I have come to realize that there are a lot of bad speakers around. Even in the professional world. I’m not saying I’m a good speaker. I suck at it. Totally.

But sitting here during this 3 day seminar is making me cringe at how some of the presentations are going. Some pointers to getting a presentation being better than some of those I have seen here.

1. If English is not your 1st language and you don’t feel comfy speaking in English, then go slower else you’ll just end up falling all over your words.

2. Please make your slides less cluttered. Not all of us have 6/6 vision. And a room can be 50m long. Those of us sitting at the back of the room can’t see nuts at all. All we see is a patch of blur on the screen.

3. Vary your speech tone. Dull drones maketh many sleepy people, especially after lunch. Many sleepy people maketh a room full of boredom. A room full of boredom maketh a failed presentation.
4. Don’t mumble and eat your words. Speak with clear diction and speak INTO the mike, not over it. And definitely NOT around it. See 3.

5. If you're a natural joker, go for it. Make the crowd laugh. If you're not. Hmm, then don't try too hard. Move on if the joke falls flat, there's no need to tell another joke to cover up. It's a downward cycle if you don't know when to stop.