Focus on making your PowerPoint slides bite-sized: easy to read at a glance. Don’t worry so much about “what needs to fit on the slide.” Many corporate presentations use poorly designed slides that are too complex and fail to communicate the message clearly and quickly.

Rule 1: If you find yourself reducing type size in order to jam in another bullet or another chart element, stop! Try to figure out whether the information can be broken down into a short series of slides.

The first slide in the series might be a broad overview — one or two sentences, or a brief statement of the problem. Then succeeding slides can present isolated bullets, or shorter lists of bullets that cluster together naturally.

Rule 2: Avoid mixing unlike elements on one slide. For example, avoid combining a bullet list with a graph, or an array of photos with an organizational chart. When in doubt, show one thing at a time!

Rule 3: The simpler a chart, the better, even if it doesn’t cover every imaginable detail.

If you simply don’t have time to rework a cluttered slide, or absolutely must include so many details or data points or nodes that the slide becomes impossible to read, there are two workarounds.

The first workaround is to use a callout slide. This is a follow-up slide that includes only the information you need to explain or prove your view. Create a zoomed-in snap shot of the original chart and eliminate all extraneous information. You can present this slide immediately after displaying the complex version, and switch back and forth as necessary.

The second method is video zooming. If there is enough budget, use a video camera trained on a high resolution video monitor to enlarge a key area of your screen for projection or teleconferencing. This works best when the speaker can designate which areas of the slide to enlarge prior to the speech. As the presenter speaks about certain area on the slides, the camera will pan, zoom, and/or tilt to show that area on the screen. These images will then be projected on the main screen or televised as needed. This method works well but requires additional equipment and personnel.

If the presentation will be videotaped or teleconferenced, have your PowerPoint slides created by an experienced graphic designer who knows the limitations and complexities of both the projection system and the recording equipment.

The slide designs will probably need to be adjusted for the aspect ratio of both systems. (Typical aspect ratios for video are 3:4 or 16:9 — that’s width-to-height.)

Remember that small type, even if it’s relatively clear from your viewpoint onstage, will probably be blurry on video. Limit the text on one screen to 25 words. Close this tip.

And who would that be? If you’re speaking to a large audience with a professional sound system, the most important person in the room is the one at the audio controls, the sound engineer!

If the audience can’t hear you, then your message will be lost. Before the event, introduce yourself and thank the sound engineers for their work. A little gesture of kindness goes a long way to encourage people to work hard for you.

Dan Seiler remembers an incident from many years ago, when he was interning at a studio. He was handling the sound for a training session for executives speakers. Dan’s supervisor told him not to try too hard, since the speakers didn’t even acknowledge their existence. If Dan’s grumpy supervisor was controlling the sound board that night, one twist on an equalization dial could have had the speakers sounding like high-pitched mice. A calmer head prevailed and Dan made them sound great.

But the moral is: make friends early. Audio people work harder for speakers who appreciate their work. Close this tip.

It’s the biggest secret of the film/sound business: drink water at or slightly above room temperature. This prevents your vocal cords (also called vocal folds) from constricting due to the cold liquid.

Many inexperienced presenters and staff members buy cold bottled water for the podium or the speakers’ table. Bad move! Keep the water warm, and your throat will remain relaxed and your voice fluid. Close this tip.

There are three distinct ingredients to this very important recipe:

First, avoid any food or drink that has a “drying effect” on your system, such as alcohol, coffee, tea, and highly acidic juices (orange or tomato juice). Also avoid syrups (cough or maple syrup), which tend to coat the throat.

Second, here’s a sound you want to avoid — the sound known as “dry mouth” or “stickies.” The next time you’re at a presentation, listen closely for these sounds. Yuck, right? Now you need to learn how to eliminate them from your own speech. These sounds can be easy to make (accidentally) and hard to eliminate, like the sound “ummm.” Record yourself making a speech and listen for these sounds. Keep practicing and recording until you’ve learned to eliminate them.

Thirdly, if you will be using a microphone for your PowerPoint presentation, purchase “Learn to Use a Microphone Like a Pro” to prepare yourself. This video learning aid will help you understand the intricacies of using microphones, and will help you feel much more at ease.

The video also teaches you which questions to ask before you present, questions such as: What type of microphone will be provided — hand held, lavalier, or headset microphone? Will they be wireless or hard-wired? Who will be controlling the sound system? How long will they stay? If not, how can I or someone else raise the volume? Close this tip.

If you’re using a lavalier — that is, a tiny microphone that attaches to your clothing — make sure the microphone is positioned in the general direction of the screen. More often than not, you will be turning in that direction to look at the screen (only briefly, we hope!) and to keep the audience oriented to that side. So you’ll want the microphone to be on that side as well.

Whether you’re using a lavalier or a handheld microphone, make sure the mike is no more than 6 inches away. That’s about two fists end-to-end. Most microphones are designed to pick up only sounds that are very close and to “ignore” sounds a foot or so away. The helps eliminate background noise, but it can also eliminate your voice if you’re not careful! Close this tip.

If you are running your PowerPoint presentation with a remote control (which is certainly the best way!), find the best place to locate both the remote control and the receiver.

Test the system exhaustively. All too often, everything goes fine in rehearsal with an empty room, but when the room fills with people, the remote control fails. That’s because bodies absorb the infrared signals between the remote and the receiver. This is especially true in large meetings, where the computer may be located on the side of the stage or in the back of the room with the AV people. Try to anticipate where people will be positioned and make sure there is a clear shot between your remote and the PowerPoint system.

Some remotes do much more than change slides. Look for one that offers a laser pointer and shortcut buttons for White screen, Black screen, etc. Close this tip.

No one wants to see a presenter stand onstage, reading slide after slide verbatim. And who wants to sit there and stare at the back of your head for any length of time?

It’s okay to occasionally look in the direction of the projection screen, or to use body language to focus the attention of your audience in that direction. But don’t go overboard and begin a dialog with your PowerPoint presentation! Talk to your audience instead.

Let the audience members read your slides for themselves. Weave your patter around what is on the screen, paraphrasing the content that is currently projected. Take your time, so that people can both hear your paraphrasing and read the slide. Let both sink in.

When you do need to turn to the screen to check where you are, or to point out a detail, stop talking briefly, then make sure to look back at the audience to resume your speech. This will send a clear message to the audience that their attention is important to you. Close this tip.

Check out your favorite TV talk show. Where is the host located? Jay Leno, David Letterman, Ellyn Degeneres, Oprah Winfrey, Conan O’Brien — they’re all seated to the right of the interview subject, and generally appear on the right side of the television screen. Your eyes are drawn to this location — the right side, the dominant side.

In most Western cultures, people read from left to right, then down, so there’s a natural inclination for audience members to scan from the left and settle their gaze, even briefly, on the right.

In the book Understanding Movies, Louis Giannetti notes that “German art historian Heinrich Wolfflin claimed that since we read a picture from left to right, the right side thus comes ‘heavier.’”

If you, as the presenter, are to be the most important element of the show, put the screen showing your slides to your left as seen from the audience point of view.

If the PowerPoint slide presentation itself is the star of the show — say, you’re pushing a new product, and the spotlight must be on the product rather than on you — then put the screen on the right side of your stage.

A competing school of thought is that television program directors “feel that a character at the left side of the frame draws more audience attention simply because we see him or her first” [also from Understanding Movies]. This thinking works for a movie or a television show because the shots are usually very short. Screen direction and placement are important elements when telling stories. Remember that your presentation is a lot longer than a typical shot in one scene in a movie, and that a left position probably won’t be as effective if you’re going to be onstage for 20 minutes or more. Close this tip.

Before you present to a live audience, get some time in the room that you’ll be speaking in. Get comfortable with the layout. Walk the full width and depth of the stage, over and over again. Imagine an audience filling the room; try to establish eye contact with the imaginary audience members while standing, sitting, and walking onstage. Get a sense of how far you can move about without falling out of view — or off the stage.

Walk out to the seating area. Sit in the back row, sit on the side, sit up front. Get some idea of what people will see and hear from various points in the room.

Once you’ve become very comfortable in the room itself, and could almost walk through it blindfolded, it’s time to test the equipment.

Test the microphone, the sound system, and your PowerPoint presentation before your speech. Make sure there are no dead spots where the wireless equipment, such as wireless microphones and remote controls, don’t work properly.

There are many times during large or small meetings where technical failures can and will happen. You must always have a backup plan. Often times there is an extra microphone offstage for this purpose.

If the backup microphone is a wired hand-held microphone, learn how much cable you have, and make sure you have enough cable to travel wherever you want to go. This is especially true if the audio/visual budget is small, and the wired microphone is the only microphone!

Test the remote control to make sure it functions properly. Always have new batteries nearby. Remember that the remote control device you use may be the same as the one you practice with, but that the computer at the meeting may have may have different settings, and the projection may look very different than the screen you’re accustomed to.

If you’re a busy executive with other things on your mind, it’s easy to underestimate the importance of practicing with the equipment in the room. But short cords, malfunctioning or unfamiliar equipment, and new screen sizes can make even the most professional speakers look unprepared or amateurish. Close this tip.

It is natural for anyone’s attention to drift. Even the most interested audience members may begin to look around the room, listen to background noises, or fixate on your suit.

It’s your job to keep them focused on the critical elements of your presentation. You may have a great personality, tons of charisma, and a wonderful sense of humor, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into focus.
Use powerful words and phrases to grab and direct attention at key moments:

• Bright-line: A line or division on the slide that separates competing or contrasting sections of a chart; good for calling out a distinction.
• Point of interest: Works especially well with a laser pointer.
• Key element: To separate out one item in a chart.
• Keystone: Good for flowcharts and organizational charts.
• Critical path: Use only when the path you’re describing is visually obvious.
• Item one!: Call attention to the beginning of a series.
• Bottom line: Underscore a conclusion.
• Wow!: Use as you enter a simple slide with a surprising conclusion or declaration.
• What you don’t see here is…: Perfect for a tease, especially when the point you’re making is implicit in the contents of the slide, but not at all obvious.

Be sure to use each word or phrase sparingly. Try not to repeat a particular catch phrase, and try to mix them up. Words lose their power quickly with repeated usage.

Finally, don’t underestimate the power of nothing. That is, if you really want to get their attention as you make a special point, use the short cut or remote control button to switch to a Black or White Screen in Powerpoint:

• To switch to a Black Screen, type B or period.
• To switch to a White Screen, type W or comma.

Once you’ve made your dramatic point, use the same shortcut or button to Resume Show. Close this tip.