Presentations are part of every marketer’s life. Well prepared ones mesmerize listeners and generate sales. Weak ones tire, annoy and make audience dream of running away. Everybody can become master of presentations. We tell how to do it.
2 types of presentations
Presentations can be used either as background and support of your words (e.g. on the conference or meeting) or as autonomous source of knowledge (e.g. to be presented on your website or SlideShare). Don’t mistake one for another.
Autonomous presentation
It’s just an alternative form of knowledge sharing, like blog post or ebook. It has many bullets, charts, numbers. Information must be concentrated and readable. Creating such presentation resembles creating a infographic.
Use it either as another type of content or base for your speech.
Supporting presentations
Accompanies your speech and supports it. When read separately, without your performance, can’t be fully understood.
Remember: when you present, you need only the supporting ones. Slides are background for your speech, but you are its core.
How to plan a presentation?
The aim of the presentation is to engage audience. Your success can be measured by number of questions you get.
- Start from asking:
- „How can audience relate to my product?”
- “How my product can help them?”
- Include a lot of examples and cases. Details, specifics, everyday use examples help grasp the idea.
- Numbers and charts: express more than words.
- Make some unexpected references do art, culture, TV series, ad. You will surprise listeners, make them smile, break monotony – they will remember you.
- Have a clear map of presentation: what is going to be discussed, step by step. Each point must be precise.
- Content of your slide and your speech are not the same! Slides are not your prompter. Speak freely, look at your audience.
- Focus on 3 ideas/ solutions/ problems. More can be difficult for listeners to comprehend.
How to create slides?
Legendary presentations? Steve Jobs, of course. Suggestive image + minimum of text.
- Less is more: reduce text! Seth Godin says you should strive for max. 6 words per slide.
- Don’t use whole sentences (unless you’re quoting someone).
- Simplicity: safe colors, appropriate contrast, simple fonts (and small amount of font types), fair background.
- Don’t use sound effects built in your program. Just don’t.
Free presentation software
You know PowerPoint, Keynote and Prezi. You either love or hate them. So take a look at our list of free tools.
- Open Office Impress: simple alternative to PowerPoint
- Haiku Deck: for iPad, designed for short, minimalistic presentations.
- SlideDog: if you like combining various types of content (text, music, video, image)
- PowToon: for animated presentations.
- Wink: great for tutorials. In use similar to Powerpoint and multilingual.
- Projeqt: for slides based on photos, with artistic taste.
- BrainShark: you can record your voice and add to presentation. Wonderful for making tutorials.
How to give great presentation?
Your slides aren’t that important. You are.
Rumor has it that one has to be born with presentation skills: good voice, confidence, charisma. However for some people it might be easier, everyone can learn to give killer presentation. You just have to be prepared.
- Rehearse with stopwatch. See how much time it takes. If presentation turns out to be too long, remove something. It’s better to say less: audience hates too long speeches and organizers get anxious when someone speaks beyond schedule.
- Rehearse in front of the mirror. You might even record yourself talking. How is your posture, gestures and mimics? What your body language communicate? And are you audible?
- Don’t hurry when speaking. It’s better to say less but being comprehensive.
- Don’t read. Have precise plan, keywords, you can even actually write it, but speak spontaneously. Mechanic reading can kill a reader.
- Keep eye contact with audience. It will encourage them to ask questions and show that you feel secure.
- If you get lost or make mistake, just ask for a minute. Apologize, go to your notes, check. You’re human! It’s better to ask for a moment than to try to hide your problem, talking nonsense for 10 minutes hoping that nobody notices.
- Make handout. It can be your leaflet, but make sure that each listener can get a solid, material trace of your speech with your contact info.
Most common presentation mistakes:
– Slides overloaded with tones of tiny letters: nobody will read it, especially that they’re actually trying to listen to you! If you keep audience distracted between speech and slides, they will get distracted and remember nothing, switching attention from writing to your voice over and over.
– Reading your slides. Treating your audience like children who need to be read to won’t win you their favor.
– Hurry. You hide your head in shoulders, mumble to yourself, speak too fast – you just want to get over this. Pointless idea. Either gain some confidence (by rehearsing described above, changing attitude, etc) or delegate somebody else to do it.
– Being too funny. Yes, jokes are good. Provided that audience can remember your brand, your product and your idea, not just fun.
– Too many effects. Short movie? Great. But your listeners shouldn’t get dizzy from too many effects. Avoid unnecessary movement. Moving sentences are difficult to read.
Do you like giving presentations? What is your favorite tool?
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