Whether you’re presenting to 14 or 400, you’re not alone if you feel a butterfly or two. Even the most seasoned, most prepared public speakers will ask themselves: Am I ready for this? Did I rehearse enough? Did I rehearse too much?

Well, I’m not sure how to remedy the butterflies (if you do, clue me in). However, it certainly helps to prepare. Here are five important things to consider as you prepare your presentation:

1. Think of your audience, not yourself.
   They don’t care about you or how much of an expert you are. They have one question: what am I getting out of this? Get to the point quickly and relate your topic to your audience as much as possible
2. Don’t make the PowerPoint your script.
   Avoid bullet points at all costs. People read faster than you talk. So, if your slides are full of bullet points, your audience will always be a step ahead of you… and bored! If there is no visual to demonstrate or support one of your points, let them simply look at you.
3. Have passion and show it.
   Passion is contagious. If you want your audience to believe in what you’re saying, YOU need to believe it. If you don’t have passion for what you’re talking about, find someone else to give the presentation.
4. Ask rhetorical questions.
   Engaging people in a conversation will increase their retention. With lecture presentations, people retain only 5%. Adding audio or visuals brings retention up to 20%. To go a step further, you need to engage in discussion. Since you can’t always open the floor to discussion, ask thought-provoking rhetorical questions throughout your presentation to give your concepts staying power.
5. End well. – The last thing you say is often the most remembered. Remind them why they are there. Explain the action you want them to take. Make yourself accessible. Ask for the sale. Thank them.

Can you think of examples where a presenter didn’t follow this advice? How did it affect you as a member of the audience?