Quick presentation tips for business speeches and presentations
Have you ever sat through a boring, monotonous power point presentation; one that left you wishing you could get that hour of your life back? Want presentation hints that increase the impact of your presentation? Follow these presentation guides and hints to prevent losing your audience and turning them off you and your product/idea for good.
Begin with their pain:
“Why should I care?” and “What’s in it for me?” These are the unspoken questions in your audience’s mind. What are the issue the audience faces, their pain? Once the pain is clarified, then offer a solution. More time should be spent on the solution than on the pain/problem.
Have a clear point:
What do you want the audience to remember when you have finished speaking? Decide on one clear message, use analogies and stories to make this point. Stick to the point using three or four ideas to support the main concept. Use only 1 point per slide. For greater technical detail use a hand-out. One of the top presentation tips you’ll need to wow an audience – Leave them with a message.
Tell a story:
Learning to use stories and analogies is an essential presentation skill. Our brains are wired to remember stories, rather than lists of facts which are instantly forgettable, and boring. Stories also help avoid jargon and clarify meaning. We don’t use power point bullet points to share our days with our families and friends, we tell them a story. Stories are memorable, personal and more engaging than a list of facts.
Pause:
Pausing can feel very uncomfortable at first. The silence of a pause helps “underline” your point, allowing the idea to sink in or the listener to answer your question in their mind. The audience needs time for the message to sink in, and interpret what you are saying. Speak more slowly than you think necessary, when we speak at the speed of our thoughts it is like we have hit “fast forward” and the words tumble out, overwhelming the listener. When you ask a question, or make an important point – pause – for the count of 3 in your head to allow the audience to let it sink in. Listen to other speakers and be aware of how you feel when they rush, and how much time you need to let their statements or questions sink in.
Summarise with a call to action:
Recap the key points of your presentation and close with next steps. Ensure you have answered the listener’s unspoken question, offered a solution and make one clear point. Use the power of stories and pause to make your point and allow it to sink in. Close with a recap of the salient points and clear next steps – what do you want them to do with this idea or information?
If you want more presentation tips or to learn how to create One Clear Message in your presentations then Contact us now.
Richard Riche
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