How to deliver engaging and impactful presentations

Presentations are essential in a business. People present their ideas or topics during speaking engagements, proposal meetings, and various events across different industries and sectors. But how do you make killer presentations that are impactful enough to draw your audience to your message?

Entrepreneurs and business executives nowadays are being tapped to talk about their experiences, expertise, insights and entrepreneurial journey stories to inspire others. Members of EO Melbourne share with us some tips on how to hook and attract your audience when presenting as well as keep them engaged and interested in your presentation.

1. Connect with your audience

“Be real.” This is what Jeremy Chen, Managing Director & Co-Founder of Good Things and Co-Founder of Hustleboard, imparts to those who want to learn how to deliver an effective presentation. The best way to make a connection with the audience is to be sincere and authentic in one’s words and disposition, and not try too hard to impress your audience.

This is backed by David Fastuca, CMO and Co-Founder of Locomote, when he said, “Just like how we do in EO, we're sharing experiences all the time. It is by making these presentations based on your experience or the experiences that you've delivered for your customers and bringing those results through because then they can say, ‘Well, I'm like this customer. I can get results like this based on how they did that.’”

True enough, the best presentations are those that can capture the attention of the audience, sustain their interest, and get them to retain the message you have conveyed. “The most effective ones I have done for the business are those where it is clear that I have been able to establish an emotional connection with the audience and they feel like they are part of the journey and the challenges that we have had along the way. Getting buy-in and interest from the audience from the beginning is so important,” shared Hayden Brass, Founder and Managing Director of Zea.

2. Make your slides visually pleasing

Renata Freund, Founder & Director of Honeycomb Strategy, shares valuable insights based on the work they do. “As a research agency, our success is centred on our ability to clearly communicate insights that are easy to understand and compelling. Here is one of our go-to tips and tricks to wow your audience with your presentation: Visual design is never optional.”

“When information, insights or data is presented in a format that is visually appealing, your audience will naturally be more open and receptive to what is being communicated. The visual design needs to come first, not be an after-thought in your presentation,” Renata remarked.

The visual design includes the template you use, the background of your slide, the colours, the layout of the presentation, the illustrations, photos and graphs that are included in the slides, as well as the font and size of the text. All these must be cohesive and well-thought-of to ensure that they are appealing to your audience.

3. Use fewer words and text

Renata adds another tip to wow your audience: Let imagery do the talking. “As a general rule, we try to keep the text on the slide to no more than a short heading plus 3 bullet points. We use photography and iconography as visual cues to support the story, without having to spell out every insight with words,” she said.

David concurs based on his experience as well. “The best ones have always been if you've got slides up on the screen or doing a zoom, know your basic things. It's common sense now these days, but a lot of people still get it wrong, which is not to have too many words on a page. Try to have more pictures that convey what you're saying on screen so that they're not reading something word by word, but they're getting the gist of what you're saying by the imagery that's on there.”

Jeremy summarises it in two words – “Be concise.”

4. Let your personality shine through

The third tip Renata has in making an impactful presentation is to “Let your personality shine through.” 

She expounds, “The one thing that all great communicators have in common is the ability to let their personality shine through. Your presentation should be no different. Bringing fun, humour and your own personal touch to your presentation will build credibility and warmth with your audience.”

5. Put some fun in your presentation

Speaking of fun, David shares that it can make a presentation more memorable to the audience. He reveals, “I try to make all my presentations a bit fun, such as having a meme or a gif that people can relate to or that could get a bit of a smile from the audience. It can be risky if it doesn't come off, but when it does, it has a real impact.”

He further added, “People will remember you as the one that made them smile and the one that made them feel good about the topic that you're talking about. Depending on what you're talking about, it could be a relatively boring or stale topic, so you want to lighten it up and have a bit of fun with it.”

6. Give good key takeaways

Lastly, adding a summary at the end of the presentation will make it easier for your audience to recall and digest everything that you’ve said. According to David, “Give people some really good key takeaways. It doesn't matter what you're presenting or what you're explaining, there's always something that people can learn. I found that doing a summary makes it easy for people to get key takeaways. I put them on one slide and allow myself to put a little bit of text there so that people can know what I'm talking about and they can write it down or screenshot it. I think that helps create a presentation that is impactful and engaging.”

Moreover, take time to practice and hone your skills. Take the opportunity to present when it comes knocking at your door. Better if you record your presentations and review them later on so that you can see how you can further improve your presentation skills.

Creating a winning presentation tool

Do you need to entice an investor, attract a client, talk in a seminar or persuade a partner to move forward with your business? In occasions like these, you might need to come up with a powerful presentation to drive your point and close a transaction fast and effectively.

While facing your audience is the most crucial part of the presentation, it all begins when you prepare your materials. Several tools are available to aid you in conveying your message, but the easiest and most common one is creating PowerPoint slides. Some people may not focus much on this, but it can make or break the business deal. Your presentation materials can capture the attention of your audience, allow you to deliver the points you want to put across and convince them to agree towards achieving your objectives.

How do you do that? A few pointers can help you put together a powerful presentation tool that can lead you to a resounding success.

Focus on your message

The meat of your presentation is your content. Work first on the copy and the message you want to impart before you think of the aesthetics. When you have perfected this part, everything will come into play. Don’t make your messages too wordy. Emphasise on the main ideas so that your audience won’t have information overload and get lost in the myriad of concepts and data.

Organise the flow

Even if you have great ideas and important facts to share, but if you do not arrange them in a cohesive flow, you will still lose your audience along the way. Know how to transition from one thought to another and learn how to build up your drift to the climax of your presentation. It’s like storytelling, where you have an impactful introduction, a substantial midpoint, a stimulating highlight, and a convincing ending.

Make it visually appealing

Once you have nailed your content and organisation of ideas, it’s time to turn into the visuals and how to make them appealing enough to attract and maintain the interest of your listeners. Remember that your design represents your brand, so you have to include the qualities of your company and reflect that to your presentation tool.

Use powerful images

Photos and images are more powerful than words. Those who are on the receiving end of your message can visualise your ideas better if you have pictures that can represent them. Be sure to use photographs that are of high quality and easy to understand. They have to be interesting enough so as not to bore your audience.

Less clutter, more impact

Don’t put too many visuals in one slide. The simpler, the better. Keep away from too much animation that can distract your viewers. If you put several graphics in one slide, the tendency is that your audience will lose focus on the main thought.

Cut down on words

Too many words can be a strain to the eyes. Your copy should not be heavy. Instead, include only key phrases that participants need to remember. Use bullet points to break down ideas.

Use the right colours and font

Avoid neon colours in your presentation tools. A dark background is good when you are using a projector. Contrast the shade of your text to your background so that they are readable. Make the fonts big enough for them to be readable to people at the back.

Be consistent with your format

Moreover, consistency is key. Your format and layout have to be coherent to make it more memorable. Changing from one design and arrangement to another can confuse your receiver. A consistent format can also strengthen the image of your brand.

With your tools at hand, practise your presentation so that you become more compelling in your delivery. Remember that your PowerPoint slides, videos or materials are only your aides in expressing your thoughts. In the end, how you articulate your ideas will enable you to achieve the objectives of your presentation.