Developing an effective presentation
To make an impression and get your message across quickly and clearly, use a step-by-step approach when creating your presentation:
- start with defining the problem
- outline your solution and supporting research
- give evidence of your credibility
- outline pricing (only if necessary)
- explain what happens next.
Using visuals
If you are going to use PowerPoint (or something similar) use it to enhance your presentation, not overwhelm it. Slides with a lot of text will distract your audience. Keep it short and use bullet points, which you can discuss with your audience. Make the presentation a guideline for your speech and use the handouts to give more detail. A short video can also be an effective introduction.
Some further presentation tips:
- Arrive early so you can test your equipment.
- Know how to use a projector.
- Have a ‘Plan B’ if the equipment fails.
- Check the room for suitability, plugs and local voltage rate.
- Check lighting is appropriate for the visual presentation.
- Keep the presentation as short as is possible. Aim for fewer than 10 slides to keep your message simple and hold audience interest.
Tips for delivering your pitch:
- Make your opening lively.
- Tailor your tone, formal or informal to your audience.
- Maintain eye contact with your audience to help keep their attention and give your presentation more impact.
- Show a picture or graphic early. It can capture the audience’s attention and be a powerful visual reference for whatever you are talking about.
- Have samples of your product on hand where appropriate.
- Avoid jargon particularly for audiences from a different culture. Use humour with caution.
- Promote your product or service positively and avoid being negative about your competitors.
Decide who will present
The ability to speak confidently and fluently to others is an important business skill that will serve you well throughout your business life. If you’re nervous or not accomplished at speaking or presenting, either get some training in effective communication, or as a last resort appoint someone suitable from your staff to be the spokesperson.
Make sure whoever speaks for your business:
- is confident
- can outline the main aspects clearly
- is passionate about your business
- will not get side tracked.
Using interpreters
- If English isn’t your audience’s first language it is generally advisable to have all your support material translated. An interpreter may be required, dependant on the market.
- In some markets, questioning a person’s ability in English is considered rude, as it questions their level of education. Do your homework around the education and culture.
- Consider greeting the audience in their language if it isn’t English. Do not attempt to use the local language for anything else if not familiar with it.
- If you do use an interpreter, go through the presentation with them in advance and determine how you will structure the presentation. Clarify technical terms.
Practice your skills
The following New Zealand organisations or events can provide courses or opportunities for you to gain confidence and hone your speaking skills:
If you are speaking at events your focus may be around developments in your industry or the impact of new technology.
Speaking to larger groups can open up bigger opportunities. For example, if you sell products to dentists, speaking at the British or American Dental Association’s next conference about an industry related topic would give you credibility and exposure to hundreds of potential customers.
Search for conferences in your field and contact the organisers for the chance to speak.
Develop an elevator pitch
A great help is to develop an ‘elevator pitch’ for your company. This is the pitch you would make verbally about your company if you were sharing a 30 second lift ride with the CEO of the company you are targeting. In these 30 seconds, you have to convince the CEO you are worth talking to, you will need to cover:
- your product and it’s benefits
- who you are
- why you will be successful.
The elevator pitch is a very useful exercise in concentrating your mind on the essence of your business and will give you the confidence to speak about your business to anyone at any time.
Delivering your pitch
When you deliver your actual pitch, try to achieve three things:
- Make it sound and look as if they are the only business you are pitching to. Present your idea and competitive advantage clearly and relate them wherever possible to the aims and goals of the company you’re facing.
- Get them involved in the presentation. The more talking they do about their issues and the challenges they’re looking to solve, and the more carefully you listen, the more favourable their impression of you is likely to be.
- Listen and adjust: make sure you can adjust your presentation immediately based on what they say. The more flexible and quick-witted you can be in this regard, the better your presentation will come across. Be prepared to modify portions, or leave out non-relevant sections to more closely match their needs and expectations.
Post presentation
Follow up issues/questions that were raised during the presentation. It is also a good idea to evaluate your performance and the results of the presentation in terms of meeting your objectives.
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