7 deadly presentation mistakes to avoid

The seven mistakes that can ruin your carefully thought out speech masterpiece. At least one of these insidious pitfalls often traps even the experienced professional speechgiver. Beware!

Ragan Insider Premium Content
Ragan Insider Content

1. The “I want to tell you everything” presentation

This presenter is in love with their topic and wants to share it all with you – every nuance, every subtlety, every story. Their passion and enthusiasm is great, but it’s not tempered with any discipline. That results in information overload for the audience.

If you’re guilty of this type of presentation, check out this post: How to Avoid Information Overload in Your Presentation.

2. The “grab bag” presentation

The “grab bag” presentation occurs when the presenter has a miscellany of points that are only loosely related to one another and appear in no structured order. I’ve seen highly experienced, professional speakers fall into the trap of the grab bag presentation.

The solution is to plan your presentation around a key message. That provides you with focus.

3. The “shopping list” presentation

This presentation contains point after point after point. It’s often presented as bullet-point slide after bullet-point slide after bullet-point slide. It’s deadly dull. There’s no variety, no light and shade. It may be organized, but it lacks any evidence: no stories, case studies, endorsements, metaphors or analogies.

To read the full story, log in.
Become a Ragan Insider member to read this article and all other archived content.
Sign up today

Already a member? Log in here.
Learn more about Ragan Insider.