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7 Costly Presentation Mistakes Every Speaker Must Avoid!


Bullets Kill

Too many bullet points are a nightmare for your audience. Seeing a block of text with a dozen bullet points is when your audience may check out of your presentation. Excessive text is a simple problem to fix but when left unchecked can cause major issues.

When you do have bullets, don’t just read the bullet points out loud. The audience doesn’t need a speaker to read the bullets; they need the speaker to incorporate the bullets as a supplement to their speech.

Words, or even sentences, are not inherently a bad thing to add to a slide and can even be helpful. It’s important to remember that a picture is worth a thousand words and that the right image may be what you need to best illustrate a point. Pictures and graphics remain in people’s memories and may help them to remember the important points after your presentation is done.

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Everyone hates when their time is wasted, so don’t waste your audience’s time. Some presenters may start late or end later then the advertised time, which makes them look unprofessional and be seen as unprepared. Most of your audience will have other things to do after you speak so don’t be rude and make them late for their next appointment. It’s better to have them leave in a good space rather then walking out because you took too long.

If your presentation goes quicker than the estimated time frame, it is perfectly fine to jump to questions. Remember to allow enough time for all questions but if there are fewer questions than you’ve allowed time for, then go ahead and end early. The audience will be grateful for not wasting their time.

Another form of disrespect is reading your slides word for word to your audience. It makes them feel stupid like they can’t read. If you must read your slides then just project your slides and leave the stage. You’re not needed if they can read the slides and that’s all there is.

Remember, you’re the expert. Provide them with value and share your message with stories. Your sharing and well thought out visuals will have them remember you long after your presentation is done.

Disrespecting Your Audience2


Don’t overuse images simply to add flair to your presentations. Adding funny pictures that may or may not be relevant to your slide show only takes away from the professionalism of your talk.

The images you choose should always show or add something specific to your message. Remember, pictures are worth a thousand words and they should be treated as such. The right image should be used to convey emotion, context, or to make information - like a graph or pie chart - more easily understood.

As often as possible, show the image full screen to provide maximum impact when you are sharing your story or information. You’ll be surprised at how well the audience appreciates this simple fix.

Meaningless Images3


An easy way to lose your audience is to use pointless animations. While you may mean well by intending to use them to keep your audience engaged, most animations or transitions can only do harm. Wild animations will make you appear tacky and amateurish while using tasteful animations on a limited basis will give the impression that you are an expert on your subject.

There is a way to keep your audience engaged by using pictures, good speaking skills, and short yet engaging stories. If you must use an animation to reveal points on your slides, use a simple fade or wipe. On a rare occasion, you can use a more dramatic transition like a push or random bars. Be thoughtful with what you choose to make sure it fits the subject and delivery of your content. My favorite transition is a fade and on a rare occasion I’ll use a ripple or curtains once or twice.

The Dangers of Animations & Transitions4


Sometimes the presenter feels like they must include a ton of information on each slide. This will result in important information being pushed to the edges barely squeezed onto the intended slide. This can result in important topics not getting the time they deserve.

Bring important points to the forefront by giving each main topic its own slide to share only with its subtopics. For example, a presentation on population issues could have one main slide for the statistics and its breakouts could be one statistic per slide. Depending on how detailed you want to be, those subtopics may be able to hold their own perfectly well when placed with appropriate phrases and images.

Not Another Eye Chart!5


Have you ever seen a slide with a white background and lime green text? No? Well, that’s because you probably couldn’t read it. Many slides have been made with horrendous color schemes that left audiences either bored or with terrible headaches. Never use color combinations like pink and yellow or bright green on bright red.

If you know that you’re not an expert with color, white text on a black background works nicely whereas black text on a white background tends to put your audience to sleep. If you really want some color, keep it simple with three-to-four colors for a color scheme. Bold colors, like black, orange, red and grey can invoke a feeling of innovation in your audience. Calm colors, like blue, green and purple, can incite their emotions.

Unreadable? Really!6


7Maybe your video is not playing, or your slides are in the wrong order. Perhaps the images aren’t loading properly. There are dozens of different things that can go wrong during your presentation. Do not freak out. Getting upset doesn’t help the situation and may make the audience see you as unprepared or incompetent.

Make sure you have a Plan B before anything can go wrong during your presentation. Double check your equipment before you start and be sure that the order of your slides matches up with your speech. It can’t hurt to be over prepared.

I’ve see presenters with their slides not even working due to an AV snafu. But they kept delivering their content and they didn’t miss a beat. You could tell they’d practiced this very occasion and yet they didn’t get fazed at all. I looked at them as a super hero for being able to continue without making excuses or getting mad. Those speakers had more sales at the end of their event then the other p r e s e n t e r s because they honored their audience by maintaining a professional approach and continuing anyway.

Freaking Out When Things Don’t work


Bonus Tip

Practice your presentation well in advance to perfect your pitch

The more you practice the better and more present you will be with your audience. Let’s face it, giving presentations can be nerve racking. And trying to manage the timing of your slides can only get in the way.

Reverse engineer your talk and create your ideal outcome. Then practice each part of your speech and be sure it’s meeting that intention. You will feel so much better up on stage and your audience will really appreciate your efforts and feel like they have been honored with your presence.

By practicing your talk and delivering your expert content you will have your audience engaged in your subject and cheering you off the stage. And you’ll walk away feeling like a rock star knowing your message got delivered.

If you are interested in learning more about creating your perfect pitch stay tuned. I’ve got some more content to share with you. And if you’re tired of doing it yourself contact me and I’d be glad to see how we can partner together to create your perfect presentation.

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