How can you take good notes and format your presentations?

An illustration of a person next to huge note cards

My two cents

Here are a few ideas to help you take notes that will assist you in when you have to do an important presentation:

  • Use little cards to take notes. Print your notes on one side of heavy paper (around 120 grams) and include a logo or text on the other side to make them look more professional.

  • Write only the transitions. I think the content on the slide is usually enough to know what you have to say. Instead of taking many presenter notes, write down the transition between the previous slide and the next.

  • Write the start of the sentences in bullet points. If you need more notes than what is available on the slides, write bullet points at the start of each important sentence that you need to say. You don't need to write a whole sentence, just the start, since our brains are good at finding the end of things.

  • Use a teleprompter. If it's an extremely important presentation where everything needs to be said perfectly, use a teleprompter. If politicians do it to deliver great speeches, why couldn’t you? You can do this in a remote or live presentation. There are dozens of good and pretty affordable teleprompter apps out there.

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