First Issue Volume 01 Nov 2015 | Page 14

10 tips

1. 10-20-30 RULE

Powerpoint should have no more than 10 slides, last no more than 20 minutes and have no text less than 30 point font.

FOR

PRESENTATION SKILLS

2. DON'T READ off the slides. It shows that you do not really understand your subject. Moreover, why should the audience listen to you if they can simply look at the slides?

* Best Young Speaker -

ONG Huei Xing

3. BE ENTERTAINING

Add humour and passion. Great speakers also use personal anecdotes to create an emotional connection between ideas for the audience.

*Best Speaker -

Muthukumar CHANDRASEKARAN

4. EYE CONTACT

Match eye contact with everyone in the room. Do not just stare at the screen.

5. PROJECT YOUR VOICE

Nothing is worse than a speaker you cannot hear or a speaker whose voice is too loud. Let your voice resonate on the air in your lungs to produce a clearer sound.

*Best Presentation Topic -

LOO Ah Koon (Steven) &

Eric HARTONO

6. DON'T APOLOGIZE

Apologies are only useful if you’ve done something wrong. Do not use them to excuse incompetence or humble yourself in front of an audience. Don’t apologize for your nervousness or a lack of preparation time.

*Best Team - U - Lego

7. UM…. AH…. Don’t use fillers during the speech to hide your nervousness. Replace those with a pause by taking a short breath in.

8. “THAT’S A GOOD QUESTION” If you need to buy yourself a few moments to organise your response, say “That’s a good question”, or “does someone knows the answer?”