Five Rules for Better PowerPoint Presentations (from Working Smart) is a great post on presentation skills. Here are his five rules.

• Rule #1: Don't give PowerPoint center stage.
• Rule #2: Create a logical flow to your presentation. Better yet, tell a story.
• Rule #3: Make your presentation readable.
• Rule #4: Remember, less is more.
• Rule #5: Distribute a handout.

According to my students, my most memorable presentation was the one I did on computer history.

Right. Computer history.

I had one thought per slide. One line. Sometimes not even a line, just a picture.

The pictures were visual aids for the story I told about operating
systems. I couldn’t stand the bullet lists that all the other teachers
were using, so I made something very sparse but fun.

One of my students said it felt like a TV ad. <laugh>

Slides are a tool, not a crutch.

Working Smart – My Favorite Powerpoint Resources is a treasure-trove of links on presentation skills. Here are some nifty ones from that list:

• Masterviews – more tips on presentations
• Powerpointers – more tips on presentations
• Presenters University
• Tony Ramos’ Presentation Weblog – hey, he’s Pinoy!

UPDATE: Clair wrote:

*laugh!* Unix humor ;) But it is true. Gah! I hate
presentations that rely on the dratted slides… I avoid doing that as
well. But I still haven’t gotten the hang of it. However, stories are
something i enjoy telling and listening to. HMmmm. I guess that is why
I enjoyed my archival science electives! :) My prof used to tell
stories more often than lectures. I seem to absorb more that way. My
classmates don’t get it though. But that style works for me. Hmmmm.
When I do get to teach, I will remember this! ;)