Did you hear ‘crickets’ during your last PowerPoint presentation? If so, it’s time for a change. Effective communication is powerful, not an act that puts an audience to sleep. Improve your approach by implementing the following five ways to instantly improve your next PowerPoint presentation.
Do:
- Organize on paper. Avoid being a slave to Microsoft or inter-company templates. Why? They box in creativity based on preset designs. Instead, with the aid of sticky notes, organize your thoughts on paper and then select an appropriate format.
- Balance images with charts. Utilize a mix of both mediums to unveil a concept in your PowerPoint presentation. Images evoke strong emotions while charts display the facts. Together, they leave a lasting impression on the viewer. For example, the proverbial businessman climbing up a ladder of graphs shows onlookers a clear path toward a goal.
- Limit the number of ideas. Introduce one idea per slide. This method sets a wonderful platform for learning. Your audience is able to absorb and retain more information. Otherwise, they tend to get confused, muddling up unrelated data.
- Tell an engaging story. Don’t believe the hype. PowerPoint presentations fail if a speaker doesn’t offer listeners an engaging story. ‘5 Amazing Ways to Sell More Houses’ supported by a funny personal testimony can keep a room of real estate agents on edge versus ‘House Selling 101’ and nothing else, but a few slides.
- Make your last slide count. Summarize in five points or less what you want your audience to take away. Keep this slide simple in design so the text stands out. Also, leave it up if you plan on answering questions towards the end. This way, the full impact of your overall message permeates to others.
- Practice, practice, practice. Demonstrate your PowerPoint presentation for an honest colleague or a friend. Allow this party to give you feedback. Then, make a few adjustments. Perfect your game.
Ready to make some adjustments? Employ the above five ways to instantly improve your next PowerPoint presentation and wow clients or fellow employees at future meetings. For more information on this subject, visit PowerPoint Studio.