How to Make Great Small Business Presentations

When using tools such as PowerPoint with your presentation, it is important that the speaker keeps the audience engaged. How is this done? For starters, it is important to remember that the slide show being presented is just a tool; it is not the presentation. The slide show should provide visual interest but it should not take all the “pop” out of the talk. How can a slide show derail the speaker?

• Too much text – people can read faster than the speaker talks; they will become bored with the speaker.
• Slide is too busy – the topic seems tedious and hard to follow
• The slide show reveals everything – there is no reason to listen to the speaker at all

When the speaker uses the slide show as a visual tool, the audience will remain engaged. How is this done?

• The slide show must not reveal everything.
• The slide show must build anticipation.

The slide show will build interest if the speaker has more to add; e.g. when only part of the information is revealed on the slide. This means the slide show has more generalized headings, subtitles and so forth that are explained by the speaker. This is a very basic way to liven up your presentation; it is easily done by remembering that the slide show is not the presentation….it is the tool.