What Makes a Good Presentation?

In class on March 28, we discussed what makes a good presentation, using Lawrence Lessig’s TED Talk as a jumpstart to our conversation. Obviously, these things are all good things to keep in mind while working on your PechaKucha presentation.

Since both of my sections of RHET 102 had the same conversation, I’ll combine the two lists into this single post. I know it’s kind of messy, but it gives you a good set of things to think about.

The question was What makes a good presentation?

Delivery

• Eye contact
• Clear voice (avoiding verbal tics like um, like, etc.)
• Give yourself permission to slow down (attend to timing)
• Clear volume
• Avoid odd habits of inflection (making your voice go up when it’s not a question)
• Humor (in moderation)
• Appearance (no need to wear a suit, but on the opposite end, avoid sweats)
• Hand motions (in moderation; consider using just one hand)
• Lessig bounced a bit to emphasize words
• Pause occasionally

Organization

• Tell us what’s coming
• End with a clear closing slide and a simple “Thank you.”

Slideshow

• Emphasize key words that you don’t want us to forget, showing them on the screen.
• Refer to slides out loud, connecting them to what you’re saying out loud.
• Use pictures with an immediate impact instead of lots of words.

Other

• Give the impression that you’re prepared, filling the 20 seconds for each slide well and avoiding fluff (both in the slideshow and out loud).
• Give the impression that you’re actually interested and passionate about this topic.
• Communicate confidence throughout the entire presentation.
• Know your audience, explaining things we might not know (like abbreviations).
• Tell stories!