To err, to ahh, to umm, to sputter and stammer, to flounder and fum(ble) — is human. I forgive the public speaker of any one of these oratorical infringements. My reason: you don’t have to be a good speaker to make a good presentation, so long as it is well designed. Unfortunately, well-designed presentations are rare, even in our field. It seems that designers are educated to communicate in one setting but fail to transfer those skills to another: the lecture hall. Why? Perhaps there is not enough public speaking attention in our curriculum (unlike the offerings in business school). In its absence, therefore, I offer this Dale Carnegie derivative, because presentations are flourishing while performances are faltering. Such a visual and verbal arena is our domain, where designers should excel, not merely exist.

Oratory comes from the Latin, orare, to pray. I pray that lectures of late end early. My aversion usually stems from an unwelcome case of listener’s block, often triggered by a bad speaker. Lack of consideration for the audience is the usual culprit. But sub par presentations can be avoided. It will take study and strategy to achieve. Study suggests that 75% of all people have glossophobia (fear of speaking in public) and with deductive reasoning, one can assume that 75% of the audience will empathize — a fact that may settle nerves. Strategy dictates how to design tactically to arouse an audience, not incite them.

To the untrained speaker, I offer these ten guidelines to help design a better presentation. In the end, let public speaking enhance, not undermine, public learning.

1. SHOW INVISIBLES

The audience needs to follow your outline.

We consult a roadmap before taking a trip. We read a program before watching a play. We browse the table of contents before reading a book. Doesn’t the public listener deserve that same kind of up-front framework?

One characteristic of cognitive schema theory is that “conceptual structures …help us understand, interpret, and remember incoming information”. Given this, the orator should “show invisibles”. Start the lecture by stating or showing an outline. The order should be simple, logical, and categorical. Audience engagement will likely increase.

2. DESIGN TO YOUR STRENGTHS

Don’t set yourself up for failure.

Design a presentation that plays down your weaknesses. If talking in public is too hard, don’t do it. Meaning: let the visuals communicate more. Circumvent any personal pitfalls. Then implant a brilliant design moment (perhaps a red herring to divert attention). Subvert the predictable. Turn “orate” into “ornate”. Look forward to sharing this part. You’re speaking about something you’ve earned the right to talk about, says Carnegie. Confidence will be gained through an excitement in offering your know-how.

3. OUTWIT

Keep the audience guessing.

Don’t stand behind the podium because of protocol. Be unpredictable in voice, motion, gesture, graphics, etc. Navigate the space (and your slides). Levitate.

4. DIGRESS

Gain attention with extempore speaking.

Digress from your thesis through parenthetical thoughts. (Know what I mean?) Combine academic language with conversational dialogue.

“The audience are more sure that the thoughts that they hear expressed are the genuine emanation of the speaker’s mind at the moment; their attention and interest are excited by their sympathy with one whom they perceive to be carried forward solely by his own unaided and unremitted efforts…”
— Archbishop Whateley’s Rhetoric

5. EDIT

Find the right balance of content and length.

Too much information shuts down a brain; too little is ineffectual. Treat your presentation like a fine meal. A strange loss of appetite occurs with family-style portions. A gourmet smattering is well-designed, profound, and leaving you hungry for more.

6. COMIC RELIEF

Realize the profound effect of humor on learning.

Forthcoming laughter motivates people to listen. You don’t skim David Sedaris for fear of missing a punch line. Instill humor through visuals if your joke-telling skills are weak. Or trip over your words, if delivered well.

7. LITERARY DEVICES WORK

“Now I shouldn’t tell you this but…”

In Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield, Mr. Peggoty frequents a pub called The Willing Mind. Contrary to the notion that we are in control of our own thoughts, maybe there are outside forces that can govern our will. Drinking beer, perhaps, is one of them. But how can you motivate an audience’s “spirit” without using “libations”? Can an orator speak in such a way as to increase curiosity? Yes, literary devices work. Allude to items forthcoming to create suspense. Use visual foreshadowing. Contrive metaphors to explain broad concepts.

8. ACTIVATE THE AUDIENCE

A mind sleeps when sitting too long.

Through inquiry, keep the mind engaged. Ask questions, refutable or rhetorical. Try walking near someone. This will create the fear of being called upon, which will, amazingly, alert the collective group. And, for longer talks, perform a seventh-inning stretch.

9. READING IS CHANCY

Speak, never read. But if you do, be tactical.

Historically, lecture referred to public readings (the word coming from the Latin, legere, to read). I’ve watched too many presentations whereby an academic paper was read. I tried to follow along, but after the first paragraph, lost all interest. J.H. Halcombe, in his 1859 book The Speaker at Home; Chapters on Extempore and Memoriter Speaking, states the problem with this: “The fault we are all apt to commit in reading is to ignore the suspensions of the voice natural in speaking, and attend only to the grammatical pauses.” Few people, Victor Borge excluded, can read in such a way as to maintain attention. Rather than thought, the only thing reading provokes is daydreaming.

So, if you must read — to quote, perhaps — keep it short. If the quote is lengthy, spread your text across frames. You can give an audience a long attention span if you recognize that they have a short one per slide.

Lastly, when there is heavy text on screen, pause. Force the awkward silence, like this:

Participatory reading increases audience engagement. Besides, reading atop the listener’s inner voice is distracting. Take it from Harold Crick who, little did he know, died due to confounding narration.

10. THE END SHOULDN’T BE ENDURED

Let the audience know how long they have to sit.

As the designer for the New-York Journal of American History, I read many Word-formatted essays. Some historical essays are grueling, especially when page numbers are missing. Folios let me know how fast I’m reading, which enhances my willing mind. I’m most appreciative when the article has fraction folios, 1/10, for page 1 out of 10. Not only does this system tell me what page I’m on, but how many pages are left. Similarly, let your audience know how long your presentation is and how far they have to go. Anger comes with over-extending expectations. Plus, as every speechwriter knows: “The mind can only absorb what the seat can endure.”

Mistakes are made when presentations are designed without an audience in mind. Employ any one of these ten tactics, visually or verbally, and comprehension will rise. Don’t worry about tripping over your words. You don’t have to be a smooth talker to be a good speaker. Elocution comes with time. Through study, strategy and practice, all things are possible.

To err is human, but not to err, divine.

KT Meaney runs the design studio Terms & Conditions and is an adjunct professor at the College of Design, North Carolina State University. She realizes the risk in writing this guide will manifest during her next sub-par presentation.