How do you show the impact of your presentation?

1 Define your goals

Before you start planning your presentation, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and how you'll measure it. Depending on the purpose and context of your presentation, your goals could be to inform, persuade, inspire, educate, or entertain your audience. You also need to define the specific outcomes and actions that you expect from your audience, such as signing up for a service, buying a product, changing their behavior, or learning a new skill. Having SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) goals will help you design and deliver your presentation more effectively and evaluate its impact later.

2 Collect data and evidence

One of the best ways to show the impact of your presentation is to collect and analyze data and evidence that support your goals and outcomes. This could include quantitative data, such as sales figures, website traffic, survey results, or test scores, or qualitative data, such as testimonials, feedback forms, reviews, or case studies. You can use various tools and methods to gather and organize your data, such as online surveys, analytics software, email campaigns, or interviews. Make sure you collect data before and after your presentation to compare and contrast the results and show the difference that your presentation made.

3 Use feedback loops

Another way to show the impact of your presentation is to use feedback loops to engage with your audience and get their input and opinions. Feedback loops are processes that allow you to receive, respond, and act on feedback from your audience, and also give feedback to them. For example, you can use feedback loops to ask your audience questions before, during, and after your presentation, such as what they expect, what they learned, what they liked, or what they would improve. You can also use feedback loops to share your own insights, recommendations, or follow-up actions with your audience, and invite them to contact you for further discussion or support. Feedback loops can help you build rapport, trust, and loyalty with your audience, and also identify areas for improvement and growth.

4 Tell a story

A powerful way to show the impact of your presentation is to tell a story that illustrates your message, data, and feedback. Stories can help you connect with your audience emotionally, intellectually, and socially, and make your presentation more memorable and persuasive. You can use stories to highlight the problem or challenge that your presentation addresses, the solution or benefit that you offer, and the results or outcomes that you achieved. You can also use stories to showcase your personal or professional experience, your values and vision, or your customer or client success stories. Stories can help you demonstrate your credibility and authority, and also inspire and motivate your audience to take action.

5 Share your impact

Finally, you need to share your impact with your audience, your boss, or your clients, and show them how your presentation made a difference. You can use various formats and channels to share your impact, such as reports, newsletters, blogs, podcasts, videos, or social media posts. You can also use different strategies and techniques to share your impact, such as using visuals, charts, graphs, or infographics to display your data and evidence, using testimonials, quotes, or reviews to highlight your feedback and stories, or using calls to action, incentives, or offers to encourage your audience to take the next steps. Sharing your impact can help you showcase your value and achievements, and also create opportunities for further collaboration and communication.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?