Planning an oral presentation is not that much different than thinking about how to write a paper or a short article. The golden rules are the same: select and consistently implement an appropriate format and that the format helps the listener to best understand the information and arguments you are presenting.

However, since hearing is a different experience than reading, there are some general recommendations that you should observe and only transgress after considering how it will affect the listener's ability to follow what you are saying.

• There are a variety of styles of presentation and one way is to speak freely from keywords or short notes.  The presentation usually becomes more animated, but speaking from such keywords or notes takes a lot practice to maintain your line of thought and to devote sufficient time to all the important points.  One may alternatively read a paper to the audience; this often affords more clarity for the arguments and more control over the presentation, but it can become somewhat dull if you read sentence after sentence without changing your voice.  There are of course styles in between these two extremes, such as following along a written text but having in advance marked keywords about which you talk more freely. 
• When writing your paper for presentation, you should calculate two minutes of reading time for every page.  A fifteen-minute presentation, thus, may be no longer than about seven written pages (Times New Roman, 12 point, double spaced, one inch margins).  Many students overestimate just how long they have to present and end up having too much material to cover in the time allotted.  Prepare carefully and remember that you cannot possibly cover everything in the level of detail possible in a written format.
• Limit the number of quotations in your presentation since it is often difficult for the audience to distinguish who is speaking when you read quotes.  If you do include a quote in your presentation, make sure to verbally set off the quote, often preceding the quoted passage by saying “quote” and ending it with “unquote.”  You will also always give the quote’s author credit in your presentation.
• If you use any other media with your presentation (slides, video, power point, overheads, music) you should be aware that it takes time for the audience to look at and understand such demonstations.  You generally must add a couple of explaining sentences.  You should use no more than one image every one to two minutes.
• Long, convoluted sentences that may make sense when read are very difficult to understand when heard.  Keep your prose concise and focused.
• Limit the complexity of your presentation.  A presentation of fifteen minutes should only under very rare circumstances contain more than one general argument and under no circumstances more than two.  A speech the audience understands and enjoys is much preferred over one where much of the audience is lost along the way!
• PRACTICE your presentation ALOUD several times.  It’s particularly useful to practice in front of someone, but practicing aloud by yourself works as well.  It is helpful to mark in your notes or paper intonations of phrases and to highlight words with which you have difficulty.
• PRACTICE AGAIN!  This includes making sure that any audio-visual media are working as planned and that the necessary equipment is available in the room in which you will be presenting.
• If you make a presentation at a conference or professional meeting, it is often a good idea to have available some copies of your speech or of the longer text from which your speech has been derived. Offering such copies (with your name and contact information prominately on the cover page) to people if they approach you is a great way of building your professional network.