Don't compete with your visual support

I don't believe in giving out a copy of my speech before the presentation so that people can follow it as I read it. As you might have guessed, I do not read my speeches.

Some conferences ask for a paper to be submitted in advance and this is then circulated to the participants. Fine. What I say in the paper is consistent with what I say from the platform, but I speak to the paper, rather than read it.

I have three speeches on any subject: The one I intend to give - which is printed in the papers, the one I do give, which is often available as a recording and the one I wish I had given, which is available to those who ring me afterwards to discuss a point that I made.

As a handout, I prefer to give an outline of the main points, and often include some of the anecdotes under the heading "Tales Trainers Tell."

At other times I restrict handouts to a single point, and give them out one page at a time. This has increased flexibility if the level of knowledge is not what I had expected. I can withhold some notes, and give out others to suit the reaction that I am getting.

Frequently, I give out copies of diagrams that I use in my slides, but with the words left off. This saves time if the participants are taking notes. The lack of words lets me use the same diagram in a number of different ways, again according to the level of response that I get from the audience.
The quality of the handouts is important. Clear photocopies are no more expensive than shoddy ones. Plenty of white space improves readability immensely. I always have contact details on each page so that people can follow through if they wish to.

Develop a style for your presentations and maintain it.
Adopt a consistent layout and style. Landscape is preferred if the whole slide is to be introduced at one time. Portrait may be acceptable if you have a list that will be progressively exposed.
Use a simple font. Ornate characters detract from the message and project badly. Fine lines in diagrams also project poorly.
Use upper and lower case letters. ALL CAPS ARE MUCH HARDER TO READ;
Never overload the image.
One point per slide is ideal. A maximum of seven lines of seven words each is a good rule of thumb for landscape (longer side parallel to the base) slides.

Choose colours which provide high contrast between the background and the featured text or pictures. For example blue and gold offer contrast (as in dark and light), but red and orange probably would be quite difficult to see;

Avoid red, green, pink and yellow features. These colours do not project well. Limit your colour choice to two or three feature colours per slide (unless you are including colour photographs.

Check that every word or feature is clearly visible from the back of the room. As a rule of thumb, the height of the projected image needs to be about one sixth of the viewing distance. In a room where people will be thirty metres away from the screen, the image width needs to be at least 5 metres.

Check that the view of the projected image is not interrupted by furniture or fittings. In larger rooms you may have to work around pillars. If you have the choice, avoid rooms where there are mirrors. This provide a competing visual image.
Make sure the projection screen is large enough for the size of audience, generally the distance between the audience and the screen should be less than six times the width of the projected image (for example, if the projected image is 2 metres wide the audience should be within 12 metres of the screen).

Focus the projector on the screen before participants arrive. A key placed in the centre of an overhead projector plate used to be a good way for focussing those antiques. With PowerPoint projection, develop aslide using all of the font sizes that are in your presentation and use iot to focus the machine while you are setting up.

A projected image will keystone if you have the screen higher than the projector. A keystone image is one where the top of the picture is wider than the bottom. This is caused where the screen is not parallel to the lens on the projector.

Many portable screens have a fitting at the top to reduce keystoning. The top of the screen is closer to the audience (and projector) than the bottom. You can also reduce the problem by inclining the projector. Good quality projectors also have a keystoning adjustment. Set it up to suit your projecvtor location relative to the screen - to the side or below, as appropriate.

The quality of your support affects your credibility
In the same way that the quality of your physical appearance will influence the perception of the credibility of your message, the quality of your support materials will enhance or detract from your message.