Secrets of high-impact presentations

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At their most basic level, all presentations are pretty much the same. The slides usually have the same layout, there’s some (or a lot of) text, maybe an image or two (or ten). Maybe a few of the slides even have video!

So what makes some presentations powerful enough to move an audience, while others seem to slow time itself and drag on for an eternity? Is it the template? The writing? The presenter? Or maybe how much time they spend creating it?

Or is it a secret known only to an elite tier of presenters, something that could change the way you present forever?

Slide secret #1: It all starts with story

There are a few ways to think about storytelling. The first is structured and defined, relying on frameworks and narrative techniques to craft a clear story arc. The other is more about flow and content, focusing less on what you say and more on how you say it.

Frameworks are a great place to start, offering some clear direction for how to frame your content as a story and keeping you from veering too far off track – a bit like training wheels on a bike. But like training wheels, relying too much on frameworks can eventually hold you back. Presentations have their own unique twists and turns, and will often follow their own logical flow that doesn’t exactly fit with a traditional “hero’s journey” format, for example. But sticking too close to the format can lead you away from a flow that makes sense for your story, or encourage a “checking boxes” approach where you fit your content to the structure regardless of whether it really helps.

So consider a framework to help you get started, but from there, presentation storytelling really starts to be less about what you say and more about how you are saying it. Does the content flow logically? Does the way you present the info create drama and tension that keeps the audience engaged? Are you creating an emotional connection with the audience? These intangibles may be less direct than an Intro-Body-Conclusion structure, but these questions can lead to authentic, engaging stories that really resonate with your audience. And that’s what makes the difference between a presentation that says something and one that makes a statement.

Slide secret #2: To do more, do less

As you click through your presentation, the general rule of thumb is that you’ll be lucky if the audience remembers one thing from each slide. Most presenters know this instinctively – in our experience, if you ask someone what their ideal presentation looks like, they’d likely say “clean, simple, not too much on each slide.”?

But despite this knowledge, most presenters still end up overcrowding their slides. Whether it’s covering bases, concern about clarity, or just better-safe-than-sorry-ism, the desire to play it safe generally outweighs knowledge that cleaner slides are typically more effective.

This happens most often when a presenter writes out their content in an outline or script, and then has the slides designed. When you write out a slide, it might look like you have barely any content at first, causing you to add more stuff. But once the fonts are bigger, images are added, and white space is accounted for, you will find that even what looked like too little content will actually be far too much.

The fix is easy: just do less.?

Often, we find that slides are actually trying to make several key points, rather than focusing on one, with the result being that instead of one clear point, there are multiple muddy ones.

Instead of thinking “does this slide have everything I possibly need on it,” start by asking what you really want the audience to take away from each slide. Once you identify that main takeaway to each slide, look at everything else that’s on there and ask if that other content is helping to make your point. You could also try the exercise of taking away 50% of the words on the slide and seeing if the point is still clear. If so, try adding those to another slide or just covering them in the voice over.?

Once you get used to clean, simple slides, you’ll start seeing the difference everywhere, and you’ll never go back to messy, over-stuffed slides.

Slide secret #3: Feelings matter

Presentations are logical. Ideally they present a clear story, in a flow that makes sense, with clear information that the audience can act on.?

But decision-making is often more emotional than logical. So if your presentation only works on one side of the brain, what opportunities are you missing?

One big secret to drawing the audience in is to find moments to cultivate an emotional connection with them. There’s no one-way to do this, because each presenter will have their own personal style and approach. But there are a few good ways to start adding these moments throughout your presentation.

The simplest way is to speak their language. Communicate with a tone and style that is appropriate for your audience, and make it as conversational as possible. That means minimizing the jargon and acronyms, not relying too much on technical language, and most importantly, talking like a normal person instead of a business robot.

Other techniques can include adding some personal moments and anecdotes to create connection, or adding some humor, but these can be tricky to do well.? They can also quickly be overdone. In general, we recommend finding a few moments, like the open/close slides or a key transition, to inject some personality and emotional connection.

The big secret of high-impact presentations

Here it is, the top secret that every great presenter knows, the one thing that makes great presentations so much more impactful than ordinary ones: there is no secret.

A great presentation is really a great conversation. It’s about knowing who your audience is, and what the best way to communicate with them is. And while they are unique, they succeed when they adhere to the basic principles of information design and human cognition.?

Our brains don’t want to work harder than they have to, so simple slides work best. Our eyes want pretty pictures to enjoy and learn from, so clear visuals that support the story help aid understanding. Our hearts want to connect with others, so creating moments of empathy and emotion help create a bond between presenter and audience.

Once you start applying these ideas, you’ll see the difference almost immediately. And when someone asks you what your secret to great presentations is, you can look them in the eye and say, “there is no secret.”

Want more tips and advice on better business communication? The presentation experts at VerdanaBold are here to help. We offer presentation design and storytelling services, corporate presentation training, and a huge library of free educational content that’s always being updated. Contact us to learn more about how better presentations can elevate your business communications!