The Art of Making Presentations

This probably is the first time I am writing about something other than movies, food, politics, sports or travel! One of the reasons is that many a times my friends and readers of this blog have asked me why I am not writing anything related to work. The second and the most important reason is that I have been working on some slides for the past one week or so and I felt if everyone would take care of some points while putting their slides together, things will become easier and better for all.

I do not claim to be an authority in making presentations but I think keeping the following points in mind will help:

1. A PPT is different from a Word document. One should not write long sentences and paragraphs on slides. Brief pointers would suffice. Grammar is not important
2. To the maximum extent possible, follow the six by six rule. 6 words in every bullet point and 6 bullet points on every slide (Thanks to my ex Boss for this idea! It makes the slides look sexy ;-))
3. Include only relevant points on your slide. Points that are outside of the scope of the presentation overcrowd the presentation and make it dull
4. Do not read out the slides to the audience. The audience can read the contents of the slides. Focus on explaining the contents of the slide in your own language. You can skip points that are self explanatory
5. You should always be comfortable with the slides. You should be aware of what is the contents of each slide. You should not start speaking about slide 17 when you are on slide 7
6. Arrange your slides in logical order. The contents of the slide should not confuse the audience
7. Always make sure you hold the audience's interest. Maintain a comfortable posture, keep good eye contact, prompt the audience to join the discussion and always be open for questions
8. Do not hesitate to use a White Board or Chart Board to explain your points if you feel that would make a better impact
9. Be cheerful and look confident while presenting your slides
10. If you feel entertaining a question would deviate from the subject of your slide, you can decide to take it offline with the permission of the audience
11. Do not try to beautify your slides unnecessarily by adding background images etc. The contents of the slide should be clear and nothing should drive away the focus of the audience from the contents
12. Last but not the least, circulate the slides to the audience after you are done with the presentation

These are some points that I felt we need to be careful about. If any of you feel something can be added to the list above, please dont hesitate to use the comments link below :-)

Happy Presentations!