How to make your presentation stand out

Whether you’re still in education or starting out in your career, presentation skills are high in-demand. So, how can you improve them, and what makes a great presentation?

Chrissie Jere, Director of Education & Training at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Malawi, has 5 tips to make your presentation stand out – for the right reasons!

 

1. Follow the 5/5/5 rule

This is a nice, simple rule to keep in mind when you prepare your presentation.

Each slide should have a maximum of five sentences, each bullet point no more than five words, and you should avoid having five text-heavy slides in a row. By adding any more text, you risk the chance of your audience getting distracted and spending more time reading your slides and less time listening to you.

If in doubt about whether certain content should make it into the presentation, ask yourself: Does this add value? Does it make a difference? If yes, then keep it in. If unsure, it’s safer to leave it out and you can always prepare a handout and share it with your audience after the presentation.

 

2. Keep it clear and simple

Now that you’ve sorted out the content, you can focus on the layout of your presentation. In some cases, you will be given a branded template, with predetermined fonts and colours. But what if you’re starting from scratch?

Choose a font that is clear, readable and large enough so anyone sitting further away from the presentation can still make it out. Use different fonts for headings so they stand out from the rest of the text. In terms of the style, choose a theme and stick with it all the way through. If you are including images, or graphs, make sure they are clear and do not look cramped on the slide.

Lastly, use animations and transitions sparingly, as they can be distracting and slow down your presentation.

 

3. Don't read your presentation

Your presentation is an opportunity to engage with your audience and demonstrate your expertise. You can hardly achieve that if you’re reading out your own slides.

The slides are there to guide your presentation, bring out the key points and give it a nice flow. Anything else will be covered by you, the presenter, as you speak. This means that you should be very familiar with your content, and only look at the slides when you need a reminder of what you want to cover next.

 

4. Engage the audience

Is there really anything worse than listening to someone give dry stats, use technical terminology and sounds like you’re listening to a manual?

The key to engaging your audience, and keeping their interest, is to be as personable as possible in the way you present facts and your content. Instead of dry stats, try putting them into context by sharing a story people can resonate with.

In most cases, humour, when done well, is also appreciated and builds a great connection with your audience.

 

5. Practise

Going through your slides on your own or with a friend will help you feel more relaxed and organised on the day of the actual presentation.

Keep track of how long the presentation lasts, so you can stick to your time limit, and gain a better understanding of how it flows, so you can adjust accordingly.