How to be a Presentation God

30 million presentations are given daily around the world, but only 1-5% of these are actually changing the world. So why is this? We've probably all had our share of 'death by PowerPoint' so we could quite easily rattle off at least 3 things that you shouldn't do, but the trick is getting it right. Engaging your audience, getting them to believe what you're telling them and retain their interest throughout.

I recently watched an interesting webinar by Scott Schwertly on 'How to be a Presentation God'. It gave really straight forward and easily digestable advice to make the most of your presentations. I've provided a summary below that might help your next presentation change the world!

There are three cornerstones to building a great presentation:

1. Content
2. Design
3. Delivery

Content
Credibility is everything.
Know your audience.
Plan.
It's important to establish and maintain trust and you can do this through bringing something new and adding value to your content. Find information that will empower your audience. Be yourself and find your own authentic voice. Deliver a memorable message, and finally create a sense of purpose in providing new information.

Design
Good presentations are done in 3s. You tend to remember the first three facts and forget the rest. Every presentation should have a beginning, middle and an end. Each element needs to be strong. Don't feel the need to conform to a template. Introduce colour and nice fonts. What made Steve Jobs a memorable presenter was that he used to speak at a 10/11 year old level. He simplified messages and made them easy to digest and remember. Don't be afraid to spread your content over multiple slides. They say an image speaks a thousand words, so use bold imagery (with or without text overlaid) where applicable, to convey your messages. Or you can embed videos or quotes from films to make it more dynamic. Determine the style that works for you. Long lists of bullet points can kill a presentation. Don't be tempted to add fluff for the sake of it. Less is definitely more.

Planning
Determine upfront what the objective of your presentation is. Outline your content. What is the main message? Try to develop a one word theme using words such as 'empower' or 'momentum' and tie each phase of your presentation back to it.

Build on any confidence fears by running through your presentation 7 or 8 times prior to delivery. Perception is powerful. Make sure you look the part. If you're stood wearing unironed clothes this could instantly decrease credibility. Open with an interesting fact that will grab attention. When closing provide a call to action, recap what you've discussed and build up to something.

View the full webinar.