Sitting through a boring PowerPoint presentation is agony. Any business presentation is meant to inform, motivate and deliver some kind of call to action. Here are some things you can do to make your next PowerPoint presentation a bit more engaging.
- Use it as a tool - Don't forget PowerPoint is a tool for making visual presentations. It is not a place just to dump your data or a word processing program. As you prepare your slides, think of yourself as a presenter not a writer. A presenter mind set give your presentation a more natural flow, and make you someone the audience wants to engage with.
- Keep it simple - An unfettered look works best for your presentation. While this is clearly a generalization, using simple, but powerful messages and images is usually a good way to stir emotion. And despite what people like to think, emotion is what spurs people to act.
- Don't tell, show - This old adage is especially true when it comes to presentations. Talking on and on is a great way to lose your crowd. It is true that "a picture is worth a thousand words.” Whenever possible, use images to deliver your message. Your autience wants to "see" your talk, not read it.
- Surprise them - Does it seem like someone wrote a template and everyone follows it when give a business presentation? To stand out and really engage your meeting, do the unexpected. Surprise your audience. Challenge the beliefs. Tell stories to keep them engaged. Create a little mystery in your stories, and watch as people pay close attention to see how the mystery gets resolved.
- Don't read it - The constant drone of someone reading their presentation will have their entire gathering nodding and bobbing. Talks like this are torture for an audience to sit through. Learn your messages, practice beforehand, and you’ll deliver a talk that people want to hear. Make eye contact with your audience. Vary your speech and voice patters. You want to sound normal and natural.
Make It Fun
Using these PowerPoint presentation tips should help you deliver a fun and engaging talk. Keep your audience paying attention to what you are saying by being as natural as you can be. They surely don't want to sit through another boring PowerPoint presentation. Be engaging and your audience will be engaged!