Effective business presentations

Do you fear putting people to sleep with your business presentations? Dread having to stand up in front of your peers and speak? Want to impress your boss?

Being prepared is the key to great presentations. Knowing your content is not enough. Just as you would practice for your wedding speech, a business presentation should also be rehearsed.

Typically, Power Point Presentations

However, power point is not always necessary for business presentations. If you find yourself always using the projector, try mixing it up a little.

Try a handout.

Use charts and graphs that have been preprinted. Stick them on the whiteboard.

Some may think that chart paper is for amateurs, but it will make you stand out if everyone else uses power point presentations.

Here are some ideas on using chart paper:

• Use 2 or more colours. (Red, blue and green are best.)
• If you have a large audience, have someone come up and write on the chart paper instead of you. Audience participation is always a good thing.
• Draw pictures or illustrations even if you can't draw. If anything it will be good for a laugh which will make your presentation more memorable.
• If the presentation is all day or multiple days, take the chart paper and hang them on the wall. This will give you the opportunity to review after lunch or the next day.
• Don't write on every page. Skip one or 2 pages so that the marker ink doesn't bleed through the paper.
• Don't write too much. It is better to keep everything to point form as your audience will not be listening to you if there is too much to read from the chart.
• If you have many items to write on your chart paper, do this before your presentation. Then fold over the corners of the chart paper to make it easier to find when flipping from page to page.
• Lastly, use a pencil if you wish to make notes for yourself on the chart paper. Your audience (depending on how close they are sitting,) will be unable to see this.

Your appearance counts. If you are presenting, always look your best. You may not need a suit and tie but I always wear a tie when presenting for a company. Social psychologists state that you have just 30 seconds to make an impression on someone. I personally think it’s even less than that. Looking your best gives you credibility from the start.

Know the purpose for the meeting and adhere to it. If you are to state financials on how the new project is doing, then I wouldn’t get into stories about how it has changed your life. On the other hand, if you are attempting to motivate your staff, putting up charts and graphs with numbers and ratios may only motivate them to catch a nap.

Whatever you are speaking about, practice. You may have been working on a project for the last year, but you still need to organize your thoughts and ensure that the presentation is smooth.

Prepare and follow the above tips and you’ll perform your business presentations with ease.

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