General Guidelines for Effective Oral Presentations
(courtesy of R.L. Byer, D. Reynard and J. M. Seitzman)

1. Only speak about something that:
• you have earned the right to talk about through study and experience,
• you are excited about;
• you want to tell people about.
2. Show that you care about the audience understanding what you tell them
3. Decide on a handful of ideas that you want your audience to remember - focus on them
4. Make brief notes on main ideas and topics - don’t write out your complete talk, and never memorize word-for-word
5. Use illustrations and exchanges - make it interesting
6. Know a lot more about the subject than you can use in your presentation
7. Keep it simple and (if appropriate) fun
8. Be enthusiastic
9. Rehearse out loud - have someone listen - rehearse again
10. A talk is not a conversation - try to speak to the farthest part of the room, and speak slowy - it projects confidence
11. Don’t worry about so much about delivery - remember to concentrate on content
12. Don’t try to imitate others - be yourself
13. Stay within the allotted time limit, and let the audience know when you are done by saying something like, “Thank you, and now I would be glad to answer any questions”.
14. When it comes time for questions, remember you are not expected to know everything - you can say you don't know