A PowerPoint that Pops: 5 Techniques to Wow Your Audience, Part 5

A PowerPoint that Pops: 5 Techniques to Wow Your Audience, Part 5

Tip #5: Practice. Practice. Practice!

In this final installment of the PowerPoint that Pops series, I want to leave you with a very simple tip that will ensure a winning presentation: Practice makes perfect! A well-prepared and enthusiastic talk will help you convince your audience and maintain their attention, but you cannot be enthusiastic or convincing if you are unsure of what you are talking about. The best thing to do before any presentation is to practice it front of someone. Ask a friend or a colleague to watch and critique your presentation. This not only allows you to receive feedback from someone you trust, but it also gets you comfortable with navigating through your presentation while expounding on key points. Here are some key points that define a good talk.

• Know your slides inside out.
• Speak freely.
• Speak with confidence – loud and clear.
• Don’t speak too fast.
• Maintain eye contact with the audience.

Now that you have completed this series, you have what it takes to wow your audience! Good Luck!

For more advice on PowerPoint ‘don’ts,’ read this article.

PowerPoint that Pops: 5 Techniques to Wow Your Audience, Part 4

A PowerPoint that Pops: 5 Techniques to Wow Your Audience, Part 4

Tip #4: K.I.S.S. Keep it Straight and Simple!

Keep in mind that your slides are meant only to support you as you talk freely about your topic. Provide keywords throughout your presentation to keep you on-track but don’t use full sentences on your slides. If you read your slides, you will likely put everyone (including yourself) to sleep!

A PowerPoint that Pops: 5 Techniques to Wow Your Audience, Part 3

A PowerPoint that Pops: 5 Techniques to Wow Your Audience, Part 3

Tip #3: Animation is your best friend when used correctly.

An effective PowerPoint normally includes animation that keeps the audience engaged throughout the presentation. Problems occur when we get carried away and animate everything on each slide, making it cluttered and distracting to the viewer. Plus, you can forget about distributing the presentation electronically. Too much animation makes the file too large to send via email on most servers. The bright side is that animation can turn your basic slides into a true “show” if you follow these simple rules:

·         Less is more – Don’t design your presentation so that every letter, picture and sentence zips across the screen. It will distract the viewer from the important information you are trying to share.

·         Use automatic instead of manual transitions – This allows you to engage the audience without having to worry about triggering the next animation. Use manual transitions only when you need more time to talk before proceeding to the next slide.

·         Animate words, not sentences – The purpose of animation is to emphasize a particular point you are trying to make. If you choose to animate a sentence, you must be consistent and animate all sentences (see last tip on consistency).

·         Use medium speed – Medium speed allows your viewers to read the information without having to wait for it to load. If the speed is too slow, your presentation will become sluggish and it may disengage your audience.

·         Be consistent! – Animations should be consistent throughout your presentation. For example, if you set up your logo to fade in at the bottom of one slide, the same should occur on subsequent slides.

Remember: Animation is a simple way to make your presentation interactive and fun, but if used improperly, it can frustrate and disengage your audience.

A PowerPoint that Pops: 5 Techniques to Wow Your Audience, Part 2

A PowerPoint that Pops: 5 Techniques to Wow Your Audience, Part 2

Tip #2: Use your bullets wisely!!

A PowerPoint should never have slides full of text, and often, people think bullet points are the best way to avoid this problem. Although bullet use in presentations is a common practice, it is not always the best practice, since bullets serve a specific function. Here’s some info on bullets:

·         They represent an outline or list format.

·         They’re a text-based, non-visual way to communicate, PowerPoint is supposed to be a visual aide to enhance your presentation.

·         People associate them with boring presentations.

If you have a lot to say, the best way to say it is through visual imagery. As mentioned in part one of this series, visual imagery does not have to be literal to the text. For example, you may do a presentation on the importance of optimism. Most likely, you will have a hard time finding a photo of optimism, but you can use an image of a glass of that is half full to convey that point. The best part about using good visuals is that you don’t have to use words to convey your message and it keeps your audience engaged.

So, here are some tips for using bullets (Warning: bullets will follow.)

·         If your message can be conveyed in a visual form, use that method over bullets

·         If bullets are needed, use no more than three per slide. It’s okay to spread out six points over six separate slides instead of cramming it all into one slide.

·         Use bullets when you need to list something (i.e. agenda items, objectives, etc.)

Remember: the more bullets you have, the less effective your presentation will be.

A PowerPoint that Pops: 5 Techniques to Wow Your Audience, Part 1

A PowerPoint that Pops: 5 Techniques to Wow Your Audience, Part 1

PowerPoint is an excellent tool for presenters to engage their audience in a unique and interactive way. This week, we will explore five techniques that will help you develop a winning presentation for current and potential clients.

Tip #1: Use graphics and design strategically.

·         Find or create a captivating design template. Use it consistently throughout the presentation.

·         Use graphics that are related to and enhance the topic of the slide. Use “real” photos and images over clipart.

·         Avoid flashy graphics and noisy animations unless they are directly related to the information o the slide.

·         Keep the design clean and uncluttered. Leave empty space around text and graphics.

·         Check all graphics on a projection screen beforehand to ensure the images are correctly displayed.