Presentations have evolved and are no longer just a bunch of text on slides. Great presentations are stories, told with passion, using visuals only to support and illustrate what the presenter is saying.
Imagine Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech presented on a slide:
Yikes, let’s all be thankful that PowerPoint was not around in 1963!
Like many, the best presentation I have ever seen was Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth”. Imagine a presentation, becoming a film, winning an academy award, and being part of winning a Nobel Peace Prize. Wouldn’t it be great if your presentations had that kind of impact? Let’s take a look at a framework to help guide you towards creating your own award-winning, change-the-world presentation.
- Tell your story
- Know your stuff
- Present with feeling and passion
- Present as if you are having a conversation to engage your audience
- Be brief
- Be relaxed
- Set a comfortable pace
- Make eye contact
- Speak to the back of the room
- Be on same level with audience
- Move around
- Use visuals only to support your message
- Avoid using words on slides
- If you must use words, less is best. No more that 15 words per slide.
- Avoid using animations. It’s distracting.
- Reveal elements one step at a time to engage your audience
- Make your audience feel
- Use friendly humor and humility
- Your audience must leave inspired and motivated
Make your subject matter!