We all do presentations, right? In fact, they're practically a requirement for some business meetings. If you're preparing presentations on a regular basis, you probably have some templates and stock ideas that you use over and over again. Well, it's time to evaluate whether these are really working or if they're making your team cringe in trepidation at the thought of having to sit through another clip-art and bullet point-laden presentation. Here are some things not to do during your next presentation:
1. Don't have wordy slides - PowerPoint slides are not designed to take the place of a text document. If you need to include a white paper or other documentation for your audience members to read later, do so, but don't have slides that read like a novel. One word of warning though: NEVER hand out your white paper until your presentation is over, this will ensure your audience is focused on listening to your presentation rather than reading the literature you've just handed out.
2. Don't read your slides - Slides should keep you on track in your presentation, and should provide some punchy visuals to keep your audience interested. But, if your audience could get everything they need to know by simply reading your slides, you're doing something wrong. And remember, most of them should be able to read on their own!
3. Don't use clip art - Graphics are extremely important in your presentation - always use high quality stock photography (found on sites such as istock.com, gettyimages.com and shutterstock.com) that are exciting and bold.
4. Don't have busy slides - Keep the slides simple. They should follow the flow of your discussion, but people should be paying attention to you as you talk. And, of course, you should be such a captivating presenter that they hardly need to look at the slides.
5. Don't stick with the same old technology - If you want the audience to really pay attention, try some of the new technology for presentations, like motion graphics and flash. These make presentations seem much like watching a movie, are more engaging and are sure to keep the audience's focus far more than if they were watching a few bullet points on a slide.
Remember: Keep your presentations up to date, both in content and in technology. Great presentations influence people, boost your profile and win business.
