The Secrets Of Unforgettable Presentations
As a presenter, you should imagine that everyone in your audience arrives at your presentation with a limited capacity for new information in their memories. Even the most cool, calm, and collected individuals still have hectic days, so this exercise of imagination will likely not be too far off from reality. Thus, if you want your presentation to have a lasting impact on your audience even after they leave your presentation, you need to create an unforgettable experience.
Delivering an unforgettable presentation is easier than it sounds. Here are some tips for creating presentations that will stick in people’s minds, no matter how many other items are competing to be retained.
1. Record your thoughts.
You don’t have to carry a pen and notebook with you everywhere you go, but you do need to get in the habit of recording your thoughts throughout the day. There are many benefits to this practice, however presenters can especially benefit from taking note of their experiences while the details are still fresh.
As you probably know by now, stories are a critical component of most great presentations, because stories are undeniably more memorable than facts or stats. Identifying the best story for a presentation however can sometimes be tricky because without a readily available resource for inspiration you must dig deep into your mind to bring stories from the past back into the forefront of your thoughts. To make it easier to add stories to your presentations, take note of important experiences in your life so they will be at your fingertips when you need them.
2. Write like you speak.
If you write and deliver presentations using everyday language instead of jargon, acronyms, or unnecessarily technical words, your presentation will be more enjoyable, and more memorable.
This tip is fairly straightforward, and seemingly obvious, but often presenters opt to not write their presentations like they speak because they want to sound important, or add credibility to their message. Ensure that your presentation is credible by doing your research, double checking your facts, using professional slides, and being confident and friendly while presenting. Don’t try to prop up your presentation using fancy words if you can communicate the same message using simpler terms. I think we can all agree that if you can easily follow along with a presenter’s materials, you are more likely to recall what was said. And the reverse is true as well; it is easy to forget something if it was hard to understand.
3. Provide clarity.
If you truly want your audience to enjoy and remember your presentation, you will be clear in your language and logic. The harder you make your audience work during your presentation, the less likely they are to pay attention. In addition, even the most attentive audience members might struggle to recall your presentation if you do not clearly communicate what you want them to retain.
Be descriptive when explaining important elements of your presentation. If you paint a clear picture for your audience, they will have no trouble recalling exactly what you hoped they would remember.
Conclusion
Do the heavy lifting for your audience. Minimize the number of facts and stats in your presentation, and use stories to add meaning to the facts and stats that you choose to include.
Also, take the time to look for weak areas in your presentation. Add clarity in parts of your presentation that might be open to misinterpretation. As the presenter, it is your responsibility to create an unforgettable presentation that the audience will want to remember.
If you enjoyed these tips, check out the presentation below for additional tips:
