When can a presentation be called successful? If the main objective, the communication of important information has worked. This is a challenge for any speaker. But how is it possible to convey the most important content in such a way that the audience is really convinced at the end and remembers the core messages? For this purpose, we have compiled ten tips to ensure your success.
I have experienced more than once that by the end of a presentation I had already forgotten everything the speaker had told me at the beginning. There were just too many details that no human could remember. On the other hand, in my experience, it often happens that a presentation wants to convey only a few important messages, but even those don’t stick with the audience. In these cases, the speaker was unable to convey the important points in an understandable and memorable manner.
Without convincing argumentation your presentation will not be a success
If you are giving a presentation of about 15 minutes, your audience is not going to remember every word they say. This is completely normal. It should be important to you that the important information and arguments are understood, believed by your audience and stored in their long-term memory. You can only achieve this if you present your arguments in the right way. The following tips will help you impress with your content during your next presentation.
Tip 1: Work out your key messages in preparation
When you prepare your presentation, take enough time to think about what important information you absolutely want the audience to take away from the talk. What is the essence of your presentation, what are the key messages?
Tip 2: Formulate the core messages precisely!
Get to the point and don’t hide your most important information. The messages must be recognizable as such for the audience and unambiguously formulated.
Tip 3: Don’t read off your presentation!
Free speech is mandatory for any presentation today. Reading off a presentation disqualifies you in the eyes of your audience. It means that you either did not prepare enough or you do not understand the topic properly.
Tip 4: Tie your messages into a story!
No one can escape the appeal of a good story. If you can “weave” an interesting story around your main arguments, you have a good chance that your audience will follow you attentively and even remember the content better.
Tip 5: Offer your audience variety!
Try to incorporate different media into your presentation to avoid boredom in the first place. You can include animations, video clips or even just a flipchart for some sketches in your presentation to add more variety to the audience.
Tip 6: Engage your audience!
Have the audience actively participate in your presentation. This increases the attention. Questions such as “who of you has ever…?” or “do any of you know…?” lead the audience out of passivity and into active thinking.
Tip 7: Don’t overwhelm the audience!
Tense listening can become quite exhausting in the long run. When a lot of information has to be absorbed, the brain needs a break in between, to store it. After ten minutes at the latest, the ability to concentrate is already waning. Many people can even concentrate properly for a maximum of five minutes. Build passages into your presentation that do not require a high level of concentration. For example, you can tell an anecdote about the topic in between, or show a video.
Tip 8: Use clear, understandable language!
Even if you are speaking in front of professionals, make sure you use understandable language. Even experts want to grasp the content of your presentation quickly and without effort. Lots of complicated technical terms and long sentences make it unnecessarily difficult for your audience.
Tip 9: Summarize the key messages again.
At the end of your presentation, use the opportunity to briefly summarize your key points again. This increases the chances that your viewers will be able to remember the essential content permanently.
Tip 10: Distribute a handout after the presentation!
Offer your audience a summary at the end of your presentation. Either you can distribute a handout right after the event. Another option is to send the summary by e-mail.
Were these 10 tips not enough for you?
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Dipl.-Wirtsch.-Informatiker Matthias Garten as the expert for multimedia presentations and professional PowerPoint presentations knows about the art of professional slide design. He is an entrepreneur, speaker (TOP 100 Speaker), trainer (TOP 100 Excellence Trainer), multiple book author, presentation coach (presentation training), member of the GSA and Club 55, organizer of the Presentation Conference, Presentation Bootcamp and Presentation Rocket Day. In addition to PowerPoint and presentation training, he inspires and advises companies to present themselves even more effectively and thus stand out from competitors. He is the business owner of the presentation and PowerPoint agency smavicon Best Business Presentations and with his team has created over 10,000 professional PowerPoint presentations for over 150 industries since 1993.
