Presentation Rules and When to Break Them
Lessons on Best Practices in Tech Presentations
Often coaching clients work with me because they want to improve their presentation skills. Below are some of the best practices, or “rules,” we work on—and times when it’s best to break those rules.
Rule No. One: Deliver your presentation in a clear, concise, and direct style.
The number one manager input I receive about a potential client’s public speaking skills is the need to deliver presentations in the direct style that is preferred in American business settings. There are many reasons why this is top of mind for a manager or director. Not only is this a culturally preferred style, but it also makes sense due to the limited amount of time available in meetings. A client might tell me that they have no more than five minutes to give an update in a weekly meeting. Being direct and stating the key points at the top of the speech ensures that if the speaker is cut off due to time constraints, the most important information will still be conveyed.
When to break this rule.
When planning a presentation, it is always wise to consider your audience and purpose. Direct communication is a strong cultural preference, but it may not be suitable in some contexts. If a client or virtual team has a different set of expectations, this style may be perceived in a negative light, perhaps as being rude or overly assertive. If you are considering how well your presentation style is working, you may want to jot down some ideas about how you prefer to communicate and why, and how that style is working for the people you present to.
Rule No. Two: Limit the amount of text on a slide.
For many people, preparing for a talk is synonymous with developing a slide deck. Popular opinion states that the amount of text on each slide should be extremely limited. There are different “rules” for how much is too much text. I have seen the suggestion to include 6-8 lines, with no more than 30 words per slide. There is also the 5-5-5 rule: 5 words per line, 5 lines, no more than 5 text heavy slides in a row. You can also find the 7-7 rule. You get the idea. These are good guidelines for the majority of presenters as they keep the information readable and easy on the eye. The general idea is to use bulleted points as headlines to your main ideas, but to elaborate and develop those points as you speak.
When to break this rule (or these rules).
Apparently the time to break this rule (based on what I have learned from my clients) is when you are a data analyst. That is to say, if you were hired to analyze data and your job requires you to present that data, there may be an expectation to include large amounts of text and numbers on the slides. Graphs, charts, tables…these are the currency of this sort of expertise. Sometimes you simply can’t get away with simplifying. If this is your situation, regardless of your job title, I think it’s fine to meet those expectations. However, it’s important to understand that preparation goes beyond the slide deck, and you will need to learn how to bring the data to life.
Rule No. Three: Stand Up Straight and Maintain Eye Contact.
A lot of traditional presentation skills training seems to focus on physical aspects such as body language, gesture, and eye contact. A good rule of thumb would be to stand up strait, with shoulders oriented toward the audience, and make eye contact with the listeners, making sure not to ignore anyone. This is presumably in contrast to slouching, turning your back to the audience to read the slides, or staring down at your notes. Other advice includes standing off to the side so as not to block the screen and gesturing naturally to emphasize your points. This is all good advice.
When to break these rules.
Based on what I have observed, it’s can be very effective to break these rules at times. Why not mix things up a bit? Normally you don’t want to stand in front of the projector with the slide showing on yourself, but I have seen dynamic presentation where someone entered the frame to emphasize something on the screen. You don’t want to bore your listeners by reading from your notes, but there might be situations in which you want to avoid direct eye contact with some listeners who may actually prefer this for cultural reasons or because they are better able to concentrate that way. Presenting is really just about communicating, so have the confidence to read the room and, most importantly, be yourself.
Questions for Thought
Those are some of my observations about when you should keep or break rules when presenting at wok. To help you determine how this relates to your own work, here are some questions to consider.
What is an area in which you would like to change how you prepare for or deliver a work presentation? This could involve eye contact, body language, organization, or something else.
Thinking about the folks you currently present to, how could you pivot your style to accommodate their needs, preferences, or expectations?