You have been asked to give a presentation, your first time. It can be scary, but also infinitely rewarding. Sadly, too often I see some appalling attempts, so to avoid being one of them I offer here three basic rules:

1. Never read from a script. You might as well just print a hand-out to give to the audience, then sit down while they read it. If you read you are looking down and making no contact with the audience. Also — and this is really important — written language is quite different to spoken language; it is harder to follow when read aloud, so retention will be less. I know you worry about recalling everything you want to say, but it is more important to have conversational contact than it is to remember absolutely everything. If you talk to them rather than read to them, you will make a greater impression on them and they will go away retaining more of what you said.

2. Never turn your back on the audience and talk to the screen. How would you feel if you met me at a party and I spoke to you with my back turned, looking at a painting on the wall? Again, you are making no contact with the audience. Usually you will have your monitor screen in front of you, to which you can glance down without turning your back. This should be set up with a few essential key word reminders as well as showing the next slide.

3. Never put up slides with long blocks of text that the audience can’t possibly read while you are also speaking. Usually the text will be too small for them to read anyway. If you have to have such boring slides make them very brief, even one word, summaries that they have time to read and take in, maybe over an image to make it more visually interesting.

Observing these rules is a simple act of respect for the audience, and not doing so becomes simply rude. They have made the effort to come out and listen to you and deserve as much. I know that public speaking is not easy and can even be terrifying. When I started I was awful, rushing headlong through my words, frightened that if I even paused for a moment I would lose them . . . until I was gasping for breath.

Over the years I have taught myself how to improve. There are a lot more do’s and don’ts than the above. You can learn them as you go, but please don’t even start if you can’t avoid these three fundamental speaking boo-boos.