Practice. Practice. Practice. Make sure you're telling engaging stories. This might sound dorky - but at least one week before the talk, record yourself if you have a camera. You'll notice what you're doing wrong, and be able to practice again to fix it.
Also - try and give the presentation to someone who knows nothing about the topic (maybe even post one of the recordings to HN?) and make sure they completely understand what you're talking about. Sometimes we get so close to the topic, we don't realize we're using terms people don't know.
If you're looking for design inspiration for slides with less text, check out: http://noteandpoint.com/ They have an awesome collection!
Most importantly, remember most people who are amazing at presenting practice the shit out of what they're saying. Even Malcolm Gladwell scripts every word of his presentations [1].
EDIT2: Another tip - find a presentation you really like. Write down the text and record yourself trying to do that. After this - instead of just saying you want to present like Steve Jobs, you can see exactly what to improve on to present like him.
Also - try and give the presentation to someone who knows nothing about the topic (maybe even post one of the recordings to HN?) and make sure they completely understand what you're talking about. Sometimes we get so close to the topic, we don't realize we're using terms people don't know.
If you're looking for design inspiration for slides with less text, check out: http://noteandpoint.com/ They have an awesome collection!
Most importantly, remember most people who are amazing at presenting practice the shit out of what they're saying. Even Malcolm Gladwell scripts every word of his presentations [1].
[1] http://blogs.ft.com/rachmanblog/2010/02/the-secrets-of-malco...
EDIT: Also, I've bookmarked a bunch of links related to presentations: http://www.delicious.com/sachitgupta/presentation
EDIT2: Another tip - find a presentation you really like. Write down the text and record yourself trying to do that. After this - instead of just saying you want to present like Steve Jobs, you can see exactly what to improve on to present like him.