Even with all the new, whiz-bang multi-media options available, Microsoft PowerPoint still reigns supreme as THE corporate presentation tool of choice. To be fair, PowerPoint has added lots of bells and whistles to heighten interest and make presentations more compelling.

So, have you ever looked at your PowerPoint presentations through your audience’s eyes? Take a step back and try to look at your presentation objectively.

• Is there a compelling story or does it get caught up in corporate hype or rhetoric?

• Will the intended viewer come away with the right two or three key messages?

• Is the message drowned in too many bulleted lists of words?

When you get that all-important opportunity to present, make sure the caliber of communication hits the mark and that your brand message, graphics, and delivery are all working in concert to create the right impressions.

Consistency and continuity are critical. Make sure that your presentation doesn’t look like 12 people had a hand in it, even if they did. Standardize the use of font types (generally two is plenty), styles, colors, sizes, capitalization, and graphical treatments. Create a presentation template that incorporates simple use of your corporate colors, logo, tagline, and any approved graphics or photos. However, templates don’t create good presentations, people do. And keep the graphics and animations simple enough so that the presentation isn’t slowed as the graphics load with each slide change.

Design and organize for maximum impact and clarity. Although you may be tempted to use “cute” clipart, don’t do it. If you use any clipart, incorporate it into the message so that the visual element accentuates the message and isn't just a space filler. Good layout and design is good layout and design no matter what medium you choose. Tell a story that begins by describing your client or prospect's problem or issue. That way you draw them quickly into the presentation. Get heads nodding and your audience is hooked. Work your story into a solution narrative, and finish with why your company can solve their problem. Poorly organized and delivered presentations are responsible for millions of dollars in lost opportunities every year. How much can you afford to give up?

Humor is spice, but too much can cause heartburn. Have you ever watched a speaker desperately try to be funny and fail? Used properly, however, humor is one of our most powerful tools. Well-chosen humor helps the audience connect with us and it breaks the artificial barrier between speaker and audience. Humor holds the audience’s attention, it helps clarify the points being made, and it makes those points memorable. Laughter is an effective icebreaker and serves equally well to break tension or give the group a breather in a detailed and serious speech.

Avoid humor that degrades people of any kind, is distasteful or gross, or bashes a competitor. The best humor makes fun of you, as long as there's an upside, and accentuates a point. Causing laughter isn’t essential in speaking, but it is a powerful connector.

Deliver the point and bring it home. Even if you nail the first three components, if you can't deliver the presentation, the best PowerPoint in the world won't save you. Rehearse, rehearse, and rehearse. Don't try to be too formal. Know the audience and talk conversationally, with confidence and conviction. If you can't get charged up about the product or solution, no one can. Just don't go over the top. Emotion builds emotions so don’t stand up there like a wooden Indian. Just don't fall into pontification. I can get really going on certain topics and have to watch that my enthusiasm doesn't sound like evangelical zeal.

The bottom line - have fun with it, but make it work for you. Find a way to hook your audience into the presentation and you'll be more successful hooking them into your product or service.

© Copyright 2005. Communing, Beth S. Miller Marketing Communications
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