When you have finished writing your presentation draft, you will surely edit it for misspellings and grammatical errors. But those revisions come later . . . Before you ever get to that state, take a look at your work to make sure it packs the punch you want it to. Try the following tips:

• Use descriptive words
  
  Consider the following passage:
  
  

  We are pleased to announce that our team finished the project ahead of schedule. Though the project seemed like it would certainly be delayed, thanks to the efforts of Jim Daxton, it was not.

  This passage provides the facts, but the fire is missing. The descriptions that make people want to "sit up and listen" are curiously absent. Consider the revised passage:
  
  

  We are thrilled to say "WE DID IT!" Against what seemed like a mountain of obstacles, we finished the project 4 days ahead of schedule. Special kudos are in order to Jim Daxton who contributed Herculean effort to push this thing out the door.

• Use active voice
  
  The battle between active and passive is commonplace. The key to powerful writing is using the active voice the majority of the time.
  
  
  • Passive:
    The results of last quarter's sales have been compiled and are to be presented at the next sales meeting.
    
    
  • Active:
    We have compiled last quarter's sales figures and will present them at the next sales meeting.


• Avoid jargon
  
  Corporate America is currently besieged by the need to use jargon and double-talk. Boardrooms around the country spin with terms like leverage, multi-task, facilitate, utilize, etc. These words turn the simple into complicated and the clear into muddled. Perhaps you need to toss around these terms at times, but THESE WORDS HAVE NO PLACE IN PRESENTATIONS. Resist the temptation to use ambiguous jargon when straightforward diction will do.