I’m often asked, “what are the biggest mistakes people make in a business presentation?” I’ve seen speakers trip up on all of these, and the pain is also personal - I’ve made every one of these mistakes myself.

Here are 5 mistakes to avoid at all costs:

Mistake #1: Failing to get important information about your audience. This is not just a rookie mistake. Experienced speakers do it, usually when they get lazy and make assumptions. The more you speak the more you kid yourself that you know enough to get by. This is a classic and- I’ve done it. If you want to hear a story about how I blew it by making assumptions about an audience, listen to my new podcast, “How to Make Your Audience Love You,” which will be posted on I Tunes next week.

The simplest way to avoid this is to pick up the phone and talk to the meeting planner or person in charge. They know the audience. If they don’t, they’ll probably be happy to set you up to interview one or two people who will be there. Get on the phone, find out what’s on their minds, and craft your speech with them in mind.

Mistake #2: Failing to open with a bang. You have to grab them. Audiences size you up in about 30 seconds. If they’re generous they’ll give you a minute or two. Attention spans are shorter than ever and we live in a culture of entertainment. You don’t have to be Letterman, but you should make an effort.

So, engage them from the start. Tell a story that makes a powerful point and takes your audience to the heart of the issue. And please, please, don’t ever say, “Good morning,” and wait for the audience to respond. Think about how you feel when it happens. Audiences want to drink their coffee and be engaged in the first few minutes. Don’t make them fake a cheery attitude.

Mistake #3: Depending too much on your slides. Aren’t you sick of hearing this? But 98.7 percent of all presentations are driven by powerpoint and deadly, deadly, deadly.

The fundamental issue I think is businesses and perhaps laziness. You’re going to have to depend on your slides if you start slamming the presentation together the night before you give it. How can you be creative, find interesting visuals, or come up with stories and examples that make the presentation memorable? If you star the night before you’ll have to read the bullet points because you don’t know your presentation.

Mistake #4: Failing to find time to practice. And this is an absolute. You must practice. Sometimes people tell me they are afraid that they will come across as too rehearsed.

That’s absurd

I’ve never, ever seen a speaker who isn’t better when they practice. Practice has many purposes; you try out your comments and edit out loud; you hear how it will sound to your audience; you internalize the messages; your synapses start firing and you create pathways of recollection that will be handy when you get up in front of the group. As one of my mentors Patricia Fripp often says, practice is the work, performance is the relaxation.

Mistake #5: Failing to connect with the audience while you’re on stage. I mean, really connecting with them. Looking them in the eye and seeing them. Enjoying the opportunity to be there. Having fun. Making it an experience.

One of the most important keys to connecting is to know your material very well. If you don’t, all you can think about is what you want to say. You won’t even know the audience is there if you’re busy trying to figure out what’s on the next slide.

Make it a point to practice and know your material. Then, when you step to the front of the room, look around, meet people eye to eye; gauge their reaction as you speak; ask them questions, make observations; in other words, be in the moment with your audience. You don’t have to be perfect or polished as long as you are with them.