Having recently attended an Information Technology (IT) trade show featuring IT seminars, I was struck by how boring the presentations were. As I looked around the room, I saw people with glazed looks and others falling asleep. It was a shame, because the presenters were obviously knowledgeable and spoke on interesting and timely topics. Even though the presenters were not professional speakers, how could they have avoided being boring?

Work on vocal variety! I realize that “nerves” can cause dry mouth and the tendency to talk in a monotone, but this can be deadly. If we take time to look different audience members in the eye and speak to them as if in a one-to-one conversation, we will sound more natural.

Lighten up! Add a bit of humor. I am not suggesting starting the presentation with a joke. I am suggesting that in the field of computers, technology, and every type of business there are lots of true and humorous anecdotes that would elicit laughter and get audience members on your side. Laughter will also ease a presenter’s tension.

Don’t tell us everything you know! Content is incredibly important, however, as presenters we must not feel that we have to pack everything we know into one presentation. Usually covering three main points/topics is sufficient for a dynamic presentation. An effective speaker leaves an audience wanting to find out more -- not overwhelmed by the amount of material covered.

Use props with care! It is fine to use props, including digitally generated slides and visuals. However, when we rely on these for our presentation -- for example, reading what audience members can see already -- we lose their attention quickly. Also, boring visuals with lots of words and no graphics are a complete turnoff.

Involve the audience! Besides getting the audience to laugh and feel that we are talking directly to them, we can ask them questions and also encourage them to ask us questions or make comments on our statements. Having everyone write down what they want to learn and then asking a few participants to share what they have written is one way to elicit involvement from the start.

Prepare, prepare, prepare and practice, practice, practice! The more prepared we are, the more comfortable and enthusiastic we will be when presenting. I am not advocating memorizing, but I am suggesting that we have mapped out our direction, tested our stories, and practiced a strong opening and closing.

Work on all of these, and I guarantee, you’ll never, never, never be boring!