Should you use note cards while presenting? In a nutshell, yes. I know, your boss doesn’t like it, but let’s be honest, in lieu of notes, you usually just read off your PowerPoint slides, right? Not so good. Remember PowerPoint is not your speech, you’re the speech, your ideas, your thoughts; PowerPoint is just there to enhance the experience. Why not put your notes on your ipad? Or your iPhone? Or tuck them discreetly into a secondary window on your computer screen? Your boss is less likely to worry about your notes if they have a high-tech gloss, and you will have the added assurance of having some bullet points in front of you in case you get lost.

And yes, it should only be a few bullet points in front of you, not a series of paragraphs. If you write out your speech, and then present it verbatim, it’s likely to feel canned. Once you have thought hard about what you would like to say, backed it up with statistics, added comparisons, quotes, contrasts, humor, and analogies, there is only the need to write down the bare-bones structure of the speech, rehearse it out loud 3-5 times, and then review the ideas behind the speech silently. Then keep it loose, allow yourself to experiment with different wording, and relax because if you get into trouble, you can always glance at your notes!