There are many opportunities to gain from delivering a powerful presentation to an audience. The presentation you deliver can help clients understand the value your company provides, which can lead to new business, and additional business opportunities. It can also elevate the image of you and your services by showing your expertise and professionalism. It’s a way to reach many people who may be interested in buying your product.

There are many elements to preparing an effective presentation. It starts with creating a powerful opening. Those first few minutes you speak are crucial because that’s when the audience decides whether they like you or not. Here are some tips for creating a powerful opening that will “Wow” your audience.

1. Know the Objective of Your Presentation. As you create your presentation, be clear what the point of your talk is about. What do you know about your audience? How well are they educated about your product? What do you want your audience to walk away with at the end of your talk? What is the outcome? Do you want them to take action or are you informing them of something?
2. Position Your Presentation. Every audience wants to know 3 things: Who are you? Who are you to tell me? What’s in it for me? Give listeners your background or say something personal about you, tell them your agenda, and the benefits they will receive from the session.
3. Set the tone. How you begin your talk sets the tone for holding the audience’s attention. Grab the audience’s attention right from the beginning by speaking with enthusiasm and energy. Emphasize key words and increase your volume. As you speak, look at people in the eye rather than scanning the room. People will pay attention when you look directly at them. Always remember to smile, at least at the beginning and end of your presentation.
4. Engage the Audience. A good way to engage the audience at the beginning is by either asking a question or telling a short story. Asking a question will engage the audience immediately. If you’re telling a story, make sure it relates to your presentation and practice it several times over so you say it with ease. The audience assesses your presentation style in the first few minutes and decides whether or not they like you as a presenter. Also be careful about telling jokes. You don’t know how it will land for some of the people. Unless you’ve told the joke many times and have received positive response, it’s best not to tell jokes.
5. Creating Visuals. When creating your visuals for a PowerPoint presentation, keep your visuals simple. Your visuals are the lead-in for what you want to say to the audience, not to tell a story. If you have a lot of information, put it in a handout, not on the visual. Too much information on a visual is overwhelming for the audience, and you will lose their attention. There is a rule for creating visuals. KISS—Keep it simple sweetie!

ASSIGNMENT:

• Write an outline of your presentation starting with the subject of your presentation or speech, the points you want to cover, and the action you want your audience to take.
• Write an introduction about yourself and your background, the agenda (points you’ll cover), and what your audience will learn from the session.
• Practice your presentation in the mirror several times. Notice your facial expressions, tone, and body movement. I also recommend taping yourself speaking.
• Create a question to engage the audience, and a brief story to tie into your presentation. People love stories.
• Using your outline, design clear and simple visuals. Use graphics as much as possible.

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