#1. Tell a Story
Stories are more interesting than facts because stories entertain us. Storytelling grabs and maintains attention from your audience. It helps the audience better understand and remember what was said long after your story is over.
Without stories, presenting your work solely as a series of facts (budgets, figures, breakdowns) will bore even the most kind-hearted audiences out of their minds. Therefore, organize your facts into a story. Remember, story is how we perceive and process the world of facts around us.
Have a beginning, a middle and an end. Prepare your story well, summarize them together to pass a message relating to what you`re supposed to tell your audience.
#2. Ask Questions at Crucial Moments
When you throw questions to your audience, it changes the pattern of regular presentation, a question breaks up your rhythm and helps mark what you’re saying as important.
Also, a question turns your presentation from a passive story into an active quest that the audience can explore on their own through their answers.
When you ask a question, you may not expect an answer. But I bet you that 99% of your audience will think of the answer and this will make them feel involved in your presentation and keeps their interest glued to your words.
#3. Limit and Arrange Your Presentation into Clear Points
Even if you’re making more than four points (slides), you can find ways to organize all your main points into 3 or 7 main categories, depending on your topic, you can increase or reduce it, but just the main categories and others can be sub-categories.
This makes it easy to address and summarize the gist of your presentation at the end. For better understanding for your audience, I recommend using one slide per message. If you have more messages, then add upto 2 messages in a slide, but don`t put too much information or tiny contents on a slide.
Remember, no one wants to strain their eyes, or read a JAMA article during your presentation. Everyone cares about solution, timeline, results, cost, etc.
At the end, don`t forget to divide problems, suggestions, solution for the beginning, middle, or the end. Just organize and summarize them into few and clear categories.
#4. Break It Up With Humor
Humor makes the world go around. This is an important idea, even if you think your audience, client or investor are “too serious” or may be too strict. I encourage you to use humor, but use it properly.
I didn’t mean you have to crack jokes the entire time. I`m simply saying you have to be cheerful, lighthearted, make them smile at least twice throughout the entire presentation, be reasonable and personable.
Please, Humor not your strong point. While it can be challenging to nail just the right tone with your use of humor it is best presentation ideas to work on the type of statements you use as humor. Remember, humor works just to break the ice between you and your audience, it helps put everyone at ease, feel friendly, open people up to the fun presentation ideas you’re offering in your presentation. And above all, it makes your audience, clients or investors to feel well-disposed towards you (which can lead to improved results from your presentation).
#5. Design Your Presentation for Persuasion, Not Distraction
Design a your presentation with purpose. Using Microsoft PowerPoint, create a design that complements your presentation. That is; a design that completes it as a narrative story.
Do not misuse PowerPoint`s features by adding too much irrelevant designs. Use a nice layout and theme, photos, colors and graphics that clearly support your message. Maintain the same design in all slides with regard to colors, font styles, and graphics. Good graphics can significantly add to learning, bad graphics can confuse and distract your listeners, audience or investors. Use important elements that passes a message to the content of your slides.
Think of your presentation as a way to guide your audience through your presentation while keeping them engaged and focused at every moment.
#6. Do Not Read From Your Slides
Reading your slide completely makes you look unprepared and your audience bored. Your PowerPoint is not there to remind you what to say, but to help your audience better understand the point you`re making.
#7. Highlight Important Points With Visual Metaphors
Good presentation ideas are easily lost in a mediocre design. You need to present your slides so that it highlights your innovative ideas. Use key phrases, images, quotes, and other visual elements that support and enhance, and does not overwrite your presentation’s persuasive powers.
Visuals, whether emojis, graphics, or photos, should not be used gratuitously in your presentation. Make sure that everything you put into your slideshow should have a specific purpose. A powerful way to use photos is through visual metaphors. Always illustrate something you want them to picture in mind with a photo.
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