A client recently sent over a PowerPoint presentation that they were using at an event and asked me to improve it for them. They had a fairly good understanding of PowerPoint and had created a great little basic presentation; however they wanted it to have more impact. With a little time and finesse, I was able to give them an upgraded version and enhance the viewer’s experience.
Whether you need to present graphics to an online webinar audience, at a face-to-face meeting, or you are using the presentation to create a video, I have learned through my experience both of viewing these PowerPoint’s and in creating them for clients that there are a few things to keep in mind.
First, your presentation needs to be engaging. Have you ever attended a webinar and were left wanting with what you were seeing? When that happens, your mind wanders, you are more likely to look away and soon your mind follows. Rather than grasping the material being presented, you might be wondering what you should make for dinner or how you could better be spending your time.
An engaging presentation means much more than having bullet points on the screen that support the verbal content. Photographs, movement, slides that change frequently, color, and sound in a presentation can all engage the viewer and keep them actively engaged with the content.
Second, when sharing your presentations after an event, you should share them as a video or PDF file, not as the original PowerPoint. This protects your presentation to be viewed as you intended it and not be easily altered by the recipient. Protect your hard work and investment by rolling it out to video so the following experiences are more within your intent and control. Viewers often want the slides to review the content later, and don’t want to deal with video. It’s great to provide the content, but send them the presentation in a PDF file so that you have added security features and control over the end results.
Third, your branding and contact information should be on each slide so the viewer is constantly reminded who you are and how to contact you. Branding is important during the initial presentation but is paramount when you send out the slides as a PDF or by other means. You want any end user to be reminded who you are and how to contact you, even if they only print out one page of your presentation for safe keeping or future reference. Don’t leave them wanting to know how to get back in touch with the person who provided such a great experience in the first place!
These are just three of the things I do for clients when I create powerful PowerPoint presentations for their businesses. It’s one thing to know how to use the software, and another to be able to use it effectively, efficiently, and in a way that increases engagement, brand awareness and protect my clients in the process.