I've had the pleasure of sitting through more than 4000 presentations at our own and others' conferences over the years (think of it like this: 10 conferences per year, 20 presentations at each conference, 20 years of going to industry conferences). In that time, I have seen some really terrific presentations, where the audience was literally on the edge of its seat, and where listeners waited for every utterance as if their lives depended upon it. I have also heard a few presentations that were not so good. I thought I would take the opportunity to give a few hints to potential speakers...
What not to do...
- Don't read from a script, even if you think you need to. One of the best presentations I ever saw started as a deadly-dull script-based talk. Half way through, the presenter lost his place and did the rest from memory - it was excellent.
- Don't stand too close to the microphone: think of your listeners. You wouldn't shout in their ears... and standing at at sensible distance from the mike also avoids 'popping,' where a pronounced 'p' can make an amplified booming sound.
- Don't have too many slides: I once saw a guy try to get through 125 slides in 25 minutes (that's 12 second per slide). 15 slides should be your absolute maximum.
- Don't try to be too clever (as my brother says to me, 'it doesn't suit you.') If you get lost in your own powerpoint, you will have lost your audience a long time ago.
- Don't talk too fast, especially if you have a strong accent. This applies to native-English speakers as well!
- Never ask for questions: even if you have given a good talk, and you ask for questions at the end, you will inevitably be confronted by an embarrassing silence. At the end, simply say "Thank you very much." There will be applause: Then the chairman will ask for questions. Simple.
- Don't try to get too much information across: If you can only get the audience to take home three pieces of information (which might still be asking too much) consider which three are most important (to you*)...
What to do...
- Follow the instructions for authors - supply all the materials and hit all the deadlines (the conference convenor/moderator is your friend... don't rile him!)
- When you get to the conference, check to make sure that your presentation runs as you expect it to (including any movies).
- Familiarise yourself with the lecturn/computer/microphone/laser pointer etc. On the day, don't blame anyone else if you didn't do your homework!
- Tell a story. All good presentations have a start, a middle and an end. Often it might be 'We had a problem, this is what we did to fix it and this is how it all turned out.' Or it might be 'The industry is in this situation, we've invented machine X, this is how it can benefit you.' A good talk needs a structure. Take the audience on a journey.
- Use pictures or video to help tell your story (but make sure that you have supplied your video in a format that can be used by the conference computers).
- Think about your audience at all times: What will make them listen to you and take on board what you are telling them? Be authentic - this is crucial.
- Content is king: *Think about what the audience will find most useful as a take-home as well.
- Make all slides readable from the back: I've lost count of the number of times I've heard "You might not be able to read this, but..." If in doubt, leave it out.
- Open your mouth to let the words come out. Use your voice carefully: not too high or too low, not too fast or too slow: speak carefully and be mindful of the power of silence.
- Use body language if required: connect with your audience (for example by trying to look into the eyes of every one of your listeners at least once during the presentation).
- Smile: the audience wants you to succeed!
