It is undeniably an important matter to all of us, since throughout all phases of our lives we are expected to present a topic, case or an idea in front of our professors, and later on present deals to our clients or managers. Naturally, the first thing that pops in our heads in this case is how can I make my presentation look professional and interesting at the same time? What should I add? What should I avoid using? Well, here are some tips for you that can help you create the perfect presentation to appeal to your audience.
Know your audience
It is preferable to identify the group of people that you want to convince or attract, based on this information you will create your presentation. Whether with different style fonts, animations, sound effects, or images.
Plan and research your topic carefully
When creating a PowerPoint presentation, you need to have all the information needed to explain and answer all the questions that may occur in the mind of your audience. You should be prepared to be asked any sort of question that can require detailed answers and great depth. In order to be able to achieve that, you have to complete your research thoroughly to comprehend the topic and be prepared.
Simplify your slides
Each slide should not contain paragraphs and long complicated sentences that can either distract your audience from listening to you or bore them too early. Instead, you should have bullet points that can deliver the message in a simple way to be read quickly, giving time for you to be the master of your show.
To accomplish this you can follow the 2/4/8 rule. Basically, this rule states that each slide should not take more than 2 minutes in your presentation, have a maximum of 4 bullet points, and lastly, each point should have approximately 8 words.
Furthermore, each slide should have a single topic/ title, so that your listeners are not diverted by the multiple matters discussed per slide.
Choose your fonts
It is always tempting to have many font styles and colors in your presentations, assuming that this difference will attract the viewer to the words. Nonetheless, those variances seem rather unprofessional, instead you can:
· Use the all capital letters style in titles to grasp attention when the slide changes immediately
· Avoid using the italicized words too much as it makes them more difficult to read
· Use a contrasting color to that in the background, so if the background is lightly colored use dark shades for your sentences and vice versa.
· Lastly, the font should be clear to read from far places, therefore you have to use large clear ( not less than 24) fonts to be read by the last row as well as the front row can.
Add visuals
As we said before, writing a lot of words in your slides can bore your spectators, which makes it challenging for you to include all the information you want in a single slide. As an alternative you can add pictures, diagrams or graphs that can explain your point in your slides.
However, those pictures should be chosen wisely, since they have to be of good resolution, related to the topic, large and clear. It is also better to have one or two pictures that have all the information provided and explained well, rather than multiple small pictures. Finally, you have to ensure that the image resolution does not worsen when presented on larger screens.
Limit the number of your slides
As we all experience with our professors or any presenter, with each slide passing we lose interest gradually in spite of how excited we may have been in the beginning. Here another rule can be added, the 10/20/30 rule. This rule states that an effective professional presentation should have around 10 slides, doesn’t take more than 20 minutes to present, and fonts shouldn’t be smaller than 30.
NEVER exaggerate with your transitions
Even though adding transition effects can attract you at the beginning, it can also steal the show from you. Which means that the listeners can focus more on the transitions, sound effects or the video in the background and totally ignore what you are trying to deliver.
Hence, if there is a short video added, you should always wait until the whole video is over to avoid creating unpleasant overlapping noises that can annoy the viewer and make them unwilling to listen to you.
When adding background music, be careful of the volume and the theme of the song. The volume has to be high enough that all listeners can hear, yet moderately low so that it doesn’t cover your voice.
Last tip:
While presenting, try to appear confident (even if your heart is about to jump from your chest). When the presenter is anxious and self-conscious, the viewer tends to focus less and is almost sure that there will be flaws in your presentation. Whereas, when the presenter is confident and speaks with a clear loud voice comfortably, the audience concentrates on the information you are giving and will actively listen to you instead.
You can boost your confidence by:
1. Writing a script that can lead you when you forget a piece of information in one of the slides, or the explanation of one of the points written
2. Avoid reading from the slides, or presenting to the screen. Instead, look into their eyes while talking, since eye-contact enhances their concentration
3. Lastly, when you finish preparing, practice with a friend that hasn’t seen your presentation before and ask if there are any moderations that can be made
How To Create A PowerPoint Presentation
How To Create A PowerPoint Presentation
Creating a great Powerpoint presentation is very easy once you follow these very simple steps! Click here for more.
It is undeniably an important matter to all of us, since throughout all phases of our lives we are expected to present a topic, case or an idea in front of our professors, and later on present deals to our clients or managers. Naturally, the first thing that pops in our heads in this case is how can I make my presentation look professional and interesting at the same time? What should I add? What should I avoid using? Well, here are some tips for you that can help you create the perfect presentation to appeal to your audience.Know your audienceIt is preferable to identify the group of people that you want to convince or attract, based on this information you will create your presentation. Whether with different style fonts, animations, sound effects, or images.Plan and research your topic carefullyWhen creating a PowerPoint presentation, you need to have all the information needed to explain and answer all the questions that may occur in the mind of your audience. You should be prepared to be asked any sort of question that can require detailed answers and great depth. In order to be able to achieve that, you have to complete your research thoroughly to comprehend the topic and be prepared.Simplify your slidesEach slide should not contain paragraphs and long complicated sentences that can either distract your audience from listening to you or bore them too early. Instead, you should have bullet points that can deliver the message in a simple way to be read quickly, giving time for you to be the master of your show.To accomplish this you can follow the 2/4/8 rule. Basically, this rule states that each slide should not take more than 2 minutes in your presentation, have a maximum of 4 bullet points, and lastly, each point should have approximately 8 words.Furthermore, each slide should have a single topic/ title, so that your listeners are not diverted by the multiple matters discussed per slide.Choose your fontsIt is always tempting to have many font styles and colors in your presentations, assuming that this difference will attract the viewer to the words. Nonetheless, those variances seem rather unprofessional, instead you can:· Use the all capital letters style in titles to grasp attention when the slide changes immediately· Avoid using the italicized words too much as it makes them more difficult to read· Use a contrasting color to that in the background, so if the background is lightly colored use dark shades for your sentences and vice versa.· Lastly, the font should be clear to read from far places, therefore you have to use large clear ( not less than 24) fonts to be read by the last row as well as the front row can. Add visualsAs we said before, writing a lot of words in your slides can bore your spectators, which makes it challenging for you to include all the information you want in a single slide. As an alternative you can add pictures, diagrams or graphs that can explain your point in your slides.However, those pictures should be chosen wisely, since they have to be of good resolution, related to the topic, large and clear. It is also better to have one or two pictures that have all the information provided and explained well, rather than multiple small pictures. Finally, you have to ensure that the image resolution does not worsen when presented on larger screens.Limit the number of your slidesAs we all experience with our professors or any presenter, with each slide passing we lose interest gradually in spite of how excited we may have been in the beginning. Here another rule can be added, the 10/20/30 rule. This rule states that an effective professional presentation should have around 10 slides, doesn’t take more than 20 minutes to present, and fonts shouldn’t be smaller than 30.NEVER exaggerate with your transitionsEven though adding transition effects can attract you at the beginning, it can also steal the show from you. Which means that the listeners can focus more on the transitions, sound effects or the video in the background and totally ignore what you are trying to deliver.Hence, if there is a short video added, you should always wait until the whole video is over to avoid creating unpleasant overlapping noises that can annoy the viewer and make them unwilling to listen to you.When adding background music, be careful of the volume and the theme of the song. The volume has to be high enough that all listeners can hear, yet moderately low so that it doesn’t cover your voice.Last tip:While presenting, try to appear confident (even if your heart is about to jump from your chest). When the presenter is anxious and self-conscious, the viewer tends to focus less and is almost sure that there will be flaws in your presentation. Whereas, when the presenter is confident and speaks with a clear loud voice comfortably, the audience concentrates on the information you are giving and will actively listen to you instead. You can boost your confidence by:1. Writing a script that can lead you when you forget a piece of information in one of the slides, or the explanation of one of the points written2. Avoid reading from the slides, or presenting to the screen. Instead, look into their eyes while talking, since eye-contact enhances their concentration3. Lastly, when you finish preparing, practice with a friend that hasn’t seen your presentation before and ask if there are any moderations that can be made