Be prepared!

If your schedule calls for a round of meeting people prior to the talk, make sure you have ample time to check out the room where you'll be giving the talk, the equipment you'll use, your slides, and time to collect your wits. A half hour ought to be sufficient. If you are running behind schedule (a common event in job interviews, for instance), don't be timid - ask to postpone the last meeting until after the talk.
If it is unfamiliar to you, ask to see the room where you will be making the presentation. It will only take a moment, but will prepare you for the experience. You'll be more aware of environmental factors which may influence your presentation:

Is the room too dark? Use a podium spotlight, increase the brightness of note lights, turn off only a few lights, or limit the amount of time you have all the lights off. Too hot or cold? Ask to have the ventilation adjusted before the talk begins. Too noisy? Use a microphone.

If there is unfamiliar equipment, ask to have someone demonstrate it for you, or ask to have them operate it for you during the talk.

REVIEW the Simplicity, and Text Reduction pages, or CONTINUE on to the Graph & Tables, and Simple Graphics pages.

You can RETURN to the 4 concepts page.