Is it good for the speaker to read notes during a presentation?

Question

I am wondering whether it looks odd if a speaker reads notes during a presentation? I am asking this because, I noticed that a few presenters can’t present their work or research well due to nervousness and other factors such as language, pronunciation etc. So if a speaker makes notes and just reads them properly along with the slides, how will it look? Will audiences accept or criticize such presentations?How will it be if the speaker speaks by him/herself, but he/she will look into the notes at necessary?

Answer 1

Great question!

There are a variety of ways for a speaker to give to deliver a presentation. While there are some caveats, generally a speaker will use their notes as little as possible or not at all.

An obvious exception is if the speaker is delivering a paper or other major written work. It would be almost impossible for a speaker to not read from the work.

To be clear: it is not bad for a speaker to have notes, but it is best when the speaker gives the audience as much eye contact as possible. Notes are best when they aren't full sentences, but key phrases so that the speaker can know where they are in their speech but not get tied down in exact wording. An audience wants to feel like the speaker is connecting to them, if the speaker is staring down at their notes the whole time this connection doesn't happen.

Answer 2

The key here is not reading - there's nothing wrong with looking down at your notes, on note cards - not a script with every word written out on 8 1/2 x 11 inch papers - in speaking.

I recommend to students that they glance at their note cards, and call attention to PowerPoint slides, for instance, but not read every word on each slide - to hold the audience's attention.

As a presenter, you should be talking and looking at the audience simultaneously if you're familiar with your topic, just glancing down as needed to follow main points and stay organized.

Connect with your audience. You can't do that very well if you're reading a script!