6 secret strategies to create business presentations that actually stand out!
The goal of a business presentation is to establish the credibility of your service, product, or company immediately away. When you are credible, your audience is more inclined to pay attention and listen to you. As an entrepreneur, you will be forced to produce a business presentation and deliver it in front of a possible audience at some point in your career.
When seeking new investors and possibilities, your presentation must stand out. It is important to consider how your presentation appears and feels. A presentation’s design evokes emotions in the audience, motivates them, and begins a call to action. Whether it’s a sales demo, a pitch for a new concept, or a market push for a new product, you must ensure that your presentation is a success.
Consider your company presentation to be an investment, and you should do it perfectly in any situation. Presentation is a game of first impressions; if you make a strong first impression, chances are you’ll end up completing more business transactions.
It ultimately comes down to one thing: consumers’ purchase decisions rather than anything else. So, regardless of what you’re selling, you’re still selling your ideas. A successful corporate presentation is no longer about presenting figures and text but rather about generating ideas that engage with the audience.
Let’s get to some great ideas for making your presentations stand out from the crowd.
1. Start with a story
Personal stories at the start of your PowerPoint presentation will make you seem more fascinating and likable. Furthermore, when your audience connects with you, they trust you more. Ordinary text and statistics only engage two parts of the human brain; however, storytelling and appealing imagery can activate more than seven areas.
This elicits a wide range of emotions and behaviors from your audience. Beginning your presentation with a narrative is one of the most effective methods to engage with your audience right away. You can turn their presenting experience into a great voyage by doing so.
When presenting to venture capitalists or possible investors, for example, you can assist them in comprehending the wider picture of company success and how your proposal can transform the sector. Sharing references, homework, and support material can all help you capture the attention of your readers.
2. Back up your content with supporting material
While presenting the topic on stage, you must back up your statements with appropriate facts and data. Supporting material for your slides should be utilized widely since it contributes to the credibility of the presentation data. If you don’t have slides, you may incorporate supporting facts and data in your speaker notes.
Citing research references, study results, audit conclusions, SWOT analysis reports, and so on gives your information legitimacy and makes your presentation well-respected. You must be completely knowledgeable about your topic.
The key to success is keeping things simple. You should not overburden your audience with numbers or points. Three to five points on each slide are more than enough.
3. Leverage pre-made presentation templates
A professionally designed presentation template will help you make your company PowerPoint presentation stand out. Your professional appearance is as crucial as the letterhead, logos, and business cards used by the company. The template’s captivating visual style can greatly enhance your presentation.
Furthermore, it improves your company’s logo, offers extensive customization options, and, most importantly, ensures uniformity throughout presentations. Templates have a pre-designed design structure, making it much simpler to create a presentation.
These also include eye-catching backdrops, themes, and infographics that can help you capture your audience’s attention. A fascinating design can make your presentation more intriguing and worthwhile to see.
SlideUpLift offers a wide variety of Google Slides themes and Google Slides templates that will help you to create truly unique presentations. From sleek and modern designs to classic and traditional styles, they have templates that will perfectly match your presentation.
4. Ask potential questions
When it comes to engaging the audience in your presentation, asking pertinent questions could be quite effective. You should strategically put questions throughout your slides so that your audience is eager to answer them. In short, asking questions in between your presentation warms up your audience.
This motivates people to take an active role in your presentation and engage more actively. The Q&A session should take place during your presentation, not at the conclusion. People often save their questions till the end, which might cause your audience to wander away throughout your presentation.
Consider doing live quizzes or polls in between your presentations.
5. Use visuals elements for better understanding
Graphs, charts, and graphical diagrams can help you display data in a compact, consistent, and succinct way. This enables your viewers to grasp information readily. The human brain prefers pictures over simple written material. Visuals enhance your presentation and give appropriate assimilations.
Nobody enjoys reading numbers directly from the slides. Giving your audience a thorough picture of data in the form of graphs, charts, and infographics can help them develop conclusions and better comprehend the subject matter. Only by making it easy for your audience to examine facts can you assure more involvement.
6. Arrive early to check the setup
One of the things that might derail your business presentation is a lack of familiarity with the venue. Arrive at your venue at least an hour ahead of time. Set up any necessary equipment, such as a projector, laptop, or speakers.
If the venue already has everything set up, ensure everything is functional and running properly. Transfer any files from your USB drive or from your email or the cloud.
Next, determine if there are any barriers to your being heard or seen. Sit in different places of the audience to make sure that the stage is visible and that the speaker can be heard from the back. This will help you determine how loud you should be.
Check to verify whether the projection is visible in the lighting you have, and make any necessary adjustments.
Another significant benefit of being early is the opportunity to meet and greet some of your audience members. You’ll feel more secure on stage since you’ve already broken some ice.
Wrapping it up
A corporate presentation is much more than a few well-designed slides. Today’s audience has short attention spans and expects to be entertained. Opening your presentation with a bold statement can have a long-lasting impact on your audience and set the tone for the remainder of your presentation.