10 Ideas for better platform presentations

Telling stories makes a presentation more like a conversation.

If the topic is interesting to you then your audience will be more likely to take interest. If you are bored with it your audience will be bored.

Use slides to help you tell your story. don‘t try to pull double duty with your slides also using them for handouts. If slides are your handouts they will be terrible as a visual aid. people will not read them afterwards anyway.

If the topic is conducive, use humor. If people laugh they will remember you positively.

I often ask the back if the room if they can hear me. I make eye contact with both sides of the room. Working the room tells the audience that you care. If they think you care they will listen.

Ask the organizers who is in the audience. Consider that group when creating your presentation. What are their struggles or top Issues?

Something always goes wrong with technology. Expect it. The more you rely on the tech to wow your audience the riskier it will be.

This will improve your comfort when you arrive on stage because it will already be familiar to you.

If you’ve been invited, you have something valuable to say. Odds are that someone there needs to or wants to hear what you have to say. If one person benefits that’s a success.

Be yourself. be honest with your audience. If they sense you are fake they will lose interest fast.