Ten tips for presentations: little-known, rarely discussed, highly effective presentation techniques.

• Author: Brody, Marjorie

1. Know your PAL[TM] Before preparing any presentation for one person or thousands, know your purpose (to inform, persuade, entertain), your audience (demographics, attitudes, hot buttons), and your logistics (time allotment, the number of people in the audience, time of day for presentation, and room arrangements).

2. Pay attention to timing. A good strategy for a straight presentation is to plan, prepare, and practice for 75 percent of the allotted time. If you end early, no one complains. Ending late is poor planning. If you expect audience involvement, plan on 50 percent of the time and 25 percent for interactive facilitated sessions.

3. All presentation material is not created equal. When preparing your speech, consider the distinctions between material the audience must know, should know, and could know. Limit material based on time or audience interest.

4. Hitting emotional buttons will create more impact and action than pure data. Include stories, analogies, metaphors, and humor to reinforce key points.

5. Create user friendly notes. As Winston Churchill said, when asked why he carried notes but seldom used them, "I carry fire insurance, but I don't expect my house to burn down." Use bulleted points instead of sentences. Make the type easy to read (use a felt tip pen, or if type, minimum 18-point type, boldface). Use only the top two thirds of the page to avoid looking down. Use highlight pens to indicate the must/should/could know information.

6. Practice out loud, saying it differently each time you say it. Peter Drucker says, "Spontaneity is an infinite number of rehearsed possibilities." Tiger Woods still practices!!

7. Stage fright is a negative form of excitement. No coach tells the team to be calm. Channel the adrenaline into enthusiasm. You can control the physical symptoms by breathing from the diaphragm, positive visualization and...