How to Make an Effective PowerPoint Presentation (Part 2)

Practice Presentation Tips

Delivery is more important than the actual content. Here's how to become more aware of your own unique ticks, and how to present like a polished pro.

Rehearse

Just do it. Again, and again. Experiment with pauses, gestures, and body language. You should practice for around one hour for every minute of your speech.

Practice with a Timer

Consistency is key to an effective PowerPoint presentation. Timing should be similar (ideally the same) each time you rehearse. This one will especially pay off when it’s time to present in front of your audience!

Slow It Down

Many of the best speakers today intentionally speak slowly. You’ll have the chance to emphasise, appear more thoughtful, and make your information easier to digest.

Consider:?

????????Are your pauses too short or too long??

????????Are you speaking slowly enough? Too slow??

????????When you’re nervous does your voice get really high like the mice in Cinderella??

????????It’s always weird to hear your own voice recorded; don’t stress it. Use this as a time to adjust.

Pause More Often

Like the prior tip. Pausing more often allows main points to be emphasised and for information to sink in. You need to let key points breathe a little before rushing into the next section.

Record Yourself

Use your phone’s voice recorder. Assess and critique yourself.

Choose Three Focal Points in the Room

If you stare at the same spot (or even creepier, the same person) the entire time, your presentation will be ineffective (and awkward.) People will be distracted by you, wondering what you're staring at. Try this: pick three points in the room (typically: left, center, right) and take time to direct your delivery toward each physical focal point in the room. Also, focus on the centre when making your primary points.

Vary Your Sentence Length

This makes you sound more interesting and it's easier for your audience to follow. Think short and punchy. Or go long and complex for dramatic effect.

Modulate!

Don't speak in monotone for your whole presentation. Be conscious to raise and lower your voice tone. Otherwise, people will tune you out, and you'll come across like the teacher in Charlie Brown.

Practice in Front of a Mirror

What you look like is just as important as how you sound. Pretend as though you're just having a normal conversation and?allow your hands to move with your speech—emphasising your points. Just don’t get carried away! (I’m thinking?Brene Brown?or?President Obama, not your Aunt Jamie after a few gin and tonics.)

?Use “Present Mode” When Rehearsing

When you finally are ready to hit the?Present?button in PowerPoint, make sure you use the?Present Mode?option. This allows you (and only you) to view additional notes about each slide—just in case you forget something!

Practice with New Audiences!

If possible, try doing a few real live test runs as an online seminar or even at a local?Toastmasters?organisation to get some feedback from a live audience.

Tips to Step Up and Deliver Come Presentation Time

When the actual day arrives, there are only a few last presentation tips to keep in mind.

Take a Deep Breath

Deep breathing is?proven?to relieve stress. It’s simple and it'll help you remain calm and, in the moment, as well. Even up to the last minute before starting.

Lighten Up Your Mood

Tell yourself a joke or watch a funny video clip.?Do this before the presentation, of course. Recent?research?concludes that happy people were more productive. More productive is more focused and able to perform better.

Remind Yourself to Take It Slow

When we're stressed or nervous (or both), we tend to speak faster. Consciously, take yet another deep breath and remind yourself to take it slow!

Fake It ‘Til You Make It!

Go forward with confidence. If you act confident, you'll start to feel more confident. Move slowly with grace, speak clearly, smile, wear something nice, and you’ll appear confident to all attendees (no matter how you feel internally).

?What Not to Do?

Most importantly, focus on what you can do to make your presentation better. There are a few important things not to do that we've got to address. Here are a handful of PowerPoint presentation tips to help you avoid missteps.

Stop with the Sound Effects

Sound effects—like that swoosh that used to happen when your college professor mentioned a new bullet point in PowerPoint—are distracting and outdated. In most cases avoid it.

You can?add audio or music into your presentation?to inject interest or highlight a critical point, but it's something to take extra care with. If you insert audio, then make sure your use really connects with your audience and has a fresh approach. Otherwise, it's best to leave it out.

Don’t Use Flashy Slide Transitions

I will discuss this further in another book.

Again, this is distracting and outdated. You can use transitions and subtle animations in your PowerPoint presentation, but you need to take care and do it right.

Beware of Clip Art

This PowerPoint presentation tip shouldn’t even have to be said, but please, use clipart sparingly. It is preferred that you use superior quality graphics.

Read Directly from Your Paper

Reading from your paper makes it look like you’re not prepared. Many people do it, but no one should. As a rule, you should only be presenting something you know well and have, at least mostly, memorised the main points of.

Read Directly from Notecards

Same as the previous point, you can reference your notecards, but that’s all they should be—a reference point.

Read Directly from Your PowerPoint Presentation

If you spend your entire presentation looking at the screen, so will your audience. They'll then disengage from what you're saying, and your presentation will fall flat.

Tips to Level Up Your Skills

These PowerPoint tips will take you directly inside of PowerPoint and help you level up your next PowerPoint presentation. Knowing these presentation tips can build confidence in your next presentation and deliver a great showcase to your audience. Let's dive in.

Use the Visual Guides

When you're designing your?next PowerPoint presentation, it helps to create a sense of visual rhythm. Slides that have objects appropriately aligned and centered are naturally more likely to resonate with an audience.

Use a Few Animations (Tastefully)

Animations in PowerPoint presentations are a slippery slope. We've all sat through presentations where there were so many objects in motion that it was easy to lose focus on the key ideas in the presentation.

But that's why animations get an unfairly bad reputation. In fact, animations can be used to create motion and hold an audience's attention. Use them sparingly and on key elements on your slide and you'll capture that attention properly.?

Add a Video to Your PowerPoint

When you're sharing a big idea in your presentation, it helps to share your perspective from a few different angles. Adding a video to supplement your content can do just that. Luckily, it's easy to add and embed a YouTube video in your next PowerPoint presentation.

Add Charts & Graphs

Charts and graphs can help you tell stories with data. It's easy for an audience to zone out when you throw a big data table or set of statistics at them.

?Build Infographics with SmartArt

One of my favourite PowerPoint features is SmartArt, which allows you to build infographics right inside the app.

You don't have to use another graphic design app like Photoshop or Illustrator to add visuals. Instead, try out SmartArt to help you build graphics that are easy to update.?

Use Presenter View

Remember that when you use PowerPoint,?you're the presentation. The slides are just there to reinforce what you've got to say and support your speaking points.

That's why I always recommend using the Presenter view. Often, you're going to have multiple displays. Use Presenter View to show the information that's relevant to you on your private screen, with your presentation showing on the additional display.

Rose Davidson is an entrepreneur, podcast host, producer and trainer, online event manager, Livestream presenter and producer, Amazon #1 International bestselling author (2020) and BRAINZ Magazine Executive Contributor and award winner (2021), international speaker, and a co-founder of Healing Through Love, a domestic and family violence awareness initiative started in Adelaide, Australia.

Rose has a burning passion for supporting others to creatively fulfil their passions through online services; whether it be video production, consulting or coaching clients looking at branding themselves using content where they can project themselves as experts via podcasting or online events.