1. Timing - although good timing is rarely noticed or appreciated, bad timing is immediately obvious and can cause all the other good parts of your presentation to go to waste. The keys to good timing are preparation, awareness, and flexibility. Preparation means practicing your lecture to get an estimate of the timing. Awareness means staying aware of the time as you give your lecture. Flexibility means being able to insert or delete material so that you can end the lecture at a good stopping point.

    In a course, running overtime inconveniences your students and shows disrespect for the class that follows you. In a professional presentation, running overtime can result in negative impressions of you among colleagues that may be making decisions whether to hire you or fund a project of yours in the future. Finishing early usually leaves the impression that you didn't have much to say. If it's true that you don't have much to say, it's probably better to finish early than to bore your audience by subjecting them to long explanations of obvious points. The best way to find out is to practice your lecture in front of an audience who can tell you when the things that seem obvious to you might require further explanation.

  2. Media - use a medium with which you're comfortable, that's appropriate for the material you're presenting and for your audience.

    If you're presenting a lot of material it may be appropriate to distribute a copy of your slides to the audience before the start of your talk.

    The greater the technological complexity of the medium that you choose, the more important it is to have a lower-technology backup. If your talk uses overhead transparencies, make sure you have notes so that you could give it using a blackboard. If your talk uses PowerPoint slides, you can print them out on transparencies as a backup. If your talk requires a network connection, bring a backup disk in case the network is down. If it's very important that you start on time, it may be worthwhile to carry a piece of chalk and/or a reasonably new whiteboard pen.

  3. Delivery - you need to project enthusiasm for your material to those sitting in the last row

  4. Structure - most people appreciate an outline at the beginning of the talk, brief references back to the outline when moving from one section to another, and a summary at the end. Those who don't appreciate it won't hold it against you if you keep it reasonably brief and don't flash back to the outline every third slide or so. If you have a second projector or a side board available, it may be worthwhile to keep the outline up for easy reference.

  5. Examples - a good balance between examples and theory is important. Theoretical development needs to be grounded by examples of how the theory can be applied, but too many examples without the theory to tie them together will leave your audience wondering about the point of your lecture.

  6. Interaction - the more you involve your audience in your lecture the better they will absorb the concepts you are trying to convey

  7. Level - you should aim your lecture should be slightly above the level of your audience. Aiming too high risks confusing your audience, but aiming too low will insult them or put them to sleep, which is far worse. Checking in frequently by asking questions helps to keep the level appropriate. Just asking "Any questions?", while better than nothing, may not give the desired feedback, since an audience lost in confusion is likely to be just as silent as one that is bored.

  8. Preparation - one of the best ways to prepare is to give a practice version of your lecture to a friendly audience who is willing and able to give you constructive criticism

  9. Content - beyond what has been mentioned under "Timing" and "Level", it will help to be aware of whether your audience is intrinsically interested in the material you are presenting, whether they have the necessary background, and whether there is a great diversity of backgrounds.