As a presenter, your aim is to engage the audience with your creative presentation. There are many ways to do this, but here are 11 key ones that can make all the difference.
1. Don’t read out your slides
People will dismiss you as boring and amateurish. And rightly so—if they wanted to read, they would have bought a book and read it at their own pace.
2. You do need to show the slides, but only as a guide for what you’re saying
If you can’t deliver engaging content without your notes in front of you, then seriously consider changing professions or learning how to write better!
3. Use humor
as long as it fits with the audience and the subject matter. It can make you more memorable, especially if it’s self-deprecating humor.
4. Provide short activities or ice breakers
Use activities and collaborative exercises to capture their attention and show how it relates to your audience.
5. Weave a story into your presentation
This builds engagement, makes you more memorable, and shows the relevance for them right now.
6. Keep presentations short
Ideally, presentations should be 20 minutes maximum. Your audience will be grateful for this and you can keep your energy up.
7. Don’t do a PowerPoint presentation
It’s unimaginative and only works for some speakers, while putting off others (and their audiences!). Think of alternatives such as acting/drama, readings from poems or stories, using physical objects on the stage like on David Letterman if he interviewed people on his show. The list is endless, but whatever you use needs to be relevant to your message.
8. Have fun with it!
If you are passionate about your subject matter and know what you’re talking about, it will come through in your delivery and make for a memorable experience for the audience.
9. Don’t apologize or ask permission to be entertaining
You’ve earned the right to do this by knowing your subject matter and coming across well.
10. Remember that no one wants to be there more than you
It’s your meeting or conference! You are in charge, so take control from the start.
11. Smile!
It will make you feel better and people can’t help but smile back. It’s infectious!
6 More Tips To Make Your Presentation Fun
As a presenter, you want to make the presentation as interesting and fun as possible. Here are five tips on how:
1. Use Your Hands
Vary your gesture and movements during your presentation. Move around the stage instead of standing behind a podium or lectern all throughout your presentation. You will be able to engage more with your audience if you do.
2. Use Visual Aids
These are very helpful to aid the flow of your presentation and maintain the attention of your audience, especially for boring topics. You can use flip charts, whiteboards, photographs, or even PowerPoint slideshows.
3. Engage Your Audience
Keep them involved always. Try asking them a question, let them answer it then proceed to further explain or elaborate your point. This will make them feel that they are part of the presentation and think that you care about their participation.
4. Relax!
You don’t have to be stiff as long as you know what you’re talking about and can deliver your points effectively.
5. Stay in your lane when it comes to jokes and humor
Don’t make fun of their company or its management during a business presentation or you might get fired. You can be funny and entertaining but don’t cross the line.
6. Use Venngage
Venngage is an online infographic maker that provides a wide range of presentation ideas for every presenter. It can be a business pitch, a school presentation, or an office report — whatever kind of presentation you have in mind, Venngage templates can help you. To give you a better idea, here are some presentation or pitch deck examples from their website!
Having a presentation or speaking engagement is a great opportunity to get your name out there. While this might be stressful at first, remember that it’s ultimately an awesome experience that you should always welcome. Your experience can be made better when you follow these tips and tricks. Also, if you’re having a hard time starting from scratch, consider using Venngage. What are you waiting for? Make your presentation today and become the best presenter tomorrow!
Article Submitted By Community Writer
