoiding these traps will not make you a brilliant presenter, each trap you identify will take you much nearer to being a confident and convincing presenter.

Top ten ways to avoid common presentation mistakes

• Don’t start with PowerPoint. Leave creating visual aids until the end of the process
• Don’t start writing before planning. Have a clear plan first
• Don’t be the centre of attention. Make your talk about your audience.
• Don’t use written language. Translate everything you write into compelling spoken language.
• Don’t try and say too much. Say less, but say it better.
• Don’t be boring. Say something interesting every 10 words.
• Don’t be subtle. Be big, bold, clear and compelling.
• Don’t speak too fast. Leave a pause every 5-10 words.
• Don’t lead with slides or narrate slides. Speak directly to your audience and only use visual aids when they help your audience
• Don’t avoid practising. Dedicate time perfecting your talk and perfecting your performance.

Presentation Mistakes #1 – Do you waste time with PowerPoint?

Summary: powerpoint is a poor planning tool. only open powerpoint after you have decided what you are saying..

Most people, when they start writing a presentation, they open PowerPoint. They create slides, perhaps use old slides, design new ones and feel as if they are making progress because they can see ‘progress’ – something they can print and share.

BUT: Starting with PowerPoint is the equivalent of creating a movie by filming before you have a story or a script. You end up with a lot of footage, but it is near impossible to turn this into anything usable. You waste time and you waste money.

Instead, Create a powerful talk that barely uses any visual aids. Use the planning and language tools outlined in this blog article to create a talk that can work on its own without slides. You may realise that your presentation does not need slides. If you do want visual aids, only start creating them at the end of the presentation process, not at the start.

And why not rename ‘slides’ as Visual Aids. This change of language will help you think differently. Each Visual Aid must help your audience interpret what you say. Only create Visual Aids where they are absolutely necessary. Make life easier for your audience.

“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail”.  – Benjamin Franklin

Avoid Presentation Mistakes – Top Tips

• Stop using PowerPoint to plan
• Only use PowerPoint to create your visual aids or handouts after you have decided what to say.

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Presentation Mistakes #2 – Do you make yourself or your idea the focus of your presentation?

Summary: while your presentation might be about your product or your business, you will be more effective if you make your audience the centre of attention..

A typical bad presentation starts: “In today’s presentation I will talk about how we performed last month, what our plans are for this month and how we are changing the way numbers are reported. I’ll talk about project Pegasus and give an update on the latest company sales figures”

Why is this not good? This presentation opening is more like a table of contents than anything else – and it contains little that is useful for the audience.

The art of communication is translating what you want to say into what it means for your audience. You’ll grab your audience if you talk about them and their interests. If what you say is useful, your audience is more likely to pay attention.

Instead, start like this: “As we all know, this has been a tough month. You’ll hear more about last month’s disappointing performance and learn about our plans for this month and what that means for your departments. I’ll also share with you the changes you can expect to see in how we report our numbers. You’ll also be pleased to know that project Pegasus is on track. We can already see a positive impact on our sales numbers – which I am sure we are all very pleased to hear.”

What has changed?

• Each ‘I will talk about’ has been translated into a ‘you will….’
• By using many more personal pronouns (we/ our/your) the talk is easier to listen to.
• In the revised text you hear much more useful information (is it good news, bad news) and
• The audience is involved in the story (‘we are all very pleased to hear’).

In short, the audience is now the centre of attention of this talk.

“Nobody cares what you think until they think that you care” – Maya Angelou

• Give your audience useful information from the start.
• Talk about them and what your information means for them
• Avoid ‘tables of contents’. Say something interesting in every phrase.

Presentation Mistakes #3 – Is your presentation a data dump?

Summary – a data dump is not a presentation. the real job of a presentation is to analyse and interpret information so it means something for your audience. you must add value..

A typical bad presentation sounds like: “Sales last quarter were 3.6m, this is up 3.2% on last quarter and down 2.8% on the previous year. This is 4.6% behind budget and 4.5% better than forecast. Breaking it down by division we can see that North was 8.2% over budget while South was 1.2% behind budget…….”

What’s wrong with this?  If you compile data then it’s tempting to share your hard work. But talking through raw numbers is a waste of everyone’s time. Instead, you want to look impressive.

That means, you must add value. You should describe what those numbers are saying. For example, you might say:

“As we can see, sales at 3.2m last month were as expected. The important thing to note is that North won the new IBM contract, which was unexpected, while South had three customer delays which pushed their sales back by a month. We are still pretty confident of reaching our end of year numbers.”

By speaking in this way you are giving your audience valuable information throughout (sales: “as expected” …. North: Unexpected IBM contract….South: customer delays,… pushed sales back by a month…’confident of reaching end of year numbers”).

The real art here is doing the hard work for your audience. If you make it easy for the audience you’ll not only have a better presentation, you will also look more impressive in front of your audience.

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I’ll spend the first four sharpening the axe.” – Abraham Lincoln

• When you report data, add value.
• It’s your job to do the hard work.
• Explain what the data means for your audience.
• Make it easy for your audience.

Presentation Mistakes #4 – Do you use written language in your talk?

Summary – the written word and the spoken word are two different languages. one belongs on the page, the other in the mouth..

A typical bad start: “It is a pleasure to welcome you to this symposium, which is part of our programme to mark the 75th anniversary of the Central Bank of Ireland. I am especially delighted that Francois Villeroy de Galhau is joining us today to give a keynote address. I am looking forward also to learning from the excellent lineup of speakers later in the afternoon. “The topic of financial globalisation is a natural theme for the Central Bank of Ireland. At a macroeconomic level, the global financial cycle is a primary determinant of financial stability conditions in small open economies. This lesson was painfully learned across the advanced economies during the international credit boom that occurred over 2003-2008.” Remarks by Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, to the Financial Globalisation Symposium as part of the programme to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Central Bank of Ireland, Dublin, 2 February 2018

What is wrong with this?  When you preparing words for a talk or presentation, you want to avoid planning through typing. The spoken word and the written word are like different languages.  If you type first, you’ll probably find:

• The sentences are too long,
• The words are too complicated
• The rhythm of spoken language is lost
• You miss powerful rhetorical tools that make spoken language interesting and easy to listen to.

Written language must be translated into spoken language.

So, instead, say it first then write it. Then say it out loud again. Check that you are using plenty of rhetorical tools.  Listen for the rhythm of your speech and whether it’s easy to say (and easy to listen to). For example, this might have been a speech writer’s first draft for the Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland.

“Welcome everyone to this great occasion. It’s 75 years since the Central Bank of Ireland was born. In that time we have grown up. – We were born as a new institution in a new country – and we are now standing tall alongside our brothers and sisters in Europe and around the world, a full participant in the global economy. In our busy life we’ve lived through financial cycles, a few near misses and, most recently, an international credit boom. “Financial globalisation is a topic close to our heart. What happens globally determines what happens locally. The global credit boom that ended in 2008 showed us how our financial stability is at the mercy of global forces.”

“Everything becomes a little different as soon as it is spoken out loud.” – Herman Hesse

• Always speak words before writing them down
• Use plenty of rhetorical tools
• Use an audience to test that it’s easy to understand

Presentation Mistakes #5 – Are you trying to say too much?

Summary – great talks usually say less, but use more reinforcement, illustration and examples.. the art of presenting is knowing what to take out..

Imagine an over-enthusiastic primary school teacher explaining atoms to her students.

“Atoms are the basic building blocks of everything around us. And each atom is made up of protons, neutrons and electrons. These atoms are very small – you can fit 10^19 atoms into a grain of sand. The really interesting thing about electrons is that they are both particles and waves – they have a duality. In fact all matter demonstrates duality – but it is most easily seen in electrons. Now let’s look at protons and neutrons. These are made up of more elementary particles call quarks. The Standard Model of particle physics contains 12 flavours of elementary fermions and their antiparticles……”

By now the children are very confused.

What went wrong? When you say too much you give your audience a problem. If your audience has to work hard to interpret what you say, you have failed in your job as a presenter.  Your job as a presenter is to make it easy for your audience. 

Great communication involves simplifying, reinforcing and giving examples.  Imagine this alternative start:

“Atoms are the basic building blocks of everything around us. The air we breathe is made of atoms. The ground we walk on is made of atoms and we are all made of atoms. Atoms are very small. See this grain of sand here? Guess how many atoms are in this grain of sand? It’s a big number: a one followed by nineteen zeros. That’s a lot of atoms. There are roughly as many atoms in this grain of sand as the total number of stars in the observable universe. To look at it another way. If this apple were magnified to the size of the Earth, then each atom in the apple would be approximately the size of the original apple……”

“Simplify, then exaggerate” – Geoffrey Crowther, Editor, Economist Magazi ne

• Say less, but say it better
• Cut out non-essential information from your talk
• Don’t be afraid of reinforcing, illustrating and repeating what’s important

Presentation Mistakes #6 – Are you guilty of Death by PowerPoint?

Summary – death by powerpoint happens when bad presenters let their slides lead. they ‘talk through’ what’s on the screen. instead, you want to talk directly to your audience, using visual aids as support..

Imagine this bad, and typical presentation: “As you can see on this page, we have looked at fifteen initiatives to revitalise the businesses. We examined the pros and cons of each initiative, as outlined in the table below. Following our analysis, it looks like initiatives 3, 7, and 8 are the most interesting. We’ll now look at each of the fifteen initiatives and explain why we came to our conclusions.”

That’s what death by PowerPoint feels like.

Death by PowerPoint has three causes.

• The speaker is narrating slides rather than speaking directly to the audience. i.e. the speaker expects the audience to both read and listen at the same time.
• The speaker talks about HOW they have done the work they have done rather than WHY this work matters and WHAT their work means.
• The speaker adds little value in what they say.

To Avoid Death By PowerPoint, get straight to the point.

Try this alternative start (read it out loud) “As you know, we were asked to find ways to revitalise the business. After speaking to everyone in this room, we identified the three projects that will make a real difference. We’ve chosen these because they deliver the greatest return on effort, they have the lowest risk and they can be implemented fastest. By the end of this meeting, we want all of us to agree that these are the right projects and to get your full support for rolling these out over the next 6 weeks. Is that OK?”

“I hate the way people use slide presentations instead of thinking. People confront a problem by creating a presentation. I wanted them to engage, to hash things out at the table, rather than show a bunch of slides” – Steve Jobs

• Get to the point immediately.
• Don’t rely on your audience reading. Tell them directly what’s important.
• WHY is more important than WHAT is more important than HOW

Presentation Mistakes #7 – Do you use meta-speak?

Summary – meta-speak is talking about talking. avoid it. speak directly to your audience..

Imagine this bad presentation: “I was asked today to talk about our new factory. In putting together this talk I wanted to tell you how we designed it and went about planning it. I also wanted to cover the process we used to get it delivered on time and on budget.”

What wrong with this? It’s as if the speaker is narrating their thought processes about planning this talk. While that might be interesting to the speaker, it is of little value to the audience. Avoid.

Instead, get right to the point, Speak directly.

“We have just opened our new factory. And we did this in just 12 months from board approval to the cutting of the ribbon in the loading bay. How did we achieve this? And how did we deliver it on time and on budget? Today I’ll share some of the lessons we leaned over the last 12 months. And I’ll reveal some of the mistakes we nearly made. And I’m doing this because it just might help you when you are faced with what seems like an impossible problem…”

“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” – Albert Einstein

• If you see meta-speak creeping in, cut it out
• Make your language direct.
• Get right to the point.

Presenting Mistakes #8 – Do you gabble or speak too fast?

Summary – speaking too fast helps nobody. you should learn how to incorporate pauses – many pauses – long pauses – throughout your talk..

Try saying this out loud:  “A-typical-speaker-will-speak-in-long-sentences-and-keep-speaking-linking-phrases-together-so-that-there-is-no-gap-and-no-time-for-the-audience-to-absorb-what-the-speaker-has-said-and-no-time-to-plan-what-to-say-next-this-causes-the-speaker-to-feel-more-nervous-so-they-speed-up-and-it-frustrates-the-audience-because-they-have-no-time-to-process-what-they-have-heard-before-the-speaker-is-onto-their-next-point…”

This typically happens when a speaker is nervous. So they rush. And it is then hard for the audience to listen.

Instead, try speaking this out loud:  “Good speakers use short phrases — They share one thought at a time — — By leaving gaps — it’s easier for the audience. — The good news is — it’s also easier for the speaker. — When a speaker uses pauses — they have time to compose their next sentence. — This helps the speaker look more thoughtful — and more convincing. — It also helps the speaker feel more confident.

“The most precious things in speech are….. the pause.” – Ralph Richardson

• Pausing takes practice. Few people do it instinctively.
• Use shorter phrases – one idea at a time.
• Aim for a pause at least every ten words
• Record yourself, listen to your pauses and hear how they add gravitas
• Keep practising until your pauses feel natural and sound natural.

Presentation Mistakes #9 – Are you too serious?

Summary – levity can help you look more professional and will help your audience pay attention to what you say..

Too many presentations overly serious, dull and un-engaging.

Why? When we have something important to say we want to look ‘professional.’ But professional and serious are not the same. When you are too serious it’s harder for your audience to connect with you.

If you really want to look professional, bring the audience into your world. Levity and humour helps you achieve this. This does not mean you should tell jokes, but you should help the audience smile and feel clever for understanding what you say.

See how you can do it differently.  This is the third paragraph of Apple CEO Tim Cook’s EU Privacy speech . He uses humour followed by flattery to get his audience open and receptive to what he is about to say.

“Now Italy has produced more than its share of great leaders and public servants. Machiavelli taught us how leaders can get away with evil deeds…And Dante showed us what happens when they get caught.

“Giovanni has done something very different. Through his values, his dedication, his thoughtful work, Giovanni, his predecessor Peter Hustinx—and all of you—have set an example for the world. We are deeply grateful.”

“Inform, Educate & Entertain”. – Sir John Reith, BBC

• Have a smile on your face when preparing your talk
• Look for opportunities to introduce humour and lighten the tone
• Play with ideas.

Presenting Mistakes #10 – Do you avoid practising?

Summary – it’s tempting to avoid practise and to wing it on the day. this is the amateur approach..

The best presenters, like great athletes, do all their practising in advance , so that their performance on the day  looks effortless.

People make excuses to avoid essential practise:

• “I’m always better without practice”
• “I don’t want to over-prepare”
• “I sound wooden when I over-rehearse”
• “I’m more natural on the day”
•  “This is an artificial environment. I’m much better in front of a real audience.”

But many people are deluded. They believe themselves to be good speakers.

So, instead, think of yourself as a professional athlete, actor, pilot or dentist. These professionals make their work appear effortless only because of hours of preparation. A great presenter should think the same.

Use your rehearsal to try out every aspect of your talk and to iron out what works. Use a critical audience. Keep changing and improving it until it’s as good as it can be. If you are not a brilliant speaker, then spend time building your skills. This practice includes:

• Cut any waffle or anything boring
• Say something interesting at least every 10 words
• Use more rhetorical tools (see Chapter x)
• Keep reinforcing your key points
• Start strong, end strong

“The more I practise, the luckier I get”. – Gary Player, champion golfer

• Dedicate proper practise time – at least three sessions for an important talk.
• Use a critical audience
• Keep cutting, changing, fixing and tweaking
• Only stop when you are able to pay attention to your audience’s reaction rather than remembering what you want to say.

Summary – key presentation mistakes to avoid

When you understand the common mistakes presenters make, you will find it easier to create and give a compelling, successful presentation.

Reminder: Top ten ways to avoid common presentation mistakes

How to avoid presentation mistakes – for ever, if you really want to improve your presentation skills, then get in touch. our team of expert presentation coaches has been helping business executives polish their presentation skills for over 15 years. we are trusted by some of the world’s largest businesses. click on the link below to discuss your needs., transform your presentation skills with tailored coaching.

We can help you present brilliantly. Thousands of people have benefitted from our tailored in-house coaching and advice – and we can help you too .

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In This Article

Jump to a Section

• Equipment Isn't Working

Information Underload

Lack of focus.

• Reading From the Screen
• Too Many Visual Aids
• Fonts Too Small
• Bad Design Templates
• Too Many Slides
• Unusual Color Combinations

The Bottom Line

Welcome to Bad Presentation Techniques 101 . Almost everyone has sat through a bad presentation with poor techniques and unprepared presenters. There are also scenarios where presenters read verbatim from the presentation, mumble through their speech, or use way too many animations in their PowerPoint . Below are various presentations one has likely experienced, along with the solution on how to rectify it.

The Equipment Isn't Working

Many have experienced the scenario where the audience is settled, and the presenter is set and ready to start their presentation. All of a sudden, the projector doesn't work. Naturally, the presenter didn't bother to check out all of the equipment before starting.

To correct this presentation technique, it is recommended that presenters check out all of the equipment and rehearse their presentation, using the provided projector long before their time to present. Bringing extra tools needed like a projector bulb is a good idea, along with having a point of contact for a technician if things get beyond the presenter's control. If possible, presenters can check the lighting in the room they will be presenting in, prior to their time in the limelight, especially so they can dim the lights as needed during their speech.

Presenters may have experienced memorizing only the content of their presentation. In this scenario, someone in the audience may have a question and panic can set in. Because the presenter has not prepared for questions, all they know about on the topic is what is already written on the slides.

To rectify this situation, presenters should know their material so well that they could easily do the presentation without an electronic enhancement such as PowerPoint. Presenters can use keywords and phrases that include only essential information, to keep the audience focused and interested on the presenter. Lastly, speakers should be fully prepared for questions and know the answers or have an idea of how to guide the audience member.

The opposite of information underload, presenters may find themselves knowing  so much about a topic that they jump all over the place. This creates a situation where the audience has no idea how to follow the thread of the presentation because there is none. 

The way to fix this situation is to use the K.I.S.S. principle, which translates to "Keep It Simple Silly." When designing a presentation, presenters can stick to three or four points at most about their topic. Then, presenters can expand on the information so that the audience is most likely to absorb it and understand the main points being driven.

Reading Directly From the Screen

Imagine a setting where an audience member raises their hand and mentions that she can't read the slides. In this case, the presenter may graciously tell her that they will be reading the slides directly to her. As the presenter proceeds to do so, they look up at the screen and each of the slides is filled in with the text of their speech. The problem here is that the presenter is not needed if the slides provide all of the information for the audience members.

Simplifying the content is the key here. Presenters can keep the most important information near the top of the slides for easy reading in the back rows. They can also focus on one topic area and use no more than four bullets per slide. It's important for presenters to speak to the audience, not to the screen.

Using Visual Aids in Replacement of Scarce Content

Presenters might figure that no one will notice that they didn't do much research on their topic if they add many visual aids, like photos, complicated graphs, and other diagrams.

This mistake is huge. Presenters need to create presentations that include well-researched content and topics that the audience is looking for. Illustrating points with true substance is a good format to follow, and visual aids such as  photos, charts, and diagrams should be used in addition to content, to drive key points of the demonstration home. After all, visual aids add a nice break to the material but must be used correctly in order to enhance the overall oral presentation.

Setting the Font on the Slides Too Small

Small script type fonts might look great when audience members are sitting mere inches away from the monitor; however, presenters who don't consider audience members with poor sight, or those who are sitting a decent distance away from the screen, will miss out on an engaged audience who had the potential to read the slides.

It is best for presenters to stick to  easy-to-read fonts such as Arial or Times New Roman. Presenters should avoid script type fonts which are generally hard to read on screens. It is also suggested for presenters to use no more than two different fonts — one for headings, and another for content. Lastly, presenters should use no less than a 30 pt font so that people at the back of the room can read them easily.

Choosing Poor or Complicated Design Templates

Presenters sometimes make decisions in their presentation based on what they hear. For example, imagine a presenter who heard that blue was a good color for a design template or design theme. They may have found a cool template on the internet and went for it. Unfortunately, in the end, the presentation ends up being about a context that doesn't match the look and feel of the visual presentation itself.

This scenario can be easily fixed when presenters decide to choose a design template that is appropriate for the audience. A clean, straightforward layout is best for business presentation, for instance, while young children respond well to presentations that are full of color and contain a variety of shapes .

Including Too Many Slides

Some presenters go overboard with their slide count. For instance, imagine the presenter who recently went on a fantastic vacation cruise and included all 500 beach photos in their slides. Presenters who use too many slides, or too much personal content, are bound to hear snores in the room.

Presenters should ensure their audience stays focused by keeping the number of slides to a minimum. It is recommended to use 10 to 12 slides. Some concessions can be made for a photo album since most pictures will be on screen for only a short time, and this will require a judgment call based on how the audience will feel and respond.

Losing the Message With Animations

Presenters can forget the focus of their presentation when using too many animations and sounds with the goal to impress everyone. This ultimately fails to work most of the time, because the audience doesn't know where to look and will lose the message of the presentation.

While animations and sounds that are used well can heighten interest, it is important for presenters to keep them to a minimum. Otherwise, this flair will distract the audience. Presenters can design their presentation with the "less is more" philosophy so that the audience doesn't suffer from animation overload.

Picking out Unusual Color Combinations

Some presenters love unusual color combinations together, but a PowerPoint presentation is not the time to use them. For example, an orange and blue combination is unsettling to an audience and there may be people present who cannot see red and green due to color blindness.

Presenters should use good contrast with the background to make their text easy to read. Here are a few tips:

• Dark text on a light background is best but avoid white backgrounds. Tone it down by using beige or another light color that will be easy on the eyes. Dark backgrounds are very effective, but make a text a light color for easy reading.
• Patterned or textured backgrounds make text hard to read.
• Keep the color scheme consistent.

To be a good presenter , presenters need to be engaging with the audience and know their topic. Presenters should ultimately keep the presentation concise and include only relevant information. They should use an electronic enhancement, such as PowerPoint, as an accompaniment to their presentation to reinforce points, not as a crutch. Presenters should keep in mind that a slideshow is not the presentation — they are the presentation.

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38 Don’t Ruin a Great Presentation with Terrible Slides

The more strikingly visual your presentation is, the more people will remember it. And more importantly, they will remember you. –  Paul Arden Creative Director of Advertising Company Satchi and Satchi

The speaker was a master in his field which is why he was chosen to speak. He was brilliant, he was motivated to share his ideas, and he was great at conversation. The only problem was he was the most boring speaker I have ever heard. He stood at the front of the room and read presentation slides to us for two hours. He rarely looked at the audience. It was the longest two hours of any conference I have ever attended.

Chances are you have had a similar experience. A speaker has ridiculous amounts of text on a slide and then stands there and reads it to you. Unfortunately for all of us, a lot of college classes are that way. In fact, most of us learned about how to use slides by seeing our teachers use them–poorly.

The use of electronic slides–PowerPoint, Presenter, Google Slides, Prezi—is pervasive. Sixty-seven percent of college students reported that instructors used PowerPoint; and of these instructors, 95% used this software all or most of the time.  Numerous articles chide that presentation slides might be the death of education.

Many successful speakers have shunned slides altogether. Chris Anderson, head of TED, the highly successful group that leads TED Talks, highlights at least of third of the most viewed TED talks do not use any slides whatsoever.

The Most Important Questions of All

• Do I need slides?
• If I need slides, what does the audience need to get from those slides?

I once made a presentation to NASA scientists who were preparing to talk about their research. I said, “If you sit at your computer and you open your presentation software and begin writing your speech on your slides, you are making a slide show, not a speech. A good speaker always considers what the audience needs to hear and then uses slides to offer visual support to help the audience understand. If you start with the slides, you’ve got it backward. ” Two years later, I was traveling out of state and saw a man who was smiling at me as he approached–it was one of the scientists from the NASA talk. He looked at me and said, “I remember you because you changed the way I do things. That piece of advice, about never starting with your slides changed everything for me. I really struggled as a speaker until you told us we are making a speech, not a slide show. Since I have changed, people seem to like my presentations more and more likely to come up and talk to me about my research.”

Slides are Good Because They…

• Can create credibility. (Many people expect you to use slides and meeting that expectation gives you credibility.
• Help focus the audience’s attention.
• Help the audience visualize concepts.
• Help people take organized notes of a talk.
• Helps the speaker stay on track.
• Provides aesthetic appeal.
• Show something that may be hard to describe.

Slides are Bad Because They…

• Can distract from what the speaker is saying.
• Can hurt the speaker’s credibility when poorly constructed.
• Can cause people to mindlessly take notes without thinking about the content.
• Can be boring…especially when a speaker stands up there and simply reads the slides to an audience.
• Can lead to passive listening when a teacher uses them in the classroom and give the students a copy of the slides.

Rules for Slides

Write your speech first.

As mentioned in the introduction, one of the most important things you can do when preparing your speech is to get away from your slide software. Under no circumstance should you open your slide software (PowerPoint, Presenter, Google slides, Prezi, Keynote, etc.) until your speech is complete and you have made a plan for what visuals the audience needs to see.

Keep Text to A Minimum

No more than six words across and six words down. Chris Anderson of TED specifies,

Even when a text slide is simple, it may be indirectly stealing your thunder. Instead of a slide that reads: A black hole is an object so massive that no light can escape from it, you’d do better with one that reads: How black is a black hole? Then you’d give the information from that original slide in spoken form. That way, the slide teases the audience’s curiosity and makes your words more interesting, not less.

Offer One Idea to a Slide

You can keep text to a minimum by limiting ideas to one per slide. Audience members should be able to glance quickly–about 3 seconds–and get all the information.  It is better to have a lot of slides where each has only one idea per slide than it is to have one slide with a list of ideas. Nancy Duarte, communication coach, reminds us that if you have too many words, it is no longer a visual aid but a teleprompter.  Estimate approximately how long it will take an audience member to read your slide by timing yourself reading the slide backward.

Think of your slides as billboards. When people drive, they only briefly take their eyes off their main focus — the road — to process billboard information. Similarly, your audience should focus intently on what you’re saying, looking only briefly at your slides when you display them. Nancy Duarte

Get Rid of the Title (Most of the time)

Most of the time, a title on each slide is not needed. You, the speaker, will say what the content is about; no need to read it–it is just distracting.

Reduce Cognitive Load

It is better to help the audience focus on the main point in the slide. By keeping things simple, it reduces the audience’s cognitive resources. There are several ways you can reduce cognitive load.

• Avoid busy backgrounds they can drain mental energy.
• Eliminate unneeded titles.
• Use basic, easy-to-read font.
• Ask yourself if the company logo or school banner is needed on the slide or if it just becomes one more thing.
• Keep background colors consistent
• Format photos and illustrations in the same style.

Use Pictures Instead of Words When Possible

People retain more information when what they see on the screen supports the message they are hearing.

We are incredible at remembering pictures. Hear a piece of information, and three days later you’ll remember 10% of it. A dd a picture and you’ll remember 65%. John Medina, author of Brain Rules.

Avoid Distracting Slide Transitions

There is rarely a time when you should use the transition feature of the software. Things that twirl, cube, swap, and swoosh rarely help the audience to focus on your idea. Most of the time, they are just cheesy and distracting. Three transitions that can be used with a level of professionalism are cut, fade, and dissolve. The easiest rule is if you do not have a reason for a transition, don’t do it.

Use Easy-to-Read, Plain Font

Use 28-point font and larger. Do not use more than three different sizes and make the size variants purposeful.  It is best to stick with a plain, sans-serif font such as Helvetica, Arial, or Tahoma. There are two types of font, serif (with fancy tails) and san serif (without fancy tails). The Plain, san serif font is easiest to read when projected.

Go For High Contrast

Always go for the highest contrast. I recently attended a special event and the speaker projected his side and then looked back at it surprised and said, “Sorry, you can’t see the red letters.” The speaker had attempted to put red letters on a black ground–this is always a no-no because it rarely shows well. It is best to pick a dark blue or back background and put white or yellow letters on it. You can also use a white or yellow background with dark black or blue letters (While JP Philips in the video Death by PowerPoint -below- advises against it, it is still a professional standard).

Use Minimal Bullets

If you do have bullet points, make sure you have more than one point because let’s face it, bullet points are for making lists and one point does not make a list. In addition, you should never have more than six bullet points because then you would have too much stuff on your slide. 

Bullets belong to the Godfather. Avoid them at all costs. Dashes belong at the Olympics, not at the beginning of the text. Chris Anderson, TED Talks

While I’m not sure I fully support eliminating all bullets, I do warn you to use them sparingly.

Use Blank Slides

You do not always have to have a slide behind you. Insert black, blank slides between points when you need to talk to the audience without the distraction of a visual.

Have a Backup Plan

Technology is evil and is the enemy of all that is good. It will crash on you. You should always have a backup plan and you should always be prepared to speak even if your slides do not work. You should always have notecards and I highly suggest printing out your slides to reference and then if the projector bulb goes out or the computer crashes, you can still make your presentation.

Test Your Slide Show, Videos, and Clicker/Remote

You should always practice using your slides. It is helpful to test out your presentation on your friends or trusted colleague and ask them to give you feedback. When you get to the place where you will give your presentation, it is a good idea to pull up your slides and make sure they work with the clicker/remote. It is a good idea to carry extra batteries with you too.  Test the volume of your videos and make sure they play properly. Finally, make sure you know where the audio-visual person will be in case you have any problems. If you are a student, have a friend who can come up and fix your slides while you keep your speech going.

Avoid the Laser Pointer

A laser pointer highlights any shakiness you have in your hands. If you want to highlight something on a slide, use a graphic arrow.

Make Reminders on Your Notes to Change Your Slide

Many of my students will turn on their presentation slides and during the speech forget they are there. After they conclude their speech and we have applauded, they will look back at the projector and say, “Oh, here is my visual aid,” and then will rapidly click through the seven slides they should have shown us during the speech.

To avoid this, practice with your slides and mark on your notecards where to advance your slide. I usually draw an “S” in a circle and then color in the circle with a highlighter.

Point Your Body  and Your Eyes Towards the Audience Not Towards the Slides

Your feet indicate where you want to go. If your feet are pointed towards the door, you are indicating you want to go out the door. Similarly, if your feet are pointed towards the back wall where your slides are located, it indicates you want to go towards your slides and not towards the audience. In short, you have turned your back on your audience. Point your feet, your hips, and your head towards the audience.

Keep your eyes on your audience and not your slides. Having brief slides helps. If you only have a few words or a nice photo on your slides, you are less tempted to stand there and read to the audience. In addition, having your notes in front of you as opposed to using your slides as your notes helps you keep pointed forward. Just remember, talk to your audience, not your slides.

Use Movement Minimally

These days, there are many different types of presentation slides. One of those is Prezi.  For many (like me), the movement in Prezi creates a nauseous feeling. If you decide to use this tool, keep movement limited.

Here is a TED Talk that effectively uses Prezi.

Videos can be an amazing addition to your presentation. Rarely, do you want to use more than a one-minute clip.  More likely, you will want about 30 seconds. In my experience, videos that work perfectly at your home computer have about a sixty percent chance of working at the venue where you speak. If you have a video file on your computer remember that the video file and the slide file have to go to the venue. The easiest way to do this is to create a file folder for your presentation and put the video file and the slideshow file in the folder. Save the file folder to the cloud or your thumb drive that you take to the venue. On the day of your presentation, go in ahead of time and make sure everything works and the volume on the video is set properly.

The most common mistake I see is someone will link their presentation to a video, and they bring a copy of the presentation with them but leave the video on their home computer.  I usually upload videos to my personal YouTube account, and also have them in file format on a USB I always include a link to the video on my slide just in case it doesn’t work.

Sometimes they work. Sometimes they don’t.  GIF means graphic interchange format and is usually a short animation.  If you decide that the GIF enhances your message and you decide to include it, make sure it works at the speech venue on the day you present. Be aware that a short GIF on a continual loop can be very annoying. A cartoon that waves once is cute, a cartoon that waves 20 times is distracting.

Give Credit for Visuals When Possible

When possible credit to the originator of the photo. Simply write “Photo credit: Name or originator of the photo.” Usually, 12-14-point font credit is centered under the photo or in the bottom right-hand corners.  Be consistent in the way you do your citations. Citing your graphic may not look as nice as a plain slide, but it shows you have integrity, and that you give credit where it is due.  Make sure you have a legal license to use the photo or they are listed as Creative Commons; better yet, do as a friend of mine does, always use your original photos.

Thoughts About Fair Use The internet makes it easy to get photos, videos, and music that you can use in your presentation. Just because it is easy to get, doesn’t mean it is legal. Chances are you are using this textbook because you are a college student. Because your presentations are of an educational nature, they are protected under Fair Use copyright laws which means you can use copyrighted material once for educational purposes if you give credit to the authors. Once you graduate and work for a company, what was once considered free to use is now under a different system.  For example, you may have to get permission to use someone’s photos or you may now have to pay to use a music clip. Baylor University put together a checklist to help determine whether something would be considered fair use.

Fair list checklist. 

Use Photos Wisely

When using photos, it is usually best to make them full screen if the picture is the point of the visual. If they are a decoration to the point, format them so they are visually pleasing and balanced with the words.  If you do use a smaller photo, use a plain background. Always use pictures with the highest resolution possible and always give photo credit. In the college classroom, students prefer pictures and “visually rich” slides if they were relevant to the content of the lecture. In addition, they preferred minimal text and limited bullet-point lists.

Want to Take Your Slide Composition to the Next Level? Check out these Resources

To see a great explanation with examples of why certain slide layouts work. https://www.presentation-process.com/powerpoint-slides.html

To see samples of good and bad use of photos on slides, check out Presentation Zen. https://www.presentationzen.com/presentationzen/visuals/

To take your visual composition to the next level by using the rule of thirds to compose slides, check out the rule of thirds. http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/rule-of-thirds-powerpoint/

To see the types of slides a professional designer makes. https://www.nolanhaimscreative.com/presentation-design-portfolio

To see design principles https://courses.lumenlearning.com/ivytech-comm101-master/chapter/chapter-13-design-principles/

Nancy Duarte: [For visuals], I think people tend to go with the easiest, fastest idea. Like, “I’m going to put a handshake in front of a globe to mean partnership!” Well, how many handshakes in front of a globe do we have to look at before we realize it’s a total cliche? Another common one — the arrow in the middle of a bullseye. Really? Everyone else is thinking that way. The slides themselves are supposed to be a mnemonic device for the audience so they can remember what you had to say. They’re not just a teleprompter for the speaker. A bullseye isn’t going to make anyone remember anything. Don’t go for the first idea. Think about the point you’re trying to make and brainstorm individual moments that you’re trying to emphasize. Think to the second, the third, the fourth idea — and by the time you get to about the tenth idea, those will be the more clever memorable things for the audience.

Watch Mac Stone as he shows photos that make “You want to save the Everglades.”

Be in the Image but Not on the Image

Stand near your slides but don’t stand where you will be a shadow on your slides. Sometimes a presenter will stand far away from their slide causing the audience to have to bounce back and forth with their attention.  On the other hand, practice with your slides at the venue and have a friend let you know where you can and cannot stand. If it is easy to stand in front of the slides, I will sometimes put tape on the floor to indicate where to stand and put a tape boundary to remind myself where not to stand.

These Are Not the Same

Should I Give Out My Slides As a Handout?

One BIG mistake novice speechmakers make is they use their slides as their notes, their visual aid, and their handout. In this model, a speaker opens up the presentation software and writes their speech on the slide. When the day of the presentation comes along, the speaker stands in front of the audience and reads the slides to the audience. Finally, the speaker gives the audience members a copy of the slides to take home.

Delivery Notes are what you look at during your presentation. They should have details about what you will say, they should have reminders for when to advance your slides, and they should have notes reminding you to project your voice or to look up. Slides are the projection the audience sees.  They should be purposeful, brief, and concise, and designed to help listeners understand. Handouts  are the items you give the audience to take home with them. It should provide only the information the audience needs to remember after your presentation is over.

Never, ever hand out copies of your slides, and certainly not before your presentation. That is the kiss of death. By definition since slides are “speaker support” material, they are there in support of the speaker…You. As such, they should be completely incapable of standing by themselves and are thus useless to give to your audience, where they will simply be guaranteed to be a distraction. The flip side of this is that if the slides can stand by themselves, why the heck are you up there in front of them? (David Rose as quoted in Presentation Zen)

With that said, when students spend their attention copying slides, they do not spend time listening to the lecture. Making the slides available to students to use during an educational lecture may reduce cognitive load and encourage learning. However, if the slides are so detailed the student can get all the information from the slide, then they may not attend class or they may not take any notes of their own which reduces learning. It is a delicate balance of structure but not all the content.

How To Avoid Death by PowerPoint

Watch the Video How to Avoid Death By PowerPoint

Okay, ladies and gentlemen, welcome.   There is a question which has puzzled me for quite a while, and that is, why do our PowerPoints look the way they look?   Or rather, how on earth, can we accept that they look the way they look?   How can you do that? And do you know what’s even more intellectually challenging for me to understand, is how can a person sit over here in this meeting room with ten others, observing this dismally bad PowerPoint filled with charts, graphical elements, page numbers, fading away five, seven minutes thinking of other things.   You know the feeling, the boredom, the waste of time!?   This person, after 40 minutes, he/she will stand up, a bit dazed, trotting off to his own office, coming to his own computer, flipping it up, going like: oh my god, I’ve got a presentation tomorrow, and I do have a PowerPoint to build.   Now what is the chance that this person will build an equally bad PowerPoint as the one that he/she was by herself tortured by in the other conference room?   Is that a big chance?   Yeah. David JP Phillips, TED Speaker. How to Avoid Death By Power Point

David JP Phillip Provides This Solution

•  Only put one idea per slide.
•  Make spoken and projected content match. Don’t make an audience chose between listening to you or looking at your slide. Sweller and Mayer conclude there is something in our brain called the redundancy effect, and it works like this. If the audience has to pick between reading text on a slide or listening to you talk, they have a hard time focusing and cannot recall most of what was said. 
• Build slides with minimal distractions. We pay attention to moving objects, signaling colors, contrast-rich objects, big objects. Build your slides with this in mind.  For example, only have a large title if it is the most important, otherwise, make it smaller.
• Avoid using full sentences on slides.
• Contrast controls your focus. If you use a white background, it draws attention away from the speaker.
• Do not put too many objects on your slide. Go for six or less.

Watch These Creative Uses of Slides

Notice how Tim Urban uses slides to engage the audience. Instead of long lists of words, he uses funny drawings, which results in the audience hanging on his every word.

Do Slides Help or Hurt Student Learning?

A group of researchers set out to find out if there is a connection between the use of slides by teachers and student learning.  They looked at all the studies that had been done on the topic and they made a chart to look at similarities and differences (it is called a meta-analysis). The results were interesting.

They found that students expected teachers to use slides in classes. Students self-reported that they liked when a teacher used slides. Students thought that slides helped them to learn and to pay attention. This was particularly true for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields, where many slides contain projected models and diagrams.

While students perceived it was helpful, research indicates there is little or no effect on either test scores or information retention. I would argue that there is increasingly an expectation that speakers use slides. Because of this, a speaker who chooses not to use slides may violate audience expectations resulting in lower credibility.

Here is a summary of various educational studies regarding slides in classroom learning:

• Students who downloaded class slides before class improved exam scores by 3.48%
• Students performed worse on recall and recognition tasks when slides included pictures that were not relevant.
• Slides that show positive pictures enhanced learning more than negative pictures.
• In an older study (2005), students said they preferred teachers to write on the board and use props rather than show slides.
• Students who preferred it when the teacher wrote on the board said that they liked it better because there was more active engagement, a more appropriate pace, and less extraneous material given.
• Students who preferred slides said they liked being able to have copies of slides in case they were absent or in case the notes they had were complete.

**Notice in this section, I did not mention each specific study an d researcher. I did it so you could most easily get the information and think about it as it related to your own academic experiences.  The studies referenced are below. When you give your speech, similarly, you should decide when it is best to include references at the bottom of each slide or to put them all at the end.  Context should always guide you on how best to manage your sources. There is an entire chapter dedicated to thinking about how to manage research. 

Baker, J. P., Goodboy, A.K., Bowman, N.D., Wright, A.A. (2018).  Does teaching with PowerPoint increase students’ learning? A metanalysis. Computers and Education Science Direct,  126.  376-387 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2018.08.003

Bartsch, R.A. & Cobern, K.M. (2003). Effectiveness of PowerPoint presentations in lectures. Computers and Education 41(1), 77-86. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0360-1315(03)00027-7

Berk, R. A. (2012). Top 10 Evidence-based Best Practices for PowerPoint in the Classroom.  Transformative Dialogues: Teaching & Learning Journal ,  5 (3), 1-7.

Chen, J. & Lin, Tsui-Fang (2008). Does downloading PowerPoint slides before the lecture leads to better student achievement. International Review of Economics Education, 7 (2), 9-18, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1477-3880(15)30092-X

Hill, A., Arford, T., Lubitow, A., & Smollin, L. M. (2012).“I’m ambivalent about it”: The dilemmas of PowerPoint. Teaching Sociology, 40 , 242–256. https://doi.org/10.1177/0092055X12444071

Mantei, E. J. (2000). Using internet class notes and PowerPoint in the physical geology lecture. Journal of College Science Teaching, 29(5), 301–305. https://www.learntechlib.org/p/91984/.

Marsh, E. J., & Sink, H. E. (2010). Access to handouts of presentation slides during lecture: Consequences for learning. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 24 , 691–706. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1579.

Moulton ST, Türkay S, Kosslyn SM (2017) Does a presentation’s medium affect its message? PowerPoint, Prezi, and oral presentations. PLoS ONE 12(7): e0178774. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0178774

Nelson-Wong, E., Eigsti, H., Hammerich, A., & Ellison, N. (2013). Influence of presentation handout completeness on student learning in a physical therapy curriculum. The Journal of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 13, 33–47. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1017035.pdf

Nouri, H., & Shahid, A. (2005). The effect of PowerPoint presentations on student learning and attitudes. Global Perspectives on Accounting Education, 2 ,53–73. (no doi).

Ogeyik, M. C. (2017). The effectiveness of PowerPoint presentation ad conventional lecture on pedagogical content knowledge attainment. Innovations in Education &Teaching International, 54, 503–510. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2016.1250663.

Unique Rules for Academic Presentation Slides

Whether you are presenting in a graduate class or at a conference, there are certain expectations regarding slides that are much different than business or undergraduate class slides. Academic slides should be able to stand alone and provide a clear summary of your work.

• Your slides should include academic references at the bottom of the slide.
• Your slide should include details about the point being made. Someone who did not come to your presentation but got a copy of your slides should be able to understand the point.
• Your slide should include a citation for photos. Academic integrity is important.
• Your slides should include a reference page as the last page. This will not be shown to your audience at the presentation but is only included because of its handout value. Many conferences and graduate classes require you share your slides. Including your reference page as the last slide gives everyone access to your full list of references.
• Include your name and contact information on the opening and closing slides. You want people to have your information in case they want to contact you with questions or want to work with you on future projects. In academic conferences, people are going from room to room to find the right place to go. Make it easy for them to know they are at the right location by having a slide with the title and name from the program.
• You should name your talk something interesting that makes people want to attend. Oftentimes, academic titles are boring so label your talk something that draws in an audience. You can include a copy of your actual research paper in the uploaded materials, or you can reference the title of your paper in your talk. You are not obligated to name your talk after your journal article title.
• Some academics are including Twitter handles and hashtags related to the conference so attendees can network.
• Many conferences ask for the slides in advance and will put them on a website and make them downloadable for all participants. For this reason, your slides should be able to provide stand-alone information–meaning someone who did not attend your presentation could understand your talk.
• Think about your slides as your business card. Some people may see these slides without ever meeting you. They will judge you based on your slides–make a good first impression, your future may depend on it.

How to Put Citations in Slides

When considering the how and when of citations, it is important to consider the context of your speech. Different contexts will require different types of citations. Many speakers have ended their presentation with, “And here’s my reference page.” That has got to be the most boring way to end a speech ever! Don’t do it. There is never any reason to project your reference page for your audience to see.  Depending on the context, however, you may include your reference on your slide.

Key Takeaways

Remember This!

• Slides should always be used purposefully.
• Write your speech before making your slides.
• It is better to have many slides that each make only one point than it is to have few slides with many points.
• No more than six words across and six words down, use at least 28-point, plain (san-serif) font.
• Different contexts have different expectations for slide design.

Please share your feedback, suggestions, corrections, and ideas.

I want to hear from you. 

Do you have an activity to include? Did you notice a typo that I should correct? Are you planning to use this as a resource and do you want me to know about it? Do you want to tell me something that really helped you?

Click here to share your feedback. 

Bonus Feature

Watch a part of Sonaar Luthra’s speech for a great example of slide usage. The pictures help us to understand and remember and he avoids unnecessary words.

For those of you interested in Multi-Media Learning Principles, this chart explains how to each principle applies to good slide creation.

Anderson, C. (2016). TED talks: The official TED guide to Public Speaking. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Armour, C. Schneid, S.D., & Brandl, K. (2016). Writing on the board as students’ preferred teaching modality in a physiology course. Physiology. https://doi.org/10.1152/advan.00130.2015

Baker, J. P., Goodboy, A.K., Bowman, N.D., & Wright, A.A. (2018).  Does teaching with PowerPoint increase students’ learning? A metanalysis. Computers and Education Science Direct,  126,  376-387.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2018.08.003

Bartsch, R.A. & Cobern, K.M. (2003). Effectiveness of PowerPoint presentations in lectures. Computers and Education.  41 (1), 77-86. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0360-1315(03)00027-7

Berk, R. A. (2012). Top 10 Evidence-based Best Practices for PowerPoint in the classroom. Transformative Dialogues: Teaching & Learning Journal ,  5 (3), 1-7.

Brandl, K., Scheid, S., & Armour, C. (2015). Writing on the board vs PowerPoint: What do students prefer and why? Pharmacology. 29(1). https://doi.org/10.1096/fasebj.29.1_supplement.lb465

Chen, J. & Lin, Tsui-Fang (2008). Does downloading PowerPoint slides before the lecture leads to better student achievement. International Review of Economics Education 7 (2), 9-18, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1477-3880(15)30092-X

Copyright and Fair Use: Common Scenarios from California State University. https://csulb.libguides.com/copyrightforfaculty/scenarios

Dale E. (1969). Cone of experience, in Educational Media: Theory into Practice. Wiman RV (ed). Charles Merrill.

Duarte, N. (2008). Slide:ology: The are and science of creating great presentations. O’Reilly.

Duarte, N. (2012). Do your slides pass the glance test? https://hbr.org/2012/10/do-your-slides-pass-the-glance-test

Duarte, N. (2010). Resonate Present visual stories that transform audiences.  John Wiley & Sons.

Endestad, T., Magnussen, S., & Helstrup, T. (2003). Memory for Pictures and Words following Literal and Metaphorical Decisions.  Imagination, Cognition and Personality ,  23 (2), 209–216.  https://doi.org/10.2190/PNXA-4078-M1H9-8BRJ

Garr, G. (2008). Presentationzen: Simple ideas on presentation design and delivery . New Riders.

Joyce, B. &  Showers, B. (1981). Transfer of training: the contributions of coaching. Journal of Education 163(2) : 163–172. https://doi.org/10.1177/002205748116300208

Kasperek, S. Design Principles. (2011). The Public Speaking Project. http://publicspeakingproject.org/psvirtualtext.html

Kosslyn, S. M. (2007).  Clear and to the point: Eight psychological principles for compelling PowerPoint presentations. Oxford University Press.

Lacey, S., Stilla, R., & Sathian, K. (2012). Metaphorically Feeling: Comprehending Textural Metaphors Activates Sensory Cortex. Brain and Language. 120, 3. 416–421.  http://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandl.2011.12.016

Malamed, C. (2009). Visual language for designers: Principles for creating graphics that people understand.   Rockport Publishers

Luthra, S. (2012). Sonaar Luthra: Meet the water canary. [Video]. YouTube.  https://youtu.be/gv1ApCmctVQ?t=27 Standard YouTube License.

Mayer, R. E. (2001).Multimedia learning.New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.Mayer, R. E., & Moreno, R. (2002). Animation as an aid to multimedia learning. Educational Psychology Review, 14, 87–99. https://doi.org/10.40-726X/02/0300-0087/0.

Mayer, R. E., & Moreno, R. (2003). Nine ways to reduce cognitive load in multimedia learning. Educational Psychologist, 38, 43–52. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15326985EP3801

Medina, J. (2018). Brain rules. http://www.brainrules.net/vision

Miller, S. T., & James, R. C. (2011). The effect of animations within PowerPoint presentations on learning introductory astronomy. Astronomy Education Review, 10 ,1–13. https://doi.org/10.3847/AER2010041.

Moulton, S.T., Türkay, S. & Kosslyn, S.M. (2017). Does a presentation’s medium affect its message? PowerPoint, Prezi, and oral presentations. PLoS ONE 12(7): e0178774. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0178774

Nowaczyk, R. H., Santos, L. T., & Patton, C. (1998). Student perception of multimedia in the undergraduate classroom. International Journal of Instructional Media, 25 (4), 367–382. (no doi).

Presentation aids Design Principles. Lumen Learning. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/ivytech-comm101-master/chapter/chapter-13-design-principles/#return-footnote-1129-36 

Ramgopal & Arte. (n.d.). Presentation Ppocess. https://www.presentation-process.com/powerpoint-slides.html

Reynolds, G. (2008). Presentation Zen: Simple ideas on presentation design and delivery. New Riders.

Schneider, S., Nebel, S, & Rey, G.D. (2015). Decorative pictures and emotional design in multimedia learning. Learning and Instruction 44, 65-73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2016.03.002

Steinert, Y. & Snell, L.S.  (2009). Interactive lecturing: Strategies for increasing participation in large group presentations . Medical Teacher. 21 :37–42. https://doi.org/10.1080/01421599980011

Stenberg, G (2006). Conceptual and perceptual factors in the picture superiority effect. Europen Journal of Cognitive Psychology. 18. 813-847. https://doi.org/10.1080/09541440500412361

Swerdloff, M. (2016).  Online learning, multimedia, and emotions.  In S. Y. Tettegah & M. P. McCreery (Eds.),  Emotions and technology: Communication of feelings for, with, and through digital media. Emotions, technology, and learning  (p. 155–175). Elsevier Academic Press.  https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-800649-8.00009-2

Torgovnick May, K. (2012). How to give more persuasive presentations: A Q & A with Nancy Duarte. TED Blog. https://blog.ted.com/how-to-give-more-persuasive-presentations-a-qa-with-nancy-duarte/

Vogel, D. R., Dickson, G. W. & Lehman, J. A. (1986). Persuasion and the role of visual presentation support: The UM/3M Study.

Wecker, C. (2012). Slide presentation as speech suppressors: When and why learners miss oral information. Computers & Education, 59 , 260–273. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2012.01.013.

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Worthington, D. L., & Levasseur, D. G. (2015). To provide or not to provide course PowerPoint slides? The impact of instructor-provided slides on student attendance and performance. Computer Education, 85,14–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2015.02.002

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Module 8: Developing and Delivering Business Presentations

Bad presentations, learning outcomes.

• Discuss common mistakes in presentations

For many, the prospect of developing and delivering a business presentation rates right up there with death and taxes. Interestingly, that same mixture of fear and loathing is often felt by audience members as well. But it doesn’t have to be that way. The ability to craft a compelling story is a skill as old as the human race, and the need to communicate is as primal and potentially powerful.

Figure 1. Akhenaten as a sphinx, and was originally found in the city of Amarna.

For millions of years before the invention of modern technology, humans used the tools available to perpetuate traditions and culture and to document—and often rewrite—history. Do a few internet searches and immerse yourself in the Egyptian tombs; the caves of Chauvet; or El Castillo, the Temple of Kukulcan. What you’re experiencing is a feat of both artistry and communication. Although we don’t know the full significance of these early carvings and structures, there’s no doubt that these early humans captured their world view in a way that is still deeply resonant. While the tools have changed, the communication challenges—and opportunity—remain the same: to communicate an engaging and inspiring point of view.

Regardless of whether you want to change the world, build your brand, or build a billion-dollar business, effective presentation skills are essential. To quote legendary investor, philanthropist and Berkshire Hathaway chairman and CEO Warren Buffet, “If you can’t communicate and talk to other people and get across your ideas, you’re giving up your potential.” [1] As would be expected of a numbers person, Buffet has quantified his point in talks on student campuses and professional organizations. Speaking at his alma mater in 2009, Warren Buffett told Columbia Business School students that he believed learning effective communication skills could translate into 50 percent higher lifetime earnings.

Given our vibrant storytelling tradition and with so much at stake, why are there still so many bad presentations? Wouldn’t you think that modern communication technology—considering the advances in graphics and communications software alone!—would lead to more compelling presentations? Interestingly, the problem is, to some extent, the technology. It’s estimated that 30 million PowerPoint presentations are created every day, with (seemingly) a majority of presenters opting for default layouts and templates. The problem is, we’re wired for story, not bullet points. A related failure is our use of available technology.

Seth Godin has a wonderful—and instructive—rant on these points: Really Bad PowerPoint (and how to avoid it) , blaming Microsoft wizards, templates, built-in clip art and lazy presenters for ineffective presentations. In response to a question regarding “death by PowerPoint” on the TechTarget Network, Margaret Rouse provided this definition: “a phenomenon cause by the poor use of presentation software,” identifying the primary contributors of this condition as “confusing graphics, slides with too much text and presenters whose idea of a good presentation is to read 40 slides out loud.” [2]

So how do we avoid causing “death by PowerPoint”—or by whatever presentation software we use? The common denominator of presentation mistakes is that they represent a failure of communication. This failure can be attributed to two errors: too much or too little. The error of too much is generally the result of trying to use slides as a teleprompter or a substitute to a report, or, it would seem, to bludgeon the audience into submission. Of course, this tends to have an alternate effect, namely, prompting audience members to walk out or tune out, turning their attention instead to doodling or their device of choice.

What bad presentations have too little of is emotion. Presentation expert and author of the classic Presentation Zen (and 4 related books) Gar Reynolds captures the crux of the problem: “a good presentation is a mix of logic, data, emotion, and inspiration. We are usually OK with the logic and data part, but fail on the emotional and inspirational end.” [3] There’s also a hybrid too little-too much mistake, where too little substance and/or no design sensibility is — in the mind of the presenter — offset by transitions and special effects. Heed Seth Godin’s advice: “No dissolves, spins or other transitions. None.” [4]

The 10/20/30 rule, generally attributed to venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki, is a good guideline to help you achieve a “just right” balance in your presentations. Geared for entrepreneurs pitching their business, his advice is a discipline that would improve the quality—and, effectiveness—of most presentations. In brief, 10/20/30 translates to a maximum of 10 slides, a maximum of 20 minutes and a minimum of 30 point font. [5]

Figure 2. Your presentation should have no more than 10 slides, take no more than 20 minutes, and use type no smaller than 30 point font.

While this rule is a good starting point, it doesn’t overrule your audience analysis or understanding of your purpose. Sometimes, you may need more slides or have a more involved purpose—like training people in new software or presenting the results of a research study—that takes more than 30 minutes to address. In that case, go with what your audience needs and what will make your presentation most effective. The concept behind the 10/20/30 rule—to make new learning easy for your audience to take in, process and remember—should still be your guide even if you don’t follow the rule exactly.

How to Avoid Death By PowerPoint

For more on how to avoid causing death by PowerPoint, watch Swedish presentation expert and How to Avoid Death By PowerPoint author David Phillips TED Talk on the topic:

Practice Question

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• Gallo, Carmine. " How Warren Buffet and Joel Osteen Conquered Their Terrifying Fear of Public Speaking ," Forbes . May 16, 2013. ↵
• Rouse, Margaret. " What is death by PowerPoint? " TechTarget Network . ↵
• Reynolds, Garr. “ 10 tips for Improving Your Presentations Today ,” Presentation Zen. Nov 2014. ↵
• Godin, Seth. Fix Your Really Bad PowerPoint . Ebook, sethgodin.com, 2001. ↵
• Kawasaki, Guy. The 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint . December 2005. ↵
• Bad Presentations. Authored by : Nina Burokas. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Echnaton (Akhenaten) as Sphinx. Authored by : Hans Ollermann. Located at : https://flic.kr/p/4nvAVm . License : CC BY: Attribution
• How to avoid death By PowerPoint. Authored by : David JP Phillips. Provided by : TED. Located at : https://youtu.be/Iwpi1Lm6dFo . License : All Rights Reserved

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7 Types of Bad Presenters: Tips for Better Presentations

Delivery is key in presentations. Learn about 7 bad presenters and how you can avoid becoming one!

You can probably relate to this all too familiar scenario:  You’re attending a presentation and the presenter is almost unbearable to watch. Whether they’re stumbling through slides or speaking rapidly, you find yourself unable to process any of the information presented. But what contributes to the failures of bad presenters? First, we should define what contributes to great presentations.

What Makes a Great Presentation?

When it comes to any type of presentation, its delivery is key to success. Take it from the masters at TED Talks . Speech and body language are important to delivering your message. These affect an audience’s perception. Chris Anderson, owner of TED, summarizes what all great presentations have in common:

“And even though these speakers and their topics all seem completely different, they actually do have one key common ingredient. And it’s this: Your number one task as a speaker is to transfer into your listeners’ minds an extraordinary gift — a strange and beautiful object that we call an idea.”

Telling a story is one way to help tap into audience members’ minds. Storytelling is scientifically proven to stimulate the entire human brain. Whereas the use of bullet points only stimulate 2 parts of the brain. Many impactful speakers choose to use images instead of words on slides — opting to use their voice to deliver their ideas.

Additionally, no matter how many slides your presentation ends up being, make sure it carries a consistent visual theme from start to finish. This helps to guide the audience along.

What Makes a Bad Presentation?

There are many factors that contribute to bad presentations. Geoffrey James, contributing editor at Inc.com, identifies 8 bad habits that ruin presentations . Whether it’s asking for extra time or fidgeting, there are numerous ways for a project to go south.

Most bad presenters are either unprepared or unaware of their habits. Or, they’re aware of their shortcomings but don’t know how to develop better presentation skills. 

Prep for Your Next Presentation

When you’re creating your next set of slides, be sure to abide by presentation best practices . If you don’t have access to (or are worn out from) Microsoft PowerPoint, don’t fret. You have options.  Here are 3 excellent alternatives to using Microsoft PowerPoint:

• Piktochart — Piktochart is home to themed templates for infographics, reports, and presentations. Use free graphics, fonts, charts, and pictures.
• Prezi — Prezi’s navigation is more of a journey, and less of slides. Check out their premade templates for lively transitions. Plus, access your Prezi from anywhere.
• Google Slides — Similar to PowerPoint, Google Slides has free templates and simple slide transitions. Access your slides from anywhere and integrate it with other information in your Google account.

Don’t forget Mimeo when it comes to preparing your next presentation! Sign up for a free account . Then build, proof, and ship your presentation in minutes!

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Speech Analysis | Storytelling

15 bad speeches we can learn from.

Written by Kai Xin Koh

If you’ve been an avid reader of our blog and generally presentation content on the internet, you’ll likely have been exposed to golden standards of presenting. (Think Steve Jobs) But how often have you encountered bad speeches that you can learn to avoid? Part of being a great public speaker or presenter is knowing what NOT to do so you can safeguard your reputation and speech.

Here are 15 bad speech examples for you to learn from:

Michael Bay quits Samsung

Have you ever forgotten your script, or perhaps experienced a faulty projector while presenting? Well, Michael Bay sure did. At the Samsung CES press conference in 2014, he failed to promote the new Samsung curved TV. After an error with the teleprompter, he apologized and walked off the stage, leaving the audience speechless and confused.

To avoid facing an awkward situation, pay close attention to certain key messages while practising. It will guide you through the presentation and help you recall the points, which could buy you some time to sort your cues.

Questioning Round: Miss Teen USA

In the Miss Teen USA 2007 question and answer round, Caitlin Upton struggled to answer her question: “Recent polls have shown that ⅕ of Americans can’t locate the US on a world map, why do you think this is?” She stumbled through her 30 seconds with an answer that barely made any sense.

You may come across some difficult questions when doing a Q&A session after a presentation. The best way you can deal with an unfamiliar question is to get back to the person after finding the answer. Always think through before replying and if you are unclear, ask them to repeat, or explain their question further. Failing to do so can lead to dire consequences on stage (usually an embarrassing time) if you rush through the question.

Emmy Awards 2013

The chances of winning an Emmy Award is probably one in a million, and award winners typically thank their families, producers and so on. However, all Merritt Wever had to say was “thank you so much. okay, I got to go. Bye.” The audience was baffled at the situation.

One thing that we can definitely learn from this is to have a prepared speech if you know you are being nominated. It may come off as rude if you don’t do so as you will leave the audience hanging, expectant of a thank you speech.

Melania Trump’s Republican National Convention Speech

Melania Trump’s speech at the Republican National Convention 2016 caused a huge controversy and uproar. Many observers were able to tell that her words were extremely similar to former First Lady Michelle Obama’s previous speech.

There may be days when you are inspired by others, and decide to put their speeches into yours. Do give the owners credit for it, which simply be done by mentioning these phrases, “quoted by”,”mention by” or “from”.

Theresa May’s Calamitous Conference Speech

This may be one of the most catastrophic speeches of all. The conference was to address and reassure her party’s political members about Brexit and Britain’s future. Amongst this seriousness, a comedian rudely disrupts her by handing over a resignation form and props behind were falling apart. Besides that, she was coughing endlessly into the mic, trying to proceed with the speech.

Props to her for trying to keep things together after an interruption, but coughing into the mic may seem unprofessional and unhygienic. One way to tackle these bad speeches is to turn away from the mic while coughing, though it would be best to hold it in. If you are losing your voice, do clear your throat first before speaking into the mic.

Santa Cruz City Council

One way of improving your city is to have people volunteer their ideas. Here is an example of a poorly executed speech with little structure and redundant hand gestures. It is natural to feel anxious when presenting in front of people with authority, however, it is important to keep your cool and practice before a speech.

A method to counter such anxiety is to have a list of things to be covered according to the flow of the speech. Having a specific structure helps both you and your audience understand the thought process better. Another way you can go about doing it is by practising in front of the mirror, which helps to boost your confidence and eliminate bad fidgeting habits.

Politician Rallying Votes

Being passionate and believing in yourself is important when you’re trying to convince people. Nevertheless, being overly zealous could potentially scare your audience, harming your chances to be voted. Looking at the video, you can probably tell that yelling makes it hard to hear your speech, and the tone of your speech affects the way your audience reacts.

One way to prevent this is to have your family members or colleagues listen to your speech beforehand. Have them pinpoint out specific mistakes such as voice projection, posture, and tone . Through this method, you will have a sense of what your audience will feel, and improve to make your speech better.

Pitching for 1million Pounds on Dragons’ Den

Asking for and receiving a million pounds is no easy task. Bathomatic failed to secure a deal with any of the dragons. In his pitch, he mentioned the problem, the solution and how he came up with this idea, however, there was something missing. He did not mention any benefit statement or justification for a large amount of money.

During a pitch, it is important to address your audience’s concerns. Questions such as “why should they invest in you?”, “what can you bring to the table for them?” can guide you in making a much more persuasive speech.

Common Mistakes Made

Here is a group of 4 students attempting to do a presentation on Apple. Throughout the video, we spotted numerous errors commonly made by presenters. Here are 5 mistakes which you should take note of:

1. Reading off the slides with your back facing the audience This is where cue cards come into play. If you are having a hard time remembering your script and need pointers to remind you, cue cards are a good alternative to solve that. They prevent you from back facing the audience and increases the engagement rate, but remember not to rely on them for the entire presentation!

2. Redundant animation sounds Just like sound effects in movies, they’re used to emphasize certain motions. Excessive use of this defeats the purpose and may be seen as annoying. Try to avoid using sound effects during a serious presentation as it destroys the atmosphere of a meeting or a pitch.

3. Teammates standing around This could be one of the toughest problems that group presenters encounter during a presentation. Teammates who are not presenting maybe fidgeting or look disinterested, which could distract your audience. In order to stop it from happening, have your team members nod in agreement to what you have to say. However, if they’re not involved, get them to join your audience instead.

4. Long paragraphs of information Based on a study done on 439 people by Dave Paradi, more than half felt annoyed when full sentences are used in Powerpoint. The solution to this is to break down sentences into shorter points, and every slide should only have one message. For example, if you are presenting a new product, separate the functions into different slides. This aids your audience in understanding and gives them a clear focused message.

5. Chewing on sweets/gums Take a look at the boy standing at the far right. Do you notice something?

He has been chewing on a gum since the start of the presentation all the way until the end!

While you’re enjoying your gum, others may see it as ill-mannered. Avoid eating any candies, chocolate, and gum right before your presentation. Chewing on something while presenting will not only be seen as disrespectful, but it will harm your voice projection as well. The best is to keep away from such sweet treats until the end of the presentation.

Nervous Breakdown During Business Presentation

This is a scene from Billable Hours, where Robin suffered a stage fright presenting in front of her peers. Despite having cue cards, she struggled to hold her presentation together.

The greatest takeaway here is to always practice your script beforehand. Practicing helps you retain and generate a flow of key messages. While practising, generate a structure that is easy for you to remember when you’re presenting. It makes you less dependent on cue cards and increases your chances of having eye contact with your audience.

Science Communication Workshop Presentation

Here is a spoof of a science communication workshop presented by Dr Fisher-Kat. Besides the noticeable clutter of words and pictures on a single slide, she was rambling on about the different scientific terms. At 2:10, a lady asked a question, however, she received an insulting reply.

When you’re presenting to people, especially a general audience, it is best to keep things simple. Removing and simplifying terminology will help your audience in understanding. If such terms are needed, explain them in layman terms.

Dealing with questions can be difficult, especially when you’re given a time limit. Using “Can I get back to you later?”, helps you kill two birds with one stone. You will be able to proceed on with your presentation while giving your audience a peace of mind that they will be answered. You can have a short chit-chat with the person after the presentation or simply drop them an email.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIPFrZY–30

Pitching Without Prepared Product

Whether it is pitching to your customers or investors, the most crucial parts are your services and products. But what happens when one fails to work? In this episode of Dragon Dens, an aspiring entrepreneur attempts to demonstrate his service. However, it did not work in his favour, leaving the dragons uninterested and speechless.

The biggest turn off for the investors is when you’re pitching something that does not work. To prevent this from happening, always do checks before going up on stage to do your grand pitch. Similarly, if your pitch requires help from others, remember to remind them of it. Being prepared definitely saves you from embarrassing situations.

Forgetting Your Script

There are two contrasting sides of this presentation, one being an engaging presentation, the other being a really confusing one. We also noticed that he forgot his script for a second in the middle of the presentation. How can we prevent ourselves from being seen as unprepared and confusing?

One way to go about doing this is by structuring your presentation. Stating the purpose of your presentation at the start would definitely help your audience understand better. This can be followed up with points supporting your key messages, and a summary of your main points. A presentation is just like writing an essay, there has to be a logical flow in order for your audience to understand better.

Sean Penn’s 2004 Oscar Speech – For Um-ing Too Much

A speech with flow often comes with tons of practice, but what happens if it is an impromptu speech? How do we give a speech without pausing for too long?

Impromptu speeches may be one of the hardest things to pull off. Besides thinking on your feet, you will have to speak in front of an audience with professionalism. However, these mistakes may seem minute when you’re fully focused on your presentation.

In this example, Sean seems to pull off his thank you speech pretty well except the countless number of times when he paused with an “um”. Though it is said subconsciously, it can make your speech choppy.

One method to avoid excessive pauses is to prep beforehand. You might want to know the background of the situation better before heading up to the stage. This way, you will have a rough idea of what needs to be covered when you’re on the stage.

For example, you will need to give an impromptu speech about your product to a group of investors. You can structure it by starting off with an introduction of yourself and your product, followed by benefits and lastly, sales and thank you. With a rough outline in mind, it could save some awkward pauses on stage and it might eventually impress the investors too.

IABC 2012 World Conference in Chicago

Buzzwords used in corporations around the world were collected and presented by Gerard Braud as an example of what no employee wants a CEO speech to sound like.

Simplifying terms used in your speech helps your audience to digest your content much easier as compared to the different unheard terminologies. When presenting to a general crowd, it is essential to understand that they might not entirely think the same way as you do.

One way to avoid miscommunication and confusion is to think in the audience’s perspective or get your family and friends to listen to you. If they don’t get the message you’re trying to convey, there is a high chance that the actual crowd may not understand it as well. Edit the speech accordingly, practice and you’re good to go!

Were you cringing while watching some of those bad speeches? You’re not the only one. To avoid a similar situation happening during your next speech or sales presentation, follow these tips based on learnings from the bad speeches above:

• Understand your audience
• Structure your key messages in a logical flow
• Prepare and check your props beforehand
• Practice Practice Practice
• Be calm when you face unforeseen circumstances

Prepare for the worst and you’ll never fall victim to a technical, or memory fault.

Article Written By: Kai Xin Koh

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