We can't know your content as well as you do, so this page contains tips on presenting information to adults and collects research on some of the most effective ways of communicating information.

Current topics:

Effective presentations
Remarkable Conversations

Upcoming topics:

Adult learning
Good openings
Inspiring passion

Effective presentations

According to researchers at the University of Leicester, "an effective presentation makes the best use of the relationship between the presenter and the audience". It captures the audiences "interest, develop[s] their understanding, inspire[s] their confidence and achieve[s] the presenter’s objectives".

They note three significant steps in delivering effective presentations:

A. Practise

Inspire trust and confidence by being familiar not only with the material, but the way you are communicating it. 

B. Assert yourself

An effective presenter needs to be assertive, not aggressive. Remember the two Ps:  Posture and Presence.  Posture sets the mood – relaxed, formal, active?  Be present.  If you act like your material is boring, that is what your audience will think.  Don't hide behind a desk or computer.  Don’t be afraid.  Be confident that what you have to say matters and the audience will follow your lead. 

C. Make contact with your audience

Connect with your audience.  Do:

  • Make eye contact;
  • Use gestures;
  • Spoken contact;
  • Choice of language.

A handy tip for eye contact: if you can’t make eye contact in a large group, don’t look at the floor or ceiling (this looks like boredom or rudeness). Try looking at people’s foreheads. The people sat around them will read this as eye contact even if the individual won’t.

Here's a link to the University of Leicester's presentation slides with more detail on these are other handy tips.


Meetings Matter: Remarkable Conversations

Author, Paul Axtell, states that when people are resigned to the time-wasting aspect of a meeting,nobody does anything to make them more effective.  That is why he wrote Meetings Matter: 8 Powerful Strategies for Remarkable Conversations. Three areas he outlines that are not often explored in meetings research are: group size, the agenda and cold calling those that didn't participate in a meeting.