8 Tips to have a good presentation
I was feeling anxious – everybody was looking at me. Did I deliver an excellent presentation?
If you are an introvert, like me, in a position to deliver a presentation, I’ve prepared eight tips to help you engage your audience and make everyone remember your message.
You probably already know some basic “rules” for creating a presentation. The most common ones that I can remember are:
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- to have an easy-structured presentation – with an introduction, body, and conclusions;
- to have a limited number of slides – which should not be full of writing;
- to keep a design or a theme;
- to present the material and speak freely considering – not just to read from the slides, etc.
Let’s add some new rules to spice up your presentation!
Rule number 1: The audience is in the leading role
When you are presenting something, you might be tempted to think about how the audience will perceive you, how you look, or what they think about you. It is essential to move your focus from yourself to your audience. As a speaker, you are like a mentor who can help the audience, but the people you talk to are in the leading role. Think about them, their needs, their level of knowledge, and how to guide them to the desired point.
A tip for switching your mind would be to rehearse a few times before the main presentation – with people you don’t know.
Go to the park or a bar, and deliver your presentation. Do short ones for your friends, your parents, or your neighbors. Ask for feedback. And rehearse because practice makes it perfect.
Another tip for making the audience feel heard is choosing three persons to look at – from 3 different corners. During the presentation, you’ll be looking only at them, without any distractions – and the audience will feel that you are looking at everyone!
Choose your key persons astutely! Look for people that stand out from the crowd – to be able to see them easily. Try to find people with positive vibes. You’ve hit your jackpot if they have a colorful hat with a gigantic smile!
Rule number 2: Prepare the audience
It is not just about the moment of the presentation; it is also regarding sparking curiosity on the topic, creating an ambiance so that the audience can feel that they are going on a new adventure. Prepare your audience by sending a catchy email invite. Do not hesitate to use your imagination, sense of humor, or inspiration.
A tip for setting the ambient would be to consider the room you are presenting in. Set the room temperature to 18 degrees C so that nobody will be sleepy.
Rule number 3: Resonate with your audience
Emotions influence most people. You got them if you can resonate and build a connection with your audience. Convey emotion, talk enthusiastically, and share something personal to make your audience feel like you understand them.
As a tip, you can start with a personal story and an introduction explaining why you are there and why they should listen to you (it can also be fictional – nobody has to know!).
When creating a presentation, continually analyze the audience – to check what will resonate with them. You can check the age of the group, their backgrounds, what domains they are working on, etc.
Rule number 4: Keep the audience with you
It is known that usually, after 10 -15 minutes of listening, the audience will lose interest in your presentation.
How can you keep the audience focused? You can address questions about the topic, use your voice to keep them up, introduce funny or interesting breaks, make a joke, involve the audience, and do something practical – like tests or live demonstrations.
One first tip for engaging the audience would be to nominate somebody directly. This can scare a few people, so rest assured, everybody will listen, wondering if they will be set to talk next time you pop up a question.
Rule number 5: Make a valuable presentation
Consider that the audience offers you a piece of their time by attending the presentation. Show them that you appreciate it by making a special presentation. In the end, the audience should feel that they just learned something new, and essential, or have a unique perspective.
Depending on the presented topic, the result of a presentation should either have some findings, facts, or evidence, either motivation, action, and engagement, or some memories, links, and associations.
A tip for this rule is to set some action points. In this way, each participant will know what he has to do further and can track his progress based on how he put into practice the action point.
Rule number 6: How should you end a presentation?
In a lengthy discussion, people will remember only the last sentence you said. End your presentation with some takeaways, like a summary, a conclusion of the essential ideas, setting future objectives or action points, and encouraging your audience to give their best.
A tip is to end your presentation by repeating the essential points. You can also make a call for action to motivate the audience. The call for action should follow: Do THIS to achieve THAT.
Rule number 7: Keep in touch
After the presentation ends, some will be enthusiastic about the discussed topic, some will forget what was discussed, and some will return to their routine, not meditating on what the presentation was about. As a presenter, your role is to keep in touch with them.
A tip on how you can do it is to email the deliverables after the presentation ends. It can be the presented materials, tests, links, book recommendations, key points, etc.
Rule number 8: Ask for feedback
Do not just hope that the presentation was good. Ask for feedback to know precisely the participant’s opinion about it. After that, use the feedback to improve your skills and future productions.
As a tip, you can familiarize yourself with Google Forms and send feedback forms to the participants after the presentation ends while the subject is still recent.
Apply the above rules, and I guarantee you’ll have a recipe for success!
More ideas and helpful tips can be found in Resonate by Nancy Duarte, which is one click away.
