Signs of a Bad Presentation

How can you tell whether or not you’ve just delivered (or are delivering) a miserable presentation? There are a few key warning signs to watch for; get to know them before failure gets to know you:

Dead Eyes

If your audience’s eyes are wandering or if they are obviously asleep, that’s one thing. But another sign to watch for is people giving you “dead eyes,” or looking straight through you and zoning out during your presentation. In this dreaded instance, be sure to bring the focus back by changing your tone, inserting your best (and most relevant) story, or making eye contact with your zombie audience.

“What’s the Point?”

After your presentation, you should be able to ask any person in the audience what the main point or key takeaways were. If they answer with “um’s,” then you should consider a content overhaul. Restructure your presentation to build to a main point versus throwing out a lot of information, and make sure that you’ve crafted your call-to-action to end the presentation powerfully. We have a wealth of content resources on our blog to help you get started.

Over Or Under Time

We recommend that you rehearse your speech at least seven times before your presentation. A core part of this rehearsal should include timing yourself to see how long it takes to move through your main points. One sign that your delivery pacing is off due to nervousness or long-windedness is a discrepancy between your rehearsal average and the “real deal.” How do you fix this? It’s simple: practice, practice, and then practice again.

The “I’m Sorry” Disease

This may not be immediately obvious to you, but if your presentation was recorded or you have a friend in the audience, it’s important to watch out for the “I’m Sorry” disease. Apologizing during your presentation is a proven way to lose credibility and audience attention. Unless you actually step on someone’s foot, break a projector, or start a fire in the room, there is no reason to apologize about your content. “Opening up with an apology is like trying to teach a pig to sing: it wastes your time and annoys the pig.” –Geoff Pullum

Technology Mishaps

Did you fully prepare for your presentation? If you had difficulty setting up your presentation, opening files, flipping through slides, seeing any of the images on screen or etc., you’ve already failed. Make sure you’ve done your research before you arrive.

Did your presentation experience any of these problems? Once you’ve self-diagnosed, the next step is recovery. Check out the Ethos3 blog hub to fine tune content, design, and delivery. Finally, don’t let it get to you. The first step to recovery is admitting you delivered a terrible presentation.

Question: Was your last presentation a dud?





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