8 TIPS To Help you Develop Rock Star Presentations

1. Craft a big-bang opening

There’s nothing more boring than, “Hi, I’m so-and-so, and I am here to present on XYZ”.

Yawn! “Hi, I’m so-and-so, and I am here to present on XYZ”. Instead, look to grab your audience by the collar from the get-go.

Here’s an illustration:

Attention-grabbing opening! “95% of the population will be unable to sustain themselves in their retirement years. Are you part of this demographic?”

Vs.

Boring opening! “Welcome to the investor education presentation brought to you by XYZ, India’s largest investment advice company.”

2. Let your audience know that you know what they want …

… enumerate these wants, and then mention that you will be addressing these in your presentation.

You will now have your audience’s undivided attention.

3. BLUF (Bottom-Line-Up-Front)

Give your key takeaways upfront and then tell your audience how you arrived at that main point/ justify your main points.

No one has the patience to wait until the end to hear your key conclusions or points, which are often the only thing that they want to hear from you in the first place.

Of course, you might not always want to BLUF. However, in most presentations, this is recommended.

4. Section your presentation

Sectioning is breaking up your presentation content into bite-sized sections.

Demarcate the sections in your presentation. Verbalise, when you have completed one section and are moving to the next in your presentation, Sectioning, works like coffee beans do when you test perfumes. It helps your audience’s brain chunk newer information/ data into separate mental buckets.

5. Add frequent recaps

Your audience will mostly forget what was said earlier in your presentation when their brain registers newer chunks of information. So, recap the points that you have covered in a section at its end. Recap your key messages at the end of your presentation before delivering a call to action, if any.  Adding regular recaps helps you show continuity between points and build a more coherent narrative.

6. Ensure brevity

Say as much as you need to; not a word more (or less). This will help you avoid the TL-DL (*too long, didn’t listen) problem.

Simplify your communication to amplify its impact.

7. Add hooks

Three things you need to bear in mind (if you want to deliver a rock-star presentation):

1. A serious presentation need not mean a boring presentation
2. You must keep your audience hooked for the length of the presentation
3. You must simplify your content for your audience to understand you

So, use ‘hooks’ in your presentation (and use them liberally, though prudently, throughout your presentation)

Here’s a list of hooks that you can use to meet the above mentione ends:

1. Analogies/Metaphors
2. Visually striking slides
3. Video clips
4. Humour
5. Provocative questions
6. Activity
7. Demos
8. Props
9. Speak their language

Of course, you will need to use those that are pertinent to your presentation.

8. Connect the dots

Often, only the presenter knows: how the various points presented, link-up or flow (the connection between the rationale provided and the inference arrived at).

The audience is left scratching their head about the ‘connections’ or ‘flow’ in the presentation. So, connect the dots (make the connections and the flow between your points, absolutely clear).

Implement the best practices listed above, and you will have laid the groundwork for a rockstar presentation.