I have a confession to make.
I have been guilty of putting people to sleep during my presentations.
Unfortunately, not once, but many times.
I could blame it on the complexities of tech topics or the dryness of the subject.
I could always console myself by saying that at least it's not as sleep-inducing as financial presentations (sorry, my friends in Finance).
Deep down, though, I knew that even the most complicated and dry topics could come alive.
As with anything, it's a skill and can be improved upon.
Thus, I turned to my friend Christopher Chin, Communication Coach for Tech Professionals, for some much-needed advice.
He shared these 5 presentation tips guaranteed to leave a lasting impression:
1/ Speak to Their Needs, Not Your Wants
Don’t just say what you like talking about or what your audience wants to hear. Say what your audience needs to hear based on their current priorities and pain points: that sets your presentation up to be maximally engaging
2/ Slides Support, You Lead
Slides are not the presentation. You are the presentation. Your slides should support your story and act as visual reinforcement rather than as the main star of the show. Consider holding off on making slides until you have your story clear. That way, you don’t end up making more slides than you need or making slides more verbose than you need
3/ Start with a Bang, Not a Whisper
The beginning of a presentation is one of the most nerve-wracking parts for you as the speaker and one of the most attention-critical parts for your audience. If you don’t nail the beginning, there’s a good chance you lose the majority of people. Consider starting with something that intrigues your audience, surprises them, concerns them, or makes them want to learn more.
4/ Think Conversation, Not Presentation
One-way presentations where the speaker just talks “at” the audience lead to dips in attention and poorer reception of the material. Consider integrating interactive elements like polls and Q&A throughout a presentation (rather than just at the very end) to make it feel more like a conversation.
5/ Finish Strong with a Clear CTA
We go through all the effort of preparing, creating, and delivering a presentation to cause some change in behavior. End with a powerful call to action that reminds your audience why they were in attendance and what they should do as soon as they leave the room.
By integrating these, you won't just present; you'll captivate. Say goodbye to snoozing attendees and hello to a gripped audience.
