1. Not being fully prepared – notes out of order, PowerPoint not working, rushing or running late, DVD not compatible with the laptop provided, insufficient hand outs.
2. Apologising for things unnecessarily – sorry I don’t know the answer to that – sorry for my change of topic; if you don’t know the answer or have to change your topic, give an explanation, but do not apologise.
3. Not starting on time – Always be ready to start on time. Not starting on time is being disrespectful to those in the audience who have arrived on time.
4. Going over time – speaking into the tea break or the next person’s time slot is a definite “do not do”. If do go beyond your allotted time slot, then you will start to lose the audience as they start to think about the morning tea break, the next speaker or where they need to be next.
5. Speaking for too long – without a break or some audience activity can result in a restless audience and even worse, you can lose their attention. Schedule regular breaks and liven things up with participatory activities