A Quick Guide On How To Make Better Presentations
Have you ever been to a presentation that was so bad, you were angry at the presenter for wasting your time? Or maybe they didn’t even know what they were doing, and it ended up as a free-for-all discussion between audience members. Either way, presentations can affect your mood towards something. If people don’t understand or enjoy the presentation on offer, then they might not take on board the information that is being shared and perhaps won’t revisit your site afterwards.
In this article, we’ll look at ways to improve your presentations and give them a professional edge. We’ll also have a look at why making them can be worth your time. So, let’s get started.
Use Template Themed Slides
As much as you want your presentation to look unique, using a template can save time, and it will make your slides look better. Of course, you don’t want to throw away all of the creativity you have in favor of someone else’s idea, but sometimes it pays off to take shortcuts. If you spend more time making sure each slide is perfect before hitting publish, people are more likely to watch the whole presentation because they know it has been adequately thought out. The last thing anyone wants is for their audience to be distracted by typos or something that doesn’t look right, so creating templates yourself might be the best way forward here. You can use design tools to get themed templates for PowerPoint and keynote presentations, or you can look online to see if any sites have some you can use. Also, tools like Canva or Venngage offer free templates that you can use.
Use Images That Are Relevant To The Content
A presentation is no good if you end up with a blank stare on the faces of people watching it. This look usually appears when you’re trying to cram too much information into one slide and then end up explaining every single point that’s there. Remember, your slides should be viewed as complementary support material rather than something which contains all of the vital information. So, ensure that each image is relevant to the content on the show and try not to make them too complicated or detailed either because this may stop people from listening to you.
People are good at daydreaming, so they might find their mind wandering off towards thoughts of lunch or what they’re going to get up to later in the week while you’re midway through a slide. That’s the last thing you want because it means they won’t remember any of your information and therefore it can’t help convert them into customers.
Make Explaining Easy
People lose interest in a presentation when it begins with slides full of text which doesn’t give them any chance to stand out. This kind of content usually requires those watching to read everything before it makes sense, so they don’t feel they’ve missed an essential part of the explanation. Instead, try using bulleted lists where each bullet only contains one or two words, so they don’t feel too overwhelming.
People are very perceptive when it comes to text on slides, so they’ll notice if you’ve only put enough information in for them to read through everything quickly before focusing more on taking notes about what is being said. This means that they won’t bother looking at the images or paying attention to your presentation, which isn’t something that you want after all of your hard work. Shortening the text where possible will allow people to absorb information faster and therefore watch it with a clear mind, which will help improve their comprehension and interest.
Avoid Using Too Many Words
Many presentations suffer from this problem because presenters go into too much detail by using complex wording that nobody can remember. This wordiness causes people to switch off from the content as it would be unrealistic for them to take everything in during one go, so they tune out instead.
If you’re struggling with using too many words, try paring down your content by cutting out anything that isn’t essential to your message. You can also give yourself a time limit or aim for a specific word count before you begin if this problem is an issue for you personally because it means you won’t have time to make your sentences too wordy. Asking someone else if they think your presentation is clear and easy enough to understand will also help save time later on because all of that information can become overwhelming after a while.
Your presentation should be informative but not all-consuming. Enabling viewers to absorb information quickly will make them more likely to remember what you’ve said and therefore convert them into customers later on. Using words sparingly will help ensure that people don’t tune out due to a lack of interest or a surplus of information. Following these tips will help you create a better presentation overall, so try applying this advice next time. It could help improve your audience’s feedback.