Tips on Making a High Impact Presentation

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As I attended series of seminars on my professional life, I’ve seen presentation that works and what does not. We may have some of the sophisticated tools (powerpoint, macromedia flash, laser pointers, lcd projectors, etc.) but that good old basics still works: the presenter is center of presentation. You are your presentation.

Presenter totally relies on these tools that one often forgets to prepare the main ingredient: the presenter. A good presenter can emphasize a good point even without these tools. Presenter should be a good communicator and the goal is to relay the message of the presentation whether it is a sales pitch or simply convincing anyone to take a closer look on your ideas.

So, do I mean we do not need these tools?

Of course not. What I’m saying is do not let your tools dominate the presentation. The lead role and main focus of your audience should be you. Anyway, few people understand how to properly use slides in the presentation.

Here’s my tip on making presentation a good one:

1. Make your slide easy to read. Use bullets instead of paragraphs. As a rule, use font size 18 as minimum size of fonts and a maximum of 36 words per slide ONLY.

2. Use pictures, cartoon or animation instead of just plain words. As the saying goes: a picture means a thousand words.

3. Develop an interactive slide. Instead of simply presenting the next slide, why not post question slide that leaves the audience guessing what the next slide will be.

4. Highlight the main idea. If you need to present a table which consists of numbers, why not give emphasis on key points the audience need to know. This may done by simply increasing the font size and changing the font color of the numbers or zoom in zoom out style.

5. Use slide as cue cards. The information of your ideas still comes from you. Instead of using the 3” x 5” index card, make your slide as a guide of what to discuss next. Do not overload your slide with info to the point the presentation does not need you anymore. You still provide the juiciest part of the show.
Sample Slide

Publish at Scribd or explore others: How-to-Guides & Manu slide presentation speaker tools

Humanize your presentation

Acceptance is one of the aims all presenters worry. A well-received presentation relies with the old technique every effective speaker uses: “ What’s in it for me?”. Make sure you are delivering content where your audience will benefit from. Give them a thousand reasons why they need to hear from you.

If your presentation tends to be too technical, simplify the idea by using similar situations one encounters everyday. Avoid the jargons which make you to look smarter than the rest of the audience. Apply the concept of KISS (Keep It Sweet and Simple).

Inject humor

Longer presentation makes your audience sleepy. Try to insert a 10-minute break on a 45-minute presentation. Some argues that 45 minutes discussion is also too long for any human to bear listening to a speaker. Regardless of what the experts says, you could make your presentation an interesting one by relating humorous stories in between. Though timing is extremely important, you need not look for a good joke elsewhere. Use your own funny stories. People love hearing stories especially if it is your own.

Interact with your audience always. You may post a question and let someone answers it. Maintain eye contact. Glance to everyone in a room from time to time. You are already relieving your tension of being the speaker but at the same time you are connecting with your audience.

Are you addressing a bigger audience on an auditorium? Are you free to move around as you discuss? Sometimes it is impossible to see everyone eye to eye as you deliver your talk on a bigger crowd. Learn to walk around and let your audience follow you when you speak.

I have seen one evangelist who dons an outraging outfit beyond the accepted norm. An observer says that the preacher is not trying to make a fashion statement. He is just doing it to catch attention of everyone in the crowd. Oh yes, he walks around much of the time too!

You are not expected to master all the techniques on a one presentation alone. It takes practice. Subconsciously, little efforts that you do today add up to a high-impact presentation.

Good luck.

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