Software skills
None of this is expert advice. It's what people worked out for themselves, usually the hard way — what actually helped, and what they'd tell someone standing where you are. Take what fits and leave the rest.
If you only read a few
Place the title slide at the end of the deck.
It looks better than the default 'click to close' message.
one person who lived it
Set the final slide of your presentation to a plain black screen.
This prevents the 'press any key to exit' message from appearing at the top of the screen.
one person who lived it
Keep a backup copy of the editable PowerPoint file (.pptx) even if presenting with a .ppsx or PDF.
This allows for last-minute changes if needed.
2 people, independently
Place your contact information on the final slide instead of leaving it blank.
It avoids wasting time with an empty screen.
one person who lived it
Do not read directly from your slides; glance at them and speak naturally.
Reading slides bores people because they can already read the content themselves.
one person who lived it
Email yourself your presentation files as a backup.
USB drives may fail or not be recognized by the host computer.
one person who lived it
Duplicate your final slide to prevent the slideshow from exiting full-screen mode if you accidentally click forward.
Clicking on the last slide normally closes the presentation; a duplicate keeps it in full-screen.
one person who lived it
Use dyslexic-friendly fonts which are bottom-heavy and differentiate similar letters.
Bottom-heavy bolding helps prevent letters from appearing rotated, and differentiation prevents similar letters from merging.
one person who lived it
Avoid using Comic Sans for professional presentations.
It appears unprofessional.
one person who lived it