Top Tips For An Effective Business Presentation

Designing a presentation without an audience in mind is like writing a love letter and addressing it 'to whom it may concern." - Ken Haemer

A tedious or boring presentation can cause your audience to lose interest, and once that happens, it’s tough to regain their attention. Here are a few tips to avoid this happening:

Tip #1 - Plan Your Content

• Know your audience: Tailor the presentation to your audience's needs and level of understanding. If you were trying to convince a Management Team to purchase your state of the art GPS tracking system for their vehicles, what research would you do?

  • What system are they currently using and for how long?

  • What does your system offer that the current system does not?

  • Identify your personality types. Who is the analytical, who is the sceptic, who is the champion and who is the final decision maker sitting around the boardroom table.

• Clear Objective: Define the main message and goal of your presentation.

• Organize: Structure the presentation with a clear introduction, body and conclusion.

Tip #2 - Keep Slides Simple and Focused

• Minimal Text: Use bullet points and keep text brief. Use the 6x6 rule: no more than six words per line and six bullet points per slide.

• Visuals Over Text: Use images, charts or infographics to illustrate key points. Make sure visuals complement, not overwhelm your message.

• One Idea Per Slide: Keep each slide focused on a single concept or idea.

Tip #3 - Design For Clarity

• Consistent Style: Use the same font, colour scheme, and layout throughout the presentation to keep it professional and cohesive

• Readable Fonts: Use fonts that are easy to read and large enough to be visible from the back of the room (at least 24-point).

• High Contrast: Use contrasting, visible colours. Dark colours on a light background for better readability.

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Tip #4 - Use animations and transitions sparingly

• Transitions: The days of swiping text in from the left or right are long gone.

• Animations: These should be of high quality and not vectors that you have clearly downloaded from the Internet.

  
  

Tip #5 - Engage with the audience

• Eye contact: Don't just read from the slides. Make eye contact with the audience to build connection and emphasize key points.

• Tell a story: Make your presentation more engaging by incorporating stories or real scenarios that resonate with your audience.

• Ask questions: Encourage interaction by posing questions to your audience.

Tip #6 - Practise your delivery

• Rehearse: Practise multiple times to ensure smooth delivery, correct timing, and familiarity with the slides.

• Check equipment: Test the laptop, projector, Zoom or Teams connections before your presentation. Be prepared and ready a good 10 minutes before the meeting starts.

• Understand and rehearse the technicalities of the Zoom, Skype or Teams platforms. Know how to share your screen and slides and answer questions in the chatbox.

Tip #7 - Handle Q&A Session Gracefully

• Be prepared: Anticipate possible questions and have your answers ready.

• Listen: Listen carefully and respond clearly.

Keeping the concentration and focus of the audience on what you are trying to relay to them, is the key to your success. Remember, there are no good or bad questions. As long as the audience is engaging with you, they're interested in what you have to say.

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