I asked my researcher friend Caryl Schroeder to reflect upon some of the most potent presenters she’s seen.
Off the top of her head, Caryl listed the following criteria for a potent presentation:
- Concise message/theme
- Simple text/graphics (not a lot of text on PowerPoint presentations)
- Examples the audience is familiar with or can relate to, especially on a personal basis
- Good humor helps
- Organized and logical presentation, easy to follow (e.g., background info, then the problem as it exists now, proposed solutions, etc)
- Speaker can be heard clearly and is not rushing
- Speaker moves – either with appropriate gestures or takes up the stage by moving around a little (not pacing but moving every now and then to focus you in a different area or be closer to another part of the audience)
Caryl said that the best speaker she’s seen in a while is Dr. Reed Tuckson. You can check out one of his presentations here.
What comes to mind when you think of your favorite presenters and presentations?
– Ann Emery