Presentations can be the bane of anyone's existence. Whether you have issues with public speaking, or don't have confidence in your ability to design your presentation, many people feel anxiety when the time comes to stand before a room full of colleagues or potential new clients. A compelling presentation deck (your collection of slides, if you're new to the term) is the best way to walk into the conference room with your best foot forward. Here are some tips to ensure your next big meeting goes off without a hitch:
Tell Your Story
If you think your presentation is just a dry recitation of data, your audience will, too. Your deck might be full of all the bells and whistles as far as visuals are concerned, but without an interesting angle to your "story," your team will quickly lose interest. Much like your favorite novel or movie, your presentation should have an arc to it - a beginning, middle, and end - that presents the problem, details how you or your team can solve it, and shows results.
Engaging Design
Just as you need clarity in the story of your presentation, your deck will need to be visually engaging for your audience. Components for your deck should include a layout, fonts, and color palette that are eye-catching, but also easily viewed. Like all aspects of design, the right balance of form and function is needed; bold colors and fonts won't help enliven your presentation if the audience struggles to read the information on the screen.
Keep it Simple
Your presentation deck is a visual tool to present new ideas or pitch your talents or services to an eager audience. Keep things simple by introducing one idea per slide to avoid cramming the entirety of your speech onto the screen. Bullet points of your main ideas will be more easily understood at a glance, allowing you to elaborate and show off your knowledge as you explain your process.
With your presentation deck polished and ready to impress, you'll need to make sure all of your A/V needs are in order. With meetings at The Otesaga, our experienced staff can help make sure that you have everything you need to make an impression. Contact us to see how our team goes above and beyond to make your event run smoothly, from breakout session to keynote speaker, to your end of conference banquet.