Use personal anecdotes and humour but dont tell jokes

Presentations. Love them or hate them, at some point we'll all have to do them. So here are our top 10 tips for successful presentations.

1. Your audience may have preconceptions so do your best to manage their concerns. You do this by reassurance and empathy with the audience and demonstrating your understanding.

2. Put key points at the start and end of each section. This is what we're most likely to remember about your presentation.

3. Introduce each concept as if it's an elevator pitch; 30 seconds to summarise will be enough to establish interest and set expectations.

4. Use personal anecdotes and humour but don't tell jokes! The punchline could just fall flat...

5. Remember to ensure outcomes are met, and recap on them.

6. Get feedback from the audience by asking questions. Interactivity is great in presentations and your delegates will leave far more satisfied than if they are just "talked at."

7. Focus on your attendees; phrase points from their perspective, use their language wherever possible.

8. Prepare, prepare, prepare. But prepare to be flexible; questions will inevitably arise and you need to be confident enough to answer them.

9. If it goes wrong in any way; take it in your stride. What's the worst that can happen? If your technology fails you, then you know your subject and can continue without it can't you?

10. Have fun! If you have fun, your audience will too.

It seems to be something of a misconception that we must present with PowerPoint, give out handouts and follow a tried and tested formula. I have trained many courses over the years and attendees have expressed surprise that I have not used PowerPoint slides very much in the courses. PowerPoint is a fantastic tool for presentations, but only if the presenter is good too. Without a speaker who knows their stuff, we're just left with a bunch of slides that may or may not mean something to us.

My favourite presentations are the ones that are interactive, where the presenter works the room and not just the laser pointer.

Ask loads of questions of your audience when you present, make them feel part of the proceedings and let them contribute. It's such a nice feeling as an audience member to be a participant and not just a spectator.

If you are a nervous presenter, getting interactive with your audience will settle your nerves, and also means you're not doing everything. This gives you time to breathe and think about what's coming next.

Be yourself, enjoy, don't read from your slides.
It seems to be something of a misconception that we must present with PowerPoint, give out handouts and follow a tried and tested formula. I have trained many courses over the years and attendees have expressed surprise that I have not used PowerPoint slides very much in the courses. PowerPoint is a fantastic tool for presentations, but only if the presenter is good too. Without a speaker who knows their stuff, we're just left with a bunch of slides that may or may not mean something to us.

My favourite presentations are the ones that are interactive, where the presenter works the room and not just the laser pointer.

Ask loads of questions of your audience when you present, make them feel part of the proceedings and let them contribute. It's such a nice feeling as an audience member to be a participant and not just a spectator.

If you are a nervous presenter, getting interactive with your audience will settle your nerves, and also means you're not doing everything. This gives you time to breathe and think about what's coming next.
Paula Jones is a qualified coach at Sugarbox Coaching and works with small business owners who are struggling with motivation or the pressures of mid-life. Turning a crisis into an opportunity for business and personal growth is a speciality.