You've most likely found yourself in this position at least once in your career: A higher-up walks up to you and tells you, "We need to get a presentation together for the Forbin Project fast!" Because the deadline for such a "request" is usually yesterday, now is the time to reach for your favorite presentation graphics program. State-of-the-art software makes it easy to assemble and update an engineering, scientific, or business presentation. Just because you don't have the time to create a multimedia extravaganza doesn't mean your presentation has to be lackluster. Here are ten steps that can help make noticeable improvements to your next presentation.

1. Analyze your audience

Take the time to define exactly who will be listening to the presentation to guarantee your program is on target. Start by asking a few questions: What's their educational background? Are they the general public or your peers? Are they new to the field or experienced in it? And most important of all: Why are you giving the presentation? Write your answers on sticky notes and stick them to your computer screen as a reminder as you work on the rest of the steps.

2. Make a plan

After you've defined your audience, decide what to say and how you want to say it. Ask yourself a few more questions: What do you want to accomplish with the presentation? What specific items must be covered? How exactly do you want your audience to react? Build an outline of your presentation based on your responses. How you deliver the message is harder to quantify than the content, but keep your options open: The presentation will be successful only if the audience reacts positively to the message.

3. Keep it short

Resist the urge to create an epic. The Right Stuff and Gone with the Wind are good films despite their length, not because of it. The longer the presentation, the greater the danger of losing your audience's attention. Once you pass 15 minutes, vary the pace of the presentation or it's all over-even before the fat lady has sung.

4. Use a minimum of colors

You're an engineer or scientist or businessperson -not an art director. Just because your computer lets you use 16.9 million colors on a slide doesn't mean you have to use all of them! Work with a few colors. Stay away from dark type on a light background-and vice versa-unless you want your viewers' eyeballs popping out of their heads. The less contrast between type and background colors, the less strain on the eyes. This doesn't mean the colors should be muted: Experiment with cool backgrounds and warm type and avoid extremes.

5. Don't use special effects for their own sake

Most presentation packages now include animation and video-like frame transitions, but be careful! These effects should enhance your message, not compete with it. Dancing, bouncing logos may be good for an opening and closing-especially for a question-and-answer slide show-but use them sparingly. If viewers are looking at your effects and saying, "Wow, that's cool," they're missing your message. As in all aspects of presentation design, restraint is a virtue.

6. Keep the number of words per slide to a minimum

Billboard companies generally allow a maximum of eight words per sign. Use a similar rule for your presentations-you will quickly discover that is better to have more slides with less information than vice versa. One of the worst things that can happen is when the viewer is reading point five while you are talking about point one (or vice versa). In either case, your viewers won't be listening to what you're saying. Adding more slides is the single most important thing you can do to improve the impact of your presentation, and it needn't cost extra: One of the advantages of computer-based presentations is that they carry no outside imaging costs.

7. Use a consistent graphic style

Graphics, like special effects, should draw and hold the viewer's attention. The graphics should be in harmony with the rest of the presentation: Any changes to the visual rhythm may cause the viewer to pause and think about the way you are presenting your information. While they are mulling this over, they are missing the rest of your presentation. For example, use the same font for all main text in your presentation. Feel free to use other typefaces for emphasis or headers, but don't overdo.

8. Use photographs effectively

One of the best ways to add interest to any presentation is to use photographs. Companies like Corel Systems Corp. offer hundreds of Photo CD stock-image discs that you can use to enhance your presentations. Alternatively, if you need a specific image-such as a photograph of your company's headquarters or staff- use a professional photographer for the best results. Such expenditure is not a luxury-it can save the life of your presentation. Give the photographer a "shot list" with written descriptions of all images you want in your presentation. Let him or her know that you would like to see a variety of camera angles and perspectives, but be flexible: A good photographer will be able to capture spontaneous images that can add life to any presentation. As an added cost savings, these images can be reused in company publications. Don't be cheap when negotiating the appropriate rights-it can save you money in the long run.

9. Avoid Visual Overload

Start by determining the size of the screen on which you will project your slides. A graphic style that works great on a twelve-by-twelve-foot screen might get way too busy on a screen half that size. And if you're presenting on a monitor or a laptop's LCD screen, that's all the more reason to simplify, simplify, simplify.

10. Vary your visuals

Keep your presentation moving by blending different types of slides. While you can use all-text slides, adding graphics and photographs will create a more effective program. Use dramatic storytelling charts and graphs combined with text and photographs to keep the presentation from slowing down and becoming predictable.