|
|
|
PowerPoint Power Secrets |
|
|
How to
plan, design, and deliver a winning presentation
By: Eric Durrand
Creating a compelling presentation is a must-have skill for practically
every business nowadays. Customers, partners, and investors need to be
convinced that your business has what they need, and convincing them
often starts with that dreaded 10-minute PowerPoint presentation.
And dreaded it is. Some presenters have such fear of this moment of
semi-public speaking that they go through intricate and somewhat
mystical ceremonies to alleviate it: From wearing their "lucky tie" to
repeating the mantra "I'm great!" over and over again before show time.
Overactive imaginations tend to project forward in time, to the moment
when, reading their notes in meticulous rigidity, they see the first
yawn. Then another. Then a flood of yawns indicating that they have
permanently lost everyone's attention.
But the truth is, a business presentation is
nothing to fear, if you are properly prepared. Your presentation can
be intelligent and informative - without being boring. We have collected
these tips to help you make your next presentation a success:
- Have a clear structure in mind - your
presentation must have a clear structure, with a beginning, a middle, and an
end. It should start with an overview, and end with a summary. Before you set
out to creat any part of the presentation, make a list of all the key topics you
would like to address, and put it in the right order.
- Keep it short - Keep the
presentation short. 15 minutes or less is recommended. The exception is
a training presentation, or a demo of a complex technical product. Any
other business presentation should not overburden the viewers with
non-essentials, or waste their time.
- Write less, say more - Do NOT
write everything you are going to say. Aim to speak extemporaneously,
and put only enough in each slide to remind you of the topics you want
to cover. Speaking instead of reading makes your delivery more
engaging, and sticking to the essentials will keep your presentation
clean and your message strong. A nice rule of thumb is: no more than 6
bullets per slide, no more than 6 words per bullet. Use as many visual
aids such as graphs, charts, as the material warrants.
- Clearly label each slide - If you started
with a clear structure, you should have no problem labeling each screen
clearly. In some rare cases you might have the same label for two screens
("Benefits, cont."), but in general every screen should cover a single topic, one point in your general outline.
- Be consistent - Maintain consistency in
terms of writing, length, and design. Every slide needs to use the same color scheme,
design, and general appearance, so that the presentation as a whole looks
unified and therefore more professional.
- Use effects sparingly - Special effects
exist for a reason: they allow you to stress certain points. Keep bells and
whistles to a minimum, and use special effects only on the rare occassion you
want to truly stress something beyond anything else. A consistent usage of
transitioning effects will grant a more professional look, and a selective use
of special effects will then truly catch the eye!
- Limit colors - Limiting the number of
colors to no more than 4 (and ideally 3), would create a unified look, and lay
down the basic "personality" of your presentation. Is your presentation calm,
thoughtful, modern, revolutionary? The colors you choose will help or hinder
your message. The colors also need to fit nicely together and with the logo you
are going to use. If you are using cliparts (and you should probably use some),
you can use the Recolor function to adjust them to the general color
scheme.
- Use sans-serif fonts - Research shows that
sans-serifs fonts (such as Arial, Verdana) are easier to read on a screen or a
projector, as against Serif fonts (such as Times New Romans) which are more easily
legible on paper.
- Don't use small font sizes - If you feel the need to go smaller than 24 points in size, you
are writing too much. Your text needs to be legible from far away, it needs to
stand out, and it needs to be short and to the point.
- Use a subtle background - One of the worst
choices you can make when designing a presentation, is choosing a background
that makes text either hard to read, or draws too much attention.
- Check spelling - Never forget to check
spelling and grammar before presenting. Everyone makes typos, and the
occassional grammatical error, but leaving those in can make a bad impression,
and connotes a lack of attention to details.
- Have a "dress rehersal" -Just like any
other production, a business presentation needs a dress rehersal. The dress is
less crucial: what is important is to try your presentation with the projector
that you will be using, and to practice delivery. Make sure you have a few words
to say on each point in your presentation that do not replicate what is on the
screen. Make sure you make good time, and say everything important. You can also
invite coworkers to listen and give you their feedback.
- Communicate -
Deliver your presentation in an easygoing, conversational style. Speak
freely about your topic, look your listeners in the eyes, and use the
presentation as a general reference, not a rigid "script". Follow
reactions and improvise if need be. The result will be a more engaging
presentation.
Whether you are presenting a new idea at a board meeting, or
trying to sell it to a new client - creating a high-impact, professional looking
and engaging presentation is key. By applying these rules, we believe that you
can make your next presentation all that, and perhaps even enjoy it!
|
|
