1. Tell a story – people like stories. 2. Write your presentation so that people understand you – it has to be simple (not simplistic) and avoid acronyms and jargon unless everyone in the audience understands them. 3. Don’t waste your time on fancy animations, sounds, or things wandering from left to right. They detract from your message. 4. Start with a bang, e.g. a humorous story or an interesting quote, but something that relates to the audience listening to you and also fits to your topic. 5. Create a core message – make it easy to remember and repeat it several times throughout your talk. 6. Address these areas -state who you are, why are you giving the presentation? whom are you addressing?  what do you want the listeners to walk away with, after you are finished? Did you include a call to action? 7. Know your audience – “There is no such thing as a dumb audience; if they don’t understand, it’s because you can’t communicate.” (Harvey Golub, American Express)