Tips to Avoid Common Presentation Mistakes

I have a confession to make. I have been guilty of putting people to sleep during my presentations. Unfortunately, not once, but many times. I could blame it on the complexities of tech topics or the dryness of the subject. I could always console myself by saying that at least it's not as sleep-inducing as financial presentations (sorry, my friends in Finance). Deep down, though, I knew that even the most complicated and dry topics could come alive. As with anything, it's a skill and can be improved upon. Thus, I turned to my friend Christopher Chin, Communication Coach for Tech Professionals, for some much-needed advice. He shared these 5 presentation tips guaranteed to leave a lasting impression: 1/ Speak to Their Needs, Not Your Wants Don’t just say what you like talking about or what your audience wants to hear. Say what your audience needs to hear based on their current priorities and pain points: that sets your presentation up to be maximally engaging 2/ Slides Support, You Lead Slides are not the presentation. You are the presentation. Your slides should support your story and act as visual reinforcement rather than as the main star of the show.  Consider holding off on making slides until you have your story clear. That way, you don’t end up making more slides than you need or making slides more verbose than you need 3/ Start with a Bang, Not a Whisper The beginning of a presentation is one of the most nerve-wracking parts for you as the speaker and one of the most attention-critical parts for your audience. If you don’t nail the beginning, there’s a good chance you lose the majority of people. Consider starting with something that intrigues your audience, surprises them, concerns them, or makes them want to learn more. 4/ Think Conversation, Not Presentation One-way presentations where the speaker just talks “at” the audience lead to dips in attention and poorer reception of the material. Consider integrating interactive elements like polls and Q&A throughout a presentation (rather than just at the very end) to make it feel more like a conversation. 5/ Finish Strong with a Clear CTA We go through all the effort of preparing, creating, and delivering a presentation to cause some change in behavior. End with a powerful call to action that reminds your audience why they were in attendance and what they should do as soon as they leave the room. By integrating these, you won't just present; you'll captivate. Say goodbye to snoozing attendees and hello to a gripped audience. 😴 Repost if you've ever accidentally put someone to sleep with a presentation. We've all been there!

I was sitting in a meeting, and a graph popped up during the presentation. It had five different colors, two types of chart elements (bars and lines), and it told multiple stories. I didn’t know where to look. My eyes – and brain – eventually gave up. The five-second rule (not the one about dropping food on the ground!) came from user research, and it measures how effectively information is communicated to the audience within the first five seconds. Originally used for testing web pages, it is now a recommended guide for interactive visual images – like infographics, charts, etc. Before you insert a complex graph into a presentation, I beg you to step away from your Excel file and consider the following: ☑ Can an audience understand this in five seconds? ☑ Is there a better way to tell this in a narrative? ☑ Is the chart necessary? If so, how can it be simplified? Does it have a clear title? Easy elements to understand? Remember, the more data points you have in a visual, the harder it is for your audience to know where to focus. And, if they are trying to figure out an image, they aren’t listening to you! Also, you have the curse of knowledge. You’ve been staring at this data for longer than five seconds. You are assuming your audience will know more than they do! Data is only helpful IF your audience can understand it; otherwise, it’s a reason for them to tune out! What are your tricks for simplifying complex information in presentations? I break charts into one or two slides, and I tell a story with them. Your audience needs to know why this chart matters to them! (I also avoid all the fancy options like 3D and breaking up pie charts! Simplicity for the win!) #CommunicationTips Image credit: visme dot com

I’ve spent the past few weeks working with a group of speakers preparing for a large corporate event, and I keep seeing the same 5 pitfalls. It felt right to share here on LinkedIn, because it’s relevant for anyone pitching a client, presenting to your team, or speaking on a stage: 1. Resist the urge to lead with an intro, "Hi, my name is." Start with a strong hook - a question, a statement that announces the problem you’re about to solve, instead of leading by introducing yourself. And let’s please stop going around with some “hot start” where your entire team gives intros in a cheeky way for a new business pitch or client presentation. Just introduce yourself before you’re about to speak and then go into what problem you’ll be solving for the client if they hire you. 2. Establish the stakes. Why is the work you’re doing so important? What would happen if you didn’t do it? What are the stakes of the problem or challenge you’re outlining? 3. Tell a personal story. If you can take a personal story (yours, a customers, someone your work impacted) and thread it through the talk or presentation, everyone in the room will walk away remembering some part of that person’s journey. They’ll visualize the person, they’ll develop an emotional connection to them, and they’ll remember your talk long after it’s over. 4. Practice your steps and hand gestures. Choreography is a big part of presenting, and far too many people focus only on the words they’re saying. I am someone who speaks with my hands, which can be distracting on stage. That’s why when I’m preparing for a talk, I run through how I will walk around on the stage and when I will stop to make a point. Ask me about the triangle method I learned while prepping for my TEDx talk! Be aware of your body but not too self conscious of it. Move your hands so they add emphasis but don’t distract. Record yourself walking around your office or living room rehearsing, even if it makes you cringe. This will help you make any necessary adjustments as you go. 5. Focus on ONE message. Be clear on the one major takeaway you want people to remember after you leave the stage, the room, the meeting. Don’t muddle your message or try to communicate too many things in too little time. Keep going back to your one main thing. Repeat it if you have to. Make your point, and don’t dilute the point with tangents or unnecessary details. Restate your point in closing. What else makes or breaks a great presentation? I’d love to hear your best advice!

𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭? When I ask, “How long is your presentation?” and my client answers, “Twelve slides,” I know we’re in trouble. 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞. If you start building your presentation by creating slides, you may be sabotaging what could be a brilliant message. 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭. 𝐒𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫. Use a whiteboard, flip chart, or legal pad to plan what you want to say and why it matters. Once that’s clear, ask: “Where do visuals help tell my story better?” 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝟑 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥: Use fewer words. Your audience can't read and listen at the same time. Spread your content across more slides, use fewer words, and great visuals to communicate your ideas. 𝐆𝐨 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝. Want the audience’s attention on you, not the screen? Press “B” for black. It’s a pro move that brings eyes and focus right back to the speaker. 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. Does your slide deck look like it could work for anyone? Personalize it. Add their logo. Refer to their priorities. Speak their language. 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲. When I was delivering a virtual presentation for SHRM in Mexico, I removed every image of people and replaced them with pictures of people from Mexico. A week later, I presented to SHRM in Barbados. Yes, you guessed it. These images were replaced with people who live in Barbados. The content was the same as I would deliver in the US. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫… 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. #presentationskillsexpert #keynotespeaker #publicspeaking #frippvt

I find myself wanting to rip the laser pointer out of someone’s hand as they make a presentation.   I want to see the data on the slides, so I just can’t look away. But I might lose my breakfast here.   The speaker doesn’t seem to understand that the laser pointer is a tool to highlight critical points. They’re shaking the green light across every sentence on the slide. It’s nauseating to watch.     This week at the American Chemical Society Fall National Meeting I saw some great talks, and others (like this one) that had all the #science in them to be great but made a few fatal errors.   Beyond using the laser pointer with abandon, I’ve come up with a list of things to absolutely avoid when giving a #research talk.   ⏱️ Ignoring time. If you have 20 minutes, write a 15 min talk and leave room for questions. Don’t write a 30 minute talk and rush through it. Your audience will have whiplash. 👩🦰 Forgetting the audience’s needs. You know what you did. We don’t. Craft a story to tell us what you did, how you did it, why it matters. The talk is for them, not you. 🦸🏻♀️ Telling the audience how amazing you are/your work is. Let the science speak for itself and convince us of your expertise through the work. Show us, don’t tell us. 🙅🏻♀️ Overloading the talk with content. In 15 minutes, you can make 3 points. You must decide what are the most critical pieces of information to share, and what details to leave out of the talk. 💡 Adding way too much text, animations and images. Keep your slides neat and focused. Remember that they can be just as much of a distraction as a help. 🙇🏻♀️ Dismissing questions. Sure, maybe you think you said it in your talk, but if someone has a question, it shows they are interested in your work. Answer questions graciously and without annoyance.

I have some bad news for analysts. Especially those who are really good at their job. You’ve been cursed. More specifically, you have the curse of knowledge - the tendency to assume that others know what you know. (Google it - it’s real!) Not sure if you have the curse? Well, have you ever spent hours analyzing data, crafting what feels like a clear, thorough presentation… only to be met with a) blank stares, or b) questions with answers you thought were painfully obvious? This happens to all of us. And the more knowledgeable you are, the harder it is to put yourself in your audience’s shoes. The problem? If we can’t clearly communicate our insights or meet our audiences where they are, we’ll never change minds or inspire action. So what can you do? ➤ Zoom out before you zoom in Start with what your audience cares about, not what you analyzed. Frame the problem before the details. ➤ Design for clarity, not completeness Prioritize what matters. Simplify visuals, cut fluff, and really nail down your key message. ➤ Test your message with a non-expert Share your presentation with someone outside your domain. If they get it, your real audience will too. The goal isn’t to dumb it down. It’s to bridge the gap between what you know and what your audience needs to understand. —-— 👋🏼 I’m Morgan. I share my favorite data viz and data storytelling tips to help other analysts (and academics) better communicate their work.