How to make a successful presentation?
Making a strong and persuasive presentation might sometimes seem a bit challenging. Especially when it comes to an official, business environment. Clarity, coherence and consistency of text are some of many aspects to which we should pay attention while making a solid presentation.Then, how to create something that gets attention and fulfills everyone’s needs?
Preparation
One of many keys to success. Without great preparation, it will be hard to go on with making a presentation. Before standing in front of the public, we should focus on a basis.
Firstly, get to know your audience. This will help to decide the style of the presentation and how to deliver it.
Secondly, establish the time and points that you want to consider during your delivery. You have to concentrate on the time limit and how you want to pass the information onto the audience.
Thirdly, it is always a good idea to have notes. Write down the most important things you want to discuss so that you don’t omit anything. Remember that you cannot read the whole presentation from your notes! The best way of doing that is by using bullet points.
Last but not least, practice before performing. That will help you with managing stress and feel more confident during the presentation.
While presenting...
Delivery of a presentation is another crucial point to make it successful. Here are some useful tips which are worth following while giving a speech:
To begin with – greet the audience. That would be the opening of the presentation. Remember about introducing yourself and clarifying who you are. Are you representing some company or is it an individual presentation?
Explain the topic of the presentation and discuss the main points.
Define the time for the questions. Decide whether you will allow the audience to interrupt during your speech or set the time for the questions for the end.
Find your proper flow of speech. Keep a balance between going too slow and too fast. Pause at key points and emphasize their meaning.
To make going from one slide to another easier to follow, use phrases that will help smoothly move from one point to another. For example: “Now I would like to move on to…”; “Let’s focus on…”; “Let’s look at…”; “Moving on…”
Remember to keep eye contact with the audience. Your body language will tell them whether you are nervous or relaxed.
While presenting, it is always good to tell a story or refer to a situation. It could be either from your life or someone else’s. That shows your engagement in the presentation. Apart from the slides, you can add something extra.
End the presentation by summarizing the main points. This will help the audience understand and remember the message that you want to tell.
Structure of the presentation
How you present your topic is undoubtedly a very important aspect of a successful presentation. However, nice and vivid slides make it even more palatable to the audience. How to then make the presentation legible?
First of all, divide your presentation into three main parts.
Introduction – where you will define the topic and state the key points.
Main body – representing main ideas
Summary – it could be either just a “Thank You” page or a brief conclusion about what was said.
Make sure your slides are readable. Too much text is not acceptable. The best option is to put the information in the bullets.
Furthermore, it must look simple and clear. This requires a proper choice of color and text size.
Add some pictures, charts, or graphs. These small changes make the presentation more vivid and alive. It is sometimes easier to look at graphics than reading a long text.
Use data and research. Verified information will help you with making an argument towards the audience. It also makes your presentation more reliable and secure in case of any doubts about what is presented.
Do not make too many slides. It is important to keep it simple and not let the audience get tired.
Let’s now conclude, how to make a successful presentation?
Well, as we all know, giving a presentation might be troublesome. Aside from good preparation, we have to focus on conveying the message clearly so that the audience will be more knowledgeable as a result. Another important thing is that the presentation must be well structured, so that it can be easy to follow and has a beneficial impact on the audience.
