thanks Jessamyn, for the list. It is very handy.

If you don’t have enough handouts, leave a link or signup sheet for those who didn’t obtain one. What I prefer not to do is post any slides as a preview for my topic, but I will do a short summary.

I also find it’s helpful to start with a light hearted remark, not particularly for the humour value, but it allows me to establish the level of audience participation right at the start. Absolute silence after an opening joke always means you’re in for a hard ride.

I would disagree with ‘try and stick to your time limit’. No – *stick* to your time limit. Not to do so is rude and unprofessional. If you end up with less time than was planned, re-work your timings while talking; as a professional you should be able to do this. Ideally get more time from the organiser with agreement for say a shorter lunchbreak, and tell the audience this at the start.

If possible, have a version of your talk available electronically so that people can download it after the event.

Finally, *be enthusiastic*. This will overcome any manner of other difficulties – you must want to be there, want to speak, want people to listen to what you have to say, and want their lives to be a tiny bit different after you’ve finished talking.

Have you given any presentations lately without slides or using audiovisuals? My personal goal is to give more talks without using any technological aids. I have no desire to watch people read bullet points from the screen of a Powerpoint presentation. Frankly, every Powerpoint presentation I’ve seen has been a boring waste of time. People should put more effort into being interesting speakers than in creating polished multimedia presentations.

Reminds me that I need to prepare a guide to the venue’s tech specs for speakers right about now.