Warning over pitfalls of presentations

Even when you are at the top of your game professionally, making presentations at conferences and seminars is something to be “worked at”, according to Alan Shortt, a comedian turned media skills trainer.

Speaking at a Network Cork event, Mr Shortt outlined the pitfalls most regularly made by businesspeople speaking in public.

First up is “death by PowerPoint”. “There is nothing worse than a presentation where the person making the pitch reads every word from an overhead and then just looks back and forth from the overhead to the audience. That will not make your presentation memorable, nor will it sell your company or your story,” Mr Shortt said.