Setting Out Your Presentation Slides for the Best Results

I like to use a few rules for my slides that I hope makes them more attractive and readable by the audience.

  1. The slide should have some level of symmetry or balance. For example if you have some bullets on the left maybe an image or diagram on the right to ‘balance’ the slide. Imagine a pivot in the middle of the slide and the words or images have weight – now will it fall to the right or left?
  2. Choose your colours wisely. Ask your self whether the colours go together and what the colour combination means. Do your colours look like the colours used in any brand that you know – this may be good or bad. It’s also good to keep some consistency across the slide pack. Using a different set of colours on each slide suggests that the slides have come from different origins. I am not a great lover of coloured fonts – but they can soften the impact of the writing. For example dark grey can look better than black. Dark blue is also effective and quite easy to read. Please avoid writing in red or green. Those of us who are colour blind just can’t read it. Even red on white is very difficult at a distance. This by the way is true if you are using a flip chart – put down the red pen and pick up the black or blue.
  3. Most people read slides from left to right. It is often best to place bullets on the left and supporting images on the right. When using a diagram and bullets you may like to swap this over. As the diagram/graph may be self explanatory and the bullets just pulling our some key points that if read first would not make sense.
  4. Best to leave off full stops at the end of bullets – it just looks messy and distracts the eye.
  5. Remember that you may be asked to print your slides so anything other than a white background uses lots of ink. The old style of yellow type on a blue background is indeed quite easy to read on a screen but now looks very dated and a good quality printed version is hard to create.
  6. Add automatic page numbering via the master – very helpful if you muddle up the printed slides as you are preparing for the big day. If you are presenting using a handout it is also much easier to ask your colleagues to turn to page seven, than to look for the page with the big graph and four bullets.
  7. To keep things simple it is often best to split the slide into three zones. These three zones will also help you in presenting the slide which we will come on to later. You don’t have to stick to this layout but it is a good place to start and seems to work quite well.
    • Top, where the strap line goes. The sentence that captures what the slide is all about.
    • The main part of the slide split into two or three areas vertical or horizontal areas for words and images
    • The bottom of the slide – often not used for bullets or diagrams but containing page numbers, copyright, logos, etc. The bottom of the slide can also contain the lead in to the next slide. For, some this is a sort of end of slide strap line and for others a small prompt or just a virtual zone that you need use to create the link to the next slide.

Developing Self Confidence As a Speaker and Presenter

A lack of self-confidence often prevents people giving a good performance when speaking at a public event. Yet, with a few simple techniques, even the most phobic of speakers can stand up and deliver a credible presentation. This article looks at how you can develop the skills that will give you the confidence you need to entertain and enthrall your audience.

Most people’s insecurity tends to stem from two main areas – the level of understanding of the subject itself and a dislike of standing up in public and talking in front of strangers. The good news is that you have control over both these issues so helping to boost your self-confidence and self-belief.

In terms of subject understanding there are some basic rules that you need to follow as part of your preparation:

Understand your audience. Find out from the organisers the background and experience level of your audience. Clearly you will tailor content and delivery to match the knowledge & expertise of the group so this information is vital to how you plan your presentation.

Understand what the organiser wants from you. Find out what they’re looking for in terms of approach and topic so you can offer an appropriate talk. If you can meet expectations, you’ll be delivering more likely to be invited again.

Identify your own goals and objectives. What do you want to achieve from this talk? Are there key points of information that you want people to retain after they leave? When you’re putting together appropriate material, refer back to your goal & objective list to ensure that you’re on track.

Make it easy to understand. Provide case studies, examples and relevant statistics that will quickly illustrate the points you want to put across to your audience. Relevant and interesting case studies and examples will be remembered long after realms of facts and figures. Use visual prompts, diagrams and pictures to simplify complex ideas or data and can reinforce the themes that you’re discussing.

What are the hot topics? Include reference and responses to the leading issues and questions that are concerning your audience. This demonstrates that you are conversant with the latest ideas and discussions that are taking place in the field. By providing commentary and analysis within your talk, you’re showing that you are an opinion leader and expert on the topic.

Be prepared. Anticipate areas of controversy, counter-argument or disagreement and prepare yourself with answers and necessary data. Again, this shows yours depth of knowledge on the topic and helps you deal with questions that otherwise might be difficult to answer.
Focusing your research and preparation this way allows you to provide appropriate content which is correctly pitched to your audience’s knowledge, experience, and expectation levels. Our audience will accept your knowledge and expertise from the moment you step foot on the stage. Knowing that you have pulled together relevant content which is backed up with case-studies, statistics and data to defend against counter-arguments, will greatly boost your confidence levels.

Avoid overwhelming the audience by telling them everything that you know about the topic – they won’t remember everything and you’ll overload them with too much information. Keep to a few key points for each section of the talk – you can go into more detail if you are asked a specific question.

Offering a brief paper or short report on the topic which the audience can refer to later achieves several things – it allows the audience to relax and concentrate on what you are saying rather than trying to listen and take notes at the same time. It is another opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge on a topic (and you don’t have to stand up and speak unless you offer a video or audio piece). It also helps you expand your network.

The second obstacle facing unconfident speakers is the actual fear of speaking in public. Again, there are some proven techniques which you can use on the day and before to calm nerves and anxiety and improve performance.

Shrink your audience down to size. Instead of viewing the audience as a vast sea of unknown faces, think of a smaller and intimate setting of just nine or so people. By selecting faces on the right, left and centre of the room, one in the front, one in the middle, and one by the back, you can look as if you’re speaking to the whole room. By focusing on these nine faces, you can respond to them in a more natural way.

Breathe. When we are nervous, our breathing changes to a more shallow and rapid rate. The muscles in the rib-cage and throat tighten and constrict which affects the sound of the voice and its ability to travel across a room. The higher, faster and tighter tone that results is also harder to listen to – making a conscious effort to breathe slowly and deeply will lower your voice, and slow the pace of your speaking.

Build rapport. Your prior research has given you an insight to your audience background and expectations which you can use to develop an affinity between you and them. Share your interest and enthusiasm for your topic and the audience will respond to your energy. They want to hear what you have to say – show that you want to share your knowledge with them.

Engage with your audience. Keep energy levels high by getting your audience to interact with you by conducting straw-polls, asking questions, and where appropriate, inviting them to take part in hot-seat sessions. The more you draw in your audience, the more positive the response to what you have to say.

Be appropriate in your dress and speech. Lack of confidence and anxiety can sometimes produce inappropriate language. Avoid bad language and dress in clothes that are both comfortable as well as appropriate.

Believe in yourself. Reflect positive body-language – remember that with all the background work you’ve already done, you are genuinely knowledgeable about the topic. Your experience and track record of achievements brought you the invitation to speak so this is the chance for you to share.

Get suitable help & support before the event. Build up your confidence by practising breathing techniques, visualisations, and relaxation strategies. Knowing that you have a range of tools to help you reduce your anxiety will strengthen you.
Remember that you don’t deliver all the information that you have researched and collected. Doubts and anxiety should fade from the knowledge that you know more than you’ll actually talk about on the day. Building on this assurance and practising the speaking & relaxation techniques above will help your delivery and composure on the stage.

Sumi Olson is the author of the Amazon five-star rated, ” How to Manage Your Social Media Marketing in 30 Minutes A Day”, and is an author, speaker and consultant on social media & business development. With 25 years’ experience in book publishing, business development, online selling, sales & marketing, Sumi is expert in reducing overwhelm and turning insights into implementation.

If you want to satisfy your publishing or writing aspirations, meet your sales, marketing & management objectives, or achieve your social media & online marketing targets, then Sumi Olson can give you the tools and knowledge you need.

With a young family of her own, she’s passionate about helping people create a great work-life balance through practical systems & processes so that they can spend more time on the things that matter in life.

Different Video Presentation Purposes

Most people are said to be visual learners. They are more likely to respond positively to a show-me-how than to a tell-me-how information. Web applications that promote interactive communication between producers and consumers are popular these days. Videos that showcase their product in these sites make it more interesting to view for most.

Videos leave lasting image imprints on the mind. Imagine if someone tells you about a product, it might take more effort for you to imagine it whereby a video presentation makes this easier for you to imagine. A celebrity endorsing a product in a video has more impact to potential consumers than just reading about his endorsement on print.

Making your product information accessible is an important part of customer service. Companies that are able to do so are considered reliable. Creating videos to relay information about your product to consumers add interest to your marketing strategies. Technology is more accessible to help you create your videos these days.

More softwares are available to help you come up with a video presentation for your business. These help lower the cost of video production making it more easier to utilize by even start-up companies trying to create their niche in the market.

One video can be used to target different markets. Video dubbing into another language may help you reach foreign markets effectively. Taking advantage of social sites can help you direct your videos to specific consumer groups.

It creates more impact to introduce your business in a video to potential clients than merely telling them about it. If you want to show them how big your company is, a video presentation of your company logistics can help you back up your claim. Allowing customers to know more about your company through your web address is important also.

Remember how effective that moving bunny toy with the slogan “Keeps Going On and On” for a certain brand of batteries has been? People tend to associate lasting energy with that brand and it has become a household choice over the years. Effective taglines generate instant recall.

If you want to leave a lasting impression about your business to consumers, use video presentations. It might be just what your business needs.