6 Easy Tips to Deliver Presentations Like a Pro

Whether you have a one-off presentation to deliver or do it regularly, it’s critical to the success of your event that your presentation goes well. Presentations come in many different formats, however here are 6 easy tips that will help you deliver your presentations like a pro…

  • Content

Your presentation needs to be built around what your audience needs and wants to know, not simply what you’d like to tell them.

When presenting, video is the most engaging type of content, and also has the highest retention rate. Research shows that viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video compared to 10% when reading it in text. So, if you want to leave a lasting impression, nothing compares to video. Be sure to keep videos short, and in bit-sized pieces of information for higher retention, but also taking into account shorter attention spans!

  • Keep a Simple Structure

When it comes to what you have to say, it doesn’t get more simple than an introduction, body, and conclusion.

In your introduction, briefly sum up what you’re going to talk about and why it’s useful or relevant to your audience. The body of your presentation should include facts, quotes, and evidence to back up your points. In your conclusion go back to your original statement and give the audience some key takeaways on how they can put into practice what they’ve learned.

  • Help attendees retain information

We’ve already covered breaking your information down into bite-sized pieces, as well as using video for a higher engagement and retention rate. It’s a good idea to also keep to just a few main points so they aren’t lost as more points come up.

Finally, you might like to email your attendees to thank them for coming, and when doing so you can summarise the main points covered once more, or provide a summary at the end of the presentation. You can read more here.

  • Be wary of boring!

As much as you might find your own information extremely exciting, not everyone in the audience might feel the same way. If they are there because they have to be, or have been sitting through other presentations, they are likely to have already switched off slightly before you even start!

What do most presenters usually do? Stand behind the podium and start reading! Doing so keeps you standing very still, with your hands holding the podium. This is boring! Instead interact with the crowd by moving around, using gestures, smile and make eye contact with attendees to build rapport and help the audience engage with you and your subject. If you are enthusiastic, the crowd will respond. You will also be in a better position to gauge the audience’s response and adjust if needed. Consider a Q&A session, where attendees can drive the topic and take part.

  • Know Your Audience

If you don’t know your audience, there is no way you can make a compelling presentation. To create a great presentation, you need to know who your audience is and what they are hoping to get out of this, so you can tailor your presentation directly to them. Your audience should not only drive the content you present, but your approach as well.

  • Don’t go in blind

You need to go into your presentation prepared! Even if you don’t know the whole thing off by heart, you need to at least memorise the key points. The more you know your content, the more it will make you more comfortable and confident during the delivery. And obviously practice, practice, practice! Edit your speech as much as possible, have others look over it and watch your practice run through, and you may even consider filming yourself to watch it back.

Things can get as complicated as you let them, but an interesting, informative presentation delivered in a way that helps attendees retain the information, stay engaged, and enjoy it, can be done by remembering just a few simple steps. Ignoring these factors will have your attendees not only bored, but wondering why they didn’t just listen to a podcast instead!

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