Let's accept this. Most of us have an uneasy look whenever we hear someone suggesting “You're giving a presentation tomorrow”. So some of us who enjoy this process and have been doing a lot of it, should accept it that in no way it's cakewalk. But for those low on confidence, eloquence and time, public speaking can certainly be nerve-racking. But the good news is with practice, and few adjustments, one can get a lot better.
One crucial aspect of presentations is that it can either be internal, presenting an idea or concept to the team or company, or external, pitching services to a potential client or representing the company at an event. But no matter what the reason, as a speaker you certainly need to put the best foot forward. At times, when you speak at an exhibition or a convention, you represent your brand or company. So the impression is long lasting one.
The entire presentation experience can be divided into two parts; delivery and preparation. And we will like to discuss each part on how to create that stellar presentation.
A research already establishes that as a presenter you only have seconds to get the attention of your audience. 60 seconds to be precise. This would mean that as a speaker you need to make an impactful statement right from the start. Luckily you can include a number of statements in order to make this statement. A mind boggling statistics, mesmerizing fact, powerful quote, interactive image, ask a deep question, all qualify for that list. It is important for the audience to figure out in the initial few minutes on what the purpose of your talk is, and what will they be achieving from this presentation. In short, explain to them why they should care about your speech
- CREATE A CAPTIVATING STORY:
Everyone loves stories. Especially if it can help them connect and visualize on what the exact purpose of any talk is. Creating strong stories ensure that listeners are touched on a personal level, and carry forward this experience home.
Why is storytelling such a great communication tactic? Well for one, it creates a closer bond with the listener. It is something they can relate to. More often, they tend to become a part of your story telling experience. When you say something like “10 years ago, when I was travelling….” the audience also tends to travel back in time.
A good story can be a good conversation starter
- MAKING IMPACTFUL VERBAL DELIVERY THROUGHOUT:
So there's a lot of aspects which make a presentation worth remembering. Let's discuss a few of them. But before that, another incoming fact check. The most desired timeframe to keep your audience engaged and captivated would be 15 minutes. At the most 20 minutes. Hence, you need to tailor your entire presentation keep in minding this time limit. Attention spans are certainly short; therefore don't dwell on specific subject more than required.
Another important point, which many speakers tend to overlook is keeping their audience engaged. The most important tool is asking them questions so that they are in flow of the presentation.
Work on your tone. Now this certainly doesn't mean that you need to sound melodious. But you should be able to tone and scale up your voice according to the content. You should sound enthusiastic when presenting key facts, and depth when raising questions among your audience.
- SHOWCASING AN UPBEAT BODY LANGUAGE:
Firstly don't be a robot. By that there are numerous meanings, but primarily, don't just stand at one place for 20 minutes with your hands crossed. Body language is important and that starts with not being static. As a fluent presenter, you need to move around, express along with your hands, show gestures and make casual conversations.
Eye contact is crucial. Now this doesn't mean staring at one single person for 20 minutes, not means surfing your eyes from left to right. Rather, you need to pause and look at one person for some time, and then move onto next.
Smile. It is important you appear to be jovial in the whole process so as to give an impression to the audience that you're really excited to share your story with them. But surely control your facial muscles when you smile. Like we said, you should be excited but try and not go overboard.
The type of smile you should try and avoid
Now to talk about the elephant in the room. One of the most crucial factor in delivering a solid presentation, is the presentation itself. There is a lot of information which can be found on how to create PPT, but the key differences between a basic and remarkable presentation would be;
- Heavy but logical use of visual and images.
- Only 1-2 sentences per slide.
- Less explanation, more entertainment.
- Contains a font size more than 32 pt.
- Flows like a story.
But adding to the above points, there is something which can bring you in limelight. That would be using unique 3D images which can give your audience an immersive visual experience. You can download, and explore more of this amazing product. You can surely depend on Edmodo Classroom not just for your external client's presentations, but also those engaging and motivating team meetings.
In the end, no one would like to put in hours and hours of creativity and time investment in creating a remarkable presentation, but leaving audience bored, gazing and uninterested. We hope you can take cues from this article, and ensure that your next presentation leaves a mark on your audience.
