How do you make your presentations?

This really depends on the objective for the presentation. There are many good practices out there for presentation content (e.g. number of slides, number of bullets per slide) which should be followed by all presenters.

I prefer the TED model - very light on visuals, greater focus on what/how the presenter is saying.

Kiron

I work on the principle that the PPT is to be used as a guide/reference for the audience in which presenter will impart the information. It must be simple, to-the-point and complement the speaker in a manner that the attention is ultimately on the speaker, not the PPT. I prefer a combination of text & visual in my slides -- but always aiming to keep it simple.

PPTs that are crammed with text and/or visuals tend to shift the balance so the audience is trying to focus on what is on the slide and away from the speaker. PPTs should never be used as a script that is used by the presenter to read it to the audience. This is insulting their intelligence and suggests that speaker is not prepared to engage with the audience.

Remember, the audience needs to be focused on the speaker with the speaker providing the cues on when the PPT becomes part of the focus.

I use the following as a guideline for myself. It re-states some of the good advice already made, but also provides some additional viewpoints.

I believe it is helpful to look at a given presentation as a project into and of itself, meaning that you should create a strategic plan and then execute it. From a strategic perspective, you should ask yourself questions such as:

- What are the objectives/goals of the presentation?
- Who are the consumers, what are their roles?
- What is the best content approach to reach these consumers (meaning the possibility exist that you many need variant presentations to properly meet specific roles)?
- What is the “after-life” of your presentation (are you additionally targeting someone you will not be presenting to, but who will likely receive the presentation)?

From the content side, I drive by the following:
- You are telling a story that has a beginning and an end (i.e., a life-cycle).
- Visualization of ideas, concepts, processes, etc., speaks more than words.
- Use simple sequenced animation to focus material (i.e., don’t provide content ahead of yourself).
- Minimize special entrance and exit effects as they can distract from the content.
- Have ancillary assets available that provide lower-level details (put them in as attachments in case they are needed).
- Present slides with a consistent style and approach.
- Build-in checkpoints that allow you to determine if you are on target for meeting your objectives.

- Dry run your content to make sure:
..... It flows well and follows the workflow/process you are speaking to.
..... It has the ability to “stand on its own” and provide value (if needed).
..... It is written in the vernacular of your audiences.
..... It is grammatically correct.

Although this may appear to be overkill, I’m always aware that once I pass on my slides to someone I presented to, that it can end up being consumed by just about anyone in the company. It may be intact, or it may have certain sections copied into another presentation. Either way, whether I want it to or not, I may get “branded” by some executive based on their impression of my presentation or a portion of it. Therefore, I need to build my presentations with that possibility in mind.

Many times presentations are used for more than just actively delivering information. They are also treated as project artifacts and need all the relevant details that the presenter is speaking about. For this reason, I usually would break the presentation document into two parts. First section is lighter with more speaking by the presenter. Second part contains appendices with the details so that the information is delivered all in one document.

Yesterday I happened to watch a YouTube video that fits very well in this discussion. It lasts 8 minutes, worth the time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w82a1FT5o88&t=320s

I have almost thirteen years of Toastmasters that I put into my presentations. Through trial and error, I learned what worked for me and what worked less well for me. (I am not fond of slide decks.) There is no way I can distill it into something generic for everyone. Like everybody else, you will learn by doing.

Every presentation is a story.
Your slides should help you tell the story and hold your audience and you guide them towards your expected outcome.
This approach just works!
And Lius, this just syncs up with "Make your Point, show me your Power"
The power is in the story.

Interesting and pertinent topic, as I'm scheduled to give a workshop in a couple of weeks, and have been preparing a slide deck. I'm approaching 50 plus slides, and realize this will death by 1000 cuts. What I've seen in the past, and as others have mentioned, is just a few key slides, with primarily speaking points like TEDx Talks. Actually this afternoon, I was scheduled to do a mini-workshop for some project staff, but due to timings, etc,, I didn't have time to prepare anything as far as a slide deck, and I just spoke and interacted with the team. I thought it went very well based on their reaction, and feedback, so I think I'll take the same approach now for the workshop.

I have some questions to share with you:
1. How many messages per slide?
2. What can we use to guide audience attention?
3. How big are the letters?
4. What should we avoid if we talk at the same time?
5. What kind of background should we have?
6. How many objects per slide?