12 presentation tips that actually make a difference

Most presentation advice is either obvious ("make eye contact") or impossible ("be confident"). These tips are about the things you can actually change before your next talk.

Structure

1. Start with why it matters. Your first slide after the title should answer: why should this audience care right now? A number, a problem or a question works better than an agenda.
2. Three main points are enough. People remember very little from a talk. Choose three points, announce them, deliver them, repeat them at the end.
3. End with a clear last sentence. Not "That's it, any questions?" but your key message, then "Thank you".

Slides

4. One message per slide. Write it as the slide title, as a full sentence: "Sales grew 10 % because of new customers" instead of "Sales".
5. Less text, bigger text. If you need to read it, the audience will read it instead of listening to you. Keywords on the slide, the explanation in your voice.
6. Show charts step by step. Tell the audience where to look first: "Look at the blue line".

Timing

7. Plan time per slide, not just in total. Long talks are almost always caused by a few slides that take far too long. How long should you spend on each slide?
8. Finish early. Aim for 90 % of your time limit. Nobody complains about a talk that ends one minute early; everyone notices one that runs over. Time your rehearsal per slide.

Voice and body

9. Slow down and pause. 130–150 words per minute is comfortable to follow. A pause after an important sentence makes it land – and it replaces filler words. More in how to stop saying "um".
10. Talk to one person at a time. Finish a sentence while looking at one person, then move to the next. It feels more like a conversation and calms you down.

Nerves and questions

11. Over-prepare the first minute. Nerves are worst at the start and fade once you're talking. If the first minute runs on autopilot, the rest follows.
12. Prepare for three likely questions. Put backup slides with details in the appendix. "Good question – I have a slide for that" is the most convincing answer there is.

Practise the right way

All of this only works if you rehearse out loud. Here is a step-by-step rehearsal plan. SlideTimer is free: it measures the time per slide, records your rehearsal and, if you like, gives AI feedback on pace and filler words.