First off, don't bash the software; bash the person using the software, he says. Second: Don't make every slide look the same (i.e., Title, Bullets; Title, Bullets). Gallo suggests that you use images with little or no text on slides to discuss ideas or concepts, which is also a great way to engage the audience. This will also, he says, "give the audience's eyes a rest every so often."

"I can't tell you how many times I work with executives who spend thousands of dollars on the actual presentation-in creating the presentation and on meetings to create it-and then they don't even rehearse it," Gallo says. "When you prepare and rehearse the presentation-out loud, over many hours and many days-you'll come across as much more engaging as a speaker and effortless."

Gallo says he's learned (from his research and talking to people at Cisco) that CEO John Chambers, who is known for being a terrific public speaker, rehearses quite a bit. "He will go over the slides and content of slides during many, many days prior to conference," he says. "He has internalized the content, and he's very fluid and smooth. And that's because he rehearses."

Practice 10 hours for every one hour of the presentation (and that doesn't include creating the text and slide notes). Practicing in front of another person or a video camera will help even more, he says. "Most of the great presenters actually rehearse much more extensively than anyone else," he says. "They don't just wing it."

"Most presenters who are just considered average or mediocre are usually caught reading the text on their slides," Gallo says. This dreadful presentation technique ties into Gallo Rule #2. "When you place a lot of text on slides," he says, "naturally you want to read from them, so you turn your back to audience and you read from slides on the display."