Whether you are trying to win over a potential client, get your boss’s buy-in on your idea or provide valuable information on the functions of a new product, the number one goal of any presentation is to grab and retain your audience’s attention. Different presentations will require different tools and methods in order for them to be effective. If you know your audience, your presentation will be a success. We have put together a few tips that will help you deliver a presentation that will achieve your objectives.

 

Pitching An Idea

Pitching an idea that you believe in can be quite a daunting endeavour, especially because you have to convince people that they need something they’ve never really thought about and that it will work—you have to get them to see your vision and believe in it. For this kind of presentation, you will have to master the art of persuasion. You have to persuade your audience that your idea is what they need to help their business grow. Here, you will have to be smart in the way that you punt the advantages of your idea. There are two things that are very important here: discuss the gaps in what they are doing and then present your ideas as the solution to fill those gaps. You will have to do extensive research on your audience’s business or product so that you know exactly how to frame your idea as the solution that they need and from which they will see major returns on their investment. Your audience needs to be excited about your idea so you need to present with much enthusiasm and confidence. When pitching an idea, make sure that your presentation isn’t too long so that you can leave time for questions and make sure that you have considered the nature of the questions.

If you are pitching an idea that is creative in nature, make sure to make use of striking graphics and images so that your audience can visualise your idea and see how it fits into what they’re trying to do with their business. Again, knowing your audience is very important because it will inform the exact nature of your presentation.

 

Providing information

This type of presentation needs to be simple and succinct, brief and to the point. Your audience is here to learn, not to be entertained, but you still need to grab their attention. The information you are presenting needs to be relevant; you can use anecdotes here and there but make sure that they are related to the topic. Avoid complicated information that will confuse your audience and make sure that your information is organised from most important to least important. To ensure that your audience gets the most out of your presentation, make sure that you break down your information into digestible and noteworthy pieces of information. Using graphics such as infographics, graphs and tables will also help to make it easy for your audience to remember the information you are presenting.

 

 

 

*Presenting financials

It’s ‘that’ time of the year again, where income and expenditures, profits and losses from the previous year have to be presented to those often responsible for approving new budgets. As these decision-makers may lack a financial background, the information given at the presentation must not only be accurate, but it must also be given in such a way that keeps the audience involved. Presenting financials need not be boring and dull; there is a way to make sure that you present facts in a clear manner while also making sure that your audience doesn’t fall asleep.

A financial presentation relays specific information to a specific audience and one must not cross that fine line between ‘keeping it simple’ and making it ‘simple stupid’ in an effort to make it easily understood.  Not only could valuable and relevant data get lost, but the audience could feel patronised.

Below are some tips on presenting financials in a way that will ensure you get your information across in a professional and interesting way:

 

1. Keep it clear – Be clear on your objective: what do you want your audience to take away? Start with the message, not the data.  Substantiate your introductory key message with relevant and specific data.

 

2. Keep it simple – Ensure that there is a logical flow to the presentation. Use visuals; keep graphs and slides simple and uncluttered.

 

3. Source alternate visual representation – Excel spreadsheets will be part of any financial presentation. But instead of using slides to explain the spreadsheets, consider using alternate media such as handouts, which will bring variety to your presentation.

 

4. Keep it relevant – Short, precise presentations work particularly well when giving dry facts and figures to a specific audience.  Do not include information on the analysis of the information.  Executives need to know the impact and implications of the data.

 

5. Do not use financial jargon when presenting to a non-financial audience.

 

Whatever the purpose of your presentation, make sure that you know your audience well so that you give them information that is relevant to them and present it in a way that will be relatable to them. 


*Financial presentation tips provided by On Target Consulting.

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