Northern Illinois University
Effective Presentation Skills Tutorial

Logistics

• Time available for the presentation
• Type of audience (faculty, students, client, etc.)
• Type of attire to wear
• Impact of the presentation (e.g. evaluated for a grade)
• Location of the presentation
• Delivery technologies available for the presentation
• Present alone, or as part of a team or panel
• Prepare handouts to distribute to audience members or not
• Alternatives, in case some of the above change at the last minute

Preparation and Design

• Purpose of the presentation – inform, persuade, entertain, honor, educate, etc.
• Presentation has an outline
• Presentation has a beginning, middle and end
• Opening statement attracts audience's attention
• Main points of sections have an order – chronological, causal, spatial, topical, problem-solution, etc.
• Type of audio-visuals to use – slides, audio, video clips, real or scaled objects, etc.
• Background of slides is simple and not distracting
• Font size (headings at least 28 pts and bullets at least 24 pts) – large enough to read from the last row of the room
• Style of titles of slides are distinguishable from bullet points
• Each slide has no more than 5 to 7 bullet points
• Each bullet point is not more than 2 to 3 lines, and are phrases but not complete sentences (unless it is a quote or a definition)
• Titles and bullet points are consistent in font size throughout the presentation
• Color contrast between background and bullet points is appropriate
• Slides do not have inappropriate or unnecessary graphics or clip art
• Presentation material has been proof-read and spell-checked thoroughly
• Content (text, quotes, figures, tables) from external sources include in-text citations and corresponding references at the end
• Sound system is adequate to listen to the video or audio clips, if any, included in the presentation
• Screen size and resolution are adequate for viewing video clips
• Presentation has been rehearsed, and timing is adequate for the allotted duration
• Coordinated with other presenters, if it is a team or panel presentation

Delivery

• Any planned interactions with the audience have been rehearsed
• The pace of delivery is consistent for all the sections of the presentation
• There are no unnecessary fillers or sentence starters in the delivery
• Delivery technologies have been checked and work properly
• Gestures, eye contact, and body language are appropriate for the presentation
• Prepared responses for anticipated questions are appropriate
• Prepared conclusion ends the presentation appropriately, and does not end it abruptly
• Attire chosen to wear for the presentation is appropriate for the presentation context
• Any demonstration of software has been verified in advance to make sure it works properly
• Handouts, if any, are readable as hardcopy of presentation slides