Eye contact
A lack of eye contact is another presentation trait that will distract from your ideas. We tend to distrust those who can't meet us in the eye. Instinct suggests this person has something to hide, or is so lacking in confidence that he has to stare at the ground. It is also difficult for an audience to relate to a speaker who is not relating to them, so keep your eyes up and open.
When you first start speaking, scan the crowd and pick out a few faces in different sections of the room. Look for friendly faces--you know the type: can't stop smiling and always looks encouraging. Think of them as eyeball buddies. Try to avoid scowlers or people who look angry to be there, but perhaps looking right at that guy might draw him into the presentation a little more.
As you speak, visually check in with your eyeball buddies. You don't want to stare at them because then you'll like you are obsessed with them and they might end up being afraid to blink. Also, the others will get jealous. Shift your gaze from one buddy to another, and make sure you connect with a few different people now and then.
In order to make eye contact, you must actually be facing the audience. This makes it very difficult to sit at a computer or to turn toward a projector screen and turn your back to your listeners. Think about it this way: if you went out for a beer with a friend (or whatever other beverage you would like to enjoy with another human) you would not sit at the bar with your back to your friend and talk to the empty seat next to you. Your friend would think you had gone crazy and he would never go out with you again. However, every day in meetings, we turn our backs to the people we're trying to connect with and show them what is (for most of us) or worst side.
The audience can't hear you very well if you aren't turned towards them. They can't see your face, they can't connect with your energy, and they can't catch a glimpse of your enthusiasm, which brings me to my next point.
Bring your enthusiasm. Whatever your subject is, it must be important if you spent so much time researching it, studying it, and becoming an expert in it so that you could be qualified to stand in front of a group and people and sell it. Some people forget how exciting their topic is, or could be, and mistakenly think that others are bound to find it dull.
Example 1: Two Russian cosmonauts addressed about 400 high school seniors at a magnet school for science and technology. This event had all the makings of a truly great presentation: highly qualified speakers, an intelligent and enthusiastic audience, great visuals (space photos), and excellent subject matter (what the future holds for the space program).
Instead of filling these science and tech students with enthusiasm and wonder, about 30 percent of the students were asleep and drooling by the end of the hour. Why? Because the cosmonauts forgot to bring their enthusiasm. They spoke in monotones and flashed picture after picture without constructing a story about The Future, What it Can Be, and Where is Your Place in it?
Example 2: A required hour-long corporate training session. Unlike Example 1, this presentation seemed doomed to boringness. The objective was to explain the manufacturing process in one department of a semiconductor plant. This was a required course; it was only available at 7 p.m., so most people were compelled to linger at work long after they would have rather been at home with their families. It was about a highly technical and specific process. Add to this that it was one of a series of 12 similar courses covering all the other departments in the plant, and the attendees had come to expect a full hour PowerPoint filled with nothing but random snapshots of machine tools on the production floor and a highly technical description of the function of each. However, the presenter for this class happened to love science, and loved teaching. He brought all kinds of props to the class to illustrate the complex concepts in ways a non-technical audience could understand. He conducted experiments. He told stories about melted walls and trips to the emergency room. The audience laughed. They gasped. They asked questions. They stayed after. They actually enjoyed themselves.
What's the difference? In example 2, the presenter shared his enthusiasm about his job and his department. On paper, the subject matter was less interesting, the presenter less glamorous, the situation less favorable, but it was just the presenter's energy that made it all work.