The 20 most common presentation delivery mistakes professionals still make today
Understanding and avoiding the most common presentation delivery mistakes speakers make will serve you well.
The best presenters and speakers are continually honing their craft. That involves not just looking for new ideas but avoiding the common presentation delivery mistakes too.
It doesn’t matter how experienced and gifted you are as a speaker, there is always something new to learn. Don’t assume that you are exempt from all of the presentation delivery mistakes audience’s endure.
Having spent over a decade helping professionals to avoid and overcome these mistakes here are some of the big ones we thought we’d share with you.
- No clarity of purpose
The prerequisite to a meaningful presentation is having a crystal clear clarity of purpose before you utter a word.
That involves having laser like certainty of two things:
– How you want your audience to feel
– What you want your audience to do when you’ve finished speaking
One of the most common presentation delivery mistakes speakers make is believing that their job is to simply inform and engage their audience. It’s not enough.
2. A lack of relevance
Have you ever left a business presentation asking yourself ‘What has any of this got to do with me?’
Every presenters first priority is to ensure that everything they say to, and share with their audience is relevant to them. If it’s not totally relevant you can be certain it will be forgotten in an instant and you will annoy your audience.
3. Not knowing your audience
Today’s audiences are extremely astute and discerning. It won’t take them long to work out whether you’ve made any effort to really understand who they are.
Spend as much time, effort and energy as you can in advance getting to know your audience.
4. Opening poorly
One of the most common presentation delivery mistakes is opening saying; ‘Good morning, today we will be talking about…’ It’s so boring.
Open with impact. The following article shares some ideas on how to do that: ‘Presenters — Grab it like you mean it: Their attention’
5. The data dump
Have you ever sat through a presentation where the presenter shares everything they know on a topic? They shower you in a tsunami of slides each fraught with data and bullet points.
You don’t need it all, you don’t want it and you certainly won’t be able to digest most of it.
The biggest presentation delivery mistake you can make is not distilling the huge amount of information you have available. ‘Cognitive psychology suggests that even the most intelligent people can only process a limited amount of information at a given time.’
6 . The rising intonation
You’ve heard it I’m sure.
It’s where a speakers rising intonation at the end of a sentence makes a statement sound like they are asking a question. When they do this repeatedly it makes them sound uncertain of everything.
It’s called ‘upspeak’.
If this presents a challenge for you try the following:
– Record yourself speaking for a few minutes
– Play the recording back noting the sentences where you ’upspeak’
– Practice repeating those sentences saying the last syllables slowly, quietly and dropping your intonation
7. Talking to fast
One of the most common presentation delivery mistakes is talking too fast.
You may have a content rich presentation which you are very passionate about but when you speak too fast you face a number of challenges:
– Your audience can’t keep up with you and miss important points
– Some people will think you sound nervous
– It can affect your credibility
Practice slowing down and pausing. Take a few passages from your favourite book and repeatedly practice reading each sentence slowly out load. Pause for two seconds before moving on to the next sentences
8. A lack of ownership
One of the keys to a highly effective presentation is internalising your message. I don’t mean memorise.
Imagine you have turned up to present, only to find that you have left your notes on the train or your laptop has stopped working. If that happens to you then you should still be able to speak. You should still be able to give a good account of why you’ve called people together. Not owning your message is a big presentation delivery mistake.
9. Going on and on and on…
In our one to one public speaking coaching sessions we help professionals to present with far greater impact in at least half the time it would normally take them.
There is often nothing worse than a speaker:
– Rambling
– Being too wordy
– Repeating the same point over and over again
– Not getting to the point quickly
10. Closing badly
In a previous article I suggested that, ‘A great presentation should be like a brilliant firework show — most of us look forward to the grand finale so don’t let your presentation fizzle out like a damp fireworks display.’
‘Most presentation closes we see today are rather lacklustre and offer little in the way of impact or imagination.
We can close with the usual “ Thank you very much, are there any questions?” Or we can make a conscious and creative choice to close with impact.’
11. Ending on a Q&A
A very common presentation delivery mistake many people make is ending their presentation with a Q&A.
The moment you do that you are leaving your audience with someone else’s voice and perspective.
Ending your presentation on a Q&A leaves too much to chance:
– What if you don’t know the answer to the question?
– Imagine being asked a hostile question
– What if it’s just a negative question?
If you need a Q&A, by all means leave it towards then end but don’t make it the last thing you do.
12. What happens now?
Don’t let your audience leave your presentation without you making it very clear what you expect from them or want them to do.
I can’t tell you how many presentations I’ve left wondering what on earth I’m supposed to do with all of that information.
Tell your audience what you want them to do next.
13. Focusing purely on the facts
It’s true; your audience want the facts, data, evidence and insights but they want something else too.
They want you to connect with them emotionally as well as intellectually. Neuroscience suggests that we buy using our emotions and justify our decisions with Logic.
Trying to influence, persuade or inspire your audience using facts alone is futile. Focus on making that all important emotional connection too.
14. Starting late and running over
Your audience want and expect a great deal from you as a presenter. Their greatest priority however, is respect.
If you start your presentation late by keeping them waiting you’ll annoy those who made the effort to show up on time. If you run over your allotted speaking time it’s likely that you will lose them. Some will simply stop listening whilst others will be thinking on other plans they have.
Start on time and finish on time, or earlier.
15. Reading slides
I’m willing to place a bet that everyone in your audience can read. The moment you start reading slides to them you are insulting their intelligence by suggesting otherwise.
If your slides have so much text on them it’s a document, not a visual. Send it to them instead letting them read in in the comfort of their own time and space.
The moment text appears on a slide you’re sending an unspoken message to your audience to read it. They cannot read and listen to you effectively at the same time. Please don’t read slides.
16. Not practicing enough
Once you’ve owned and internalised your message you owe it to your audience to practice.
That involves to key elements:
– Practicing the verbal expression of your message and getting feedback. How do you sound.
– Practicing the non-verbal expression of your message. How do you look and move.
Don’t rely on hope that your verbal and non-verbal communication supports your message; practice and ask for feedback.
17. The opening apology
Your audience don’t want to hear you tell them how sorry you are because:
– You are nervous
– Haven’t had time to prepare
– Didn’t sleep well last night
– Had a terrible journey to the venue
– Aren’t an expert on the topic
Not only is it unprofessional but the moment you draw attention to it you can be sure that’s what your audience will focus on.
18. Not telling stories
Your audience will remember short, relevant and compelling stories far more than they remember all of the data. Stories help you to build rapport, empathy and an emotional connection; ignore them at your peril.
At Mindful Presenter we hold the belief that, ‘A Presentation without Stories is a Lecture’.
Pamela B. Rutledge Ph.D. suggests in her article in Psychology Today that:
‘Stories have always been a primal form of communication. They are timeless links to ancient traditions, legends, archetypes, myths, and symbols. They connect us to a larger self and universal truths.’
19. A lack of eye contact
Do you make good eye contact with your audience when presenting?
Whilst there are some cultural exceptions, most audiences want you to make eye contact with them.
A failure to do so often results in:
– Distrust
– A perception of nerves or lack of confidence
One of the most effective ways of connecting emotionally with your audience is through making eye contact with them
In her article in Psychology Today, Tara Well, Ph.D, writes:
‘Research finds that direct gaze is associated with confidence, interest, and attraction, while an averted gaze of looking away is related to lack of confidence, rejection, and being socially ostracized.’
20. Boring your audience
The worst of all presentation delivery mistakes is boring your audience.
Avoiding as many of these mistakes shared will substantially increase your likelihood or delivering a presentation which is interesting, stimulating, inspirational and memorable.
If you need help avoiding these common presentation delivery mistakes :
– Book yourself onto a powerful public speaking course.
– Invest in some really good one to one public speaking coaching.
– Get yourself some excellent presentation training
If this article has inspired you to learn a little more about how effective your presentation skills are you may want to take a look at our presentation training and public speaking coaching pages to see how we may be able to help you.
Photo by Sammy Williams on Unsplash
