What types of presentation aides should I prepare?

Presentation Aides

• Visuals are highly encouraged.
  
• Power Point slides should be easily seen from the back of the room.
  
• Handouts are required for every session, except panels.  Presenters who provide handouts are consistently rated higher by participants.  Handouts also give participants something to refer back to when they have an opportunity to use the information later on. 
  
• Handouts can and should be used to provide more detail than presenters are able to provide in the workshop or short course.  This helps presenters fit their topics into the allotted time without sacrificing the opportunity to provide enough information for the participant to understand the topic.

Delivery
The object of a good presentation is to deliver understandable information to an interested, engaged audience.  It’s great to have good information, but if the information is not well presented, you can lose an audience, and the value of the information is lost.

• We encourage participant interaction.
• Let the audience know when they will be able to make comments or ask questions.

Evaluations
Feedback is one of the most valuable tools a presenter has.  Evaluations completed by the participants in the session provide rapid feedback to you as a presenter.  Consistent comments or ratings in evaluations can help presenters understand what worked -- and what didn’t -- during a presentation.

• Take advantage of previous evaluation results.  If your session is similar to one presented previously, consider calling a program staff person to find out how the previous session was received.  She can also tell you who attended the session last year.
  
• Review evaluations after your session.  They are available at the conference office.  Take time to read participant’s written comments.