How to Master Business Presentations
Some people make it look like a walk in the park. For others, it’s the most nerve-wracking thing of their lives. This sums up business presentations in a nutshell. They are something that most people have to go through, yet those initial days can be tough.
To make matters worse, the landscape is constantly changing. While we may have all been taught basic PowerPoint presentation skills back in school, it goes without saying that this isn’t going to pass anymore.
Instead, there are a whole host of modern techniques to make a striking impression when it comes to presentations. Through today’s guide, we will take a look at some of the most impactful.
Your clothes make a difference
Believe it or not, technology isn’t the be-all and end-all when it comes to presentations. Something a little easier to master for many of us is our appearance.
This should stand to reason. Let’s not forget that first impressions are made within seven seconds – so when it comes to presentations this tends to be before you have even opened your mouth.
Bearing this in mind, don your best dress, buy a pair of shoes from headoverheels.co.uk and paint a smile on your face. It will get you off to the best possible start.
Always focus on your audience’s needs
Something that is very easy to do through a presentation is to fall into a rabbit hole. In other words, you start one slide, and soon realize that it leads onto something else. The effect keeps multiplying – with the end result being a deck that is all over the place.
This is why it is crucial to always focus on the needs of your audience. Always ask yourself what they are looking to get out of your slides, so that you don’t fill your presentation up with unnecessary waffle.
Be wary of the mid-presentation dip
A lot of emphasis is always placed on starting strong in presentations, and rightly so. Another important point to note surrounds the middle sections of them. It has been scientifically proven that the midpoint of a presentation (or a lecture for that matter), is where people start to lose interest.
For the purposes of preventing this, make sure that you make extra effort to grab attention during this period. Otherwise, there’s a risk that your audience will be lost for the remainder of your deck.
“Death by PowerPoint”
We’ll end with one of the most infamous phrases of all, “Death by PowerPoint.” Suffice to say, this is something that you should be looking to avoid.
Contrary to popular opinion, this doesn’t mean that you should send this piece of software to the scrap pile. Instead, it’s about using it wisely. It means that you shouldn’t be overusing it; being savvy with graphics and the amount of text that you are using. You need to remember that you are doing the presentation; you should not just be reading from the slides and hoping for the best.