Before Making Presentation
1- Know your purpose
Before you start working on your presentation, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with it.
What is the main message you want to convey?
What are the specific objectives you want to accomplish?
How do you want your audience to feel and act after your presentation?
Having a clear purpose will help you focus your content, structure your argument, and measure your success.
2-Know your audience
Another key factor to consider is who you are presenting to.
What are their needs, expectations, and preferences?
What are their pain points, challenges, and opportunities?
What are their level of knowledge, interest, and engagement with your topic?
Knowing your audience will help you tailor your presentation to their context, address their concerns, and appeal to their emotions.
3-Design your slides
Once you have a clear purpose and audience, you can start designing your slides. Your slides should support your message, not distract from it. Use simple and consistent layouts, fonts, colors, and images. Avoid cluttering your slides with too much text, data, or graphics. Use charts, diagrams, or visuals to illustrate your points, but make sure they are clear, relevant, and accurate. Use transitions, animations, or multimedia sparingly and only when they add value.
4-Practice your delivery
The way you deliver your presentation is as important as the content itself. You want to be confident, engaging, and persuasive. To achieve that, you need to practice your delivery. Practice your presentation out loud, preferably in front of someone who can give you feedback. Pay attention to your voice, tone, pace, and pauses. Use gestures, eye contact, and body language to connect with your audience. Anticipate questions and objections and prepare your answers.
5-Check your equipment
The last thing you want is to have a technical glitch ruin your presentation. To avoid that, you need to check your equipment before you present. Make sure you have a reliable laptop, projector, microphone, and remote. Test your sound, video, and internet connection. Have a backup plan in case something goes wrong. Arrive early and set up your equipment in advance.
6-Engage your audience
Finally, you want to make sure your presentation is not a one-way communication, but a dialogue with your audience. To engage your audience, you need to capture their attention, interest, and curiosity. Use stories, anecdotes, or examples to illustrate your points. Ask questions, polls, or surveys to get their input. Encourage feedback, comments, or questions from them. Show enthusiasm, passion, and gratitude for their participation.
7-Here’s what else to consider
A space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections.
What else would you like to add?
