MAKE YOUR PRESENTATIONS SIZZLE
May 29, 2014
“There are 30 million presentations given each day, ” says Scott Schwertly, managing partner of Ethos3, a leader in presentation design and training. How many have you sat through that were dull, boring, and death by PowerPoint? Too many. Scott presented a fabulous full day workshop for the Blue Ocean Enterprises Challenge finalists (including Radish Systems) – I highly recommend it. Here are some take-aways.
There are THREE most important elements of good presentations:
- Content (how you build your presentation)—60-70% of presentation is content.
- Establish credibility
- Know your audience – they are asking WIIFM (what is in it for me?)
- Make sure you plan – determine an objective, develop a theme, and outline your content
- Design (how you design your presentation) – Design makes you make sense.
- Use San, not Serif type fonts
- Use white space. Keep slides minimalistic. Use more slides with fewer words.
- Know the Rule of Thirds (divide a slide into 3 sections – either vertically or horizontally – avoid words or images in middle third)
- Delivery (how you deliver your presentation) -- Delivery requires a fervent and committed effort to perfect while becoming natural and easy with practice.
- Practice, practice, practice will build confidence and move you beyond fear.
- Go beyond the message. Be passionate.
- Give the right perception: overdress, iron your cloths, show up early, empty your pockets, smile, and love your audience
Summary.
As John F. Kennedy said, “The only reason to give a speech is to change the world.” Now you can make a bigger impact from your presentations. Improve your content, design, and delivery.
Theresa M. Szczurek (www.TMSworld.com, www.PursuitofPassionatePurpose.com, www.RadishSystems.com)