In 2015, give better presentations. Take advantage of the powerful potential of presentations to launch your ideas, grow your business, advance your career, and build your professional platform by delivering compelling presentations that excite your audience.
To give better presentations, add these 4 resolutions to your list of goals for the year:
1. Start immediately.
There is not a formula to determine the perfect amount of time to spend on a presentation. The ideal process and timeline for creating an effective presentation depends on the experience of the presenter, the difficulty of the topic, and the overall objective for the presentation. However there is universal, valuable advice for all presenters, and it is: Do something immediately.
By starting your presentation immediately, your presentation will likely be completed on time or earlier, and also be more creative.
Your presentation will likely be completed in a timely manner thanks to The Zeigarnik Effect, discovered and defined by Russian psychologist, Bluma Zeigarnik. What the Zeigarnik effect teaches is that one weapon for beating procrastination is starting somewhere…anywhere, according to The Zeigarnik Effect.
In addition, by starting immediately your presentation has a greater chance of being creative because you will have more time to incubate your ideas. To incubate your ideas, you need to first start preparing for your presentation, and then take a break from working on your deck. Do something – anything – other than working on your presentation. The incubation period can last for 30 minutes, or it can last for days. If you do not give yourself time to step away from your work, you will most likely miss out on an aha moment that will give you unexpected insights into your topic and perspective.
It doesn’t matter if you start by simply journaling about the topic for a few minutes using a stream of consciousness journaling style, or if you start by creating possible titles by listing catchy keywords and relevant phrases; start working on your presentation as soon as your role as presenter is confirmed.
2. Do more.
Instead of following your normal process for creating presentations, look for opportunities to go above and beyond in 2015.
For example, consider thoroughly researching your audience before you start outlining your presentation materials. You can research your audience by digging through available analytics online and reading articles, however the best information can probably be obtained by talking directly to the presentation coordinator, as well as interviewing individuals who match the demographics of your target audience. Use the research to create a presentation that will be meaningful to your audience.
Also, consider extending the time of your practice sessions by at least 15%. If you typically practice your presentations for a total of 3 hours before the big day, increase your practice time to a minimum of 3.5 hours. In general, the more practice, the better.
Another way to go above and beyond is to spend more time on your slide designs. Don’t save your slides until the last minute, schedule time to create meaningful visuals that will enhance your message.
There are many ways to do more for your presentations. Pick some areas in your presentation process that can be improved, and commit to doing more in those areas in 2015.
3. Say less.
Brevity is the soul of wit, according to Shakespeare. Challenge yourself in 2015 to give shorter presentations. After you prepare the first draft of your presentation, review your written content and try to cut it in half. You might not reach that lofty editing goal, but at least try to remove a substantial amount of your material without sacrificing any of the core ideas and compelling moments of your talk.
You can create a shorter presentation that covers all of your main points by combining similar ideas into one point, removing unnecessary jargon and fluff words, as well as deleting content that can be provided in materials once audience members follow your call-to-action.
In addition, ask colleagues and friends who match the demographic of your intended audience to review your materials and take a red pen to any content that they do not deem important to their understanding of your presentation. Content that you consider a high priority might not be a high priority for your audience. Delete any content that is only relevant to you, and not your audience.
4. Nurture.
With so many great tools for nurturing an audience, there is no excuse for leaving your audience hanging after a presentation.
For example, as part of your CTA, ask audience members to sign-up for an online forum to continue discussing the presentation content online. Or, ask audience members to give their email address when they enter the room for the presentation. Use follow-up emails to develop an ongoing relationship with audience members. In addition, you can invite audience members to attend a follow-up webinar, participate in an on-site seminar in the future, or even send questions directly to your email address.
Consider your objectives, review your research on your audience, and then pick a method to nurture your relationship with your audience. Whatever you do, don’t disappear after your presentation. Keep your momentum by developing a plan to nurture your relationship with your audience after your presentation is complete.
Conclusion: Regardless of how you plan to go above and beyond, commit to doing more for your presentations in 2015. Your presentations matter; make a resolution to be a better presenter this year.
