The Essence of Creating Presentations

PowerPoint Presentations or PPT’s have become an integral part of most of the professionals. Be it a Sales Manager a Marketing Executive or Communication professionals like us , we swear by this tool which comes as a blessing to all those who want to ‘present’ their views, solutions or recommendations. I completely agree that ‘making presentations’ is an art which is not everyone’s cup of tea. Even if one is a pro in the content creation, the success of any presentation lies with the presenter. I also agree that it is an important tool, but at the same time I strongly feel that:

Ø      It has to be something which is memorable

Ø      The number of slides has nothing to do with the ‘quality’ and ‘effectiveness’ of the presentation

A common belief in today’s world is that the more slides you add, the more impact your presentation will have, which according to me is completely untrue. From my experience of attending some 50 odd presentations, I have observed that most of the people who attend a presentation tend to forget 50% of the content. I really doubt all of them being attentive. But it’s not their fault. A presentation should entertain your audience .They should thoroughly enjoy it. According to me following points throws some light on the essence of an effective PPT:

Ø      Know you subject matter thoroughly. Try to read every piece of information available so that you can do justice to the content.

Ø      Know your audience as in who and all are going to be there in the presentation.

Ø      Develop a theme for the presentation.

Ø      The rule always is ‘Tell then what you are going to tell them, Tell them and then Tell them what you told them’.

Ø      As far as designing is concerned, select the template very judiciously. Most of the organizations have their corporate templates. You can modify them a bit (if the Corporate Guidelines allow you to do so), depending on the subject / objective of the PPT.

Ø      A well written script with a smooth flow of the information is the core of any presentation.

Ø      Always keep the content crisp. Avoid lengthy paragraphs. Use bullet points instead.

Ø      Keep it Visual by incorporating simple but strong graphic elements / visuals which will support your points as they correctly say that ‘ a picture is worth thousand words’

Ø      Never choose the visuals hastily. Remember that people start associating the visuals with your statements. So the visuals should help you in building up a story and should travel smoothly till the end of the presentation.

You can review your presentation in light of these points. The way to master the art is Practice...And more Practice!

Please revert, Incase you have more points to add.  

Chandana Mungre Kashid

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Sirf Gyan Pe Mat Jao ..

Yesterday I was watching this soap on television where the protagonist suffers from something called ‘OCPD’ (Obsessive Compulsive personality Disorder). A quick explanation about the syndrome is that it is characterized by too much orderliness /perfectionism and people with this condition tend to pay attention at the minutest detail. I would like to clarify that I am not doing a research on this syndrome ;) in fact I was thinking about this ‘trend’ of coming up with something which is:

• Offbeat
• Unexplored’ or
• Simply ‘different’

  Be it the movies or the way marketing firms communicate with the consumers, everyone as if is striving hard to present something which is completely different or which is ‘less talked about’. Earlier if a movie had a character with a serious ailment then the disease was essentially ‘Cancer’ or at the most ‘heart attack’. Now it is ‘Progeria’, ‘OCPD’, ‘Dyslexia’ and what not.

Take a look at the ads now. Earlier if it was a milk drink for kids, then the communication revolved around ‘Vitamins’ ‘Minerals’ and the other basic components. Now it’s all about ‘Scientifically proven essential nutrients’, ‘Extra Nutrition’ ‘Hemo CALTM nutrients’ and what not. 

This shift surely indicates the marketing efforts enriched by innovation, value additions and being ‘strategically correct’ while positioning. And all this to keep a pace with the constantly changing consumer behaviour. Though marketers and researchers come up with tall claims to ‘understand’ today’s complex buyer, they often forget the essence of the communication and the fact that the consumer wants everything then be it quick service, trust ,consistency , innovation , price benefits , options , simplicity (in communication and product usage as well) which go in the ‘making’ of the overall experience.

The shift also reestablishes the fact that today’s consumer is not only educated, well-read and technologically advanced but cautious too. So instead of just ‘telling your tale’, it is important to engage them and sustain the relationship. Remember that the satisfied customers will advocate your brand on the basis of ‘real experience’. 
So don’t be just ‘informative and innovative’, go that extra mile and engage them with your brand as this will be your first step towards building that ‘Sustainable bond’ with your customers.

Chandana Mungre Kashid

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How to lure the Multi-tasking Consumer ?

After a long day there is hardly anytime left for recreation. For most of us ,television is the only option when you are drained out. But seems the entertainment industry has nothing offbeat to offer. So most of the times the viewer has left with no choice at all. Same goes with ads. Believe me ,some ads are executed in such a way that though people like us who are from the same industry, are not able to understand the essence of the communication. And all we do is zapping  ...zapping and zapping which makes it tough for the advertisers. How to break the clutter? How to attract the ‘multi-tasking’ consumer and to be ‘non-intrusive’ at the same time? Off course the sales figures, footfalls, inquiries and growth which are equally important ,come later. The first important task is to attract the customer, lure him, engage him and then sell. Huh...sounds too much.

But then there are some ads which not only attract the viewer but also entertain them, amuse them and at the same time make sure that the ‘brand’ is not lost in this entertainment saga. One such example is the new Snapdeal.com campaign
(  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=1SR_jkqPPpY&NR=1 )

 Snapdeal.com provides discount deals and offers and as a matter of fact it is there first mainstream TV commercial. According to me, the idea which revolves around ‘Yamdoot’ –the central character, has such simplicity in the execution that though you are thoroughly entertained, you don’t forget the brand, its essence, functional benefits and thus succeeds in creating a space in the minds of the occupied viewer. Once you achieve this, the main task is to keep the customers glued to your brand by offering good deals which ensure repeat visits / purchase.

So the question is what do successful ads do? What is the essence of any communication? May be we can sum-up it as following:

·        Communication has to be about people, their beliefs, interests and finally about presenting various different ways to persuade them.

Any sort of ‘presentation’ tends to be effective only when it reinforces   the beliefs of its audience and finally engages the consumers with all senses.

·        No matter how brilliant or invaluable your idea is, it will be worthless if there is no reaction.

·        Not only the idea but the execution also matters. So the story should be such that it focuses the core benefits of the brand which has a recall value while the customer making a purchase decision.

 This may sound cliche but many of us are yet to put themselves in the consumer's shoes . High time to focus on these efforts .Ain't it?

Chandana Mungre Kashid

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