How to Make an Effective Presentation

It has been a practice for professors to give their students the chance to discuss a topic in front of the class. Based on my experience since high school, students who discuss in front of class are usually not effective in communicating the message and they fail to get the attention of their classmates as well as make the discussion lively.

According to Srinivasan, an independent consultant in India, “You never get a second chance, to make a first impression! The same rings true for presentations.” One thing that should be remembered during presentations is you need to deliver your message clearly. The next question that you might be asking is how to make an effective presentation. Making a brilliant presentation is easier said and done. Here are some quick tips that students (even professionals) can use to make a crystal clear presentation:

START WITH SOMETHING UNUSUAL.

Your first 30 seconds is the deciding point where your audience will focus their attention to you. Make them feel that what you are going to share is of their interest.

Start with something unusual and relevant. You can share unusual facts like statistics that would give your audience the reason why they should listen to you. Another thing is introducing yourself with your unusual and unexpected background since you are the speaker and your background plays an important role to your credibility to your audience.

USE IMAGES TO TELL A STORY

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Aside from the purpose that images catches the attention of your audience, it simply helps your listeners relate to what you are saying. Images helps your presentation not to be overloaded with words.

Take for example a “ring” symbolizes lifetime commitment to your partners during marriages. If your topic dwells somehow about commitment then you can use that image.

Your slides could be a combination of both images and text but keep it short and simple.

LESS IS MORE

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I got this concept from Ludwig Mies van de Rohe, a German-American Architect. Simply put it this way, as a presentor we are using visual presentations or powerpoint slides. The lesser the number of slides, the clearer you can convey your message and it prevents your listeners from lowering their interest from listening from you.

This also should be applied to the number of words you put in your presentation. DO NOT clutter your presentation with a lot of words because you are just going to lose your audience if your going to do that. Number of words in a presentation should be limited to 1-15 words or 2 lines. Keeping it short gives your audience more reason to listen.

ENGAGE YOUR AUDIENCE

Based on my observations during group presentation, the speaker usually just reads what is written in the presentation. The speaker is actually doing the wrong thing. The presentation is just a guide of what he/she is going to say. Engage your audience by asking relevant questions and keeping your eye contact with your audience and not with your slide. Remember that you are presenting to a group of people and engaging with your audience is the most important thing to do to keep their interest up.

Try this tips and surely you'll be able to convey your message to your audience. Remeber, experience is one factor that makes an effective presentation. And you can share some other tips on how to make an effective presentation.