It’s one of the staples of the modern age — standing in front of a group of people, relaying your thoughts through series of slides. But not all presentations are made equal. A presentation can help connect with your audience, and help convey your thoughts precisely and accurately. A good presentation can bring in plaudits, promotions, and even sales. On the other hand, a bad presentation can even hurt your message — it’s possible that a poorly crafted presentation can hurt your chances at whatever you were trying to accomplish.
Here are some tips to creating a solid presentation that’ll deliver results
- Make a good first impression
Like with other things in life, a presentation needs to make a good first impression. This is especially true if your audience is going to be seeing several presentations such as yours. It’s vital to create an impact quickly, and get your audience’s attention. This can be done by stating a surprising fact first up, or sharing an impactful picture. This will pave the way for the rest of your presentation — once you have your audience’s interest, they’ll be far more receptive to what you’re saying.
- Be visual
An image is worth a thousand words. Use images when you can, especially ones that convey what you’re trying to say. Avoid stock photos; they can look too cliche, but if you have a relevant image that can succinctly convey what you’re trying to say, use it! Just make sure you have the relevant copyright rights rights to be using the image in your presentation.
- Use stories
The human brain is more receptive to stories than facts.An interesting anecdote in your presentation can have more impact and be more memorable than a truckload of boring facts. In fact, it’s even possible to have your entire presentation read like a story — if your presentation has a beginning, a critical juncture, and an end, you’ll have your audience hooked.
- Use graphics
Presentations have been getting more and more sophisticated with time, and it’s never been easier to create a well-made presentation. Presentations can have several graphical elements that can make your presentation look smart. Having arrows, symbols and designs in your presentation can make your deck look more professional. You can create customised templates using services such as Slidecamp.
- Less is more
A presentation isn’t the only tool you use to communicate. The most critical element is you — the person delivering the presentation. A deck should enhance your story, not take over it completely. While creating a deck, less can often be more. A presentation shouldn’t be a text summary of what you’re saying — it needs to add complement what the speaker is saying. As such, make your slides light on text. If your audience spends time reading the slides, they ignore what’s being said. Do what Steve Jobs did while giving presentations — a simple word or line can have more impact than a cluttered slide full of text.