Some tips on effective presentations

Below are some materials on effective presentations  during Teacher Development Program from Greg Reihman, Director of Faculty Development, Lehigh University

Know your material
The advice below assumes that your know something about the topic and have something to say. But don't focus on everything you know, focus instead on the key things you want your audience to learn

Determine 3-5 objectives: what do you want really your audience to learn?
Your audience will learn more than that, but if you can teach someone 3-5 new things you will have done a great job

Tell a story
People understand and connect with ideas that they can fit together into a story. A good story sets up an interesting problem, challenge or puzzle and works its way toward resolution. At a minimum, plan a beginning, a middle, and an end that makes sense together.

Be a body
Make eye contact, use gestures, be open with your arms, face the audience, smile. Practice this

Plan some form of "energy shift " every 15-20 minutes
Your audience should be doing something significantly different after 15 - 20 minutes. To Accomplish this, you might lecture for 15 minutes then offer a personal anecdote, a short video clip. Or it might mean giving your students something to do (5 minutes to write or discuss or stretch or take a quiz). Or it might mean presenting a case study, talking about it for 10 minutes with your audience, then presenting the next case. What matters most is that you do something to change how the room feels; to have your audience use a different part of their mind.

Make some part of your presentation personal , but not "about you"
It's great to include a story or an example that is about you or your experience; however, if you do, make sure you offer it in a way that helps you connect with your audience or helps them understand your point. If your story is meant to impress, it probably won't

Speak with an easy authority 
When you start speaking, your audience assumes you have something to teach them. If you mutter or apologize, if you are self-effacing or disorganized, you will give them reason to think that you do not. This does not mean being authoritarian (tyrannical, bossy, strict) but rather being authoritative (in control , knowledgeable, influential)

Aim to teach, not to impress
If you present your talk thinking, "I have to show them that I know what I'm talking about" then, at best, they will leave having learned "Wow, she knows what she's talking about" (at worst, they will find you arrogant, unapproachable, and ineffective). If you present your talk thinking, "I have to help them understand what I'm talking about" then, at best, they will leave having learned, "Wow, I get it" (or , at worst, they will learn find you helpful, kind, approachable and will come back hoping to learn more).