Succeed@Solent

Weak presenters use notes as a script, reading them and never looking at the audience.

Good presenters make sure their notes are:

• are brief
• use key words or topic statements
• give prompts for what you need to say
• are easily held in the hand
• are there to glance at and then look away from.

The best kind of notes to hold when you are giving a presentation are flash cards. A ‘flash card’ is a small piece of card you hold in your hand and glance at quickly to take in information.Use index cards or take a sheet of A4 card and cut it into quarters, or usePowerPoint to make presentation slides.

Important features of a flash-card:

• Large, bold writing
• Written in bullet points
• Uses key words or short statements
• No more than six lines of writing
• easy to read at a glance.

How to use flash cards:

• Print them on card so that they do not curl or get damaged easily
• Number them
• Make sure they are in the correct order before you start
• Hold them just below chest-height
• Never hold them in front of your face
• Glance quickly at the card to take the information you need
• Move the card to the back of the pile in your hands when you have finished with it
• move from one card to the next at a transition point eg/a point where you can say ‘And now I would like to move on to...’
• Have a final card that says ‘Any questions?’ to signal the end of the presentation.