Have an upcoming event? It’s time to learn hot tips to create a captivating presentation that’ll excite your listeners and keep them engaged from the beginning to the end. When you prepare your presentation, you’ll overcome the fear of public speaking to some extent.
Your presentation will guide you on everything you will say and how you’ll say it. To get you started, follow these five tips for creating a great presentation for an event.
Why You Need a Standout Presentation for Your Business Event
Big companies invite renowned keynote speakers to their corporate events because these speakers are known to give standout presentations. Therefore, if you’re presenting in a corporate event, here are reasons to make your presentation stand out:
To Improve Customer Relationship
Business events create an opportunity for you to bond with your customers. Your presentation will therefore develop or maintain relationships with your potential and current customers.
When you give a presentation that shows customers you understand their specific needs and problems, they’ll be inclined to trust your brand. So, research and present your facts in a way that’ll grow your relationship with your potential and existing customers.
To Impress Your Networks and Stakeholders
Every presentation you make during any event is an opportunity to impress your current and potential networks. It’ll reinforce or better your brand image among the various stakeholders.
Corporate events attract a lot of different stakeholders. All these stakeholders have varying interests in your business. For example, your presentation may be a game changer in staking a claim for additional donor funding. It may also help you expand your business networks because everyone present will know who you are.
Below are the tips to create a standout presentation for all events you’ll ever attend.
Tip 1: Know Your Audience
You can prepare and make a great presentation but still fail to impress the audience. The same content would have killed it elsewhere if presented to a different audience.
That’s why Nate Elliot once said, "If you want to create messages that resonate with your audience, you need to know what they care about." Your customers' unique tastes and preferences also extend to the content they consume.
Hence, the first step is to understand your target audience so that you may create a presentation built around their needs. Use the data from your current market research to create a profile of the audience to expect. The profile will help you prepare a presentation that matches what your audience needs and wants to know from you.
Tip 2: Focus on the Content
Some speakers focus too much on the optics that they neglect the content. You cannot afford to make that mistake, especially when working hard to grow your brand. To create compelling content, define your goals first.
Here are some questions to answer to enable you to define relevant goals:
What do you hope the audience can take from your presentation?
What emotional response do you hope to elicit from the audience? For example, excitement about a new product or service
What actions do you hope your target audience will take after your presentation?
What value do you hope to create with your presentation?
There is a reason names like Martin Luther King, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Tony Robbin, and Oprah Winfrey come to mind when you think of influential public speakers. They display strong charisma during presentations because they have the right content. To this day, we have so many Martin Luther King quotes that never seem to age.
The right content will add enough depth to your message during the presentation. It is the content that engages your audience and addresses their needs. Also, ensure the content of your presentation is relatable to your audience so that they may remain active as you speak.
Make sure you research the current trends. People appreciate a public speaker who is knowledgeable of the changes occurring in the industry or the world in general. Find a way to weave these trends into your content. Trending issues also contribute to an interactive audience because almost everyone will have a burning opinion on the matter.
Tip 3: Prepare, Plan, and Rehearse Your Presentation
Ted Talks now invites even inexperienced speakers who have had major impacts on society. The talk show realized that it could not remain relevant if they brought only famous speakers. But they faced another dilemma. How do you get such shy, not famous people who lack the confidence to stand before their large audience and make a meaningful presentation?
Ted Talks began a coaching program to prepare inexperienced speakers. The process takes up to nine months before the person makes the presentation in front of a live audience.
Ted Talk’s coaching program shows that you can refine your public speaking and presentation skills through planning and repeated rehearsals. Like a movie script, you must keep rehearsing the presentation until it becomes ingrained into you and you are confident doing it in front of a large audience.
Planning also includes simulating the stage you will be making the presentation. Ensure everything, including the lighting, is perfect before the actual business event day. Rehearse with all visuals and presentation equipment set up. Such simulated rehearsal will help you effectively deal with any stage flights.
Tip 4: Engage with Storytelling Techniques
Humans are social beings. Therefore, it is natural that we share a general love for stories as a means of socialization. That’s why storytelling is an effective way to engage with your audience when making a presentation.
You can use the story as your icebreaker. However, not every story qualifies as an icebreaker. The story should relate to the presentation topic.
Also, stories from personal experiences work best as icebreakers. They will help you create personal bonds with the audience and hook them to your presentation. Because people love hearing what others have gone through to know they are not in this alone. Personal stories work effectively for motivational speakers like Oprah Winfrey.
Surprisingly the story also helps you to be in sync with the audience. You can already feel the bond you create with the audience from their verbal and non-verbal reactions.
Tip 5: Always Have a Call to Action
If you like someone, you must gather the courage and ask them out on a date. The outcome of that request may not always be positive, but the rule is that simple. Therefore, always include a CTA in your presentation.
The CTA should align with the goals and outcomes you have set for your presentation. For example, if the goal is to get your audience to try your new products or services, remind them.
The best part about a presentation is that you can weave the CTA into a discussion. For example, recognize the early adopters who have already tried the product. Then use this as a challenge to encourage others not to be left behind in enjoying the benefits you just discussed.
Shine in the Next Business Event with a Standout Presentation
Start using these tips now to prepare your next presentation. Engage your audience with your skills and relevant information. We understand if you don’t have the time to prepare a presentation, especially because you have to research deeply. Get in touch and we will help you stand out and wow your listeners.