Image by NMC Second Life via Flickr

When most people are asked to do a presentation, their first reaction is to panic.  This is even the case for experienced sales people.  The culture these days is to move more and more towards using technology to help us sell or make an impact.  I still hold the view that to make a really strong powerful impact presenting in person is still the answer.

The most important tip that can be given to a would be presenter is to make sure you prepare well.  Lack of preparation is the single biggest reason why presentations do not work.  Having a quick “run through” on the train or in the back of the cab on the way to the venue simply does not do the job.  Sometimes people bemoan the lack of time they have and use that as an excuse to present without preparation.  Whatever time you have use it wisely.  In simple terms, if you only had one hour to prepare, use twenty minutes to research the subject, twenty minutes to develop the content and put it into useable format (i.e. slides) and twenty minutes to practice it.
Too often presenters spend hours thinking about what they are going to put into the presentation and then create incredibly complex and sometimes dramatic slides but fail to practice it at all.  If they do practice, it will be at the end of many hours putting the presentation together and will therefore be in no mood to make any changes!

The general rule is to work out roughly what you want to put in, knock that into to some basic slides and start practicing.  What you will find is that the practice (out loud, not mumbled under your breathe in the shower) will help to mould the presentation.  You will get used to the material, the flow, the slides and the whole thing will grow organically.

Simplicity is generally the key to success in presentations.  Too complicated a message will be difficult to deliver, the presentation will too long and it is very hard to maintain attention once an element of confusion sets in.  Think of simple themes and to accompany that, simple slides.  By working to a pre-determined objective, the presenter can apply a simple rule to what is included in the presentation.  “The only elements to include are those which help me achieve my objective”.   It is a bit like holiday packing; ask yourself the question ‘do I really need it?’  Far too many people take far too much with them on holiday, as presenters do, they put far too much in to their presentations, they over complicate, over elaborate and over fill slides.

Powerpoint in essence has a simple format.  It has a heading, followed by bullet points.  This format is often totally abused by presenters, generally trying to be clever.  Animation is fine – if appropriate.  Do not have spinning logos and chequer board titles unless you can safely say it is helping me meet my objectives.  Too much time is spent animating and generally filling slides, when it should be spent practicing.  The main mistake people make is that tend to use “bullet paragraphs” and not bullet points.

This means that they put everything that they are going to say on the slide and then proceed to read it.  This is very boring for the audience.  They will have probably read the slide before it has been presented.  If you only put up a few key words or an image on the slide, you are able to present around it.  This is far more interesting, remember you are the presenter, not the slide.  The reason people put lots on the board is because they think they will forget what to say if there is only a few bullet points to work from.  This is not true.  If you practice you will know exactly what to say.  The other thing to remember is that the audience do not know what you are going to say, so you have a degree of flexibility with bullet points that you don’t have when it is all up on the board.

To make the presentation “sit up and take notice” interesting, you must ensure that it is relevant.  The audience must be connected to the content.  The more you can link the audience to what you are presenting the better.  In sales we talk about creating the benefit, it is the same when presenting.  “What’s in it for me”, is a well used phrase in presentation.  This is particularly relevant when making a specifically sales presentation.  How will it help me, why do I need to know that, what will it do for me, are the types of questions an audience will be asking.  When practicing keep a check on how many times you can answer those sorts of questions.

Finally, think positive.  See the presentation as an opportunity and not something to simply get done, survive and move on, it will make a massive difference to your performance and impact.  People rush presentations because mentally they do not want to be there.  If you try to view it positively your pace will be better, your movement better and the overall impression far greater.
Written by Bill Osmond

Designing your slides

Don’t give too much away! If your slides provide the full content of your presentation, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t just e-mail everyone the slides and stay home; you have made yourself redundant. A good set of slides will engage your audience’s interest but also require your spoken explanations to make sense.

Lose the agenda slide. Your audience will really pay attention if they can’t predict what you’ll say next. What’s more, you’ll appear more in command of your subject if you seem to be moving organically from point to point, even if you’re privately following a linear structure.

Remember that PowerPoint is a visual medium, so use it to display images. Charts and graphs work better than tables. Your own drawings or sketches are a better and more personal choice than Clip Art, even if you’re not a professional illustrator. Colour and good, simple design help too. However, too much animation can be distracting.

If you do use text, keep to a maximum of 5 words per slide. More than 5, and you will force your audience to focus on reading. If they’re reading, they won’t be listening to you. Think slogans, not paragraphs.

If your audience needs information to take away, provide them with this in hard copy afterwards instead of cluttering your slides with lots of detail. (If I were making a presentation on this subject, for instance, only the highlighted phrases here would appear on my slides, while you’d receive the article in full as a handout.)

Presenting your slides

Don’t spend your presentation reading your slides out loud with your back to the audience. Unfortunately, many people use PowerPoint slides as reminders of what to say. This is a ghastly mistake which may fatally undermine the impact of your presentation. The slides are for your audience’s benefit, not yours. If you need reminders, print out your own handheld notes, or use note cards.

Take time over the introduction to build rapport.

Make sure you make eye contact, pause after significant points to let the message sink in and, most importantly of all, remember to breathe!

Don’t forget that adrenaline will alter your perception of time, so while you may feel that you’re speaking at a reasonable pace, your audience hears you rushing through your words. You may need to slow down more than you think so your audience can keep up.

You’ll find your audience will enjoy your presentation, and that you’ll enjoy delivering it too!