How To Give an Effective Business Presentation

  • October 23, 2009
  • 1,977 Views
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Keep your palms dry and your audience alert with these tips.

You Will Need

  • Visuals
  • Handouts
  • Practice
  • And a strong closing statement
  • Red visuals (optional) (optional)
  • And tongue twisters
How To Give an Effective Business Presentation: Focus

Step 1: Focus

As you prepare, focus on your main points, and illustrate each one with a visual aid, which can be anything from PowerPoint slides to a flip chart to sample products. Studies show that people’s minds begin to wander after 10 minutes of passive listening.

Step 2: Clean up your visuals

Go for a minimalist look in your visuals; educational psychologists have found that the fewer words and pictures you have on a visual, the more your audience will remember.

Use the color red; psychologists say it’s the color most quickly noticed and easily remembered.

How To Give an Effective Business Presentation: Use handouts

Step 3: Use handouts

Prepare handouts that list all your main points. This will make it easier for the audience to follow along, and people will pay better attention if they don’t feel pressure to take notes.

Step 4: Practice

Practice your speech as much as you can – in the mirror, with a friend or coworker, or in front of a video camera.

Step 5: Check your surroundings

Before your presentation, familiarize yourself with the room you’ll be using. Make sure you have all the equipment you need, that it works properly, and that you know how to use it.

Step 6: Visualize success

Imagine your presentation going well. Research shows that visualizing success can help you make it happen.

Do some tongue twisters before you take the stage; it’s a favorite trick of speech-givers to loosen up.

How To Give an Effective Business Presentation: Position yourself correctly

Step 7: Position yourself correctly

Stand to the left of the screen or your flip chart from the viewpoint of the audience, making it easier for them to see the material.

Take a step toward the audience when you want to emphasize something; it unconsciously signals them to pay special attention.

Step 8: Have a strong close

Save your most memorable lines for your close, because that is what your audience will remember most when the presentation is over.

The Gettysburg Address was only two minutes long!

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Comments (1)

Harizu13

Good video! But I feel like the music in the backround was overpowering and too loud

over 2 years ago by Harizu13

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