We have prepared the following guide to assist you in preparing your presentation. We can, hopefully, suggest several points that will enable you to avoid some of the more common traps when preparing a presentation at a conference.
We strongly recommend taking the time to read the following information and use it as a general guide.
1. RELEVANCE OF YOUR PRESENTATION TO ORIGINAL PUBLISHED OUTLINE
Please ensure, as much as possible, that the presentation is related to your original bullet points and topic outline as printed in the conference brochure and previously confirmed with KGS. It is worth referring back to the session outline during the preparation of the presentation to ensure that you cover all the points within the session.
2. AVOID OVERLAP AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE WITH OTHER SESSIONS
The easiest way to do this is read through the conference agenda (you should have received the final PDF by email). If you are concerned that another speaker has a similar session, feel free to call Lisanne on +31 70 3002127.
3. THE ‘THIS IS WHO WE ARE’ APPROACH
Delegates prefer it if you spend only a couple of minutes introducing your company. Unless it is directly related to the content of the session, it is generally preferable to omit an “About Us” introduction unless it is necessary to illustrate the relevance to the presentation.
4. USE REAL-LIFE CASE EXAMPLES TO ILLUSTRATE A POINT
Experience with strategies, problems encountered and how you overcame challenges are the real reason why delegates attend any conference of this nature. To increase the interest from the audience, illustrate your point with a relevant and personal example.
5. QUALITY OF PRESENTATION MATERIAL
If you are preparing a written presentation, please enclose a copy with any supporting graphs and slides to complement your overall presentation (as sent to you by our Operations department) well before the conference dates.
6. CLARITY AND LEGIBILITY OF YOUR POWERPOINT SLIDES
Ensure that the overheads / slides/ PowerPoint presentation will be legible by minimising clutter on each slide and using a minimum 12 point font. Colours to avoid are light colour text on dark background (red on green especially). A white background with dark text is best (if the most boring!)
7. TIMING
We recommend to have your presentation timed 20 min for 30 min time slot and maximum 30 minutes for 45 min time slot, with the rest of the time left to answer questions from the audience. Average attention span during a presentation is 15-25 min, and you will lose the attention if you present any longer.
8. QUESTIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE
Be prepared to answer questions from attendees. They have the opportunity to pose questions at the end of your presentation, which will be introduced and summarised by the Chair person for the day. An open approach with real examples work best.
If you want to learn more on how to be a good presenter, check out Tips for Speakers session of our CEO blog: Best Conference Tips
