Perfectly poised PowerPoint

A perfectly poised and polished speaker or a panic-stricken prattler - it's your choice!

Effective PowerPoint presentation skills elevates a good speech to a phenomenal and remarkable keynote address. Take note of our "Top Ten Perfectly Poised Pointers"  and make a concerted effort to avoid the "Panic-Stricken Pitfalls". They'll soon have you delivering a speech with poise and apparently effortless ease.

First and foremost - give your PowerPoint Presentation the KISS effect - keep it short and simple. Keywords and key phrases highlighting key ideas should be your focus for each slide. Avoid echoing verbatim what you are currently saying, in text on your slides. Pitfall effect :  your audience reads your speech rather than listens to your address.

Secondly,  confidently reinforce that you are the keynote speaker and that you are delivering the address. Guard against hiding behind a PowerPoint presentation that overwhelms your pivotal role. Pitfall effect: The speaker is dwarfed and marginalized by the presentation.

Your third focus  - ensure that your text is bold, visible and clear. A font with simple, clean lines works well here. Resist any temptation that you may have to use a "fancy frilly" font. Pitfall effect : your verbal message is lost as the audience tries to read a  font that is too small or too distracting.

A fourth consideration is to use graphics and clipart wisely and judiciously to enhance your text. One or two well-chosen, theme based graphics has the potential to "paint a thousand words". Less is definitely more here. Too many, and very often largely irrelevant graphics, lead to a sensory overload. Pitfall effect : as the audiences' minds process the graphics, their listening skills diminish.

Number five - you're half way there in our "Top Ten Perfectly Poised Pointers". Contrasting colors are crucial to ensure that the bold text is visibly highlighted against a lighter background or visa versa. Dark-on-dark or light-on-light are not legible. Pitfall effect : a largely redundant PowerPoint presentation  -  if it is not easy to see at  glance - why use it at all?

Your sixth considering is to select your color scheme carefully. Select one or two colors and use them - and only them - consistently throughout your presentation to create a cohesive thread that ties all your slides together. Unity is strength. A rainbow palette of colors may be very pretty - but our aim here... is effective, not pretty. Pitfall effect : visually appealing, but that's about all!

Number seven is all about timing. Leave your slide on the screen long enough so that the audience has time to assimilate your message [no "flashers" please], but not for so long that the audience becomes restless. Pitfall effect: the audience is concentrating on trying to keep up or trying not to look too bored. Either way, effective listening is undermined.
The eighth "perfectly, poised pointer" is to pay attention to slide transitions. Try to be relatively consistent and keep a similar them-based transition. Yet again - keep it short and simple. Slides screeching in from every direction are a "no-man's-land" - enter at your own peril. Pitfall effect : it's a bit like a fireworks display - beautiful while it lasts, but forgotten soon afterward.

Your ninth pointer  - inform your audience before you begin your presentation that you have prepared hand-outs for them on your address [that you will be distributing after your presentation].  Pitfall effect: if you hand your notes out before your address, your audience may focus on reading the handouts. If the audience doesn't think they will be receiving any notes, then they may hurriedly be trying to take their own notes as you speak.

Your final and most important tenth pointer is YOU! You must face your audience and maintain eye contact. You must prepare exceptionally well  and research diligently. You must  use body language to enhance your message. You are the star of the show - go for it!

A perfectly poised and <a href="http://www.find-the-words.com">polished presentation</a>

Lianne is at http://www.find-the-words.com, a site that offers words of wisdom and universal samples of free written speeches. You will find speech templates and outlines easily adapted and personalized, public speaking tips and effective communication skills. Free sample speeches for all occasions at your fingertips.