Putting Your Best Foot Forward

We have all been the innocent victims of boring presentations, and I hope to spare you and your listeners this pain! I've helped hundreds of professionals deliver professional and visually attractive presentations. Below are some things I've learned over the years.

6 basic guidelines to help elevate your presentation skills:

1) Grab your audience's attention. People know if you are excited about your presentation from the moment you start talking. Find an engaging or humorous story to kick things off with in the introduction. Stride up to the stage with a confident look.

2) Use your PowerPoint presentation as a backdrop but not as the key event. The center of gravity of your presentation should be you. The slideshow and pictures should help emphasize what you are already saying, not the other way around. Pretend that in your next presentation your projector breaks right before it's time for you to present. Would you still be able to carry it?

3) Don't get text-heavy in your PowerPoint presentation. Simply put the key ideas in your slides with a graphic. If there's too much text, it can't be seen far away, and for those that can see it, they'll read it all on their own as opposed to listening to you.

4) Don't use the same old, boring templates in Microsoft PowerPoint that the whole world uses. That is the quickest way to lose your audience. If you don't have the time or artistic ability to make a great PowerPoint presentation, you may want to consider hiring a company that offers PPT outsourcing.

5) Make it Interactive. Studies reveal that people retain only 10% of the info they hear but 70% of that which they discuss. If your material lends itself to discussion, divide them into small groups and get them to discuss it. You will increase your effectiveness by 60%!

6) Make it Humorous. Look for a funny video clip that complements your point. A little comedy goes a long way during a long meeting.

I hope your next presentation is a home run!