When was the last time you saw a truly captivating and useful business presentation? Many entrepreneurs still fail to grasp the essence of presenting, leading to presentations that are altogether boring and unimaginative. It seems that the main reason for this is the wrong choice of technique, but there are also many other factors that can make or break a presentation. These five presentation tips and techniques are not only going to help you stay on track, but also keep your audience engaged.
Three points max
Sometimes it is hard to squeeze elaborate topics into a three-point presentation, but it’s possible and surprisingly effective. The key is not to drown people with information, because if you indicate five or six points at the beginning, their attention will sink and before you know it, they will start wondering what you are actually talking about. Or, worse, they will lose the interest in your proposal. Any kind of project can be broken into three points which you can then expand easily. Introduce the three points at the beginning and round them up at the end to keep your intention clear.
Encourage participation
If you don’t like to be interrupted when you speak, or you are not used to audience participation for any other reason, you are on your way to drive your presentation into the ground. Even though you don’t want them to break your stream of thought, you need to change your approach. One-way presentations are the thing of the past, while actively engaged audience leads to a comfortable environment, where people are encouraged to share their valuable observations and give useful feedback.
Use visual aids
Nothing good has ever come out of presentations where the speaker uses verbal techniques only, without any visual aids to support the point and make it easier for audience to understand. Pictures, animations, videos and diagrams are going to keep your presentation interesting as you move through the points. Many people will forget what you’ve said, but many will remember what you’ve shown them. Using professional presentation design services is a great way to build a presentation that has every advantage to make an impact on you audience.
Footwork
Unless you are 80 years old and a living legend in your field of work, your statuesque posture may indicate the lack of passion on your side. You need to move, interact and walk among the audience. Make your presenting active and show them that you are a person of action who stands behind those moving slides. Look people in the eye when you talk to them, and make a sincere rapport with the listeners. People love listening to stories and your audience will be thrilled to hear your story told in a dramatic fashion.
Converse, not lecture
Even if you are a professor, try not to give a lecture to your audience. For any kind of presentation, a conversational tone is more likely to make an impression. Take advantage of real-life examples to support your ideas whenever you can. People love when the presenter treats them as equals. To achieve this, you may share a personal story or an experience that is related to the presentation. Audience will be able to connect with you through personal experiences and listen to you with greater attention.
Finally, maybe the most important thing is that if you enjoy your presentation, your audience will enjoy it as well. Show that you are passionate about what you are presenting and people will know that you are honest, making it easier for them to relate to you.
