5 Common Presentation Mistakes (and how to fix them)!
We’ve all sat through those presentations. You know the ones – too many slides, too few laughs, and absolutely no idea what the presenter is trying to say. At some point, your brain quietly exits the room and starts planning dinner. If the message was important it’s such a shame!
The good news? These presentation disasters are totally avoidable. Over the years (and after training tens of thousands of professionals), I’ve seen the same mistakes pop up again and again. The even better news? I’ve also seen how easy they are to fix.
So, here are some of the most common presentation mistakes I see and how to make sure you never make them.
Death by PowerPoint
You’ve seen it: 57 slides, each one crammed with tiny text, bullet points, graphs, clip art from 1998, and maybe even a rainbow gradient background for good measure.
The problem? Audiences can’t read and listen at the same time. When you fill your slides with text, people stop listening to you and start squinting at the screen.
How to fix it:
– Use slides as visual support, not a script.
– Big fonts, minimal words, and striking images go a long way.
– If it doesn’t add value, cut it. Your audience will thank you.
– If you must use busy slides then build them so you direct the attention of your audience.
Forgetting WIIFM (What’s In It For Me)
Too many presenters make their talk all about them. Their job. Their data. Their brilliance. But here’s the truth: audiences only care about one thing – themselves.
Example: Imagine starting with, “Today I’m going to share my quarterly update.”
Instead, try, “Today I’ll show you this quarter’s results and how we plan to achieve 15% improvement again next quarter.”
How to fix it:
– Start by clearly answering WIIFM for your audience.
– Frame everything in terms of benefits for them, not a list of achievements for you.
Talking too fast (or too long)
When nerves kick in, people speed up like they’re auditioning for an auction. Alternatively, some presenters take the scenic route and never seem to arrive at the point. Both are painful for the audience.
How to fix it:
– Practise your timing and breathing.
– Pause intentionally — it makes you look confident and gives your audience time to absorb your brilliance.
– Stick to your allocated time. If you want the presentation to run to time, plan to only cover enough content for half the time allowed.
Tip: When you rehearse – double the time it takes you at home. That’s the rough rule of thumb to manage timing. No one ever complained about a presentation finishing early.
Reading Off Your Slides or Notes
If you’re just going to read every word, why not email the slides and let us all stay home in our pyjamas? People can’t read your words, listen to you speak and make sense of it all in the same breath. Presentations are about connection, not dictation.
How to fix it:
– Know your content so well that your slides are purely for your audience, not crutches for you to remember what to say
– Rehearse enough that you can speak naturally and make eye contact.
– If you must have notes on paper it’s not the end of the world
Winging It (“I’ll just talk about it on the day”)
This one’s a classic. Someone decides to “keep it natural” so they skip rehearsal – and it shows. They ramble, lose their structure, and end up repeating themselves like a broken record.
How to fix it:
– Respect your audience enough to prepare correctly.
– Properly. Out loud. More than once.
– Better yet, get some feedback before the big day. (Your future self will thank you.)
A Quick Real-Life Example
A few years ago, I worked with a brilliant executive who had incredible insights… buried under a sea of slides and jargon. We stripped back the deck, focused on what the audience cared about, and practised delivery. The result? A standing ovation at the national conference. Sometimes the biggest transformation is simply taking away the clutter.
The Fix That Changes Everything
Most of these mistakes happen because people were never properly taught how to present. They’re experts in their field, but not necessarily in front of a room. That’s where presentation skills training comes in.
In my programs, we tackle these common issues head-on with practical tools, live feedback, and a good laugh along the way. If you’re in Sydney, check out dates for my upcoming presentation skills training in Sydney — or book your team into a presentation training in Sydney session that’s as fun as it is effective.
The point?
Great presentations aren’t about perfection – they’re about clarity, connection, and confidence. Avoid these classic mistakes and you’ll go from “just another speaker” to someone your audience remembers (for all the right reasons).
And if you need a little help? I’ve got your back. With the right structure, a sprinkle of persuasion, and a whole lot of personality, you can present and achieve the results you desire.
Happy presenting!
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©2025 MICHELLE BOWDEN is an authority on persuasive presenting in business. She’s run her Persuasive Presentation Skills Masterclass over 1040 times for more than 13,000 people over the past 26 years and her name is a synonym for ‘presentation skills’ in Australia.
Michelle Bowden is a multi-million-dollar pitch coach to her client list that reads like a who’s who of international business: banking and finance, IT, pharmaceutical, retail, telecommunications plus many more.
Michelle is the creator of the Persuasion Smart Profile®, a world-first psychological assessment tool that reports on your persuasive strengths and weaknesses at work, the best-selling internationally published author of How to Present: the ultimate guide to presenting live and online (Wiley) and her new best-selling book is called How to Persuade: the skills you need to get what you want (Wiley).