When it comes to business, every day in the industry is spent trying to convince someone into buying your brand, your product or services, no doubt you will find yourself making a lot of pitches and presentations for new products, partners and stakeholders among other things. Having great presentation skills is essential to running a successful business and getting as many people believing in your brand as possible. Great presentations have the following qualities
Killer slides
PowerPoint slides are one of the most effective ways of making boardroom business presentations. Slides allow you to create a summary of the presentation points, which you can explain as you go through the slides. You can add animations, images, small videos and other graphics to engage your audience throughout the presentation. Fortunately, you do not have to go through the detailed process of designing each slide template as you can use power slides. The templates come predesigned for different business topics and all you have to do is insert the content into the slides with a few minor modifications.
Understandable presentations
A good presentation for general consumption should not have too many buzzwords or jargon; it should be simple and easy to understand without causing any confusion. One of the best ways to do this is to describe your product is one simple sentence. For instance back in 2001, the iPod could simply be described as ‘1000 songs in your pocket’. A simple yet extremely elaborate sentence that gets the attention of the audience. When preparing your slides, think of the big idea that you want people to take away from your presentation. Focus on that idea and express it in as few words as possible that will make sense to the audience and how it will benefit them.
Memorable presentations
You need to be memorable to the audience. They may not remember everything you said in your presentation but they should be able to retain the idea carried throughout the presentation. Studies have shown that the human brain can only consume 3-7 points in short term memory. This is why phone numbers are often seven digits. The best way to integrate this into your presentation is by dividing it into three parts that describe three benefits or three actions. Avoid crowding your slides too much and you will be surprised by the uptake of the presentation among the audience.
Emotional presentations
Although there is a great deal of focus on the analytical presentation, emotional presentations still make the cut. Of course, you still need the data and evidence that reinforces your position. However, the emotional part of the presentation is what will move your audience to action. You can make your presentations more emotional through storytelling and case studies, which show the real life application of the concept discussed in the slides.
Finally, you need great communication and presentation skills to deliver a well-prepared presentation. The audience still looks up to the presenter to deliver the message home because the presentation is just a guide.
