Voor een goede presentatie doet het ertoe hoe duidelijk en rustig je spreekt.

Ertoe doen is a fixed Dutch expression meaning to matter, to be important, or to make a difference.

So het doet ertoe hoe duidelijk en rustig je spreekt means it matters how clearly and calmly you speak.

This is not something you should translate word for word. It is best learned as one expression: ertoe doen.

Here, het is a dummy subject, like it in English sentences such as it matters or it is important.

So in het doet ertoe, the het does not refer to a specific thing. It is just needed to make the sentence work grammatically.

Compare:

• Het doet ertoe. = It matters.
• Het is belangrijk. = It is important.

Because Dutch main clauses follow the verb-second rule.

The sentence begins with Voor een goede presentatie, which takes the first position. Once that happens, the finite verb must come next:

• Voor een goede presentatie = first position
• doet = finite verb in second position
• het = subject after the verb

So:

• Het doet ertoe hoe duidelijk en rustig je spreekt.
• Voor een goede presentatie doet het ertoe hoe duidelijk en rustig je spreekt.

Both are correct, but the second one starts by setting the context: for a good presentation.

In Dutch, er often combines with a preposition to form a pronominal adverb, such as:

• eraan
• ervoor
• ermee
• ertoe

In ertoe doen, the combination is part of a fixed expression. You should mainly learn ertoe doen as a whole.

So the er does not need to be translated separately here. It is simply part of the idiomatic structure.

Because the clause hoe duidelijk en rustig je spreekt means how clearly and calmly you speak.

Here, hoe introduces an embedded clause about manner/degree. It tells us in what way your speaking matters.

So the structure is:

• het doet ertoe = it matters
• hoe duidelijk en rustig je spreekt = how clearly and calmly you speak

If you used dat, the meaning and structure would be different. Hoe is the natural choice because the sentence is specifically about how you speak.

Because hoe duidelijk en rustig je spreekt is a subordinate clause (more specifically, an embedded question/clause introduced by hoe).

In Dutch subordinate clauses, the conjugated verb usually goes toward the end. That is why you get:

• hoe duidelijk en rustig je spreekt

and not:

• hoe je spreekt duidelijk en rustig

This is a very common Dutch pattern.

Because Dutch usually does not form adverbs the way English does.

In English:

• clear → clearly
• calm → calmly

In Dutch, the adjective form is often also used as the adverb:

• duidelijk = clear / clearly
• rustig = calm / calmly

So:

• duidelijk spreken = to speak clearly
• rustig spreken = to speak calmly / in a calm way

This is completely normal in Dutch.

Not exactly. In this context, rustig spreken usually means speaking calmly, steadily, and without rushing.

For a presentation, rustig often suggests:

• not speaking too fast
• sounding composed
• having a calm, controlled delivery

So rustig here is closer to calmly or at a steady pace than simply quietly.

Here, je is most naturally understood as generic you, meaning anyone or people in general.

So the sentence is not necessarily talking to one specific person. It means something like:

• when giving a good presentation, it matters how clearly and calmly you speak

Dutch uses je very often in this general sense, just like English uses you.

Literally, it means for a good presentation. In natural English, the idea is more like:

• for a presentation to be good
• when it comes to giving a good presentation
• as far as a good presentation is concerned

So this phrase sets the context for the rest of the sentence. It tells you what standard or situation the speaker is talking about.

Because presentatie is a de-word in Dutch, and attributive adjectives before a de-word normally take -e.

So:

• de presentatie
• een goede presentatie

This -e ending is very common with adjectives before nouns in Dutch. English speakers often have to get used to it because English adjectives do not change form in this way.