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This page draws on published advice from expert presenters around the world, which will help to take your presentations from merely ‘good’ to ‘great’.
By bringing together advice from a wide range of people, the aim is to cover a whole range of areas.
Whether you are an experienced presenter, or just starting out, there should be ideas here to help you to improve.
It’s hard to be relaxed and be yourself when you’re nervous.
But time and again, the great presenters say that the most important thing is to connect with your audience, and the best way to do that is to let your passion for the subject shine through.
Be honest with the audience about what is important to you and why it matters.
Be enthusiastic and honest, and the audience will respond.
Your presentation needs to be built around what your audience is going to get out of the presentation.
As you prepare the presentation, you always need to bear in mind what the audience needs and wants to know, not what you can tell them.
While you’re giving the presentation, you also need to remain focused on your audience’s response, and react to that.
You need to make it easy for your audience to understand and respond.
When planning your presentation, you should always keep in mind the question:
What is the key message (or three key points) for my audience to take away?
You should be able to communicate that key message very briefly.
Some experts recommend a 30-second ‘elevator summary’, others that you can write it on the back of a business card, or say it in no more than 15 words.
Whichever rule you choose, the important thing is to keep your core message focused and brief.
And if what you are planning to say doesn’t contribute to that core message, don’t say it.
This sounds very easy, but a surprisingly large number of presenters fail to do it.
If you smile and make eye contact, you are building rapport , which helps the audience to connect with you and your subject. It also helps you to feel less nervous, because you are talking to individuals, not to a great mass of unknown people.
To help you with this, make sure that you don’t turn down all the lights so that only the slide screen is visible. Your audience needs to see you as well as your slides.
The beginning of your presentation is crucial. You need to grab your audience’s attention and hold it.
They will give you a few minutes’ grace in which to entertain them, before they start to switch off if you’re dull. So don’t waste that on explaining who you are. Start by entertaining them.
Try a story (see tip 7 below), or an attention-grabbing (but useful) image on a slide.
This is a tip from Guy Kawasaki of Apple. He suggests that slideshows should:
This last is particularly important as it stops you trying to put too much information on any one slide. This whole approach avoids the dreaded ‘Death by PowerPoint’.
As a general rule, slides should be the sideshow to you, the presenter. A good set of slides should be no use without the presenter, and they should definitely contain less, rather than more, information, expressed simply.
If you need to provide more information, create a bespoke handout and give it out after your presentation.
Human beings are programmed to respond to stories.
Stories help us to pay attention, and also to remember things. If you can use stories in your presentation, your audience is more likely to engage and to remember your points afterwards. It is a good idea to start with a story, but there is a wider point too: you need your presentation to act like a story.
Think about what story you are trying to tell your audience, and create your presentation to tell it.
To effectively tell a story, focus on using at least one of the two most basic storytelling mechanics in your presentation:
Focusing On Characters – People have stories; things, data, and objects do not. So ask yourself “who” is directly involved in your topic that you can use as the focal point of your story.
For example, instead of talking about cars (your company’s products), you could focus on specific characters like:
A Changing Dynamic – A story needs something to change along the way. So ask yourself “What is not as it should be?” and answer with what you are going to do about it (or what you did about it).
For example…
The spoken word is actually a pretty inefficient means of communication, because it uses only one of your audience’s five senses. That’s why presenters tend to use visual aids, too. But you can help to make the spoken word better by using your voice effectively.
Varying the speed at which you talk, and emphasising changes in pitch and tone all help to make your voice more interesting and hold your audience’s attention.
For more about this, see our page on Effective Speaking .
It has been estimated that more than three quarters of communication is non-verbal.
That means that as well as your tone of voice, your body language is crucial to getting your message across. Make sure that you are giving the right messages: body language to avoid includes crossed arms, hands held behind your back or in your pockets, and pacing the stage.
Make your gestures open and confident, and move naturally around the stage, and among the audience too, if possible.
If you find presenting difficult, it can be hard to be calm and relaxed about doing it.
One option is to start by concentrating on your breathing. Slow it down, and make sure that you’re breathing fully. Make sure that you continue to pause for breath occasionally during your presentation too.
For more ideas, see our page on Coping with Presentation Nerves .
If you can bring yourself to relax, you will almost certainly present better. If you can actually start to enjoy yourself, your audience will respond to that, and engage better. Your presentations will improve exponentially, and so will your confidence. It’s well worth a try.
Improve your Presentation Skills
Follow our guide to boost your presentation skills learning about preparation, delivery, questions and all other aspects of giving effective presentations.
Start with: What is a Presentation?
Continue to: How to Give a Speech Self Presentation
See also: Five Ways You Can Do Visual Marketing on a Budget Can Presentation Science Improve Your Presentation? Typography – It’s All About the Message in Your Slides
Executive coaching and leadership development
The longer I’m in the coaching business, the more I realize how helpful it can be to break a skill or behavior down into its component parts. There’s something about knowing what the ingredients are—the recipe, if you will—that makes it easier to learn or improve a behavior.
Several years ago a colleague and I developed a model that breaks presentation skills down into 4 main areas. Most people are naturally good in some areas, and need to develop in others. Whether you are coaching someone on their presentation, or working on your own, I encourage you to think in terms of these four elements:
Content and slides. The content of a presentation consists of the speaker’s words. It’s the “script”. This includes the key ideas, overall structure and flow of the presentation (introduction, middle and end), word choice, use of stories, analogies, metaphors, humor, and other rhetorical devices. Content is the foundation of a great presentation, because no matter how excellent the delivery people don’t really want to listen if you don’t have something important and engaging to talk about.
Some presentations also use slides or another form of media (audio, video), or props, to support the speaker’s message. Media can help add power and impact to a presentation, but as I often say to speakers, remember that the slides are not the presentation, you are the presentation. In some cases slides become a crutch, a distraction and a hinderance. In recent years some organizations have banned or restricted the use of slides.
Body language. Our bodies are one of the chief tools we use in presentations and for communication in general. Human beings are hard wired to respond to each others’ body language. So are other animals, in fact. If you want to see how primal body language is, watch a dog. We used to have a dog who, after stealing food from the table or engaging in other unapproved activities, would put her head down with ears flopped forward in a posture of unmistakable apology (that was our unscientific interpretation). But it’s the same with people. Posture, eye contact, movement–they all communicate a great deal about what we are thinking or feeling.
Standing tall, making connecting eye-contact and moving with purpose can go a long way towards conveying confidence. Being more intentional about body language can do a lot to impact how you are perceived, but also has added benefit of impacting your thinking and feeling from the outside-in, as is famously pointed out in a TED talk by Amy Cuddy .
Voice. Although our voices are produced by our bodies, usually I think of voice and body language as discrete, in part because just like body language, the human voice conveys a whole universe of information. The speed, inflection, pitch, pacing, volume and use of pauses in a speaker’s voice can convey tremendous nuance. Generally, speakers are more engaging when they include some variety in the inflection and timing of their voice, and when they avoid extremes of speed and volume.
To get a sense of the power of voice, watch a good movie or TV show and pay attention only to the actors’ voices. Great actors—and great presenters—use the full range of subtleties in their voices to engage their audiences and convey feeling and information.
Authenticity. Authenticity is about how self-aware a speaker is about what’s truly important to them, and how transparently they communicate those interior truths. Authenticity is conveyed through content, body and voice but I have broken it out as a separate category because it is so foundationally important to building trust with an audience. And trust is, of course, the foundation of any relationship. I emphasize this because all presentations involve a relationship between a speaker and their audience. One of the most frequent tips I give speakers is to stop thinking of their presentation as a performance, and instead think of it as a conversation, a relationship with the audience.
One great exercise to help you develop your skills as a speaker is to assess other speakers you see in terms of these 4 elements. Whether you are watching a TED talk, a colleague, or an actor, pay close attention to each of the elements. What works or doesn’t work about their content, body language, and voice? Pick one of the 4 elements and pay attention to it alone. Do they seem authentic to you, and if so why? Is it because they are talking about something that’s truly important to them? Is it because they have taken a risk in disclosing something personal?
The better you understand each of these domains, the more fluent you are in observing them and talking about them, the more easily you can improve your own presentation skills, and help others.
Blog > How to structure a good PowerPoint Presentation
08.09.21 • #powerpoint #tips.
When creating presentations, it is particularly important that they are well organized and have a consistent structure.
A logical structure helps the audience to follow you and to remember the core information as best as possible. It is also important for the presenter, as a good presentation structure helps to keep calm, to stay on the topic and to avoid awkward pauses.
But what does such a structure actually look like? Here we show you how to best organize your presentation and what a good structure looks like.
Before you start creating your presentation, you should always brainstorm. Think about the topic and write all your ideas down. Then think about the message you want to communicate, what your goal is and what you want your audience to remember at the end.
Think about who your audience is so that you can address them in the best possible way. One possibility is to start your presentation with a few polls to get to know your audience better. Based on the results, you can then adapt your presentation a little. Use the poll function of SlideLizard and have all the answers at a glance. SlideLizard makes it possible to integrate the polls directly into your PowerPoint presentation which helps you to avoid annoying switching between presentation and interaction tool. You can keep an eye on the results while the votes come in and then decide whether you want to share them or not.
The basic structure of a presentation is actually always the same and should consist of:
Make sure that the structure of your presentation is not too complicated. The simpler it is, the better the audience can follow.
It is best to start your presentation by briefly introducing yourself which helps to build a connection with your audience right away.
Then introduce the topic, state the purpose of the presentation and provide a brief outline of the main points you will be addressing.
In the introduction, mention the approximate length of the talk and then also make sure you stick to it.
The introduction should be no longer than two slides and provide a good overview of the topic.
According to studies, people in the audience only have an average attention span of 10 minutes, which is why it is important to increase their attention right at the beginning and to arouse the audience's interest. You could make a good start with a few icebreaker polls for example. They lighten the mood right at the beginning and you can secure your audience's attention from the start.
For example, you could use SlideLizard to have all the answers at a glance and share them with your audience. In addition, the audience can try out how the polls work and already know how it works if you include more polls in the main part.
As mentioned earlier, it is always useful to think about who your audience actually is. Ask them questions at the beginning about how well they already know the topic of your presentation. Use SlideLizard for this so that you have a clear overview about the answers. You can use both single- and multiple-choice questions or also open questions and display their results as a WordCloud in your presentation, for example.
To make the beginning (or the end) of your presentation more exciting, it is always a good idea to include a quote. We have selected some powerful quotes for PowerPoint presentations for you.
The main part of a presentation should explain the topic well, state facts, justify them and give examples. Keep all the promises you made earlier in the introduction.
The main part should make up about 70% of the presentation and also include a clear structure. Explain your ideas in detail and build them up logically. It should be organized chronologically, by priority or by topic. There should be a smooth transition between the individual issues. However, it is also important to use phrases that make it clear that a new topic is starting. We have listed some useful phrases for presentations here.
Visualize data and statistics and show pictures to underline facts. If you are still looking for good images, we have selected 5 sources of free images for you here.
Focus on what is most important and summarize a bit. You don't have to say everything about a topic because your audience won’t remember everything either. Avoid complicated sentence structure, because if the audience does not understand something, they will not be able to read it again.
Make your presentation interactive to keep the attention of your audience. Use SlideLizard to include polls in your presentation, where your audience can vote directly from their smartphone and discuss the answers as soon as you received all votes. Here you can also find more tips for increasing audience engagement.
The conclusion should contain a summary of the most important key points. Repeat the main points you have made, summarize what the audience should have learned and explain how the new information can help in the future.
Include a Q&A part at the end to make sure you don't leave any questions open. It's a good idea to use tools like SlideLizard for it. Your audience can ask anonymous questions and if there is not enough time, you can give them the answers afterwards. You can read more about the right way to do a question slide in PowerPoint here.
It is also important to get feedback on your presentation at the end to keep improving. With SlideLizard you can ask your audience for anonymous feedback through star ratings, number ratings or open texts directly after your presentation. You can then export the responses and analyse them later in Excel.
Depending on the type of presentation you give, the structure will always be slightly different. We have selected a few different presentation styles and their structure for you.
If you are one of many presenters on the day, you will only have a very limited time to present your idea and to convince your audience. It is very important to stand out with your presentation.
So you need to summarize your ideas as briefly as possible and probably should not need more than 3-5 slides.
Start your presentation by explaining a problem and giving a short overview of it.
Then go into the problem a little more, providing both intellectual and emotional arguments for the seriousness of the problem. You should spend about the first 25% of your presentation on the problem.
After that, you should spend about 50% of your presentation proposing a solution and explaining it in detail.
In the last 25%, describe what benefits this solution will bring to your audience and ask them to take a simple but relevant action that relates to the problem being discussed.
A great way to build an emotional connection with the audience is to structure a presentation like a story.
In the introduction, introduce a character who has to deal with a conflict. In the main part, tell how he tries to solve his problem but fails again and again. In the end, he manages to find a solution and wins.
Stories have the power to win customers, align colleagues and motivate employees. They’re the most compelling platform we have for managing imaginations. - Nancy Duarte / HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations
Use the demonstration structure to show how a product works. First talk about a need or a problem that has to be solved.
Then explain how the product will help solve the problem and try to convince your audience of the need for your product.
Spend the end clarifying where and when the product can be purchased.
When you have something historical to tell, it is always good to use a chronological structure. You always have to ask yourself what happens next.
To make it more interesting and exciting, it is a good idea to start by telling the end of something and after that you explain how you got there. This way you make the audience curious and you can gain their attention faster.
Nancy Duarte is a speaker and presentation design expert. She gives speeches all over the world, trying to improve the power of public presentations.
In her famous TED Talk "The Secret Structure of Great Talks" she dissects famous speeches such as Steve Jobs' iPhone launch speech and Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech. In doing so, she found out that each presentation is made up of 4 parts:
About the author.
Helena Reitinger
Helena supports the SlideLizard team in marketing and design. She loves to express her creativity in texts and graphics.
Do you want to make your presentations more interactive.
With SlideLizard you can engage your audience with live polls, questions and feedback . Directly within your PowerPoint Presentation. Learn more
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Slide transitions are visual effects which appear in PowerPoint when one slide moves to the next. There are many different transitions, like for example fade and dissolve.
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Effective presentations are an indispensable element of effective professional communication in today’s world.
A well-designed and well-delivered presentation can aid in transmitting ideas and messages more efficiently. Effectively presented content facilitates the achievement of objectives and key results .
Effective compilation and delivery of presentations is a critical skill for most executives these days. Doing so may generate quite a few benefits, both for the presenter and the audience.
The following 4 essential elements should be included in any effective presentation-making process.
The initial 3 elements—i.e. Plan, Prepare, and Practice—are interlinked and overlap in the process. The Present element stands alone and is possible only after the initial 3 elements have been completed.
The first 3 elements can be structured in either parallel or sequential order. The serial approach entails working on a single task until it is completed, then moving on to the next task, and so on.
A parallel approach consists of working on a number of tasks at the same time, accomplishing what can be achieved at a time.
Both methods work the same way, as long as the method used is in line with the following traits of the people who made it:
Let us delve a little deeper into the details of the 4 elements of presentation.
Planning a presentation requires careful consideration of multiple critical elements. These 7 dimensions of planning each play a vital role in crafting a compelling and effective presentation:
Clearly defined objectives set the stage for the presentation by aligning its purpose with the organization’s goals. Understanding the audience ensures that the content resonates and engages, while meticulously developed content supports these objectives with precision and relevance.
Structuring the content logically facilitates smooth delivery and comprehension, making it easier for the audience to follow and retain information. The setting of the presentation, encompassing factors like room size and equipment, must be optimized for a seamless experience. Effective delivery, highlighted by confident body language and dynamic interaction, captivates the audience and reinforces the message. Visuals, when used thoughtfully, enhance understanding and retention without distracting from the core message.
Each of these dimensions interlinks, forming a robust framework for planning and executing presentations that are not only impactful but also memorable.
By methodically addressing these dimensions, potential gaps and weaknesses in the presentation can be identified and rectified early in the planning process. This thorough preparation gives structure to the presentation, making it engaging and easy to follow. Additionally, planning ahead allows for rehearsing the delivery, boosting the presenter’s confidence and enhancing their ability to convincingly convey their message.
Per the PPT slide above, for even more information on presentation planning, refer to this framework on Storyboarding and Presentation Writing .
The most important aspect of the Preparing phase is the use of an effective slide structure. Slides that are well-designed help to engage the audience and reinforce key messages.
The Consulting Presentation Framework—a slide structure that every top-tier management consulting firm follows, also used by FlevyPro —uses a structure in which every slide has 3 primary components:
Practicing a presentation is always a good idea, even if the presenter has already delivered it somewhere else. A change of setting and audience, as well as the time lapse between presentations, brings up new challenges.
Practicing also has 2 aspects that need to be addressed:
Effective presentations are not only about having good content or a well-designed slide deck; the way information is presented can be just as important. From body language and voice tone to pace and the use of visuals, everything about how the message is delivered can affect how the audience sees it.
Interested in learning more about 4 Ps of Effective Presentations? You can download an editable PowerPoint presentation on 4 Ps of Effective Presentations here on the Flevy documents marketplace .
You can download in-depth presentations on this and hundreds of similar business frameworks from the FlevyPro Library . FlevyPro is trusted and utilized by 1000s of management consultants and corporate executives.
For even more best practices available on Flevy, have a look at our top 100 lists:
business presentation , Effective presentation , plan , practice , prepare , Presentation
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Presentations are a great way to educate others about a new idea, or persuade an audience that your opinion is the right one. They are effective tools for communicating with large groups of people; it’s one thing to communicate your thoughts on a new project to your coworker, and quite another when you are talking to your whole department.
Seventy-four percent of respondents to the 2017 Annoying Presentation Survey stated that they were seeing about two presentations created in Microsoft’s PowerPoint per week. That’s roughly 104 presentations a year! How can a presenter ensure their audience retains the information they worked so hard to collect?
There are four keys that will help your audience follow along and remember your presentation: content , audience , structure , and consistency .
When developing a presentation, the first thing to do is decide on what you’re presenting. Choose a single subject; by focusing on a small amount of information, you won’t overwhelm your audience. This also gives them the time and opportunity to really understand the position or reasoning on why you are giving a presentation in the first place.
Start by creating a high-level outline that captures three main ideas about the topic you are presenting on. At this stage, you don’t have to get too into the weeds on what your presentation will include; just sketch out the idea and some supporting statements. This information can later inform what topics to include or ignore, visuals, and, in the end, how many slides you’re aiming for.
Do note that many people often say “less is more” when it comes to the number of slides in a presentation. There is an oft-cited myth that humans have a limited attention span thanks to technology—this is false! You will not lose your audience’s attention because they are unable to focus; you will lose their attention because you have a boring or confusing presentation.
By knowing your message, you’ll be able to create a powerful presentation that focuses on the essentials.
People change their way of speaking when talking with a child versus when talking with an adult. It’s the same in the workplace; you might be more informal with a coworker with whom you are close. Then you would speak another way with your boss or the company’s CEO.
Taking some time to think about how your audience will react to the information tells you how it should be presented. If your audience is brand new to the subject, you might want to take some time discussing background information. Let’s walk through an example: talking to a group of executives about web design . They will probably be unfamiliar with UI/UX, back end versus front end, or what a server is. Educating them about these terms can help support an argument that spending more time on the UX will result in more sales simply because your audience understands you.
If you were to give the same presentation to a group of web designers, you’ll probably bore them to death, and instantly have all eyes dropping to phone screens the moment you reveal your cover slide. Understanding your audience will tell you what areas are of most importance and should have some of your valuable presentation time. It will also tell you what is unimportant and should not be included in a presentation.
Once you know the what and how, you can plan out your presentation. This is where you decide what content will go on each slide, in what order. Some good rules of thumb:
Keep the content of each slide focused on a single idea that supports the subject you’re discussing. This information should be straightforward and easily summarized by a visual. More information has the potential to easily become too much text, which can become a problem of its own. One big complaint mentioned in the 2017 Annoying Presentation Survey was that presenters often ended up simply reading their own slides. When that happens, you know the presentation should have been an email.
Continuing the same thought from above, less text means there’s less of a chance that your audience will become overwhelmed and mentally check out, constantly looking at their watch for when your presentation will end. Trying to include too many thoughts on one slide is the fastest way to intimidate and scare away your audience. Keep it simple, and keep it focused.
As we said before, don’t concentrate on keeping the number of slides in your presentation to a minimum; use as many slides as are needed to fully explain the idea. A good rule to work by is one slide per minute you have to present in; so if you have 30 minutes, use 30 slides. The important thing to focus on is ensuring your slides themselves do not overwhelm the audience with content.
One great way to keep your audience focused on your presentation is to tell them where you all are within the presentation. This can be done with slides that are structured like a document’s table of contents, or a high-level agenda. They can be placed between sections to show what has come before, and what’s still to come; or they can be included in the design of the slides themselves, such as in a header or footer on the slide.
This way, if you do end up having a presentation with a lot of slides, your audience won’t be staring at the ceiling; they’ll be staring at your presentation, curious about where all of this is leading.
You know that saying that a picture is worth a thousand words? It might be a cliché at this point, but that doesn’t make it any less true. Visuals can say a lot in just one glance that would otherwise take readers some time to understand. And when you know your topic, you can create really impactful visuals—whether using charts, icons, or graphics, you can bring your presentation to life and wow your audience with something beautiful to look at.
One such tool that can be extremely effective in creating striking visuals is an image background remover. This can be used to isolate the subject of a picture , thereby removing any distractions within the frame. By doing so, you simplify the image and draw attention to the part that truly matters. This can be particularly useful when you're trying to highlight or emphasize a certain point in your presentation.
One of the most important things in the presentation development process is creating a presentation theme that is consistent. When your slides vary in size, display, or structure, audiences can become confused or distracted, which means they’re not paying attention to your message. You can create a consistent theme by doing the following:
Choosing a good color scheme might be one of the most important parts of developing a good presentation, right under understanding your content and your audience. Differing colors are a great way to draw your audience’s attention, and incite particular emotions when discussing different ideas. However, this doesn’t mean you should use whatever color strikes your fancy all at the same time. Choose a handful of colors for a particular and impactful color scheme.
Colors should be complementary, and draw the eye to particular parts of the screen that you want your audience to pay attention to. Choose your colors purposefully! And if the text will sit on top of a particular color, ensure that the two don’t cancel each other out. You want colors that work together that still allow text to be read and ideas understood.
Picking a great font is very important; aside from visuals, text is the other way you’re going to get your message across. There are two types of fonts: serif and sans-serif. Serif fonts have small, decorative flourishes, whereas the sans-serif fonts do not (thus, “sans” serif, or without).
Choose a font family that is easy to read; san-serif fonts are typically easier to read when it comes to presentations and digital content because of the dots per inch (DPI). Printed works have 300 DPI, whereas computer monitors typically have 100 DPI. This makes serif characters more difficult to read because of their complex shape.
Sans serif font:
The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over The Lazy Dog
Serif font:
The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over The Lazy Dog
Some of the most popular sans-serif fonts are Helvetica, Verdana, and Arial.
The way content is structured on a page is often called a grid, frame, or layout. When developing your presentation, it’s good to use consistent layouts for the same kind of slides. For example, use one type of layout for the cover slide; keep all section intro slides consistent; and all content slides consistent. This way, your audience knows where to look, what information is important, and can follow along easily as you present. If your audience is constantly searching for pertinent information on the slide in front of them, that means they’re not listening to you talk!
Creating a compelling and engaging presentation requires careful planning and design. To assist in this process, we've compiled a "cheat sheet" for good presentation design, which includes three essential tables.
The first table outlines the ideal content structure, from the introduction to the conclusion, ensuring your narrative is clear and engaging.
The second table emphasizes the presentation skills that every presenter should hone, such as clarity, confidence, and time management.
Lastly, the third table offers guidance on visual elements, such as slide design, use of images, and font and color choices. Utilizing this cheat sheet will help guide your presentation design, helping you create a visually appealing, well-structured, and engaging presentation that effectively communicates your message.
Content Structure:
Element | Description |
---|---|
Introduction | Sets the stage and gives the audience an idea about the topic |
Main Points | The key ideas you want to convey |
Supporting Evidence | Data, anecdotes, or examples that validate your main points |
Conclusion | Summarizes the key points and provides a call-to-action |
Presentation Skills:
Skill | Importance |
---|---|
Clarity | Essential for the audience to understand the message |
Confidence | Makes the presenter appear knowledgeable and trustworthy |
Body Language | Helps to engage the audience and convey non-verbal cues |
Time Management | Ensures all points are covered without rushing or overrunning |
Visual Elements:
Element | Role |
---|---|
Slides Design | Should be clean and uncluttered for readability |
Use of Images | Can enhance understanding and retention |
Charts and Graphs | Useful for explaining complex data |
Font and Colors | Should be chosen for readability and consistency with the topic's tone |
As you can see, a lot of work goes into a good presentation. There are many factors to consider to ensure your message is being heard loud and clear. But don’t feel overwhelmed! Most of these steps build on one another, like how picking one topic to focus on and understanding your audience tells you how to structure and present your material.
Once you’ve got it all together, the best thing to do is go through the material with a dry run. By practicing, you’re making sure that you’re not missing any gaps or have accidentally left in any unnecessary material. It also makes sure that you know your presentation; this helps you avoid reading off the slides, and can help abate presentation anxiety.
Making a presentation is more than just slapping a few slides together, but with Softjourn’s tips about presentation structure and design, you too can create a stellar presentation. Let us know in the comments which you found most helpful, or add your own ideas!
Whether you're presenting to co-workers or conference attendees, a strong presentation can create buy-in, generate interest, and even further your career..
Whether you're presenting in a boardroom or at a conference, a strong presentation can go a long way toward furthering your career. If you project confidence and competence, you'll be able to engage and impress any audience.
But as you might imagine, pulling off a great presentation or conference talk isn't easy. A confident speaker can still be foiled by a low-quality presentation deck , and likewise, a great deck can't make up for lack of preparation .
I've had the question of what makes a great presentation on my mind a lot lately. On March 9, I'll be speaking at SXSW for the third year in a row. My talk is called " The Visual-First Method: Boost Conversions Now ," and will explain how organizations can transition into making visual communication their primary means of communicating both internally and externally. After nine years running a visual communication agency, it's a topic I know well. Even so, a great deal of preparation goes into this and all the talks that I deliver, which total dozens a year.
With all of this in mind, I'll outline the six elements that every successful presentation needs.
What are you trying to achieve with this presentation? Should your audience walk away impressed and informed with what you achieved? Ready to learn more about your company? Excited to download your ebook?
Define your goals clearly, right at the outside. The objective of your presentation will drive everything from your script to your slide deck.
No one likes to sit through an hour-long sales pitch. Nor do they want to hear a talk that doesn't teach them something, or benefit them in some way. So if you think that talking about what your company does for the entirety of your next conference presentation is a good idea, you're sorely mistaken.
Every presentation should genuinely and meaningfully offer value to its audience. That means sharing key strategies that have worked for you; offering up enlightening data or insights; or telling a story that they may be able to learn from. Only in considering your audience's needs will you gain their confidence and trust.
Yes, you absolutely need to practice. What you say should not only be said clearly, it should be delivered in an organized fashion and should be carefully coordinated with what you show on screen. Practice also helps you project confidence as a speaker, and that, too, will be more compelling for your audience.
And even if you've done this presentation a dozen times, rehearsal is essential. After all, every audience is different, so you may need to adjust your presentation each time to your audience's unique needs and interests.
We've all attended one of those presentations where the slide deck had too much text. It's impossible to read more than a few words at a time while also listening attentively to the speaker.
Don't give attendees a reading assignment. It'll make the overall experience of your presentation less enjoyable. Your audience is liable to feel distracted and even a little stressed. Instead, focus on visualizing the topics you're discussing and supplementing them in meaningful ways -- with the help of graphs, for example.
On my conference presentation, I include my company's logo and our Twitter handle on every slide. I want to make sure that the audience has ample opportunity to learn who we are, and to reach out and connect. This is especially useful for conference presentations, and may not be necessary for internal presentations at your place of work. Still, don't forget to make sure that everyone has a way to reach out to you, and remind them of your name and contact information on your last slide.
Just as every presentation has a clearly defined goal, so too must it have a clear call-to-action. What do you want your audience to do at the end of your presentation? You'll need to give them an easy way to follow through on next steps.
At conferences, I like to leave audiences with a way to learn more about the topic I've been discussing. That's why I'll often share a link to an ebook at the end of my talks.
Still, when it comes to calls-to-action, there are as many options as there are goals. Determine what's right for you.
Incorporate these strategies into your next presentation, and you'll see more engagement and improved conversions. It will also make for more satisfied audiences, no matter where you're presenting.
A refreshed look at leadership from the desk of CEO and chief content officer Stephanie Mehta
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By Vira
July 4, 2024
Giving an impactful and memorable presentation is both an art and a science. While some presenters may have an innate flair for public speaking, truly creative and effective presentations require thoughtful planning and preparation. From engaging your audience to properly preparing your slides and content, the best presenters keep several storytelling elements in mind.
In this blog, we’ll explore ten storytelling elements for developing creative presentations that inspire, educate, and motivate.
Connecting with your audience is key to an impactful presentation. Creative presentations directly address the audience’s needs, interests and perspectives. Speak to what information they require and what background knowledge can be assumed. Use relevant examples that resonate with their viewpoints. Data techniques like incorporating audience participation can further organically engage them. The most effective presentations foster a meaningful dialogue with the people they intend to reach.
Before you begin creating slides, consider your presentation’s overall flow and aesthetics. Will it have a central theme or metaphor to tie elements together? Do the slides follow a logical sequence or story arc? Using strong design principles as an initial framework gives presentations clarity and visual appeal.
Visuals can be a powerful tool for communicating complex information when used thoughtfully. Creative presentations incorporate relevant images, infographics, charts, videos, or diagrams to emphasize important points rather than distract from the core narrative. Visual storytelling elements should simplify and clarify concepts for the audience. Keep visuals clear, concise, and purposeful. Let strong visuals augment your narrative effectivel y rather than overwhelm it. The most compelling presentations use visual storytelling elements as strategic touchpoints.
Organize your core content in digestible chunks to ease audience comprehension. Use section headings, bullet points, and summaries judiciously. Through thoughtful organization and transitions, creative presentations flow smoothly from one concept to the next.
Human beings are wired to respond to stories. Creative presentations build in anecdotes, use storytelling devices like “the rule of three”, and incorporate heroes, villains, and eventual triumph. This helps facts and concepts stick better while being more enjoyable to experience.
While conveying information is key, creative presentations also connect with audiences on an emotional level. Use vivid language , evocative examples, and even dramatic pauses to tickle feelings, imagination, and intellect. This amplifies impact tremendously.
Technical mastery is vital for creative presentations, from choosing the right software to understanding room logistics. Sound, slides, lighting, and any special equipment should complement your content rather than detract. Handle technology glitches smoothly to avoid sabotaging great material.
Even the most creative presentation requires rehearsal for polished delivery. Refine pacing, transitions, and flow through practice. Use vocal variety and conscious body language to convey confidence and enthusiasm. Practice significantly boosts comfort and effectiveness.
Be willing to take feedback from trusted sources to hone your presentation. Seek insights on areas like clarity of content, pacing, visual appeal and audience engagement. Reflect on audience reactions during presentations as well. Adapt creatively to augment impact.
Close by recapping key takeaways and end with a call to action to provide helpful next steps. Send audiences a clear direction to utilize your insights for progress and change.
Giving remarkable presentations is truly an art and science encompassing diverse elements, from understanding your audience deeply to adeptly using the right technology. By incorporating foundational solid principles and creative flourishes, presentations can educate powerfully while inspiring. Use these 10 elements of storytelling discussed here as a checklist to develop presentations that motivate and move your audiences.
A passionate writer and researcher dedicated to the art of visual storytelling. As a blog writer for Storytelling with Charts, I aim to help readers understand complex data by transforming it into compelling narratives. Whether I'm spotlighting changes in industry standards or comparing generational attitudes, I underscore my findings with thorough research. Every chart on this blog links back to reputable sources and expert perspectives.
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By Dave Johnson
Updated on: March 10, 2010 / 11:53 AM EST / MoneyWatch
Here are four elements you should consider building into any visuals you bring into the conference room or auditorium.
Of course, no presentation has to include PowerPoint slides. You might choose to go solo, or use an alternative solution like the breathtaking, elegant Prezi . But Productivity 501 recently summarized four elements of a powerful presentation. Here are the highlights:
Focus the audience's attention . Your visuals should focus attention on what you're saying, not distract from it. Consider clean, minimalist slides with little clutter and simple backgrounds. Don't distract with animations, busy headers and footers, and other visual debris.
Be terse . Likewise, the fewer the words, the better. Use bullets, not paragraphs, and let the text compliment and summarize your points. Let the slides emphasize your main points -- they don't have to reiterate everything you're saying.
Use images smartly . A picture is worth a thousand words, so you can sometimes use an image to replace a slide full of text.
Anchor the audience in your presentation . If people don't know where you are and how much time is left, they can get frustrated and distracted. Keep the audience informed about where you are in the presentation. You can do that by showing an outline of your presentation up front, and then keeping everyone informed about where you are as you progress.
Of course, Rick suggests killing PowerPoint entirely .
View all articles by Dave Johnson on CBS MoneyWatch » Dave Johnson is editor of eHow Tech and author of three dozen books, including the best-selling How to Do Everything with Your Digital Camera . Dave has previously worked at Microsoft and has written about technology for a long list of magazines that include PC World and Wired .
COMMENTS
2) Key elements of a captivating presentation. a) Understanding your audience. b) Crafting a compelling introduction. c) Developing a well-structured main content. d) Maintaining an engaging delivery. e) Handling Q&A sessions. 3) Conclusion.
12 elements of a successful presentation. Here are 12 elements of a successful presentation that you may consider when creating your own: 1. Thorough preparation. One important element of a successful presentation is thorough preparation and ensuring that you tailor your presentation toward your audience and its needs.
Less is more; that is the rule. In video conferencing, the same approach applies; opt for a simple presentation, with moments for your audience to ask questions. If you need to submit complex charts, you can also send them in advance to avoid losing your audience's attention. 8. VISUAL CONTACT.
Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired ...
Apply the 10-20-30 rule. Apply the 10-20-30 presentation rule and keep it short, sweet and impactful! Stick to ten slides, deliver your presentation within 20 minutes and use a 30-point font to ensure clarity and focus. Less is more, and your audience will thank you for it! 9. Implement the 5-5-5 rule. Simplicity is key.
I'd like to suggest that it's all of those things and go even further to say that a great presentation needs all 4 key elements to be great. Just having one or two or even three of these elements is nice, but for a presentation to be GREAT, you need all 4 key elements: Content, Design, Structure and Delivery. We've been building and ...
When in doubt, adhere to the principle of simplicity, and aim for a clean and uncluttered layout with plenty of white space around text and images. Think phrases and bullets, not sentences. As an ...
There are three key elements of good presentations: Content, Organization, Delivery. Your audience needs interesting and appropriate content in order to pay attention, especially at the start of a presentation. Logical organization helps retain your audience's attention - they need to be able to follow your train of thought and predict ...
Determining your objective is a key element of a powerful and effective presentation. 14. Calls to Action. Don't take any chances that your audience will misinterpret your message or fail to understand the objective of your presentation. Cut straight to the core of your message with a clear call to action.
In the list below, discover 5 key elements that make an effective presentation, and make sure to implement them in your next presentation. #1 Simplicity. Despite what you might think, simplicity can actually be tied to many powerful and effective presentations. In the words of Leonardo da Vinci, "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."
A presentation is a means of communication that can be adapted to various speaking situations, such as talking to a group, addressing a meeting or briefing a team. A presentation can also be used as a broad term that encompasses other 'speaking engagements' such as making a speech at a wedding, or getting a point across in a video conference.
Strong presentation skills include the ability to keep your audience engaged throughout your talk. Key Skill: Using techniques like asking questions, incorporating interactive elements, and responding to audience feedback. How to Develop it: During your presentation, periodically check in with your audience.
Main Elements of Presentation. A presentation is said to be effective if it has three main elements, which are as follows: Specific content: This refers to the information that a presentation will comprise. The information must be conveyed effectively so that it is absorbed by the audience in one sitting. It should be relevant and meaningful to ...
Make sure that you are giving the right messages: body language to avoid includes crossed arms, hands held behind your back or in your pockets, and pacing the stage. Make your gestures open and confident, and move naturally around the stage, and among the audience too, if possible. 10. Relax, Breathe and Enjoy.
Presentation skills are the abilities and qualities necessary for creating and delivering a compelling presentation that effectively communicates information and ideas. They encompass what you say, how you structure it, and the materials you include to support what you say, such as slides, videos, or images. You'll make presentations at various ...
Whether you are coaching someone on their presentation, or working on your own, I encourage you to think in terms of these four elements: Content and slides. The content of a presentation consists of the speaker's words. It's the "script". This includes the key ideas, overall structure and flow of the presentation (introduction, middle ...
Length and Structure. The main part should make up about 70% of the presentation and also include a clear structure. Explain your ideas in detail and build them up logically. It should be organized chronologically, by priority or by topic. There should be a smooth transition between the individual issues.
The following 4 essential elements should be included in any effective presentation-making process. Plan. Prepare. Practice. Present. The initial 3 elements—i.e. Plan, Prepare, and Practice—are interlinked and overlap in the process. The Present element stands alone and is possible only after the initial 3 elements have been completed.
Discover the 4 crucial elements of outstanding presentation design and learn how to captivate your audience with a visually stunning display. Presentations are a great way to educate others about a new idea, or persuade an audience that your opinion is the right one. ... The key ideas you want to convey: Supporting Evidence: Data, anecdotes, or ...
The objective of your presentation will drive everything from your script to your slide deck. 2. It's useful to your audience. No one likes to sit through an hour-long sales pitch. Nor do they ...
Visual storytelling elements should simplify and clarify concepts for the audience. Keep visuals clear, concise, and purposeful. Let strong visuals augment your narrative effectively rather than overwhelm it. The most compelling presentations use visual storytelling elements as strategic touchpoints. 4. Content Structure
You might choose to go solo, or use an alternative solution like the breathtaking, elegant Prezi. But Productivity 501 recently summarized four elements of a powerful presentation. Here are the ...