Don’t Do These 4 Things If You Want to Be a Respected Speaker
If you’ll never need to speak in front of people, then there’s no reason for you to read on.
If you do, then risk not reading on at your own public peril!
Present amateur slides – Powerpoint gets a bad rap. “Death by PowerPoint” should be really phrased “Death by a Poor PowerPoint User”. Rightly or wrongly your slides contribute to your brand. If you want to be considered professional and reliable your slides should be ‘on brand’.
Apologise – even if you feel you should apologise – for the tiny font, the pixelated images, your nervousness – please don’t. It’s already too late! It’s been noticed and you’ll only draw further negative attention to yourself. Learn and move on – internally! 
Run out of time – there’s absolutely no excuse for this one. And if you do run out of time, certainly don’t act surprised. Part of your responsibility to the audience is to manage your time. You should have practised your timing beforehand and managed it during the presentation.
Be unfamiliar with the technology – there is no excuse for not knowing the technology you are using. Whatever tools you need to use, microphone, lectern, pointer, smartphone, projector, learn how to use them. Test them, practise with them and trouble-shoot them. And if you can’t prepare, then have a technology-free Plan B.
These are only some of the basics.
When you get the basics right, you’ll get more respect from your audience.