Organizations use presentations to educate, inform and connect with their audience. Presentations are necessary for any business since they are an effective tool for communicating ideas and promoting products and services. Multimedia can be used to make presentations interesting since you can use images, audio, and videos to create a compelling visual impact.
A good presentation is well-researched and delivered to perfection. It helps you to convey your message effectively to your target audience. It should be visually appealing, but not overwhelm your senses. Your message should be clear, and you should succeed in putting forth your points within the allotted time frame. The presentation should be free from typographical errors, and you should rehearse your lines well for a flawless delivery. It is one of the most effective ways to connect with your audience.
Tips to Make a Slideshow for Your Business Presentation
- You can leverage the use of slideshow-making tools to make slideshows for your presentation. The whole point of the presentation is to provide a creative solution to a business problem, so you need to organize your thoughts by drawing a mind map and by preparing a simple outline of your main points before you start creating your slides.
- You should sound confident and knowledgeable when you deliver the presentation in order to make a powerful impact. It is best to use custom templates that are consistent when it comes to design and the color scheme. You should not use more than 3 or 4 colors; otherwise, the presentation does not look pleasing to the eye. In case you do not have custom templates, you can make one using a slideshow maker.
- It is also essential to establish a connection with your audience. You can do so by being enthusiastic and making eye contact with your audience. You should pause after delivering your main points to give your audience the time to comprehend what you are saying.
- Your presentation should have only 10 slides and should not last longer than 20 minutes. You should focus on delivering one point per slide and amplify the main points by using a large font size. If the font size is 30 points, the audience can quickly read what is written on the slide.
- You should research your content thoroughly so that it makes the necessary impact on your audience. Write down your points on a piece of paper so that you have a clear idea of how you would like to present your points. It is important not to read from the slides during the presentation; otherwise, your audience will quickly lose interest in what you are saying.
- The structure of the presentation is very important. Every presentation needs to have an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. The objective or goal of your presentation should be clearly stated in the introduction, so it is indispensable for you to define your goal before you start preparing your slideshow.
- The introduction can start with a well-worded story or illustration. It should be compelling and make a powerful impact on your audience. A short introduction is best, since long-winded stories will make your audience lose interest within the first few minutes. The introduction should be followed by the body, which should contain enough data to prove your point.
- It is significant that you research well to build your case in order to sustain the interest of your audience. You can use pictures and high-quality images to present your data. It is essential to remember that without the relevant statistics, it is not possible to provide an effective solution to a business problem.
- The conclusion is equally important, since you summarize the main points of your presentation and provide a solution to the issue. You can leave your audience with a call to action and close by inviting questions from the audience.
- You can add captivating visuals to your slides by choosing images and graphics that convey your points in a compelling manner. It is best to have one picture per slide for each main point. You can use graphs, charts, animations, and even add audio and video clips for best results. Video clips are way more effective than text. It is best if you create your own audio and video clips rather than using clips that have been used by some other organization since there are copyright issues involved.
- Creating your video clip is not difficult since you can use video editors that are available online. You can also include case studies to make your presentation interesting. Instead of using graphs in your case studies, you can use infographics to tell a compelling story to engage your audience.
- You should be careful while presenting data. It is best not to use Excel sheets and graphs since it is not possible for the audience to read the sheets on the screen. When it comes to presenting statistics, you should use the most recently available data. It is best if you don’t depend on web-based content during your presentation; otherwise, there is a risk that the website might be inaccessible, and your presentation might fail. You have to be adequately prepared so that you don’t encounter unanticipated problems during your presentation.
- Remember, less is more. Don’t include too much text or have too many visuals in a slide. That’s because your audience will forget the main point and will get thoroughly confused and soon lose interest. You should engage with your audience instead of simply narrating the facts; otherwise, your presentation becomes boring, and the audience quickly loses interest in what you have to say.
- Make eye contact with your audience and present your facts by telling a compelling story to make a lasting impression. It is also important to use humor in your presentation to lighten the mood. However, you should refrain from cracking cheesy jokes and should not pass self-deprecating comments because otherwise, your audience will lose respect for you. It is significant to invest in the right technology so that you don’t land yourself in trouble in the middle of the presentation.
Besides the above-mentioned points, there are a few more tips that should be kept in mind while preparing a presentation. Since the COVID pandemic, many people are working from home, so there is a possibility that you might have to deliver virtual presentations. Since it is hard to keep the virtual audience engaged, you have to display as much enthusiasm as possible while delivering your presentation.
You have to invest in a good quality camera and a microphone and have sufficient bandwidth so that your presentation can go on without a hitch. You have to look straight at the camera when you address your audience. There should be ample lighting in your room so that you are clearly visible to your audience.
Although it is difficult to keep your virtual audience engaged, you should try your best by presenting as many visual images as possible. It is very important to present the main points with clarity and not tire out the audience by presenting too many details. Remember, it is hard for people to concentrate for more than 20 minutes during a virtual presentation, so hit the main points, present your statistics and wrap up by inviting questions from your audience to keep them engaged till the end.