To use notes for a big presentation?

[notetakerforlife]

NC so not linked to other posts.

I am short on time and could memorise it but it would take hours many hours if my life however it's a big presentation I have approx 20 minutes, and I want it to be great.

Do you feel the quality of a presentation is regarded when someone uses their notes?

Please be honest or is content more important?

Well if you don't know the content then postcodes will have to do. How have you ended up giving a presentation on something you know very little about though?

@titchy I know all about it it's about me!! But I like to not miss anything out and therefore have the notes

Have you never presented before? If the topic is YOU, what's the problem? If you forget something, who will know?! It sounds like you're making this into a bigger deal than is necessary (which is usually bad news for presenting - you need to relax). Is there a back story?

I think the extra hours of prep to be less reliant on notes could make the difference between a good and great presentation. Going through it enough times so you can talk around the points on the slides smoothly without hesitating or missing things. If there's not time for that I'd print it in large print and cut the pages into 3 or so at natural break points and staple the pieces together as a deck of postcards. Hope it goes well for you.

It doesn't matter if you don't remember everything for each bullet point. Every great speaker forgets things - it's how you deal with it.

If you suddenly remember, link back to it, not even anything wrong with saying you missed something: "I don't think I mentioned when covering X that the reason we approached it that way was Y".

Mistakes make the talk feel natural and like a chat between friends. They actually help you connect.

If you don't realise you've missed something and someone else highlights it, it doesn't matter as long as you know your stuff. "Yes, sorry I forgot to highlight that point that X has just raised. They're completely correct and it is important to make sure that Y is true before you do Z"

It’s fine to have bullet points in front of you. I’ve seen some fantastic speakers who have notes and some terrible ones too but do what makes you feel most relaxed because the more relaxed you are the better the experience for the audience. A nervous presenter is hard to watch.

Notes are fine…But not reading them out however much you glance up during it.

Best thing to do is run it through a couple of times, say everything out loud. Record yourself doing it too. Then you can listen a few times as well and each time you talk it through you’ll get better at it.

you don’t want to know it off by heart in terms of reading or reciting a script anyway - much, much better to talk naturally as you go. Know your content & key messages and talk around them.

When is it? Good luck…If it’s about you, you know your content. Have confidence in yourself.

I'm now freaking out!! And am practising NOW!!!

I disagree with @WrigglyDonCat as presentations that dot around back to bits they forgot are annoying.

Ah, so an interview presumably? Honestly, you don't need notes, no one will know if you miss one or two bits out. Practice delivering it, speak far slower than you think you should, smile, eye contact, be confident in your delivery. All far more important than remembering all fifteen of the projects you worked on at Acme Ltd - remembering half a dozen is fine.

@titchy I don't WANT to forget anything though!!

Presenters who read stuff out are really boring to listen to. You might as well just give everyone a document to read themselves.

You really do need to be able to talk around the slides. Not memorising a script - using the prompts on the slides to talk naturally, as if you were telling someone you’d just met about the topic matter.

Don’t worry about not saying everything. Your slides will have the important points so they’ll all be covered even if you don’t elaborate on all of them.

If you miss something out, don’t get flustered or backtrack, just carry on. You need to be interesting and to some extent entertaining as well as informative.

Thank you all I just ran through it and got through it almost ok.

I will spend some more time on it tomorrow and again the day after.

I did go off topic a little though 😬

It's also 25 minutes - it's too long I think

That sounds like you've scripted it?? I hope not. You've had some great advice on this thread so I hope you're not just completely ignoring it.

@HundredMilesAnHour I did it without my notes - just glanced at them a few times throughout

Try to relax, keep polishing your delivery. Use a timer.

Well done!

I wouldn't worry OP. I have to write out presentations word for word as I have a disability that means I have difficulty with my memory and word recall. I literally couldn't do it another way.

I do what you do and flit up to my notes and down again when needed making lots of eye contact in between. But the words are there if I can't bring something to mind. I have always been complimented on my presentations.

@@HundredMilesAnHour I did use a timer and it's too long! I think.

25 minutes 🤦‍♀️

I also am polishing it but you said that means it's scripted?! Surely practising it is important? And a lot of the words I have written are stuck in my head I'm not sure if that's good or bad

@WishingMyLifeAway perfect. Thank you.

If you are going off track, make sure you are absolutely clear in your head what you are trying to get across, what is the (main) point of your presentation? What is it that you want people to go away thinking about? How does each slide contribute to that? Just have notes to remind you of that, rather than exactly what you are going to say.

It's just when the time comes and the pressure is on the mind can do strange things and that's what worries me the pressure makes my brain not think as well as it should/could

Are you asking if you should "memorise a script", as that is the impression I am getting ?

If so, I'd say no.

If, however, you want to know if it is okay to have some "notes" - ie, bullet points to act as a prompt - then the answer is yes.

Nobody wants to hear someone delivering a script - you have to make it sound like you are talking to the people you are delivering to, not reading to them

Exactly what @WrigglyDonCat said.

What I found useful in the early days of giving presentations was to print out the Powerpoint 'handout' page with three slides on. My slides were pretty minimal, with a few bullet points and usually an image on each. Next I'd write extra prompts (one or two words mainly) on the lines to help me elaborate or link with other slides. I'd also have prompts for welcome, introductions, housekeeping - timings, breaks etc, link to next presenter and so on.

Actually during presentations I found it useful that I couldn't read everything word for word (as I need reading glasses for close up reading but wouldn't wear them when presenting), so I had to limit my notes to essential trigger words.

I'd then run through my presentation several times using the PowerPoint slide show mode on screen, and only using prompts when necessary. This really helped me feel confident and appear more relaxed.