Tag Archives: Presentations

Update on effective presentations

Thanks to a colleague, I came across this presentation on slideshare that provides lessons from Steve Jobs on building captivating presentations. Jobs was a master at “Keeping it Simple Stupid” that captured the hearts and minds of the masses. Have you seen toddlers that cannot read use the ipad intuitively?
Would encourage you to go through this presentation and learn some of the tips mentioned here when you prepare your next one.
Pay attention to the following:
– Tell a story
– An image is worth a thousand words
– Build on emotions
– Answer the why, how, what

I know the hardest part for me is 30 hours each to craft the story, build and rehearse.
Enjoy!

Top 10 tips for effective presentations

We spend so much time preparing, delivering and sitting through presentations. Yet, are we effective? Do we achieve our outcome? Is there room for improvement? Enjoy the following tips for more effective presentations.

10. Less is more. KISS (Keep it simple stupid).
9. A picture is worth a thousand words.
8. Not more than 5 bullets on a slide. Each bullet could be a short sentence, phrase or a few words.
7. Start with an impact. Tell a personal story. Connect with your audience.
6. Introduce with an objective, outcome, if relevant to set expectations.
5. Tell a story. Engage with the audience.
4. End with a call to action. What would you like from the audience that would be beneficial to them?
3. For every slide have “one” key message. How would your audience answer the question “so what”?
2. Know your target audience. Who are they? Why are they here? What is the purpose?
1. Put yourself in your audience’s shoes and experience your presentation. How would you react?

Reading Reference: HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations by Nancy Duarte