Having top notch presentation skills is integral when trying to convey ideas and educate your audience. The key is doing so in a way that retains your audience’s attention while selling the ideas, projects and concepts you are speaking about. Your audience is choosing to listen to what you have to say. Use their time wisely!

Here are 5 top notch presentation tips:

1. Tell a story. Take the time to really plan your presentation. Tell a story you’re passionate about and set clear goals as to what you want your presentation to accomplish.

2. Less is more. Realize you can’t possibly communicate every single thing you know in your presentation, so choose the most important parts and articulate them clearly. Keep the slides and visuals as simple as possible, focusing on key messages.

3. Prepare and practice. Know your materials inside and out, backwards and forwards so that you’re comfortable presenting without a presentation. If you’re confident conveying your message, your audience will be more comfortable and willing to receive the information.

4. Think in 10 minute increments. Research has shown that the brain gets bored after 10  minutes. Design your presentation to provide “soft breaks” like showing a video, revealing a comical or unusual image or asking your audience a question.

5. Details. Details. Details. Nothing is more embarrassing than an evident typo or unmistakable formatting error on a visual aid. A simple grammar and spell check will go a long way in producing professional looking deliverables to your clients. Keep your font sizes consistent wherever possible and be sure to consider what your presentation will look like when it’s projected, which can be very different than on your desktop.