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Avoid These Presentation Pitfalls

Written by: Ken Wisnefski

Article Overview: Do you know what not to do during a presentation? Falling into a pitfall can be detrimental to the image of your business. Be sure to steer clear of the following.

Avoid These Presentation Pitfalls

Introduction-


Everyone works on what they want to cover in a presentation. Do you know what not to do? Presentations are a reflection on you, your business, and your integrity. Bad impressions usually leave an indelible mark, so you want to be sure your presentation is not marred with mistakes.
The following article addresses several points of what not to do during a presentation.

Using bullet points as a crutch-


Bullet points often appear in presentations; yet, they should be used as a starting point and not merely read point-by-point. Remember, a presentation is meant to connect with the listeners. This means stimulating their senses and not reading off a screen.
Your goal is to engage the listener. Do not be predictable. Approach the topic from multiple yet germane angles. Use a diversified approach in giving your presentation. Use slides, charts, graphics, activities, etc. to maintain interest.



Make things legible-


When possible, know the layout of your presentation venue and make sure that your presentation will be vivid and noticeable for every person in the room. Make all labels, pictures, charts, etc. easily seen for all participants. If there is a possibility someone cannot see, be sure to describe in words what needs to be seen.



Do not be boring-


Presentations have an unfortunate reputation – to be boring. Do not live up to the preconception. It may take some thinking and preparation to do something different, interesting, and educational, but it will be well worth it after the presentation when you know that you engaged the participants.
Some are hesitant to use humor, because that seems to be antithetical to being in business. This is not necessarily true- if you are passionate and serious about your business, then using humor to get your information across is not a bad thing.



Assume your audience has some background-


If you are giving a presentation to your peers, it is safe to assume they are well endowed with the basics of the industry. You do not want to reiterate findings they could have spent two minutes extracting from an article or a book jacket. Find a fresh way to connect the information to something else or create a new perspective on established knowledge.



Make things uniform-


People attempt to add intrigue to their presentations by implementing various colors and font sizes. This could confuse the viewers and make the presentation appear sloppy. Maintain a single style throughout.



Be sure to proofread-


Make sure you proofread your content. It will not look good on your part if your presentation is tarnished with poor spelling and grammatical errors. Have others proof your content in addition to going over it additional times yourself.

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Article Tags: bullet points, presentation



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