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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, January 17, 2005

Practice improves public speaking

By Michael Crom
Gannett News Service

Public speaking and presentation skills using a program such as PowerPoint are best honed by actually using these skills. Although you may be anxious about your presentation, a few simple steps will help ensure success. As you begin with your presentation, here are a few key items to consider:

• Make an outline. Regardless of the topic you are addressing, a PowerPoint presentation should be like a story or an essay, and should follow a simple outline — an introduction, main points with supporting details, and a conclusion.

• Be simple. Use a simple structure, such as a bold headline and three to six bullet points per page. You can insert an illustration if it is relevant. Also, there are many different options for color and effects on PowerPoint, but it is imperative that you steer clear of them because too much clutter on the screen will draw attention away from your topic. You want to be organized and simple, so that you get your point across clearly.

• Know your audience. Think about the type of people you are presenting to, and what they will want to get from listening to you. Is this subject totally new to them? If it is, be careful about using technical words without providing definitions — you don't want them to be lost. Also, the audience must be able to read the PowerPoint clearly. Use a large enough font so that when projected on the screen, even the back row will be able to read the screen.

• Summarize. At the end of the presentation, make sure to provide a concise summary. Use bullet points to highlight the most important parts of your presentation. This will make for a thorough synopsis.

• Practice makes perfect. While you can't guarantee perfection, by practicing again and again you will become comfortable with PowerPoint and come closer to acing your presentation.