How to Make Any Presentation Better

Throughout your career, you will likely be asked to give a presentation from time to time. Even if you don’t consider yourself a seasoned public speaker, it is still a valuable skill to have. If you want to improve your presentation skills and become a more effective speaker, there are plenty of strategies you can use. Luckily, there are plenty of tips and tricks to help you overcome your public speaking challenges and deliver engaging presentations. Here are a few simple tips to make any presentation better. 

Be Passionate

It’s tough to give a great presentation when you are nervous, but one of the best things you can do as a presenter is to connect with your audience. You can do this by letting them see how passionate you are about the topic. Don’t be afraid to be honest with your audience and let them know why this is so important to you. When you are enthusiastic and authentically yourself, your audience will feel your passion. 

Focus on the Needs of Your Audience

Your presentation should not be focused on what you want to share, but rather what the audience needs and wants to know. That’s why it is important to research your audience and familiarize yourself with their needs before you plan your presentation. Find out what they need and want to know more about and then tailor your presentation to meet their needs. You also want to keep it simple, clear, and concise so it’s easy for your audience to understand and respond. 

Incorporate Visuals

As the saying goes, “a picture is worth 1,000 words.†People are likely to remember what they see even more than what they hear. Therefore, aim to incorporate visuals into your presentation. These could be in the form of videos, photographs, charts, tables, or even physical props. Visuals are a great way to illustrate your points and keep your audience interested. 

Tell Stories

Storytelling is a great way to connect with your audience. Sharing an event from your personal life or another anecdote is a great way to make your topic more relatable, while also evoking emotion from the audience. Telling stories is a great way to bring concepts, ideas, or information to life in a way that is easy to understand. 

Smile and Make Eye Contact

Your gestures and facial expressions can be another great way to connect with your audience. A simple smile immediately demonstrates warmth and friendliness that the audience will appreciate. This makes you appear more approachable to your audience right away. You also want to make eye contact with your audience throughout the presentation to make it feel more personal and conversational. 

Start and End Strong

Every great presentation should begin with a strong opener. You only have a matter of seconds to hook your audience, so kick off your presentation on a strong note. You can do this by asking a rhetorical question, sharing a shocking statistic, inviting the audience to participate in discovery, or even taking a poll. At the end of the presentation, you want to wrap things up with a memorable quote, story, or call to action.