Presentations are hard work and in allot of ways you are out there alone in front of a group, opening up in ways that can be difficult for you and the audience. The challenges and mistakes that I see are pretty common and I have identified some of those. With a little preparation and review you can avoid most of these issues, and present difficult material in a way that engages your audience. Most of the items below really boil down to the trust between you and your audience. A presentation is an agreement between you and them. You promise that you understand and have researched what you are presenting and they give you their time and attention.

It is a great opportunity for you and them. Don’t waste it.

Organization

• Use standard referencing. Each slide’s contents must have a small, but identifiable reference on it. At the end your last slide should be the list of all of the references used throughout the presentation. This way you only need author year, on the individual slides.
  • Use this site as a guide for how references should be formatted: http://jama.jamanetwork.com/public/InstructionsForAuthors.aspx#References
  • Break up complex items into smaller diagrams, tables or slides. You are asking the audience to digest lots of information at a time. Break complex ideas down into understandable parts.
  • Avoid spelling errors in slides. It just puts the viewer off; they immediately distrust you if there is sloppy unchecked work in the presentation.
  • Any visual, chart or graphic must have the reference directly on the slide. If you took the material from somewhere else, then be sure to give them credit. This way you do not get into trouble.