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!
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