Presentations are part of business life – be it a sales presentation to customers, a strategy presentation to the workforce or a speech at a specialist event. To ensure that the presentation is successful and achieves the set goal, you should take the following tips to heart.
Start the preparation with a concept
The first step to a successful presentation is always good preparation. During this step you should first ask yourself the following key questions:
- What is the aim of the presentation?
- Who is the audience?
- What are the 3 most important statements of your presentation?
- How do you start the presentation?
- How do you finish the presentation?
- What does the audience already know about the topic?
Once you have answered all these questions, you should plan a rough structure of the presentation and finally work out the contents in detail.
Excitement
A good presentation is like a good story. Start slowly and explain the initial situation or problem. Now increase the tension – argument by argument. As a climax, you bring the most important statement or argument. This should be done almost at the end of the presentation. Afterwards you summarise the most important statements again at the end.
Ask questions
Let your audience take part in the presentation. Ask questions, give thought-provoking impulses and plan short breaks for reflection. In this way you involve the audience and make everything more lively.
Less is more
Reduce the presentation to the essential. This way the focus remains clearly visible to the audience and it is easier for the audience to follow both the presentation and your arguments.
A Powerpoint presentation is not a handout
A PowerPoint presentation should have the purpose of supporting you during the live presentation. However, a PowerPoint presentation is by no means a handout or a summary. Otherwise, you can directly cut out the personal appearance.
Let the PowerPoint presentation become a visual aid!
This can happen, for example, by showing important statements or examples. Pictures without text are also very good, which you can use to strengthen your oral statements. In any case, you should avoid long texts or bullet points in your PowerPoint presentation.
Prepare the equipment
Almost everyone has probably experienced countless times that during a presentation, the presenters first need a few minutes before the technology works. This is annoying for any audience. So be there a few minutes earlier and make sure that the technology is up and running in time for the presentation.
Do not read
During a presentation you should speak as freely as possible. This makes an authentic impression and you can look directly at your audience. Avoid simply reading a text mechanically during a presentation. Of course you can write down individual keywords on a piece of paper so that you don’t lose the golden thread. A PowerPoint presentation can also take on the role of a guide.
Practice, practice, practice
Once your presentation is prepared, you should practice the presentation. By speaking freely, you can see whether the structure is logical and, if necessary, whether something is missing or too much. You will also get a feeling for the time you need. If it is an important presentation, do a test with real people and listen to their feedback.
Be authentic
Always support what you say! Only then can you convince the audience of your arguments and make them credible.
