You’re not prepared before the presentation

If you don’t prepare for your presentation, things are going to go horribly wrong. You need to have all the information you need about your presentation on hand.

Make sure you know the topic of your talk, who is coming to hear it and the time frame in which it needs to be done. If you’re not familiar with the topic, do some research so that you can speak with confidence. If there is a slideshow involved, make sure it’s up-to-date before the presentation and that it’s easy to read from a variety of angles.

You talk too much

This is a common mistake that many people make. It’s understandable if you’re nervous, but talking too much is the worst thing you can do in a presentation. If you talk too much, your audience will lose focus and start to get bored. The goal of your presentation is to keep the attention of your audience, not bore them to death.

Keep this in mind when it’s time for your next presentation: less is more. You have about six minutes total to talk about each slide. After that, you need to move on to the next point. As tempting as it may be, don’t be afraid to say “let me show you” instead of talking about something that can be shown with a visual aid like a PowerPoint slide or video.

You talk too little

about your work

So, you have some of the best design skills in the world. You’re a genius at what you do. But you can’t even get your foot in the door because you don’t speak about your work enough. You might be thinking, “What does he mean? I talk about my work all the time!” But that’s not good enough! You need to creatively weave it into your speech. Not only do you want to make sure you name off that school or company on occasion, but you also want to show off your skills while discussing your experience with them. Showing is better than telling and a well-designed portfolio can help illustrate what’s really important: how great you really are at what you do.

You use bad visual aids

Visual aids are a great way to convey your message to the audience. But if you don’t know how to use them effectively, they can really hurt your presentation. The key is to make sure that you’re using visual aids that make sense for your topic and audience. You wouldn’t show a spreadsheet with two columns of numbers in front of an art history class, now would you? So if you’re not sure what type of visual aids will work best, think about what will help your audience understand your message the best.

You don’t practice enough

Presentation is not about just standing up and giving a speech. It’s about the delivery, the content, and how you engage your audience. If you want to be taken seriously, it’s not about reciting lines. You need to practice and rehearse your presentation over and over again so that it flows seamlessly when you go live.

The first step is to nail down your message or key takeaway point. Find out what the goal of the presentation is and make sure that everything you say ties back to it. Keep in mind that this doesn’t have to be complicated – as long as your point is clear, it will resonate with your audience. Practice out loud to hear how words sound when spoken vs when read silently in writing. Work on speed and accuracy of pronunciation, enunciation, volume level, intonation, inflection (word emphasis), gestures/facial expression – this will all help you be more confident while presenting.

You don’t stay engaged

There’s a big difference between delivering a presentation and being engaged in it. You can’t be your best self if you’re not fully engaged with what you’re doing. If you want to make the most of your presentation, use these tips:

1) Make sure you have a clear objective for each slide. This will let people know what they’re viewing, and how it relates back to the rest of the content.

2) Break up large blocks of text. If people are reading for too long, they’ll get bored and lose interest in the material.

3) Keep your slides simple. A lot of times, people try to do too much at once, which just confuses their audience.

4) Engage with your audience throughout the presentation. Give them eye contact and ask questions. Also, make sure they know when you’ve moved on to a new topic or idea

5) Try to change up the pace during your presentation; don’t go too fast or too slow

You’re not authentic

When you’re presenting to a group of people, it’s important that you feel confident and comfortable. That’s easier when you’re honest with yourself. If your presentation is a facade, people will see through that pretty quickly. It doesn’t take long for your audience to figure out you’re not authentic, which can make them lose interest in what you’re saying.

Wrapping up

When you’re wrapping up your presentation, you need to make sure that the person on the other end of the line knows how to act next. This isn’t a time to sit there and wait for a response. Tell them what they should do right after the presentation. If it’s a meeting, tell them what their next steps are. If it’s a potential client, tell them when they’ll hear back from you.