Most presentations suck. They are long and boring and lack focus and
enthusiasm. Some presentation slides are
filled with overused template backgrounds, fonts and colours while others are a
smörgåsbord of colour, animation effects
and slide transitions that dilute the message and distract the audience.
Luckily, we’ve taken our years of knowledge and
experience garnered through hundreds of presentations and compiled the top five
things to remember when making your presentation:
- You are the Star of the Show – Not Powerpoint, you. If you dropped your laptop in the parking lot on your way into the presentation and it smashed to pieces, you’d still be able to give the presentation. Maybe not as effectively but you’d still be able to do it. The presentation wouldn’t be able to go on if you got sick and couldn’t make it even if you emailed your PPT file. Never forget that you are the presentation and Powerpoint is a supporting tool.
- Always ask, “So What?” – Never forget the reason that you’re there—to convince your audience to do something: buy your product, sign up for your service, give you a chance to bid on a project. Every thought, idea and premise in your presentation should matter to them. They’re not there to listen to how wonderful you are, they’re there to learn about what you can do for them.
- Use Stimulating Visuals – The old adage of a picture being worth a thousand words holds true for your presentation slides. Powerful and relevant images can leave an impression on your audience that written words cannot. Check out websites like Shutterstock, iStockPhoto and others for professional grade images. A Google image search will yield plenty of other graphics but try and stay away from stretching low resolution images—nothing makes a presentation cheesier than fuzzy images that have been stretched too big.
- Limit your bullets and don’t read to your audience – There’s nothing more boring than when someone loads up a slide and then reads the bullet points. In a 2007 report, Professor John Sweller of the University of South Wales found that “it is more difficult to process information if it is coming at you in the written and spoken form at the same time”. If you’re reading your slides, chances are that your audience is sitting with glazed eyes because of sensory overload. The solution? Minimize the amount of text on your slides. Using keywords as prompts is fine, but avoid lengthy sentences. Better, consider using infographics, images or charts. Your audience will thank—and more important remember—you.
- Practice, practice, practice – You can’t practice a presentation too much. Know the content and sequence of each slide inside out. Know why you included each slide and how it supports your message. Practice in front of your colleagues, in front of a mirror, in front of your dog. Just practice. When it’s time for the real thing your confidence will shine through in your voice and body language.
Conclusion
Chances are
you’re going to have to give an important presentation at some point during
your career. Giving an interesting and
effective presentation isn’t the easiest thing to do, but fortunately it’s not
the hardest thing to do, either. If you
make yourself the star of the show, deliver a meaningful message, make your
slides visually stimulating and engage your audience you’ll be well on your
way. And last but definitely not least,
practice makes perfect so make sure you leave plenty of time to practice and
you’ll give a confident, smooth and effective presentation.
Got
something to say? Leave a comment below, we’d love to hear from you! Got a
question that we can address in our blog? Contact us through our website or email me directly and we’ll put our crack team to work and let you know
when we post a reply.
Other Blog Posts
If you
liked this blog post, here are some other blog posts that you might also like:
- When a Powerpoint Presentation Goes Bad
- Product Review: SlideShark – Powerpoint Presentations on the iPad
- Starting Your Follow Up Strategy With a Handwritten Thank You Note
Steve
Hartley, Managing Partner
Fering Communications Inc.
Website: www.feringcommunications.com
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