99 Things

BROUGHT TO YOU BY
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1: A CASUAL INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 2: why you absolutely need

to know all of this stuff
CHAPTER 3: make your powerpoint

content stunning (tips 1-25)
CHAPTER 4: the secrets of very easy

yet luxurious design (tips 26-50)
CHAPTER 5: delivering a presentation

like you were born to do (tips 51-75)
CHAPTER 6: networking after your

presentation (tips 76-85)
CHAPTER 7: clever ways to recycle

your content and design (tips 86-99)
CHAPTER 8: you’ve been schooled
ETHOS3.com
ETHOS3.com Award-Winning Presentation Design and Training 2
CHAPTER 1
A CaSUAL
INTRODUCTION

Hello!
You might be reading this for a few reasons: either you

have an important presentation coming up, you want
to learn how to improve your presentation skills in
general, or you are unhappy with the level of education
you received and wish to avenge yourself by learning
anything you might have missed.
You came to the right place.
Ethos3 is founded on a single principle: to empower

presenters. We create presentations every day.
Sometimes we create them twice a day, if we happen to
dream about them before work. We’re experts. We live it,
breathe it, eat it, and unfortunately, we also die by it.
These 99 tips are specially designed to be quick, helpful,

and essential components to a great presentation. They
encompass everything we know about presentations
and how to make them compelling.
Prepare yourself.
you’re about to
become empowered.
-The Ethos3 Team

CHAPTER 2
why you absolutely

need to know all of
this stuff

Do you remember school?
Was it miserable? Were you ever beaten up

for wearing unattractive clothing?
We had a similar
experience.
This was probably why most of the things we learned
in middle school, high school, and college didn’t fully
prepare us for adulthood. We were simply too busy
trying to avoid being punched in the face.
Even worse, our education

often didn’t have the foresight
to see us as attractive business
people in the future. We never
learned how to make compelling
presentations that could educate,
sell, and make our audiences
excited about our message.

A lot of our clients range from
frustrated to emotionally distraught
when they bring us their presentation.
This is because they don’t feel
equipped to tell the story that they
want to tell. School never really
prepared us for a pitch deck trying to
raise $1.5 million for a start up.
Someday, somewhere, somehow

you are going to need to make a
presentation. What you learned in
school about the MLA style and bullet
points simply won’t cut it. In fact, it
will probably hurt you.
If anything, these crucial skills can be

applied in other areas of your life.
A compelling speech at a wedding?
Check.
Better writing skills overall?
Yep.
And if you ever wanted to brush up
your design in general, these tips are
even useful for that.

Presentations
are about
sharing a story.
Even if you’re just sharing a funny story about
your dog Pickles, this is a crucial skill.

CHAPTER 3
make your
powerpoint
content stunning

Content is its own living, breathing, dinosaur-sized
entity in a presentation. It’s going to tell your story and
make people want to buy everything you’re selling, or it’s
going to make them throw tomatoes at you.
Here’s our
philosophy about
content at Ethos3:
simplicity rules.
There should only be a few words on each slide in order
to guide the speaker through the content and give main
ideas for the audience to focus on. The rest goes in
speaker’s notes, or simply gets deleted.
Another thing we do differently?

We believe that content should tell a story. This
includes a beginning, middle, end, and even a hero.
Without launching into a lengthy 10 chapters on why
storytelling works, you can either trust us or use a trusty
search engine to look up the neuroscience behind it.
Finally, we always include a call-to-action at the end of

the presentation. Even if it’s just to insist that people think
a little bit harder about how good you look in a suit.

A lot of this information is counter-intuitive.
We’ve always been taught to fill our slides with
bullet points as long as Santa’s naughty list,
or that everything you need to say should be
crammed on one slide like a teleprompter script.
It’s simply not true.
SIMPLICITY IS BEST.
BULLET POINTS
ARE AN EYESORe.
STORIES WORK.
How do we know this?

Because we’ve written over a thousand
presentations with different purposes and messages.
It doesn’t matter how conservative the information
is: dull content will put everyone to sleep.

Without any more fluff, here are the 25 writing tips which will make you the
next Presentation Shakespeare-Homer-Dickens.
01.write sober, edit sober,

wake up early
Don’t heed the advice of Hemingway or Wilde or any other brilliant author
who (probably) nursed a jumbo bottle of Listerine at the keyboard. When
you approach your presentation content, all you need is a clear head,
a quiet space to write, and a meaningful purpose. Great presentation
content can come from anywhere, anytime. It doesn’t have to be For
Whom the Bell Tolls.
02. compile everything

When we start a presentation, we never begin writing without the assets
for the project. This includes any data, taglines, or necessary information
that will be placed into the on-slide content. What do your assets
include? Print them out or place them into one working document
as your starting point.
“The will to win is important. But the

will to prepare is vital.”
-Joe Paterno

03.PUT YOUR
AUDIENCE FIRST
Before you even place a finger on your keyboard, you
must consider your audience. They are the reason
this whole process should even begin: the #1 VIP Kings
of the Universe to your presentation.
What are their

needs? Their
concerns? What do
they want to see or
learn about?
If you start writing your content like an “About Me”
section of a social media page, you will lose their
interest. Jot down everything you know about them in
advance, and plan from there.
04.DEVELOP A MESSAGE
Some of the most difficult clients we have aren’t
mean, scary, and shout-y: they simply don’t know
what they want. What is this presentation trying to
accomplish? Try to sum it up in one sentence, like a
movie tagline. This main message should contain a
core emotional meaning, but it doesn’t have to be long
or verbose to become a powerful presentation.

05.THREE TAKEAWAYS (OR LESS)
Your takeaways describe the pieces of information that will support your
message. The audience’s mind works like this: one, two, three... I forget.
They’re not going to have patience for more than three takeaways. Write
these down separately before you begin to draft your full presentation.
Ask yourself: what are the three things I want the audience to walk away
knowing?
“No one can remember more than three points.”

-Phillip Crosby
06.apply storytelling
This is where it gets tricky for
everyone. How can storytelling fit into
your very professional presentation?
Consider telling the story behind its
story, like an example of someone
using your product/service, or just
share a relevant tale about your Pop
Pop’s favorite fishing tackle. Start with
a story and end with a story, or maybe
even weave one throughout the
whole thing: just do it. It will enhance
your audience’s memory and make
them feel invested in your message.

07. create a hero
The best way to build a great story in your
presentation is to start with a hero that the
audience can root for (or boo loudly at).
This character can mirror the audience, be a
representation of you in the past, or simply
be a fictional hero that uses your product/
service/idea for the first time and experiences
radical changes. Put a name and a face to your
hero, and flesh them out before you create
your first draft.
08.give it a cliffhanger
If you’re going through all of the work to insert a story into your
presentation, then be sure you’re also giving the hero a journey to travel,
a problem to solve, or a change that will make a significant impact. Don’t
leave the story hanging after you introduce the main character, and also
make sure you plan their journey in advance.
09.construct a structure
Back in school, this was known as the outline of your essay. But for
presentations, the process can be a little bit more refined to support your
call to action (see Tip #11). Your structure doesn’t have to be like the
foundation of a house, in that it doesn’t need to last a thousand years and
withstand the blows of time. It just needs to have a logical flow and the
flexibility to change as needed.

10.decide on a theme
A theme is a fantastic way to infect your
presentation with creativity. Come up with a
single word that encompasses your message, an
interesting metaphor, or an overall feeling that
you want to evoke. Once you’ve got a nugget of
an idea, reference this theme on nearly every slide
through the visual choices or content itself. The
more creative the theme, the more easily you’ll
be able to think of image ideas and create copy.
Because no one ever had a party writing about
“integrative techniques,” but perhaps everyone
rejoices at a theme like “space cowboys.”
11.create a strong
call to action
A call to action tells your audience exactly what they should do
once the presentation ends. It can truly be anything:
call your mom, become an investor,

share your email address, etc.
Be sure that your presentation always has one, otherwise all of your
hard work may vanish in a cloud of “I forgot” once the audience
leaves the room.

12.
lay out each slide
Unlike your loose storyboard sketch (see Tip 9),
laying out the content on each slide is a lot more
detailed and closer to the final product. On top
of writing the text for each slide, be sure to also
include some design notes or image suggestions
that matches the overall theme. This way you can
move the text around, edit, and work through any
flaws in logic without having put all of the work into
designing each slide.
13.
let speaker’s notes
guide you
Have you ever used speaker’s notes before? If
the answer is “no,” imagine us shaking our heads
and saying tsk tsk tsk over and over. Speaker’s notes
are a fantastic way to clean up the bulk of content
on a slide and still make sure you’ll have all of the
necessary information you need to deliver the talk.
In short, don’t
let your slides
become wordy.
Solve it by sweeping all of your additional content
under the speaker’s notes rug.

14.apply a heavy
dose of simplicity
It doesn’t matter what stage of the presentation you’re working on: be as
simple as you possibly can. Don’t snowball into a “this is important!”
spiral that leaves your slides with a mess of information. No one is go-
ing to remember more than a main point or two, so cater your message
around making the most memorable points of all time.
“A good speech should be like a woman’s skirt;

long enough to cover the subject and short
enough to create interest.”
-Winston S. Churchill
15.the “twitter”
challenge
Here’s one good way to minimize
text on each slide to make sure you’re
not overwhelming or distracting your
audience. If your content wouldn’t
fit into a Tweet (140 characters long,
including spaces), then it’s too long.
It’s as simple as that. Test your current
content on each slide using this rule
to see how you stack up.

16.eliminate or define jargon
Unless you know for a fact that your audience will be familiar with every
term and any jargon within the content, you’re safer leaving them out
or verbally defining them during the talk. Don’t alienate your audience
because you have a fancy vocabulary and went to Hogwarts for high
school. Make them feel included, even in the language you speak.
“If you have an important point to make, don’t

try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit
the point once. Then come back and hit it again.
Then hit it a third time — a tremendous whack.”
-Winston S. Churchill
17.beware of bullet points

Bullet points are the tiny criminals of PowerPoint. They sneak in
under the guise of an important task, and before you know it, these
bandits are littered across every slide and stealing the show. Bullet
points can become a crutch for speakers, and cause them to painfully
read aloud each sub-header in front of an audience that knows full well
what the slide says. Avoid them if you can. No matter how difficult
the task may seem, avoid them.

18.let emotion happen
Inauthenticity doesn’t happen when a presenter is
careless with their topic or lacks investment. It often
occurs when a presenter cares so much that they water
their message down to a safe, corporate monotone.
Allow yourself the freedom of using your real
opinions, real vocabulary, and real tone of voice
throughout your on-slide content and in your delivery.
19.sprinkle in
some questions
Turn your audience into active listeners by asking them
poignant questions, especially if they are hypothetical
and meant to be silently, personally answered during
the talk. Get them thinking about big issues, their own
participation in larger problems, and just generally
about things that will make them noodle and feel like
mindful participants.
20.a word on quotes

Quotes are like seasoning your meal with garlic
powder. Add a little and it can make your dish
tasty and wonderful. Add too much? It will taste
like poison in your mouth. Consider using quotes to
bolster your intro and outro, but don’t rely on them
too much within the content. Give your content the
strength of your own voice, not Mark Twain’s.

21.keep it consistent
Consistent content means coordinating verb tenses, making sure that
you don’t contradict yourself, and keeping the same overall amount of
text on each slide. It also just means flipping through your storyboard
again and again until you feel like each individual slide could fit
together within the larger piece.
22.the power of
repetition (Repetition)
If you have something you want your audience to remember, don’t
hesitate to remind them. Take a suggestion from flash card days of yore
and show the audience what you want ingrained in their minds. As the
old saying goes, tell them what you’re going to say, say it, and then
remind them of what they just heard.
23.a second (or third)

pair of eyes
No man is an island, and no content should
go without an outside opinion before
the time of delivery. Show it to someone
trustworthy and ask them to look for more
than grammatical or spelling errors. They
should also be able sniff out overall flaws in
flow, logic, or any other glaring mistakes that
a spell check simply can’t find.

24.
cut, cut, cut
The secret to incredible writing is editing down to the
essentials. You don’t need probably half the content
you think is necessary: we mean it. Write down
everything you feel is important, and then go back and
slash and burn the whole thing.
Less is more.
Minimal is the new mega-mal.
25.
the final slide
The final slide serves two purposes: it should
leave the audience with a clear call to action,
and it should present a good transition into a
continued conversation, AKA a Q&A session.
Make sure the content on your final slide is more
than just a “thank you,” but a place to remind the
audience of the thing they should remember or
do after they’ve left the room.
Less is more.
Minimal is the new mega-mal.

CHAPTER 4
the secrets of
very easy yet
luxurious design

We have recruited a team of
elite designers at Ethos3 in
order to make all of our client
presentations beautiful,
impactful, and worthy of framing
at the MoMA. All of these super
designers have had years of
experience with a range of clients,
turning some scribbles and
a few coffee-stained plans into
something great.
We realize you may not have the

training or resources to learn how to
paint the presentation version of
the Mona Lisa.
You also probably didn’t have a lot of

design training in school. Software
changes every year, pop stars age,
and the inevitable march of time
turns all of us into novices.
Our short design tips will build on

each other to help guide you to
greatness. All you need to learn are
some basic principles along with
some no-no’s that will prevent a
larger mess. You may be surprised
to find that good looking design
is more about taking elements
away than slopping them on, and
generally requires the same concise
vision as the content.

Enough anticipation! Let’s get started with
design tips that will help your presentation good
looking, nay, even luxurious.
26. COLOR THEORY

Learning how different colors interact with each
other within a presentation can be as simple as
learning about the color wheel itself. There are
a lot of great resources online which can help
you select which shades will compliment other
shades, many of them with tools that can show
you what the colors look like side by side. Use
the power of the search engine once again!
27.THE RULE OF THIRDS

Want to grab someone’s attention? Try the classic Rule of Thirds. In
short, it describes a layout where 2/3rds of the image is devoted to open
space, and 1/3rd of the image contains what you want the viewer to focus
on, using the natural frame of the remaining white space. The secret to
this trick is keeping the bulk of the slide simple in order to enhance the
most important piece.

28. stock photo do’s
In order to pick a stock photograph that doesn’t look “stocky,” be sure
you’re selecting images that fit your right demographic, are cropped
or altered to frame the text, and convey natural-looking experiences
that relate directly to your message. The goal is to find a photo that
looks like you specifically took it for the presentation, rather than
to force a stock-looking image to do the job.
29. stock photo don’ts

There are definitely some “don’ts” when selecting a stock image.
Don’t use any image where the people are positioned unnaturally, i.e.
looking at the camera or laughing at nothing. Also, beware of using
a whole image without cropping or experimenting with the photo in
some way to make sure it fits appropriately on the slide. In general,
you want to avoid photos that don’t match your demographic or
overall tone, and just feel like they were inserted to be inserted.

30.less is more
This concept is essential to any design philosophy, but especially to
presentation design where the amount of space is limited.
Fewer design elements

mean a clearer message
and an emphasis on what
actually matters.
Consider using a smaller palette of colors, selection of photos, or set of
design accents on each slide. You may find freedom in the simplicity,
especially when you don’t have an entire internet full of fonts, colors, and
images to choose from.
“A designer knows he has achieved

perfection not when there is nothing left
it add, but where there is nothing left to
take away.”
-Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

31.the lessig method
Here’s a presentation design philosophy to try out, created by Harvard
University law professor Larry Lessig. The principle is simple: spend
about 15 seconds on a slide rather than taking a minute to speak to
it. He recommends balancing your use of text-only and image-only
slides, but the most important thing is to have only a single short idea
and element per slide.
32.the takahashi method

Say it all in black and white with the Takahashi Method, which is
minimal to the very core. The philosophy designed by Japanese
thought-leader Masoyoshi Takahashi is easy: clean white back-
grounds and an enormous piece of thick black text in a font of your
choosing. Sound dull? The art is found in the use of a single word on
each slide, which gives the copy a huge boost.
33.the godin method

This image-centric presentation style created by marketer Seth Go-
din is all about using minimal words and never repeating yourself. Yes,
never repeating yourself. His concern is with redundancy, when what
is being said matches identically with the content on slide. Be sure to
eliminate any design redundancies not only in the visuals of the pre-
sentation, but also within the verbiage of the content. In the end, the
speaker does the speaking and the slide does the showing.

34.the kawasaki method
This design and content method created by thought leader Guy
Kawasaki comes at you like a hurricane: it’s 10 slides delivered in 20
minutes with a 30-point font on each slide. 10-20-30. That means
that each slide needs to be perfectly calibrated to be digested in a little
over a minute. If you want to give this method a try, your design should
reflect a speedy pace, with large enough imagery to compliment the
jumbo font on each slide.
“Graphical excellence is that which gives to the

viewer the greatest number of ideas in the shortest
time with the least ink in the smallest space.”
-Edward R. Tufte
35.avoiding visual cliches

It can be hard to pair high-level content with imagery that matches
perfectly. That’s why a lot of presentations fall victim to visual cliches
like handshakes, people answering a phone and smiling, and a whole
host of other tired stock images. The best way to avoid a cliche is to
apply a fresh visual theme throughout, based around a metaphor. For
example, choose a “growth” theme using plant images. Need a way to
show an expanding client base? A vine creeping up a wall. Need a way to
show a good connection? A garden filled with flowers. The more abstract
it is, the more options you’ll have to choose from.

36.picking a palette
Before you start designing your presentation, decide
on a limited palette of background and accent colors
that you will use throughout. Limit yourself to around
3-5 colors to ensure that you won’t clutter up your
deck with too many shades. If you’re lost, revisit Tip
#26 about color theory, and look online for different
resources about shades that go well together, and
how to pick the right accent colors.
37.bullet rules
If a slide must have bullets, then sometimes it
must. While we aren’t advocates of these slide-
stealing, soul-crushing lists, we also acknowledge
that sometimes they exist for a reason. If you’re
designing a slide with bullets, consider that they
don’t have to be listed at all. Play around with
different arrangements of the items on the slide. For
example, making a map with each item represented
as a separate destination, or showing each bullet
laid out in a circle. Get creative with it! Bullets don’t
have to be a vertical affair.
“A plain circular bullet is widely disdained

for its banality.”
-Carolina de Bartolo

38.
full bleed imagery
High-quality, full-bleed photos with some
tasteful text overlay can transform a slide into
a masterpiece. However, be sure that your full-
bleed image is complementary to the shape and
color of text so that your audience will be able to
read it clearly. You may consider using the white
space afforded by The Rule of Thirds (see Tip #27)
to select and adjust your image appropriately in the
background of the slide.
39.
say it with icons
Icons are a great way to approach high-level
content on a slide when there are no specific
photographs that would appropriately match the
topic. They can also be used next to listed items (i.e.
bullet points), or on header slides like a bold “stamp”
of approval. Just be sure they fit with your specific
industry and the overall style of your presentation.
Then, sprinkle
them sparingly
throughout your
existing design.

40. charts and graphs
Sometimes there has to be a chart. No matter
how much we want to avoid them, there
simply is no other way to show a grouping of
data. The best thing you can do is to avoid the
dreaded screenshot of a chart or graph from
an Excel document by designing your chart in
another program entirely. It should also use
the consistent palette colors you’ve chosen,
and it doesn’t have to be incredibly detailed. If
the details of the chart or graph are supremely
important, consider using a handout rather than
putting all of that information on the slide itself.
“Less is not necessarily more. Just enough is more.”

-Milton Glaser
41.appeal to your audience

When an advertising agency seeks to land a big client deal, they transform
into detectives. They learn everything to know about their audience:
age, hobbies, likes, dislikes, political affiliations, favorite flavor of pizza,
etc. The point of any purposeful pitch should be to appeal to specific
audience needs, which can sometimes be very specific. Likewise, you
should always put on a detective hat and design with your audience’s
known preferences in mind. All of your pictures should reflect their
demographic, and all of the visual metaphors and other elements should
appeal to their interests. Don’t let your design be an unsolved mystery:
put in the extra work!

42.a word on accent colors
It’s easy to allow bland design take over when you’re worried about
playing it safe or conservative. If you’re only using a few of your brand
colors which are found in your logo or current website, you’re at risk
of death by blandness. The word on accent colors is simple: make
sure you’re using them. Experiment with a dash of bright orange, red,
yellow, hot pink, neon green...the list is endless. Just a small bit can
help highlight important points on each slide and escape the blah.
43.presenting data
the smart way
So, you have a lot of data and you’re not sure whether you should
just copy-paste the whole thing onto a slide, create a chart, or
pretend it doesn’t exist. We believe that within every set of data, there
is generally a way to summarize it using the most important figures,
or even replacing the whole thing with a generalized statement.
Consider even pulling the top three figures and giving them their own
slide, thus preventing a visually overwhelmed audience.

44.SCALE UP
Presentations offer a unique design challenge because they are often
consumed on a screen in front of seated audience members, vs.
personally viewed on a smaller screen.
This means that you need

to think big. Really big.
Scale up your fonts, boost the size of your icons, and make sure your
images are high resolution enough to get bigger and bigger. The audience
in the very back of the room should be able to see every line and texture.
“If you can’t make it good, make it big!”

-Michael Rowley
45.vary alignment
Keeping all of your text, images, and other
design elements completely centered
on each slide is probably something Wes
Anderson would do, but is generally a bad
idea for the rest of us. Avoid sameness by
changing up the alignment of your various
elements. For example, ask a question in
the top corner of one slide, and then place
the answer text on the following slide in the
bottom corner. Change things up a bit!

46.HIERARCHIES
Each slide will have an item of information, a word, or even an image that
represents the most important concept or idea. Once you’ve locked in on
exactly what the most essential element is, try designing around the item
using a hierarchy of size, color, and placement. For instance, make a word
bolder by making it the largest element, brightest color, or placing it front
and center with all of the other words framing it.
47.MOODBOARDS
Need a little inspiration? Take a queue from our designers and consider
creating a Moodboard that combines different visual elements you are
drawn to for your particular project. This can include real-life magazine
clippings, screenshots you’ve taken, examples from other presentations,
and more. Place all of your inspirational pieces side-by-side to help give
you some overall style direction.
48. INCREASE CONTRAST

Our first favorite word is “simplicity,” and our second favorite word
is “contrast.” Contrasting shapes, colors, and image vivacity
is a fantastic way to add design interest and prevent your
presentation from The Blah. Contrast is also at the core of some
pretty effective design philosophies (see: Tip #31-34). Mess around
with different colors, levels of brightnesses, and the like to give
your slides more “pop.”

49.VIDEO AND IMAGES
In general, our advice is always to keep visual and video assets at the
highest quality they can possibly be. Period. The only reason you may
rebel against this advice is in the event that you need to be wary of file
size. If you’re running your presentation on unknown or older devices, our
suggestion is to avoid any technical mishaps that may happen with tons
of video and images. Keep it simple and consider: does your presentation
really need a video if you can explain the topic in person?
50.IF ALL FAILs, HIRE A PRO

There is no shame in admitting defeat. If you can’t quite get the design
of your presentation to the place you want it to be, consider hiring a
professional firm that specializes in presentations (hint: us). We’re here
to help prevent another tearful all-nighter.

CHAPTER 5
delivering a
presentation like
you were born to do

“Public speaking” is widely considered to be a bad
word. Frankly, it’s terrifying. Marching in front of a group of
people and then talking about something (anything) takes
courage that few possess. Even incredible speakers suffer
from hesitation and doubt before they walk on stage.
So, we aren’t hunting wild animals in a

quicksand forest like our ancestors, but we do
have to deliver a 30 minute talk on Quarter One.
Somehow, the talk is scarier.
You’re not crazy if you sweat profusely and have a panic

attack before starting a presentation, but you are crazy if
you don’t prepare. Preparation is the only way that you can
work through the terror.
Preparation
is everything.
Think of preparation like a secret Ace in your pocket, or
Liquid Luck, or a magical rabbit’s foot, or a word of blessing
from Mark Twain. If you fully prepare, you’ll be able to
deliver your presentation nearly on auto-pilot, even if
something goes horribly wrong.

The following collection of short tips and tricks won’t do the preparation
work for you, but they will definitely help. Trust us: this collection of
knowledge has been built from 10+ years in the presentation training realm.
51. movement
You have two enemies when it comes
to moving around on stage: pacing
and the podium. Too much pacing and
you’ll be a distraction, and hiding behind a
podium doesn’t convey confidence. Seek
a balance by giving yourself freedom to
move without the podium, yet still within
a chunk of space that won’t cause your
audience to clearly turn their heads and
follow your movement.
52. the stare down

Eye contact is massively important.
It conveys confidence, it makes your audience feel included, and

it makes you look engaged as a speaker. Break the room into
three different directions to look at, and then spend time in each
“quadrant” making brief yet meaningful contact (no evil glares,
please) with people sitting throughout them.

53.START STRONG
The best presentations have attention-grabbing introductions accomplished
through one of the following: a mighty quote, a personal story, an example
story, or a hook sentence that startles. Don’t just step on stage and explain
what you want to do; give your audience a sentence pitch that helps
reinforce why they are sitting in those ergonomic office chairs.
54.end stronger
The purpose of the opening is to grab
your audience’s attention for the duration
of the talk. The purpose of a close is to
keep them thinking about the talk long
after it ends, which means it needs to be
even more grabbing. Consider painting a
vision of the future, ending with a moving
story, including a potent call or action, or
perhaps even finishing on a memorable
quote. It doesn’t need to be perfect: it
just needs to stick.
55.questions, questions
Ask questions (hypothetical or not) to your audience throughout your
presentation in order to connect them to the message. These questions
can be big, small, life-changing, or mundane...just so long as they get
your audience thinking about the topic at hand and imagining themselves
within the larger picture.

56.anti-anxiety pre-game
You are what you eat! Avoid stomach-churning food and drinks like
caffeinated beverages, fried foods, alcohol, and sugar-free items, all of
which tend to increase an anxious stomach. Instead, consider food and
drinks that will fill you up or relax your stomach, like bananas, rice, toast,
applesauce, hot un-caffeinated tea, and candied ginger.
“The way you overcome shyness is to

become so wrapped up in something that
you forget to be afraid.”
-Lady Bird Johnson
57.hand gestures gone wrong

On the whole, hand gestures are a perfect way to display your own energy
and naturally show whole-body involvement with your subject matter.
However, we recommend that you avoid aggressive pointing, flailing, and
anything that might be seen as regionally offensive. Keep your pointing
finger reserved for passenger seat navigation, and you should be fine.
58.delivering a call to action

We’ve mentioned that a call to action is important within the content and
design portion of your presentation (and it is!), but don’t forget to spice it
up by adding extra emphasis to it during your delivery. Pause before you
say it, pause after you say it, and be sure you’re making the best “this is
important” face you have in your arsenal.

59.
using pauses like a pro
Some of the most powerful (and even a little spooky)
speakers in the world use a pause to indicate an
important moment within their speech, or simply to
grab the audience’s attention.
Silence is unnerving.
It makes the audience remember where they are and

why they are there. Even if you need a moment to catch
your breath and gather up your thoughts, consider
using a pause in the place of an apology or an “um.”
60.
CUSTOMIZED
If you aren’t planning to customize the presentation
content and design for the audience, then it will fall
on the strength of your delivery to address to make
them feel special. This is akin to a band addressing
the city they are touring in, only perhaps less cheesy.
Consider an in-depth Q&A after your talk with questions
specifically geared towards their needs, or some general
opening remarks about their experience. The more
customized your delivery, the more potential there
is for a meaningful connection.

61. SPEED AND TONE
The debate rages: should you increase the volume
of your voice until you sound like a tenor? Put on a
dignified whisper? Try to use your inside voice? In
general, your normal speaking voice will do just fine.
The only thing to be wary of is the speed of your
message, which tends to increase with nervousness.
The most effective remedy is practice, especially
with a timer, a metronome, or a friend.
62.PRACTICE STANDING
You already know the power of muscle memory, which gives you the
strength to make coffee in the morning with 0% of your brain working.
In the same way, if you practice your presentation standing up and
moving around as you would during the actual event, it will increase your
comfortability and can help you pull through the public speaking jitters.
63.
CHUNK YOUR MESSAGE
If you are delivering an especially long or content-heavy speech, break it
all up into pieces as you rehearse and deliver. This starts by first creating
sections, then breaking those sections into sentences, and then even
breaking those sentences down into parts that can be individually
practiced. Sometimes all you need to remember is a single point from
which you can build on conversationally.

64.
ELIMINATING UM’S
Word filler is a built-in part of the way we speak. It’s the
brain’s way of giving our mouth a way to catch up with
our thoughts, and generally isn’t noticeable or annoying.
If you feel like you’re going overboard with “um’s,” then
ditch memorization and stick to natural speaking styles
like storytelling or an imaginary conversation. Becoming
familiar with your content is also crucial, so your brain
won’t waste additional energy trying to conjure up what
you’ve memorized.
Try familiarization, not memorization.
65.
how often should
you rehearse?
There is no magical formula for every speaker,
but we recommend you fully run through your
presentation from start to finish seven to eight
times in a similar environment as you will be
speaking in. That means you should stand, use
the materials you’ve created, and time yourself.
It’s important to get as close to the final product
as possible, lest a technological mishap ruin the
whole thing. Read the intro again to remind
yourself about the power of practice.

66.
the art of speaker’s notes
If you’ve followed our design and content tips to the letter, then the
bulk of your content will be found tucked neatly within the speaker’s
notes rather than on-slide. Thus, we recommend practicing with
them to your level of comfort, but only in places where the subject is
complex and the numbers matter substantially.
67.
a word on
appearances
If it jangles, causes prism rainbows,
distracts, or inhibits movement, then don’t
wear it. Otherwise, allow your personal style
to speak for you. Don’t be afraid to wear
something considered dangerously non-
corporate so long as it reflects your personal
brand. Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs
didn’t get to where they did worried about
dress suits and ties.
68.
the BUDDY SYSTEM
It’s a technique as old as time itself. It can help you correct poor pacing,
gestures, and any other mistakes you may be blind to. The secret?
Ask a friend to help you practice. The key is for the environment to be
“feedback rich,” which means they should be the kind of friend who is
willing to be honest as well as in-depth.

69.
Q&A TRICKS
Q&A sessions are best when drenched in encouragement. You want to
ensure that even the most off-the-wall question about how much
sugar you like in your tea is responded with a “great question,”
and then tied back to the main message. Also, be sure to let your
audience know that there will be a Q&A session before the presentation
begins, which can help them collect their thoughts and come up with
a meaningful question. You can’t anticipate every question, but you can
prevent some foolish ones.
“The very best financial presentation is one that’s

well thought out and anticipates any questions…
answering them in advance.”
-Arthur Helps
70.
handling hecklers
Sometimes there is a rotten hater in your barrel of apples. If this is the
case, be sure to address them by asking them a question rather than a
series of argumentative statements. Be mindful of your tone, speed, and
volume of your voice. The quieter, cooler cucumber always wins. And
finally, ask any particularly vicious heckler to speak with you after the
event, but do so with enthusiasm and kindness verses “let’s rumble in
the parking lot later.” Instead, say something like “I would be happy to
address your concerns in depth after the talk.”

71.
VISUALIZATION
This method of practice doesn’t require a timer, fancy equipment, or
your presentation notes. It entails simply sitting down before the event
and mentally running through your entire plan from beginning to end.
Picture the stage or podium, imagine setting up your equipment, and
mentally run through your delivery. This meditative technique can help
calm jittery nerves for the same reasons we dream about a big event
over and over before it occurs.
72.
WORKIN’ OUT
TO WORK OUT
If you have a few hours before your big
delivery, how about a run? The endorphins
released when you exercise can last for
hours after the workout, and can give
you the extra confidence and energy you
need to deliver a great presentation. And
if they don’t? You did something healthy
and probably burned off a bagel from your
continental breakfast.
73.
BE SUPERSTITIOUS
If you’ve got a lucky hat, pin, or sock, then don’t be shy to wear it during
your delivery. Tokens of good luck may not have actual value, but they
tend to work as effective placebo. Don’t be ashamed to throw a little
magic in your game.

74.
the first minute
Most of the hard work in a presentation relies heavily
on that first minute of presenting. The audience is
getting to know you, you’re getting to know them, and
most of the technological issues are bound to happen
regardless of anyone getting to know anyone. Give that
first minute the most attention and practice in order to
see the most results.
“No one ever complains about a speech

being too short!”
-Ira Hayes
75.
HIRE A COACH
If your anxiety is big and the stakes are bigger,
there’s no shame in hiring a presentation or public
speaking coach to help pull you through. We offer
presentation training services for groups, but there
are probably individualized options in your area with
a little keen online searching. The extra push may
help you overcome anxiety and refine your overall
techniques for presentations in the future.

CHAPTER 6
networking
after your
presentation

You’ve done it!
You delivered a great presentation because you carefully followed our advice
for content, design, and delivery. You’ve outclassed your former self and have
emerged like a beautiful butterfly.
This next chapter will cover some important things that can (and should!)
happen after a presentation takes place: networking. Just a small bit of chit
chat with your audience can lead to some valuable insights about how you did,
and help to sharpen your skills in the future.
But most importantly, it’s about making a long-lasting impression on

your audience. This means they’ll remember your message, act on your call
to action, follow up with digital contact later, and maybe even send you a
Christmas card in the mail.
here are some tricks to

help get you that much-
desired merry christmas.
76. be available
Schedule time after your presentation to stick around and talk with the
audience, even if it’s only for fifteen minutes. Your audience is a great
resource, so don’t waste it by doing a “dine and ditch.” Consider
this time as your extended Q&A for in-depth questions, even if it means
you’re spending a little time educating and sharing rather than getting a
few pat-on-the-backs for yourself.

77.create a goal
You already know what you want to accomplish with your presentation:
roaring applause, fifty signatures, a million dollar funding, etc. Likewise,
create a goal for yourself when networking. Do you want to make
three strong connections? Collect ten business cards? Talk to at least six
people? Create a mental to-do list and tackle it after you deliver.
78.listen
One of the most important things a networker can be is a careful,
respectful listener. No one wants to keep a conversation going with
someone who steps over them, especially after a presentation where
you’ve already had time to pitch yourself and your ideas. Learn the art of
asking, patiently listening, and following up only when the time is right.
“Successful communication depends on how well

we listen, rather than how well we push our opinions
on the person seated before us.”
-Kenya Hara
79.avoid a sales pitch

Although it seems counter-intuitive, networking isn’t about selling
yourself. It’s about making connections and starting conversations to be
continued later. You’ve already shared your ideas, and your call to action
should be clear enough that any conversations which follow don’t require
Presentation: Round Two.

80.
follow through
This is a pretty simple concept with a low execution
rate: if you receive an email address, business card,
phone number, or anything during your time post-
presentation, then make sure you follow up with that
person within a week’s time afterwards.
81.
tie up loose ends
If someone asked a question during your presentation
or had some comments, address them specifically
after the talk. This is also a follow-through on Tip #70
about hecklers. Don’t let them leave the room without
having a respectful discussion about their concerns,
and see if you can reach an agreement before
everyone else has left.
82. set a time limit

If you’re nervous about networking, it can be
helpful to set a mental time limit so you don’t
feel trapped in a whole afternoon of beauty
queen smiles. It doesn’t have to be a long time,
either, just as long as it takes to show that you are
available for questions and comments. Start with
a minimum of 15 minutes, and set your goal
time from there.

83.gather feedback
If you don’t want to use the time after your presentation for networking,
say you work with everyone who saw the presentation for instance, then
you should devote this time to gather verbal feedback about the deck
and your delivery. Ask a few pointed questions such as: “did you feel
convinced?” and “was there anything you felt unclear about?”
84.gauge the temperature

If you really, really don’t have time to network, sometimes all
you’ll need to gauge the reaction to your presentation is a keen
set of observation skills and perhaps even a short handout survey.
You could also use your call to action to encourage a feedback
email, providing them with your address on the final slide.
85.learn from your

(inevitable) mistakes
Your presentation isn’t going to be perfect. Videos won’t load, you’ll
forget a point, or you’ll completely ditch networking and run off to
lunch afterwards. Conclude your presentation with a self-survey, listing
the good, the bad, and the mediocre. Revisit the list before your next
presentation, learn from it, and move on.
“Speak clearly, if you speak at all; carve every word

before you let it fall.”
-Oliver Wendell Holmes

CHAPTER 7
CLEVER WAYS TO
RECYCLE YOUR
CONTENT & DESIGN

When the smoke clears, the
audience leaves, and the balloons
have been deflated, all that remains
is you and the beautifully designed
presentation that you’ve worked so
hard to create. Is this it? You may
wonder fearfully. After all this hard
work, all I have is a PowerPoint file
and some memories?
Not true!
There are loads of different ways
to use an existing presentation for
content marketing purposes or
other various reasons. This chapter
already assumes that you are
working within some kind of self-
branding or corporate-branding
space: i.e., anything that you built
for work can be used for work.
A presentation never has to die.

It can live on forever in the digital
realm, or live again in the form of a
new presentation.
A phoenix
from the
ashes!
A miracle!

One thing we mistakenly learned from school is that once a paper or
project is done and you’ve been graded, it’s all over. You’ve accomplished
your task and you can wipe your hands clean. We encourage you to take
a hoarder’s approach to presentations:
Keep everything.
All of your notes, design images, slides...everything.
here are 13 different

things to do with your
presentation after the
curtain falls.
86.slideshare
SlideShare is the place for people to upload
presentations and share them with others
online. Right now, it’s the top site for social
presentation sharing. All you have to do is create
a profile, upload your file, and share the link. The
site accommodates all varieties of presentations,
and if you’re lucky enough, your deck may even
be featured on the home page.

87.
LINKEDIN
If your presentation is relevant to your industry,
choose a few of your best standalone slides to upload
by themselves as images on your LinkedIn feed. This
could include a quote slide, a great chart, or just an
inspiring sentence from your original deck. LinkedIn
also accommodates links directly from SlideShare,
provided that you have your presentation uploaded
there. Finally, put a few slides or a link to your whole
deck directly onto your personal page to show off
your content and design chops.
88.
facebook
Facebook is a great place to upload individual slides right
onto your company’s page. Their “EdgeRank” system
prefers images that you upload directly verses links to
outside websites, and these images will tend to be seen
by more people in the News Feed. Pick a few slides that
represent high level ideas from the presentation (and also
look great) to give your fans an inside-scoop about your
company or any upcoming offerings.

89.
twitter
The short character requirements make it tricky to
share presentation slides, because you won’t have
room to explain much. We recommend that you use
Twitter to link to existing presentations uploaded on
SlideShare, with a brief “teaser” text to encourage
people to click and learn more about it.
90.
other social
media sites
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn...these are currently the
Kings of Social Media. But in the event that something
else huge comes to knock them off their throne, just
be mindful that social media is the best way to gain
traction on the ideas in your presentation.
Share! Share often!
Break the whole thing up into individual slides and edit

them in order to become individual content marketing
pieces that stand alone.

92.templates
If you designed your presentation directly into the software (PowerPoint,
Keynote, etc.), then the whole piece can be used as a template for
future designs. Remove any content-specific elements, slap on some
placeholder text, and keep the entire piece for future use.
You wouldn’t throw away Thanksgiving leftovers, so why throw
away a perfectly good presentation?
93.infographics
Have you considered gathering up important facts and stats from your
presentation and making an infographic from them? If you don’t have
the design resources to do so, you can always outsource your efforts.
The important thing is that you have the information to work from
right at your fingertips within a presentation.
94.purpose-driven email
If your content marketing strategy include blast emails, a presentation is
a perfect way to spread the word. Link to your SlideShare presentation or
simply send an image of one good summary slide. You can also use the
text of the email to give that slide more context or act as a “trailer” for
the SlideShare post in full.

95.company overview
The question you should ask yourself after every completed
presentation is: can I convert it? If you don’t already have a company
overview presentation to easily share with prospective clients and
interested people, consider using your opening and closing narrative
within the existing deck to create a short overview of what you do.
96.pitch presentation
Using a similar Frankenstein technique from Tip #95, your run-of-
the mill presentation can be transformed into a pitch deck. Reuse
your opening and core material, but edit the content at the end of the
presentation depending on your changing call-to-action. Back it up
with some supporting information, and voila! A pitch presentation you
didn’t know you already had.
97. ebook inspiration

We know content marketing can feel like an
enormous, uphill struggle to climb Content
Mountain. If you’re looking for inspiration for
an eBook, consider your humble presentation.
What was the motivation behind it? How can
you translate that into an eBook? Use each
slide as supplementary visuals throughout
the text, and there you have it: a download-
friendly eBook ready for your audience.

98.webinar
Widen the audience to your presentation to include the hundreds
of millions of people online by uploading a webinar version of
your presentation to a video hosting site. All of the prior uses for
the presentation (see Tips #86-90) can now be used to host and
feature your video.
99.moodboard potential
Don’t let the best parts of your presentation design die: reuse slides
and design elements to create another visual moodboard for your
next deck. You can start building your own brand of design style using
inspiration from the existing colors, fonts, and photos.

CHAPTER 8
YOU’VE BEEN
SCHOOLED

That’s it. That’s all. You’ve read 99 tips about presentations
covering all of the things you never learned in school. In our mind,
you’ve graduated with honors.
While these tips are meant to be short and sweet, you can find a wealth of
content with greater detail on ethos3.com/blog
If you’re ever stuck emotionally, creatively, or maybe even physically as you

work on your next big presentation, give us a shout at start@ethos3.com
We hope that these tips will help you write, design, and deliver a pretty
incredible presentation next time, regardless of your former education.
Now, get out there and

school your audience!

99 Things

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

99 Things

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

99 Things

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

CHAPTER 1: A CASUAL INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 2: why you absolutely need

CHAPTER 3: make your powerpoint

CHAPTER 4: the secrets of very easy

CHAPTER 5: delivering a presentation

CHAPTER 6: networking after your

CHAPTER 7: clever ways to recycle

CHAPTER 8: you’ve been schooled

ETHOS3.com Award-Winning Presentation Design and Training 3

You might be reading this for a few reasons: either you

You came to the right place.

Ethos3 is founded on a single principle: to empower

These 99 tips are specially designed to be quick, helpful,

ETHOS3.com Award-Winning Presentation Design and Training 4

why you absolutely

ETHOS3.com Award-Winning Presentation Design and Training 5

Was it miserable? Were you ever beaten up

Even worse, our education

ETHOS3.com Award-Winning Presentation Design and Training 6

Someday, somewhere, somehow

If anything, these crucial skills can be

A compelling speech at a wedding?

ETHOS3.com Award-Winning Presentation Design and Training 7

ETHOS3.com Award-Winning Presentation Design and Training 8

ETHOS3.com Award-Winning Presentation Design and Training 9

Another thing we do differently?

Finally, we always include a call-to-action at the end of

ETHOS3.com Award-Winning Presentation Design and Training 10

How do we know this?

ETHOS3.com Award-Winning Presentation Design and Training 11

01.write sober, edit sober,

02. compile everything

“The will to win is important. But the

ETHOS3.com Award-Winning Presentation Design and Training 12

What are their

ETHOS3.com Award-Winning Presentation Design and Training 13

“No one can remember more than three points.”

ETHOS3.com Award-Winning Presentation Design and Training 14

ETHOS3.com Award-Winning Presentation Design and Training 15

call your mom, become an investor,

ETHOS3.com Award-Winning Presentation Design and Training 16

ETHOS3.com Award-Winning Presentation Design and Training 17

“A good speech should be like a woman’s skirt;

ETHOS3.com Award-Winning Presentation Design and Training 18

“If you have an important point to make, don’t

17.beware of bullet points

ETHOS3.com Award-Winning Presentation Design and Training 19

20.a word on quotes

ETHOS3.com Award-Winning Presentation Design and Training 20

23.a second (or third)

ETHOS3.com Award-Winning Presentation Design and Training 21

ETHOS3.com Award-Winning Presentation Design and Training 22

ETHOS3.com Award-Winning Presentation Design and Training 23

We realize you may not have the

You also probably didn’t have a lot of

Our short design tips will build on

ETHOS3.com Award-Winning Presentation Design and Training 24