The primary indicator of an effective presentation is that the message you’re trying to send is actually understood by your audience, not just heard. But how do you ensure that this happens?
Even people who have been presenting for their entire careers will likely attest that it’s not easy to build a powerful business presentation. A lot more goes into having incredible presentation skills than just standing in front of a group of people and speaking. If presenting is a large part of your job, investing in your presentation design and skills is a direct investment into your business.
Here are some common mistakes that people make when presenting that can send your presentation off the rails and how you can avoid making them.
1. Poorly Designed Slides
If you are in business, you may assume that no one will expect you to be a graphic designer and to have a beautiful slide deck. However, poorly laid-out slides with pixilated visuals and incohesive fonts can make you look sloppy and unqualified. Moreover, an audience is much more likely to remember a presentation that really grabbed their attention visually than one that looked lacklustre or average.
Poor presentation design includes things like:
- Too much text on the slides.
- Having your slides in an order that doesn’t make sense or makes the presentation difficult to follow.
- Low-quality visuals such as pictures, videos, and graphics.
- Overusing animations and transitions.
- A lack of design consistency from slide to slide.
To avoid having poorly designed slides, try using a premade template that works with your business and the message you are trying to send. If you have a presentation budget, you should consider hiring a presentation designer to help improve the quality of your slide deck. Not only will having a beautiful presentation leave your audience with something to remember, but it will also help with your confidence as a presenter.
2. Poorly Rehearsed Presentation
If you haven’t appropriately rehearsed, you will come across like you don’t know what you’re talking about. This will cause your audience to feel like you aren’t credible or knowledgeable in whatever topic you are presenting on.
The only way to avoid this mistake is by practicing as much as possible before your presentation. If possible, try running your presentation by someone else to get their feedback. If that isn’t possible, record yourself doing the presentation so you can then watch it back and look for anything that doesn’t work or make sense.
If you struggle with confidence when presenting and find that when you get up to present you start drawing a blank, even if you’ve rehearsed several times, there are things you can do to build your confidence so that it shines through as you’re presenting.
3. Reading Right Off Your Slides or From Your Notes
While it’s okay to reference your slides occasionally if you’ve lost your spot, reading directly from your slides for the entire presentation will disengage you from your audience. Additionally, you will likely have to have your back to the audience to read, making it harder for your audience to hear you and engage with you.
Similarly, it is perfectly fine to have notes with you as you present and, in fact, it’s probably a good idea to do so in case you need to reference them. However, it would be best if you were not reading from your notes throughout the presentation, as doing so will make you seem less credible and confident to your audience.
To avoid feeling like you need to rely on your slides or notes to get you through your presentation, only use bullet points for quick reference and fill in the blanks verbally with the additional information you’ve prepared and rehearsed.
