We always appreciate a good presentation! There is a good deal of excellent material and advice on presentation skills available, and we are not trying to cover every aspect in this article.

If you have already used most of the Microsoft PowerPoint templates and you’re looking for some new ones we've selected some of the best

Steve Jobs had a serious and embarrassing Wi-Fi problem to deal with. It was plain to the thousands in attendance and the tons more people watching online: On Monday at WWDC, Jobs was struggling with wireless connectivity while attempting to demonstrate the new features of Apple's iPhone 4.

IT departments today have many well-defined responsibilities. But what about helping business users with not just the technical side but also the creative elements of their presentations?

My Irish grandmother was fond of quoting a line from a Robert Burns' poem about having "the giftie gie us, to see ourselves as ithers see us." For years I thought she was talking about some leprechaun showing up with a magical mirror (blame that one on Lucky Charms commercials). But one day I finally got it. That combination of self-awareness and understanding how you're actually coming across to others is quite a powerful communication tool.

Rock stars do it before striding on stage. Actors do it before gazing into the camera. Even nervous 10-year-olds do it before arriving at their piano recitals. (Of course, their mothers make them.)

Carmine Gallo, presentation coach and author of the upcoming book The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs (McGraw-Hill, October 2009), has counseled many executives on how to give a great presentation. He's also witnessed many common-yet avoidable-presentation errors that people always seem to commit.