Making a presentation is an opportunity to get your message
across and convince your audience that your idea is something that
should be considered. Whether it's to educate them in a training
situation or whether you are presenting an idea to your company,
creating a presentation that is entertaining, engaging and memorable,
need not fill you with fear. If you are passionate about what you do,
believe in yourself, your idea or subject matter, you are half way
there.
You can never be too prepared! Knowing your subject inside
out will allow you to feel confident enough to get on with the job and
when a member of the audience asks you a question, you will be equipped
to answer successfully. Know your audience and why they have come to see
you speak. This will help you construct your presentation precisely to
keep them interested. Connecting with your audience is something you
want to do as quickly as possible to maintain their interest. Keeping
them engaged can be a difficult task so make your presentation exciting
by using visual aids, not only will they help you interact with the
audience, they will help prompt and guide you when nerves threaten to
take over.
Using visuals is considered essential in a modern
presentation and luckily we have the technology to hand that allows us
to do so much more than the old fashioned overhead projector could ever
do! By adding music, video, photos, graphs, charts or animation you will
enhance your message and help your audience digest the subject matter.
Using other materials can be very effective. Passing around a handout so
that the audience have something to follow whilst you continue your
presentation always works well. People make a deeper connection if they
have something tangible in their hands. You could use flip charts to
write ideas or comments and by using foamex or foamboards that can be
bought from a graphic design supplier, you can add a display or produce
mock up version of an advertising campaign or create a model of a new
packaging idea.
Take time over your content. Any visual aid you
want to add should be used to enhance and reinforce your presentation
and not used as a filler to pad it out. Add content to challenge your
audience, make them think and stretch their perceptions about a certain
subject. How you get your message across should be carefully considered.
Preaching at an audience will certainly make them switch off but
presenting your topic in the most entertaining way possible, making them
laugh, using interesting anecdotes perhaps, will win them over, keeping
them attentive and amused.
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