Seeking advice please and thank you

It's way easy to fill an hour if you know what you are talking abut. Try the PowerPoint approach, whether you use slides or not:

Allot 10 minutes in the beginning for an Introduction about yourself or an opening demonstration. People like to know a little about their presenter and why he or she is there. Simple demos can be engaging.

Allot 10 minutes at the end for Q&A.

That leaves you with 40 minutes to fill. Pick 8 topics pertinent to your subject matter. That shouldn't be too hard. Some can even be subtopics. Allot 5 minutes per topic.

Never talk too fast, especially in a Zoom environment. Summarize often. Keep a big clock that you can see, nearby.

Presto -- 60 minutes is over!

For a longer presentation alot more time per topic or add a topic. Also include a short intermission.

For almost any topic you can fill the 8 "slides" by talking about the subject matter in reference to a timeline.

Talk about the history of it for 3 slides.

Talk about the current state of affairs for 3 slides.

Talk about future matters for 2.

Or take the FAQ approach and talk about the answers to 8 questions most people would typically have about the topic.

Alan, I don't know if that way of looking at and structuring will help Jill, but it really helped me. Everyone's brains are different, but you nailed what I would need for a secure starting point. Wow and thanks.

Finally, keep a bottle of water, a coughdrop and a box of Kleenex handy. You don't want to ruin a good presentation with drymouth or an inopportune sneeze.

For an in person presentation, it's ok to move around a little bit. Act human and not robotic -- you want to keep people's attention. You don't have to be "heavy" and overly serious -- you can be conversational in nature. But the audience should be focused on your interesting tidbits of facts -- not you. They are there to learn something new. Think of yourself more as a teacher than an entertainer. Unless, that's what you are being hired to do.

Judit thanks. My career in holography taught me how to present and keep people from nodding off. Now I just hand kids a hammer and a chisel and say "watch your fingers" a thousand times. A lot easier.

My biggest flub was having to follow a famous Nobel Prize winner at an international Symposium with a talk about "holography resources on the Internet" back when the Web was brand new. I was so nervous I ended up reading a bunch of projected transparencies. Boring. Could have done a much better job.

when the job is done 

walk away

PowerPoint is great, but don't make the fatal error of putting a lot of text on a slide and reading off it word for word.

Pique people's interest. What are the common questions you always get asked about tarot? That's what attendees will probably also want answers to. Does the Death card mean you're going to die? I'm sure there are 5-8 questions you've been repeatedly asked over the years.

Use short but awesome stories. That's what people will remember

since this is your wheelhouse,  feel confident, and know that your audience is interested in you and not just what you say. Practicing by yourself how this may play out will help.

Best wishes, Jill!  What a great opportunity to start the new year! Who knows where this new path will take you.

There are no coincidences. 

JLP,  I give presentations daily, hourly even unfortunately.   If you want to talk through some ideas once you have a framework and your core idea put together, I'm happy to review/advise.  

There is good advice above.  Some worth repeating: 

>> feel confident, and know that your audience is interested  

>> Practicing by yourself  - during a big interview or project pursuit I'll do this at least 20 times.  Other people can do it with no practice.   This will build confidence if you need it. 

>> don't make the fatal error of putting a lot of text on a slide and reading -- Beautiful images that are inspiring - a few key words if you have to to remind yourself of what the talking points are. 

>>Use short but awesome stories.  -- This is key or even a few jokes.   Connect them to your experiences. 

>>Never talk too fast --  Make it conversational.  Too slow is almost worse. 

>>ok to move around a little bit.  --if you are at a podium with microphone this is tough but yes switching sides of a stage or changing their perspective keeps them engaged. 

>>They are there to learn something new  ---what's your angle

We tend to try to aim for 30 secs per slide.   I've done 100 in 20 minutes - it was fast but won an important job.  Don't try to squeeze 60 minutes out of 20 slides.   Everyone will be asleep.  Keep it moving.  

One question I have is that she asked for a workshop. Is that what this is?  That's different than a presentation.  You might clarify with her.  If you go for 90 minutes you can break it up with activities, get the audience in small groups and let them report out and then you can refine their thoughts. 

If you're planning to use tech like Powerpoint slides and a projector, make sure you have a rock solid Plan B ready in case something goes wrong because it almost certainly will.

Also, except in some very rare circumstances, I can't recommend picturing your audience naked as a way to overcome stage fright.

Adding an intro into the history of Tarot and using cards for divination in general would be helpful.  And you don't have to wait until a formal Q&A at the end to entertain questions.  Periodically ask if any one has questions throughout the presentation.  If you keep it interactive, the presentation will largely run itself. 

Sounds fun and glad you have this opportunity.  

Start out with a joke....

"I was going to make a career out of giving presentations about tarot cards, but there's no future in it...."

and there's always...." What dinosaur knew it would be going extinct? The tarot-dactyl."

Maybe not.... most tarot card readers can't tell jokes... they are far too seer-ious.

How many people are you speaking too?  The smaller the group, the more options you have to do interactive activities.

I agree with the above suggestions.  I remember my first time teaching at the community college level, I had to give a 3 hour lecture on how electricity worked, yawn!  Took a bit to learn many of the tricks above, including using sound, colors, and other non verbal methods to demonstrate a point, etc.  

Great tips! Especially the one about reducing the amount of text on a slide.

Put the text on the notes section for your use.

Happy to be another reviewer or help with photo editing!

Be yourself. They'll love you.

Speaking of Tarot...20 years ago today....  I still have my shirt!

75% of what i do involves supporting corporate presentations in ballroom and theater settings and Power Point can be a lot , and a crutch..the very best of the speakers KNOW their content and use single big words or short phrases and work off of those - like big bullet points for the listeners and the presenter. Since i know you know your shit, i think its more about how comfortable you are in a focused public speaking setting and really getting your spiel down to a solid hour....using the previous formulae for timings are great tips and keeping it moving helps too....good luck and if you have any specific questions about the tech side of this, hit me up