Here are my top tips for giving great presentations based on going to and speaking at dozens and dozens of conferences and being inspired (or copying) other people's techniques.

1. (Mad) Presentation skillz
Some advice that may or may not be helpful,
depending on what you need to know, what type of
presentation you need to give, your audience and
other unknown unknowns
@jon_bedford, September 2014

2. What we’ll cover today
What you find difficult
Caveats
Structure & storytelling
An exercise
Posture, diction, tone
Another exercise
Making pretty slides/making slides pretty

3. That was an “agenda” slide
But I didn’t call it an “agenda” because agendas are boring.

4. Top tip #1
Choose your
words carefully

5. What do you find most difficult when giving a presentation?
• Nerves, composure – and then remembering what to say
• Turning things into a story that people can easily follow and that makes logical sense

• [insert a funny sentence here so people chuckle when they read]
• I basically read the bits that are up on the screen (which everyone can do for
themselves anyway), rather than tell the story
• ‘off the cuff’ presenting – i.e. when presentation doesn’t necessarily require an actual
prepared presentation.
• Getting a good slide image that captures the intent, funny and new..
• I worry that people lose focus and engagement. So I’d love to know some sure fire
ways of keeping people interested and engaged, if that’s even a thing!

6. Top tip #2
Never reveal
more than one
line of text

7. What do you find most difficult when giving a presentation?
Nerves, composure, and remembering what to say
Turning things into a story
I basically read the bits that are up on the screen
‘off the cuff’ presenting
Getting a good slide image
How to keep people interested and engaged

8. Caveats
Different people learn/listen in different ways
What works for me, might not work for you
Practice makes perfect

9. How I used to do it wrong

10. Let’s start with a story
www.flickr.com/photos/umjanedoan/496707576/

11. The basic story arc

12. (re-creating images in your design style looks better)
Exposition
Climax
Denouement

13. Storytelling (as I was taught by @charlotteharris)
Tell them what
you’re going
to tell them
Tell them
Tell them what
you told them

14. Monomyth - the hero’s journey
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monomyth

15. Cinderella’s hero’s journey

16. I iz in ur presos
Telling ur storiez

17. How to help structure your story
Who’s the audience? What will they respond to?
What do you want them to think afterwards?
List your key messages. Or write an agenda.

18. Top tip #3
Remember
the rule of
three

19. (here I did a little NLP
exercise to get people to
visualise giving a
presentation)

20. What do you find most difficult when giving a presentation?
Nerves, composure – and then remembering what to say
Turning things into a story that people can easily follow and that makes logical sense 
I basically read the bits that are up on the screen (which everyone can do for themselves
anyway), rather than tell the story
‘off the cuff’ presenting – i.e. when presentation doesn’t necessarily require an actual
prepared presentation.
Getting a good slide image that captures the intent, funny and new..
I worry that people lose focus and engagement. So I’d love to know some sure fire ways
of keeping people interested and engaged, if that’s even a thing!

21. Top tip #4
Interact with
your audience

22. What we’ll cover today
What you find difficult
Caveats
Structure & storytelling
An exercise
Posture, diction, tone
Another exercise
Making pretty slides/making slides pretty

23. Bad posture
www.flickr.com/photos/kaibara/4338318506

24. Good posture
www.flickr.com/photos/tarnalberry

25. Speak from your diaphragm
http://thevoicenotes.com/

26. Diction

27. Tone - project

28. It’s exercise time!

29. Repeat after me...
1. Ah-blah, alligator; blah-blah, anticipator
2. Beckoned Becky, boasted Bobby, believed babbling Brooke.
3. Can't David Eat Fish, Gail?
4. Honduras has horrible hamburgers.
5. In Jeffrey Kemp's last meeting, no one presentation remained solid.
6. Trust the tongue twisters to tickle that tongue.
7. Ugly vampires wear extraordinarily yellow zippers.
8. Alligators - Baboons - Cats - Dogs - Elephants - Fish
9. Gorillas - Horses - Iguanas - Jaguars - Kangaroos
10. Llamas - Monkeys - Newts - Octopus - Porcupines
11. Quail - Rabbits - Snakes - Turtles - Unicorns - Yaks - Zebra
http://procw.hubpages.com/hub/voice-warmups

30. Top tip #5
Speak slower
than normal

31. What we’ll cover today
What you find difficult
Caveats
Structure & storytelling
An exercise
Posture, diction, tone
Another exercise
Making pretty slides/making slides pretty

32. @harvjm:
“Keep it
simple”

33. DO - use great images that help tell your story
www.flickr.com/photos/rdes/14786856970

34. Don’t – overlay colours that people can’t read
www.flickr.com/photos/rdes/14786856970

35. Do – use photo attribution
www.flickr.com/photos/christiantlambert/8728681573

36. Do – use flickr

37. Don’t – use google images

38. Do – try freeimages.com

39. Do – try thestocks.im
(via @leharvs)

40. Don’t - use clipart

41. Do - use animations sparingly

42. Remember this?
Tell them what
you’re going
to tell them
Tell them
Tell them what
you told them

43. What we covered today
What you find difficult
Caveats
Structure & storytelling
An exercise
Posture, diction, tone
Another exercise
Making pretty slides/making slides pretty

44. 5 Top tips
1. Choose your words carefully
2. Never reveal more than one line of text
3. Remember the rule of three (unlike this list)
4. Interact with your audience
5. Speak slower than normal

45. Homework
Deliver a 3-5 minute presentation next time
Suggested topic – something you’re interested in
Tell us a story you know well
(the point of this was to get people to put into practice what they’d learnt in a
friendly environment, talking about something they knew so they’d already
feel more confident about the topic

46. Appendix

47. If you read one thing...
Read this

48. Design resources
• http://webdesign.tutsplus.com/articles/30-awesome-free-fonts-for-kick-ass-web-
designs--webdesign-1141
• http://www.labnol.org/software/tutorials/advice-select-best-fonts-for-powerpoint-
presentation-slides/3355/
• http://www.slideshare.net/itseugene/7-tips-to-beautiful-powerpoint-by-itseugenec
• http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2008/07/a-trio-of-aweso.html

49. Storytelling tips
• http://www.ted.com/talks/nancy_duarte_the_secret_struct
ure_of_great_talks?language=en
• http://blog.slideshare.net/2010/11/29/david-armanos-approach-
to-preparing-and-delivering-presentations/
• http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=8655775