Ron Bratt, San Diego Debate Expert, on Making Presentations

We all prepare and make presentations for various purposes, ranging from educational to the professional. When preparing a good presentation, emphasis should be put on ensuring clarity while also connecting with the audience more effectively. Well prepared PowerPoint presentations can be such effective tools of conveying ideas and arguing them out effectively. Here are some key tips to observe whenever preparing a quality presentation.

Be Thorough
When preparing a presentation, the first thing you should endeavor to do is to obtain the right content for the subject or topic. Much research should be done to ensure that the points you argue to the audience are well informed. Depending on your topic, you may even choose to quote some statistics and other publications as a way of sounding more professional and convincing.

Observe the Right Content Volume
The volume of content in a PowerPoint presentation should be just right. Experts argue that each slide in the presentation should not have more than six words. The idea here is to ensure that your slides are as brief as possible. If you desire to add more content, it should be within the explanations that you will make towards the slide points. The overall length of the presentation should be relatively short and not last for more than 20 minutes.

Use Visual Enhancements
To spruce up your PowerPoint presentation, you should endeavor to use good graphics and fonts that are not only visible but also legible and attractive. Some of the graphics that you may think of incorporating include images as well as other summative graphics like charts, tables, and graphs.

Demonstrate Passion
During the actual presentation, you should show some passion in order to connect more with your audience. Such passion can be gained by you taking a few minutes of your time before to rehearse on the key points that you're going to argue and demonstrate during the presentation session. When on stage, you should preferably not stand on one spot. Walking around the stage helps you to connect more with the audience.

Leverage on Technology
When making the presentation, you should endeavor to apply some technology such as using a remote to help transition between slides. A laser pointer could also help you highlight a few points on the presentation board or screen in order to capture the attention of the audience. This will ultimately make things more efficient when you’re presenting.

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This article was originally published on ronbrattdebate.com

About the Author

Ron Bratt is a CEO in the San Diego, California area. For many years, Ron has dedicated his life to helping aspiring orators hone their competitive debate skills. Capital Classic Debate was established as an independent LLC in 2012, allowing it to expand across the United States, China, and Taiwan.

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