Digital Marketing

Methods to Give a Nice Presentation (+ Knowledgeable Ideas)

November 14, 2023

In your profession as a enterprise skilled, there’s probability you’ll be requested to provide a presentation, be it within the workplace or at an occasion.

So we’ve spoken to consultants throughout a number of industries who shared some presentation ideas that may aid you overcome the concern of public talking, which impacts 75% of the general population.

On this piece, you’ll additionally study the weather of an ideal presentation and the breakdown of a real-life TED speak that encompasses a lot of the ideas offered by consultants.

Desk of Contents

What makes a presentation nice?

An important presentation is one which begins off in a compelling method that grabs the viewers’s consideration from the beginning.

It maintains a transparent and structured narrative all through, seamlessly transitioning between key factors whereas incorporating engaging visuals to strengthen every thought.

In the long run, an ideal presentation leaves a long-lasting affect that evokes and empowers the viewers and encourages them to take motion, each of their private lives and of their environment.

Listed here are 5 parts of an ideal presentation.

1. Confidence

Individuals who attend your presentation achieve this as a result of they consider that you just’re an authority on the subject about which you’re talking.

In different phrases, they count on you to talk with confidence, as an professional and thought chief. That’s the one method for them to really feel keen on what you’re saying.

A good way to construct confidence, even when you’ve got horrible stage fright, is to arrange and rehearse your presentation method prematurely. This prevents you from working too laborious to remember the purpose you’re making an attempt to make throughout the principle presentation.

2. Readability

Readability throughout a presentation is a multifaceted factor. On one hand, it is advisable to be clear in regards to the function of your presentation.

Clarify to your viewers why you’re giving this presentation and what they need to count on all through the period of your speech.

Then again, it is advisable to ship your presentation clearly. Enunciate your phrases and communicate at a medium tempo, peppering your speech with gesticulations that emphasize the purpose you’re making an attempt to convey.

Readability additionally applies to the way you structure your slide deck in case you’re utilizing one. Don’t stuff your slides with an excessive amount of info. For those who do, your viewers will focus extra on studying the slides than on what you’re saying. Slides ought to accompany your presentation — not change it.

3. Imagery

Talking of slides, individuals perceive shows higher when the speaker makes use of visible aids to show their factors. Some examples of visible aids embody photos, infographics, diagrams, movies, charts, and graphs.

Elizabeth Pharo, the CEO at Divorce.com, understands the significance of images in a presentation.

“Incorporating related photos, graphs, and movies considerably enhances the viewers‘s understanding and retention of the knowledge introduced,” Elizabeth acknowledges. “It’s about making a visually stimulating expertise with out overwhelming the senses, placing the appropriate stability between content material and design.”

Word: Excessive-quality imagery is arguably higher than textual content on a slide deck as a result of an viewers doesn’t should battle to learn textual content and take heed to you on the identical time. You should use textual content in your slides, however solely when it’s important.

4. Conciseness

Irrespective of how attention-grabbing your subject is or how passionate you might be about it, hold your presentation transient.

This includes axing any tales, information factors, or examples that aren’t straight associated to the subject material. Solely use phrases which can be essential to convey info.

The identical goes to your slides. As a substitute of cramming massive blocks of textual content into your slides, solely use brief sentences and bullet factors to explain salient factors.

5. Engagement

Displays aren’t alleged to be lifeless silent. Certain, the gang will principally not say something till the Q&A session, however presentation includes a relaxed interplay between the speaker and the viewers.

This interplay can come in several kinds. For instance, the viewers might nod in settlement with a relatable state of affairs the speaker painted through the speech.

The speaker may additionally name on members of the viewers to reply particular questions that lend legitimacy to the central thought of the speech. Or the viewers might giggle at one thing humorous the speaker mentioned. That calm engagement retains the viewers’s consideration on the presentation till the speaker is finished.

On the finish of the presentation, a extra full of life interplay can occur when the speaker encourages listeners to ask any questions they could have.

Presentation Tricks to Comply with

Prepared to begin working towards? Beneath are some expert-provided tips about find out how to give an ideal presentation to an viewers.

1. Begin robust.

Identical to in a novel, the primary few sentences of a presentation are among the most necessary as a result of they decide whether or not your viewers might be keen on what it’s important to say or not. So it’s important to start your presentation with a bang.

There are various methods to do that. You may ask a rhetorical query — which inspires listeners to form their reply based mostly on the contents of your speech.

You can begin with a quote from an influential particular person to supply context and situate your subject within the minds of your listeners. Or, you’ll be able to invite your viewers proper off the bat by straight asking them questions and basing your presentation on the solutions they provide.

No matter methodology you utilize, make sure that it’s hard-hitting, stable, and poignant sufficient to seize your listeners’ consideration and hold it until the top of the presentation.

Professional tip: Another efficient methods to begin off a presentation embody making a shock-inducing assertion or reality, displaying an attention-grabbing chart, picture, or statistic, and enjoying a short video to set the tone of your presentation.

2. Deal with the wants of your viewers.

The best way you give your presentation, the tales you inform, and the language you utilize rely largely on the individuals you’re chatting with. So, customise your presentation to suit them.

“Don’t get caught up in what you wish to say with out contemplating why it issues to them. Put your self of their footwear and craft the presentation to attach with their pursuits and supply one thing helpful,” says Christoph Trappe, the director of content material technique at Growgetter.

“This may increasingly require studying in regards to the viewers beforehand to grasp what they wish to get out of it. Tailor the fashion, content material, size, and different parts based mostly on their wants, so they arrive away feeling it was time effectively spent.”

Trappe’s proper. Familiarizing your self along with your viewers’s pursuits, wants, backgrounds, and expectations helps you alter your presentation in a method that they perceive.

For instance, in case you’re presenting to engineers, you’ll think about the technical particulars. However in case you’re chatting with executives, you’ll emphasize value financial savings and ROI.

Professional tip: Based on Erin Pennings, the Model Messaging Strategist at CopySnacks, listed below are some methods to study extra about your viewers earlier than you current:

If it’s your occasion, ask your viewers questions on the registration kind. You should use their solutions in your presentation.
If it’s an occasion you have been requested to talk at, ask individuals questions as they stroll in to get a way of what they’re trying to study.
For those who’re pre-recording a presentation, ask your viewers questions on social media to gauge their expectations.

3. Preserve it easy.

In his evergreen piece, How to Give a Killer Presentation, Chris Anderson, TED Talks’ curator, wrote:

“The most important downside I see in first drafts of shows is that they attempt to cowl an excessive amount of floor… For those who attempt to cram in every part you understand, you received’t have time to incorporate key particulars, and your speak will disappear into summary language that will make sense in case your listeners are accustomed to the subject material however might be fully opaque in the event that they’re new to it.”

The state of affairs Anderson describes is fairly widespread. The presenter tries to cowl their complete profession in a single speak, which leads to a superficial presentation that sweeps too broadly and has no actual message.

On your presentation to achieve success, your message needs to be straightforward to grasp. Ask your self, “What key factors do I would like individuals to remove from this presentation?” Deal with that.

In Anderson’s phrases, “Go deeper. Give extra element. Don’t inform us about your complete subject of research — inform us about your distinctive contribution.”

Professional tip: Per recommendation by the founding father of Rephrasely, Matthew Ramirez, as an alternative of overwhelming your viewers with a protracted record of bullet factors, select one central idea that you just want to convey and craft a story that demonstrates this concept.

4. Share private anecdotes.

My favourite shows are those who begin with a well-framed, ideally true story. Individuals love story as a result of it helps them relate to conditions they mightn’t have believed utilized to them.

An excellent story additionally helps your viewers really feel extra comfy and related to you. This, in flip, makes them extra receptive to your presentation.

Eric Doty, the Content material Lead at Dock, described how tales and private anecdotes added extra energy to the shows he’s given.

“After I labored at an actual property advertising company about 5 years in the past, I used to be requested to provide a presentation on private branding to a crowd of profitable actual property brokers. I used to be most likely essentially the most junior particular person within the room,” Doty recounts.

“However I had distinctive private expertise that they didn’t on the time—I had grown a giant viewers on Twitter. This calmed the nerves and lent legitimacy to my presentation.”

“All the recommendation I gave within the presentation was peppered with private anecdotes and examples, which made it extra significant and memorable. I ended up having the top-rated speak on the convention based mostly on viewers suggestions.”

Doty’s not the one one who thinks stories are a great vehicle to ship the message of your presentation. Cody Candee, the founder and CEO of Bounce shares the identical sentiment: sharing tales = connecting along with your viewers.

“Many presenters make their information the point of interest of their presentation, however this method fails to take into consideration how individuals join info to their very own experiences or how the human mind creates relational reminiscences.”

Candee continues: “Speaking about your personal private experiences, using gentle self-deprecating humor, and including observational tales can create the connection between the information you might be meting out and the components of your viewers’s brains that soak up and retailer info.”

“Including storytelling to your presentation helps you progress away from sterile information distribution and towards the human factor that makes your information significant.”

5. Body your presentation with information.

In shows, particularly business-focused ones, you’ll make various claims. However these claims imply nothing with out the suitable information to bolster them.

As you put together your presentation, do your due analysis. Discover examples and research to help your message and body your presentation with them.

The operative phrase right here is “body.” You don’t wish to make your presentation chock full of information and analysis that there’s little to no room for light-hearted humor, attention-grabbing private anecdotes, and viewers interplay.

Professional tip: Let the information and analysis you cite be few and much between. Everytime you cite one, develop on it by explaining the that means and implications of the analysis, sharing private (or non-personal) anecdotes, and asking the viewers sure/no inquiries to show the authenticity of the information.

6. Pause to breathe.

The prospect of giving a presentation to a (semi)massive group of individuals is sufficient to set anybody’s nerves on hearth.

A typical byproduct of that is getting on stage and reeling off your entire presentation in a single breath, leaving your viewers half-confused, half-startled.

To forestall that from occurring, take strategic pauses to emphasise key factors. Not solely does this provide you with a second to breathe and accumulate your ideas, however it additionally provides the viewers time to soak up info.

In lots of instances, strategic pauses additionally aid you develop suspense and put some weight behind your information.

Professional tip: Ray Slater Berry, the founder and director of DSLX has a cool tactic that may aid you ship your presentation at tempo.

“Ship 1-2 strains, after which image your self standing up from one chair, taking a step to the left, and sitting down on the chair subsequent to it—earlier than you proceed speaking. That is enough time to provide your listeners a second to digest and so that you can breathe,” Berry says.

7. Don’t be tied to slides.

Slides are the customary visible help utilized in shows — and for good cause, too. They’re environment friendly, and you’ll add each textual content and pictures to them. They get the job accomplished, however they’re not the be-all and end-all of visible aids.

Hand-drawn charts and brief movies work simply as effectively, too. Or you’ll be able to take the daring route and depend on simply the ability of your personal voice.

On this, Christoph Trappe lends his opinion once more. “On the subject of supply, suppose past simply PowerPoint slides. Whereas visuals may be useful, rely extra on connecting by means of storytelling, viewers interplay, and conversational talking. Slides filled with bullet factors are likely to lose individuals’s consideration rapidly.”

Professional tip: Slide decks should not detrimental to a presentation, however you’ll be able to swap issues up by discovering a special medium (or mixture of media) to convey your factors in an enticing method.

And in case you do use slide decks, don’t inundate them with bullet factors and browse straight from them. As a substitute, allow them to include sentences, photos, charts, and graphics which can be complementary to your presentation.

8. Comply with the 10-20-30 rule.

In case you are planning to use slides in your presentation, rule to observe is the 10-20-30 rule proposed by outstanding enterprise capitalist Guy Kawasaki.

The ten-20-30 rule of PowerPoint presentation is easy:

Your presentation should not have any greater than 10 slides.
Your presentation needs to be now not than 20 minutes.
The textual content on every slide needs to be no smaller than 30 factors in measurement.

This rule emphasizes the significance of brevity, focus, and visible enchantment when giving shows. Kawasaki believes that individuals typically can’t comprehend greater than ten ideas in a gathering, therefore the cap of ten slides.

He additionally believes that, to maintain the viewers’s focus, it’s finest to current all ten slides in 20 minutes, with roughly 2 minutes for every slide. This makes a variety of sense, particularly whenever you notice that almost all, if not all, TED talks (and your favourite sitcom episodes) final roughly 20 minutes.

The ultimate rule stems from Kawasaki’s commentary on how presenters match textual content in slides wrongly.

On his blog, Kawasaki writes, “The vast majority of the shows that I see have textual content in a ten-point font. As a lot textual content as doable is jammed into the slide, after which the presenter reads it.”

“Nevertheless, as quickly because the viewers figures out that you just’re studying the textual content, it reads forward of you as a result of it may well learn sooner than you’ll be able to communicate. The result’s that you just and the viewers are out of sync.”

Kawasaki goes so far as saying that many presenters use small fonts as a result of they haven’t memorized their shows effectively sufficient. His resolution? Use a font no smaller than 30 factors.

“I assure it’s going to make your shows higher as a result of it requires you to seek out essentially the most salient factors and to know find out how to clarify them effectively,” Kawasaki writes.

Word: Utilizing a font measurement of 30 and above in your slides can also be useful for viewers members who’ve visible impairments.

9. Present your ardour.

Have you ever observed that it’s fairly straightforward to identify when somebody is definitely excited in regards to the subject they’re presenting — versus somebody who doesn’t care?

That’s as a result of ardour can’t be faked.

You may spend months getting the define, phrases, and supply proper to your speech, however in case you aren’t fascinated by what you’re presenting, the viewers will catch on. You may’t count on individuals to be keen about your presentation whenever you aren’t excited your self.

Exhibiting real ardour to your subject fosters a way of intimacy between you and your viewers. Your listeners will catch the “pleasure bug” from you and grow to be keen on what it’s important to say.

Professional tip: Earlier than you give a presentation, take superior time to remind your self why the subject is so fascinating to start with. When you understand why, you’ll have the ability to cross on that vitality to your listeners.

10. Develop stage presence.

The primary time I needed to give a speech, I used to be eight years previous, and the speech was directed to my elementary schoolmates. My coronary heart was beating so quick, and my palms have been shaking.

When the time got here, I stood in entrance of the gang, stared at some tree within the distance, and reeled off your entire speech with out transferring a muscle.

My stage presence was zero. Nothing.

For those who’re studying this, chances are high, you’re not in elementary college, and also you’re about to provide a severe presentation. Whereas standing stiff as a board along with your arms caught to the edges of your physique received’t reduce it, you don’t must do an excessive amount of both.

In his piece, Chris Anderson, TED Talks’ curator, wrote, “Getting the phrases, story, and substance proper is a a lot greater determinant of success or failure than the way you stand or whether or not you’re visibly nervous. And with regards to stage presence, a little bit teaching can go a great distance.”

Based on Chris, the most important mistake individuals make with their stage presence is transferring their our bodies an excessive amount of.

“Individuals do that naturally after they’re nervous, however it’s distracting and makes the speaker appear weak. Merely getting an individual to maintain his or her decrease physique immobile can dramatically enhance stage presence.”

Professional tip: If strolling across the stage comes naturally to you, you are able to do that. If not, it’s finest to face nonetheless (not stiffly) and depend on hand gestures for emphasis.

11. Interact with the viewers.

Earlier, I discussed that you may begin off your presentation by asking your viewers questions. Nicely, the engagement shouldn’t cease there; it ought to proceed all through your entire presentation, nonetheless lengthy it’s.

There are various methods to have interaction along with your viewers. The most typical methodology is to ask questions they’ll simply reply. What number of of you’ve got skilled this? Are you able to increase your hand in case you’re accustomed to this case?

You may ask direct inquiries to your viewers members to clarify some extent. Or you should utilize an individual from the viewers (whose title it is best to know) for example a state of affairs or an thought.

12. Follow, apply, apply.

Studying your complete presentation from a slide deck is a recipe for catastrophe. Slide decks (and different visible aids) are supposed to be complementary, which suggests you’ll should memorize the majority of your speech.

“The one strategy to give a relaxed speak that sounds prefer it is not rehearsed is to rehearse it quite a bit,” says Dr. James Whitehead, the CEO of My Green Window.

“When you’ll be able to calm down a little bit and depend on muscle reminiscence to do a lot of the speak for you, it is possible for you to to benefit from the expertise and construct a extra optimistic relationship with the viewers by means of your physique language and clear pronunciation.”

Dr. Whitehead is true. Follow makes good. After writing out your presentation speech, you’ll must apply regularly till you understand the speech inside out.

There are a number of methods to apply your speech, together with:

In entrance of the mirror (it’s cliche, however it works).
Doing mock shows to your family and friends.
Rehearsing your presentation along with your colleagues.

Professional tip: Select a quiet place to memorize your speech so you’ll be able to focus. For those who’re rehearsing in entrance of others (mates, household, colleagues, and many others.), ask for trustworthy suggestions. You’ll know the place to enhance. You can too time your presentation so that you’ll know the way lengthy it’ll take you to ship it.

13. Triple-check your know-how.

There’s at all times an opportunity of know-how tripping up, however you’ll be able to reduce its incidence by making ready for it.

Check your presentation beforehand with the identical tools you’ll use in the principle occasion. Discover ways to hyperlink your laptop to the projector and make sure that all of the hyperlinks to movies and net pages are working effectively.

If doable, carry backups of your paperwork and {hardware} tools simply in case one thing goes fallacious.

Professional tip: If a chunk of know-how you’re utilizing fails, don’t panic. For those who’re ready for it, you’ll have the ability to deal with it with calm and beauty.

14. Have a robust closing assertion.

Your presentation’s closing assertion needs to be simply as memorable as your opening assertion. So be as agency as fairly doable.

Whereas some audio system make their closing assertion a conclusion of their complete presentation, many TED speak audio system prefer to put a call-to-action (CTA) on the finish of the presentation. You’ll hear phrases like, “I urge you to suppose deeply about X thought” and “I’ll go away you with one query: [insert question here].”

The CTA methodology works effectively as a result of it implies that you’re not simply leaving your viewers hanging after you’re accomplished. As a substitute, you’re giving them one thing to consider lengthy after they go away the venue.

Professional tip: On the finish of your presentation, inform your listeners what you need them to do subsequent. Would you like them to ponder on an thought? Would you like them to take sure topic-related actions inside their rapid surroundings? No matter it’s, inform them.

15. Supply a Q&A session.

For essentially the most a part of your presentation, your listeners might be silent, taking within the info you’re imparting and formulating inquiries to ask you. Encourage them to ask these questions on the finish of your presentation.

Not solely does this assist you make sure that they understood what you spoke about, however it additionally provides them the chance to study extra and acquire clarification on factors they couldn’t fairly comprehend.

Professional tip: To forestall that feeling of being placed on the spot, anticipate questions your viewers might need and put together some responses prematurely. You can too run your presentation by your family and friends, to allow them to aid you give you questions and brainstorm how to reply to them.