A presentation is a method of communicating information from a speaker to an audience and in this article we will go over the five tips for creating an effective presentation.
What exactly is an effective presentation?
An effective presentation is when a presenter communicates his thoughts effectively to an audience.
An effective presentation makes the best use of the presenter-audience relationship. It takes careful consideration of the audience’s needs to pique their interest, deepen their understanding, instill confidence, and achieve the presenter’s goals.
Steps to Take When Making an Effective Presentation
1. Choose an Appropriate Topic
One of the most important presentation preparation tips is to choose the right topic for your presentation, because a good topic will not only pique your audience’s interest but will also allow you to deliver a great speech that your audience will applaud.
2. Preparation/Organization
The single most important aspect of delivering a successful presentation is preparation.
Good preparation will ensure that you have carefully considered the messages you want (or need) to communicate effectively, as well as boost your confidence.
Here are some steps to take while preparing.
• Outline specific presentation objectives.
The first step in creating your presentation is to establish a clear presentation objective.
By clearly stating your objectives at the start of your presentation, you will be in a better position to make strategic decisions about the design and tone of your presentation as well as provide your audience with the opportunity to understand what your goals are.
To develop a clear presentation objective, consider the following questions:
1. What do you want your audience to take away from this?
2. What do you want your audience to do after your presentation?
3. How can you best design your presentation to achieve your goals?
• Understand Your Audience
Your presentation should be structured around what your audience will gain. Your audience will have a wide range of experiences, interests, and levels of knowledge, so what you present to them must be relevant to their needs.
What should your intention towards your audience be?
1. Know how much knowledge your audience have about your topic?
2. How can you connect new material to things they may already know?
3. Persuade them of your point of view?
• Venue
It can be beneficial to visit the venue before the event.
You need to consider the following when choosing a venue;
1. Where will your presentation take place?
2. How the room will look?
3. What atmosphere you want to create?
4. How might the arrangement of the room affect your relationship with the audience?
5. Can you make any changes to the room’s layout to better suit your goals?
3. Write an Interesting Introduction
The introduction makes the audience want to hear the rest of the speech. A good introduction should capture the audience’s attention, state the topic, make it relatable, establish credibility, and preview the main points.
4. Create a rough draft of the main points.
A good presentation will help you communicate your message clearly and effectively.
When creating a presentation, you must;
• Choose the Key Points
Choosing the main points in a presentation is critical because the main points are the key ideas you present in order for your speech to achieve its specific goal. They are the major sections of a presentation’s body. Each main point introduces one idea or makes one claim that helps to advance the presentation’s central idea (thesis).
• Include “Additional information” to Your Presentation
In a speech, you will provide evidence to back up your main points. These are known as “supporting points” or “supporting information.”
In oral presentations, supporting information can help to clarify the speaker’s point, emphasize the point, make the point more interesting, and provide a foundation for others to believe the speaker’s point.
• Add Linking Words to Your Presentation
A linking word or phrase is a word or phrase that indicates the connection between paragraphs or sections of a text or speech.
It is critical to properly connect sentences while speaking by using appropriate linking words.
Linkers assist in properly connecting sentences, organizing ideas logically, and speaking coherently. Listeners will struggle to understand your conversation and speech if you do not use these linkers.
Linkers include; and, additionally, even, again, moreover, further, furthermore, similarly, in addition, as well as, and so on.
5. Create a Conclusion
A strong conclusion is critical because it is a speaker’s final opportunity to truly explain the significance of her or his message.
A good presentation conclusion will include an effective summary, recommendation or call to action, and the opportunity to address any unresolved issues via questions.