Bad Habits in Microsoft PowerPoint Presentations
Bad Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation habits include reading from notes, avoiding eye contact, dressing down, failing to rehearse, reciting bullet points, speaking too long, ending without a summary of the key points, among others. Good presenters do not recite from writings, transcripts, or PowerPoint slides but they normally do the presentation from the internalized knowledge. Whereas it is suitable to consult notes from time to time, reading unswervingly from organized notes is a no-no. It weakens the rapport obligatory between hearers, audience and presenters (Bly, 2008).
Good presenters usually comprehend that eye contact is noteworthy to building trust, integrity, and adding rapport. They read the bullet points on their slides word for word even though slides designate a supplement to the speaker, not the converse. Most of them are aware that leadership necessitates the ability to communicate and join a message that is ardent, clear, and brief. Bly (2008) show that listeners lose their concentration after nearly twenty minutes. The good presenters finish their presentations by citing several main points they anticipate their viewers to recall. This in turn compels most listeners to walk away from a presentation memorizing well what was mentioned at the end.
In order to overcome these bad presentation habits, presenters should review the material to the point where they can deliver it without frequently looking at their notes to avoid reading from the notes. Maintenance of eye contact with the listeners at least ninety percent of the time is necessary to solve the problem of avoiding eye contact. Presenters should constantly dress suitably for the culture, although a little better than everybody else to sidestep dressing down. Additionally, they should edit everything they say and remain concise in all manners of communication during the presentations (Peery, 2011).
Finally, instead having an uninformative conclusion by repeating the section headings, the presenters should summarize their presentation with highlights what they want the audience to remember to avoid ending without a summary of key points. As a result, these recommendations can help create a compelling Microsoft PowerPoint presentation.
References
Bly, R. W. (2008). Persuasive presentations for business. Irvine: Entrepreneur Press.
Peery, A. B. (2011). Creating effective presentations: staff development with impact. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Education.
Perry, A. E. (2003). PowerPoint Presentations: A Creative Addition to the Research Process. The English Journal, 92, 64-69.