The 7 Deadly Sins of Presentations

I've been to a lot of presentations. Some have been good, but many have been bad. Very bad. So I thought it might be helpful to put together a list of the seven deadly sins of presentations.1. Lack of preparation: This is the most common sin. There's no _____(1) for not preparing. You should know your script and your slides inside out. If you don't, then your audience will know you're not prepared and they'll _____(2) interest.2. Too much information: Many presenters try to include too much information in their talks. They think that if they say everything about their subject, then people will be impressed. But actually, people get _____(3) very quickly. Your presentation should be simple and clear.3. Reading from the slides: This is another very common mistake. You should never read directly from your slides. People can read for themselves. Instead, you should use your slides to help explain what you're saying. For example, you could use photos or diagrams.4. No structure: A good presentation needs a clear structure. Your audience wants to know where you're going. You should start by telling them what you're going to talk about, then go into more _____(4), and finally summarise what you've said.5. Not making eye contact: This is a big problem for many presenters. They look at their notes or at the screen, but they don't look at the audience. Eye contact is very important. It helps you connect with your audience and makes them feel involved.6. Speaking too quickly: When you're nervous, it's easy to speak too quickly. But if you speak too fast, people won't understand you. You need to slow down and give people time to think.7. No enthusiasm: Finally, the most serious sin of all is not being enthusiastic about your subject. If you're not interested, then your audience certainly won't be. You need to show how much you care about what you're saying.So those are the seven deadly sins of presentations. Make sure you _____(5) them!