At some point of your business, student or personal life, it’s almost certain that you’ll give a public presentation!

The change of giving a poor presentation is high and it can have a negative impact on the expected outcome.

Why do so many presentations fail?

Here are a few reasons for presentation failure:

1. Not being prepared
2. Poor delivery
3. Bad design
4. Poor content

How can you solve this?

1. Identify your purpose

   • Why are you giving this talk? Stay focused on information that fits your goal. If you find it to be to brad, narrow it down or plan a series of related presentations.

2. Do your research

   • Always make sure that your content is accurate and up to date and double check your facts.

3. Choose your main focus and supporting points

   • Organize your presentation around the main idea, you won’t have time to present every piece of information that you’ve researched. Remember that, the longer your presentation, the more likely it is that you will lose your audience’s attention (many experts recommend a length between 15 to 20 minutes).

4. Create an outline

   • A short presentation outline could be:
     • Introduction
     • First Point
     • Second Point
     • Third Point
     • Conclusion
   • A longer presentation outline could look something like this:
     • Introduction
     • First Main Point
     • Support For Point
     • Break
     • Second Point
     • Support For Point
     • Video
     • Third Point
     • Support For Point
     • Questions and answers
     • Conclusion

5. Write the Start and Finish ( and the the rest of your slides)

   • The opening and conclusion of your presentation are the most important so plan these sections before anything else. For your opening you can try something like: making a bold claim, contradict expectations or spin a surprising story. Close your presentation with a call to action, tell your audience what to do with the information you just gave them.

6. Design your presentation like a pro

   • There are some basic design elements that are important to any presentation: layout, font choice and color. You’re not a designer? Don’t be scared, using a professional template is one way to ensure that you have a well-design and coherent look to your presentation.

Armed with the right know-how and skills, you can be confident that your presentation will be well received. Instead of fearing presentation, you’ll begin to see them as the opportunity they are.

But remember, even with a great presentation you’ll need to rehearse and rehearse and rehearse! 🙂