Here is another valuable Management Tip of the Day from Harvard Business Review. To sign up for a free subscription to any/all HBR newsletters, please click here.

Delivering a successful presentation requires preparation and practice.

You need to gain the trust of your audience and convey your message clearly.

Here are three mistakes you should avoid next time you’re preparing to stand up in front of a crowd:

1. Not knowing your audience. Long before you walk into the room, determine who your audience is and what they will do with the information you present.

2. Failing to grab your listeners’ attention. Give the audience a reason to care. Hook them by describing the problem you’re trying to solve, or use an anecdote or a counterintuitive fact.

3. Using unrelated visual aids. Just because a chart looks good doesn’t mean you need to include it. Your audience may be annoyed and possibly confused if your visual aids aren’t directly related to your message.

Today’s Management Tip was adapted from Guide to Persuasive Presentations.

To check out that source and join the discussion, please click here.

Also check out my personal favorite: Carmine Gallo’s The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience.