Using notes

One of the biggest temptations when preparing for oral presentations, especially for the inexperienced public speaker, is to produce a written text. This is not an appropriate or helpful way to prepare for oral presentations and should be avoided.

This does not mean that you should avoid using notes, but simply that they should be appropriate for the task. Most experienced public speakers use some kind of notes when speaking, if only to stay on track and maintain the balance of their presentation. One way of doing this is to use index cards of a size small enough to hold discreetly in your hand. Many Parliamentarians favour this system of notes; and, provided you do not cram the cards with text, you will readily be able to see, at a glance, the points you want to discuss, and the order in which you want to discuss them. An alternative method is simply to have a copy of your plan or extended outline of your presentation on a single piece of paper that you can glance at from time to time. Visual aids, such as overhead projector transparencies or slides produced in a presentation graphics program such as PowerPoint, can also be used as prompts.

Before you deliver your presentation, you should try to spend some time familiarising yourself with your notes. Ideally, your preparation schedule should allow enough time for you to put your notes aside for a few days, so that you can return to them with a relatively fresh mind. This will give you a more realistic idea of whether your notes are detailed enough to remind you of all you need to say, as well as giving you time to make any necessary changes. If you are making a presentation for the first time, you may find it helps if you practise by having a trial run in front of a friend. This should give you a fair idea of what the task entails, as well as, hopefully, providing you with some constructive feedback on the content and style of the presentation.