How can you make your presentations stick?

Begin your presentation with a compelling story, a surprising fact, a thought-provoking question, or a memorable quote. A strong opening grabs your audience's attention and sets the tone for the rest of the presentation. People remember stories much better than dry facts and statistics. Use anecdotes and real-life examples to illustrate your points. Personal stories can be particularly impactful. Just as you start with a strong opening, end with a memorable closing. Summarize your key points, leave the audience with a thought-provoking idea, or provide a call to action.

Simple and straight to the point presentations are the best and most effective , Humans by nature feel boring fast and presenting subject in a simple way is the best to transfer the message/ point of discussions.

Next to the SUCCES-formula, your delivery is key for great presentations. Prosody (or the rhythm) of your storytelling is essential. Obama for example is famous for his ‘power of the pause’. His use of repetition and contrast. Next up, your timbre can help your presentation power immensely. For example, a low pitch is often associated with experts. The higher you talk, the less confident you come across. Contrary to popular belief, your ‘natural’ pitch can be trained. There is a great YouTube-tutorial by Morgan Freeman about this. Lastly, practice makes perfect. Make the miles, tape yourself and rewatch the recordings. If you would like to learn more on this, read my book ‘Presenting with impact’ or drop me a line: [email protected].

Making your presentations stick, or ensuring that your audience remembers and engages with your content, is a key goal in effective communication. There could be many ways we can do but always starts with Strong Hook: Begin your presentation with a compelling story, quote, question, or interesting fact that grabs your audience's attention right away. This sets the tone for your entire presentation and makes people more likely to pay attention.

One thing I've found effective is to be real. Adapt to your audience and allow the presentation to be as interactive as possible. Suggestions for interactions include Live polling, word clouds, etc.....

I like keeping your presentation to 20 minutes and making sure your visuals and fonts are clear and legible (especially important virtually when people are viewing on their phones or small laptops). But I encourage you to go past 10 slides if needed. More slides = a new opportunity to capture attention each time you advance. More movement = more dopamine boosts for your audience.

Each rule had it's exceptions. So does the 10-20-30 rule. Guy Kawasaki popularized this in the years 2014-15. Those were the days of poor quality LED projectors and even limited capabilities of presentation design tools such as Canva and PowerPoint. If 10 slides for a deck is not enough add more to provide context. If you can hold the momentum for longer why have a hard stop at 20? Font size of 30 might be a requirement back then but you will not have enough room for design with such huge fonts on your deck. If you look at most professional presentations today, the standard font size for headers is about 28 pt and for copy is about 16 pt. Also, the typical slide count ranges between 14 to 20.

Confronting fear is pivotal for impactful presentations. Embrace it as a source of motivation, infusing your talk with passion. Authentic emotions connect with your audience, fostering genuine engagement. Acknowledging your fears builds rapport, as people relate to vulnerability. This authenticity enhances memorability. Incorporate personal anecdotes about overcoming fears into your presentation. This humanizes you as a speaker, adding a compelling narrative. By transforming fear into passion and weaving it into your story, you create a lasting impression and deeper audience connection.

Certainly, here's an addition to your explanation of the 10-20-30 rule: "In addition to its simplicity, the 10-20-30 rule promotes a more audience-centric approach to presentations. By limiting the number of slides and duration, you encourage concise and focused content, making it easier for your audience to absorb and retain key information. The larger font size not only aids readability but also ensures that your audience can follow your presentation, even if they're sitting farther away or viewing it on a smaller screen. In essence, this rule emphasizes quality over quantity, helping presenters create more engaging and memorable presentations."

I have also found getting the audience involved within your presentation is helpful. Also add some fun music before the presentation to get people pumped up.

The use if the 10 20, and 30 rules enhance your presentation. Bullet points- focusing on the important points on the presentation highlighting the situation and the solution which should capture the audience.

While mastering Nancy Duarte's 4 P's provides a solid foundation for any presentation, there are 3 more elements that, when woven into your delivery, can truly captivate and engage your audience. Empathy: Grasping the sentiments, needs, and aspirations of those listening ensures your message resonates on a deeper, more genuine level. Adaptability: Each audience is a unique blend of perspectives. Being nimble and adjusting your message to the room's pulse can make the difference between impactful and unforgettable. Storytelling: More than just information, a compelling narrative can transport listeners, leaving an indelible mark long after the presentation ends.

Do not forget to shine on the stage when you present. People will remember your stories, not that picture on slide 6 of your deck.

To create an attractive presentation, start with a clear purpose and structure, use a harmonious color scheme and readable fonts, emphasize key points with visual hierarchy, incorporate high-quality images, maintain whitespace for uncluttered slides, ensure uniform slide layouts, apply transitions and animations thoughtfully, present data clearly with charts and graphs, include branding elements, align content consistently, gather feedback for revisions, practice your delivery, choose reliable presentation software, and always keep your audience in mind by tailoring your content to their interests and expectations.

Understand your audience before and during the presentation. "Before" is how you prep. This means keeping in mind the language, amount of graphics/stats used and finally your own presentation style - will it be formal or informal? The way you present information to students needs to be different than how you'd present the same information to a group of accountants. "During" refers to how you see the audience reacting to your presentation. Are they engaged (taking notes/asking questions etc.)? Or are they disinterested (gazing around the room/on their phones/talking to each other)? If it's the latter, that's your cue to shift gears. For eg. If the presentation has been very technical so far, try a more informal approach or vice versa.

I heard a very smart executive once explain how presentations should work. He stated "be on time, be brief, and be seated." This is a riff on Franklin Roosevelt's quote of the same idea, however the modern connotations are equally as important. The average attention span these days is 10 minutes for butts in seats. It should be expected that the presenter has practiced the presentation ahead of time, and has limited the slides to bullet points that the main body of content will be expounded upon. A bottom line up front should be stated (tell them what you are going to tell them). Then the main idea should be given with some detailed information (tell them). Finally to conclude, the final point should be made, or the ask given at that time.

Come to give, not to take. Taking mindset - I want something from the audience. Therefore, I am already in minus from the start and worried if I will fill the minus. Giving mindset - I want to share, to give something to the audience from which I already have. Nothing can disappoint me, as I don’t need anything else besides giving what I believe is valuable.