September 17, 2010

9 Tips for Delivering Powerful Presentations

Powerful presentations are vital to gain visibility for your company, prospect for new customers, and sell your products or services. Read our tips for powerful presentations to make your delivery successful. Regardless of the structure involved, there are rules you can follow to make sure your presentations reach out and grab your audiences effectively.

Verbal presentations can be one of the most frightening aspects of your job (more so than being bitten by a dog or flying in an airplane, research shows). We hope to help relieve some of that fear and stress by providing you with these useful tips and ideas you can use for your next presentation:

1.   Appear confident in front of your audience; stand erect but relaxed.
2.   Speak so everyone can comfortably hear you, making sure to modulate your voice naturally.
3.   Speak at an appropriate pace for your material—neither too quickly (you’ll lose your audience) nor too slowly (you’ll put them to sleep).
4.   Use visual aids, overheads, or a software program like PowerPoint® to help keep your audience’s interest alive.
5.   Make frequent eye contact with your audience. Think of your presentation as a series of brief, one-on-one conversations with individuals. This keeps you from talking at your audience.
6.   Use a tone of voice that projects authority. Be enthusiastic in your delivery, and speak with belief in your message.
7.   Keep your presentation as brief and simple as possible.
8.   End your presentation with a clear message reiterating the most important points that you want them to remember.
9.   Engage your audience shaking hands with them either before or after your presentation.