Appendix: Presentation Checklist
This checklist will take you step-by-step through the complete technical presentation process, from planning, through preparation and practice, to the completion of your talk and what to do afterward.
Engineering Your Presentation
□ I understand the goal of my presentation
□ I understand how the relevant information resides in my mind
□ I fully understand the target audience
□ I know the background of the audience
□ I know the purpose of the listeners
□ I know the level of understanding of the listeners
□ I have completed the research necessary to generate solutions to my speaking task
□ I know the time limit
□ I know the limitations of the venue
□ I know how the audience will be positioned
□ I know what presentation equipment will be used
□ I’m aware of the acoustics and lighting
□ I have generated several potential solutions to my speaking task
□ I have evaluated the potential solutions and decided on the one that best meets my needs
Designing Your Presentation
□ I have established the structure of my presentation
□ I have designed my introduction
□ I understand what I want to accomplish with my introduction
□ I have decided on a structure for my introduction
□ I have designed the main body of my presentation
□ I know the type of presentation I will be doing
□ I have decided on an order of presentation
□ I have considered how I will persuade the listener
□ I have a way to gain the listener’s attention
□ I address the need for my product
□ I offer a solution
□ I differentiate my product from that of the competitors
□ I have created an outline of my talk, possibly using a mind map as a guide
□ I have designed the conclusion of my presentation
□ I understand what I want to accomplish with my conclusion
□ I have an indicator of the end of the presentation
Building Your Presentation
□ I have established the target specifications for my talk
□ I have established the scope of my talk
□ I know what topics I want to cover
□ I have thoroughly investigated the motivations and interests of the audience
□ I understand the time limitations
□ I understand the venue limitations
□ I have prepared my visual aids
□ I have selected appropriate presentation software
□ I know whether specific software must be used
□ I am familiar with the software or willing to learn
□ I have created a slide template
□ I know whether a format is required
□ My template includes helpful information
□ Title
□ Page number
□ Graphical tag (e.g., organizational logo)
□ Footer or header with date/venue/presenter etc.
□ My template is clean and uncluttered
□ I have decided on the number of slides to use, based on time limit and audience needs
□ I have checked the appearance of all my slides
□ Fonts are appropriate
□ I did not mix too many fonts
□ The size is sufficient to see from all points in the venue
□ The amount of material on each slide is appropriate
□ The number of equations, tables, and figures on each slide is appropriate
□ I did not combine too many elements
□ I did not use too much text
□ There is not more text than the audience can easily read
□ I only include enough text to provide myself cues and give the audience a point of focus
□ Color is appropriate
□ I chose color carefully
□ I did not mix too many colors
□ Color combinations are distinctive
□ I considered the impact of color on audience members who are color blind
□ Slide background is appropriate
□ The background is not too dark
□ The background is not too busy
□ The background is not distracting
□ Adjunct elements are appropriate
□ Animation is not overbearing or otherwise distracting
□ Sound or movies add to the impact of the presentation and are not just for show
□ Active links to web pages do not disrupt the flow of the presentation
□ My equations, graphs, and tables are easy to read
□ Font size is not too small
□ Lines are not too thin
□ Captions are short, easy to read, and meaningful
□ Legends are clear and easy to understand
□ There are not too many elements on any slide
□ I have checked the appearance of my presentation using the venue equipment or similar equipment
□ The presentation is visually appealing
□ All fonts, equations, and graphs appear as expected
□ All adjunct elements (animation, links to web pages, sound, movies) behave as expected
□ I have carefully examined my materials for any logical blunders
□ There are no fallacies of formal logic
□ There are no fallacies of informal logic
□ I have checked my materials for errors in technical claims
□ My claims are reasonable
□ My claims pass dimensional and order-of-magnitude checks
□ My claims agree with known special cases
□ My claims are in accord with known standard principles
□ My evidence comes from reliable sources
□ I have examined relevant counterexamples to my claims
□ I have checked my materials for proper English usage
□ My word choice is appropriate
□ Words have the proper technical meaning
□ Words are at the proper level of formality
□ The punctuation and spelling obey standard rules
□ My wording takes the form of either description or argumentation, as appropriate
□ My descriptive content has a clear standpoint
□ My descriptive content has the appropriate level of detail (no more, no less)
□ My descriptive content forms a coherent picture
□ I have checked my materials for proper mathematical discourse and clarity of presentation
□ I have used proper mathematical notation
□ I have not overburdened the listener with too many equations
□ My equations form a logical progression
□ I understand what I want to say about each equation
□ I have carefully planned my demo
□ The demo is easily seen by all audience members
□ There are no safety issues
□ I have a backup plan in case of loss or damage of the demo equipment
□ I have considered the special needs of a poster presentation
□ I am aware of the formatting requirements
□ I know the rules of presentation
□ I have determined the amount of material I can place on the poster
□ I have created a workable layout
□ I have replaced the temporal orientation of an oral presentation with an appropriate spatial orientation
□ I have created an alternative layout that is clear and easily understood by the viewer
□ I have created or gathered needed ancillary items (handouts, business cards, brochures, etc.)
□ I have considered any ethical implications of my presentation
□ I understand what is appropriate ethical conduct within my discipline/profession
□ I have consulted the ethical codes for my organization
□ I understand the special needs of my audience
Optimizing Your Presentation
□ I have rehearsed thoroughly
□ I have rehearsed in front of an audience member or colleague
□ I have received feedback from knowledgeable listeners
□ I have adjusted my presentation based on the feedback
□ I completely understand the material I will be presenting
□ I understand the terminology
□ I understand the technical nature of my material
□ I understand what others in my field have done
□ I understand how my work fits with what others have done
□ I understand how my work fits within my discipline
□ I am mentally ready to deliver a clear presentation
□ I know how to pronounce the terms
□ I am comfortable with the material
□ I have identified material that requires special care to explain
□ I have my timing down
□ I know the time limit
□ I have identified portions of the presentation I stumble over, and have taken extra care with these passages during rehearsal
□ I have prepared for possible interruptions during my talk
□ I have an “exit strategy” if I take longer than I prepared for
□ I am prepared for the venue
□ I have a pointing device
□ I have adjusted the volume of my speech to accommodate the room
□ I have the appropriate clothing
□ My talk is in the proper format for the presentation equipment
□ My demo is set up properly for the room
□ I am prepared to answer questions
□ I am knowledgeable of, and comfortable with, my material
□ I understand the limits of my knowledge and when to say “I don’t know”
□ I have prepared a list of resources that will be helpful to audience members
□ I am mentally prepared to control the audience
□ I understand how to deal with unruly or insistent audience members
□ I am willing to limit my interactions with any given audience member
□ I understand how to “calm” a distracted audience
Delivering Your Presentation
□ I have double-checked that I have all my necessary materials
□ I have given myself sufficient time to travel to the venue
□ I have put myself in the proper frame of mind
□ I have gotten sufficient sleep
□ I have eaten a good meal
□ I have allowed some time before the talk to ‘de-stress’ and become calm
□ I am giving myself feedback during the talk
□ I am maintaining eye contact
□ I am speaking with enthusiasm and using appropriate gestures
□ I am speaking with appropriate volume
□ I am aware of my pace and the time remaining
□ I am aware of my personal quirks
□ appearance
□ stance and movement of arms or hands
□ overly repeated words or phrases (you know, like, hey, moving forward)
□ pause fillers (um, uhhhh, throat clearing)
□ I am prepared to adapt
□ I have an exit strategy
□ I have rehearsed with an audience
□ I have a strategy for handling questions
□ I repeat questions after they are asked
□ I ask for clarification if needed
□ I defer questions that would take too long to answer
□ I admit when I don’t know the answer
□ I am prepared to offer suggestions of outside references
After the Talk
□ I congratulate myself for all of my hard work
□ I forgive myself for any missteps or blunders
□ I engage with interested audience members
□ I use the experience to improve
□ I assess whether I did enough to prepare; what worked and what didn’t?
□ I assess how well the talk went and how I can use the experience to improve my delivery
□ I assess whether the talk needs to be changed if I deliver it again
□ I consider reinventing my talk for another venue or occasion
□ I find a way to archive my talk