Making a presentation can be nerve-wracking, even more so if you’re not used to public speaking. However, with a little practice and some careful preparation, you can give a successful presentation that will have your audience hanging on your every word. Here are ten things to keep in mind when creating your presentation deck.
#1: Images that are relevant for your pitch deck
Don’t expect your audience to read every word in your deck; they’ll quickly start to glaze over. Instead, create slides filled with images. Not only will this keep your audience engaged, but it will also make the presentation look professional and polished. Most importantly, make sure you know where each image is coming from before you add it – copyright laws apply to business presentations just as much as they do elsewhere.
#2: Fonts that match your slide deck
You don’t want too many fonts in one presentation because it will start looking messy, but if you stick with just one font throughout, then it won’t be memorable either. The best thing to do is use a simple serif or sans-serif font (Helvetica or Arial) in large font size. This way, your presentation will look professional and readable. When it comes to colors, don’t go too crazy – black or dark blue text on a white background is ideal.
#3: Animation & Special Effects from other pitch deck examples
If you want to keep your audience engaged (and awake), then any animation or special effects in your deck should be subtle. You can use an object in the center of the slide that grows in size over time, for example, but if you’re showing something like website wireframes, just leave them static on-screen with no transitions throughout the presentation. If you need to add more than one slide at once, do so carefully; avoid anything flashy or distracting here because it could begin to look unprofessional.
#4: Don’t read out loud; make sure your tone is in check
When you’re reading out loud from your presentation deck, it’s all too easy to fall into the habit of reading every word that you’ve prepared. However, this can come across as dull and lifeless. Instead, try paraphrasing what you’re saying – break up long sentences into shorter ones, be more descriptive with your language, vary your tone – mix things up so it doesn’t sound robotic or rehearsed. Aim for somewhere in between being completely silent and reading everything word for word to keep your audience engaged throughout the entire presentation.
#5: Your voice matters, be conscious and mindful
Your voice matters just as much as anything else in your presentation deck does. If you speak quickly throughout the whole session, then your audience will quickly become bored, and if you speak too slowly then they’ll soon drift off into sleep. Try to find a happy medium where your voice sounds natural and doesn’t change in speed; this is usually somewhere around the 140-150 words per minute mark.
#6: Use white space
Use plenty of white space in your presentation deck. This is important for making sure that everything is easy to read and visually appealing, but it’s also good for helping your audience focus on certain points without being distracted by anything else going on around them. Make liberal use of blank slides and consider using bullet points whenever possible so that there’s not too much text on each page – instead, just give them enough information to spark their interest but encourage them to look into your offer in more detail at a later date.
#7 – Decide on Your Purpose Beforehand
Before you even start creating your presentation deck, make sure you know what the purpose of your deck is and who it’s for. This needs to be clear before you put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard) so that you can tailor each slide appropriately. If there are going to be managers present then you’ll need to focus on statistics and financial information, for example, whereas if the presentation will be attended by younger individuals, then use imagery and buzzwords throughout instead so they don’t get bored.
#8 – Don’t make it overlong; use a mindmap to organize your thoughts
You need to make sure that your presentation isn’t going to go on for too long, so it’s a good idea to use a mindmap to organize your thoughts beforehand. This will help you figure out which parts of your presentation should be covered in more detail and which ones could be left out. If someone is attending the session then they likely won’t want to sit through all of the information anyway – as such, keep it as concise as you can and don’t include anything that won’t add value to the main points you’re trying to cover.
#9 – Make Sure It’s Engaging
After all, what is the point in creating a presentation deck if no one’s going to be interested in it? You need to make sure that every slide in your deck is engaging so people actually want to listen when you talk about them – bullet points are always better than paragraphs of text or images that don’t tell a story, for example. If you can’t use a lot of text then make sure to use engaging images and interesting colors instead because these will help compensate for the lack of words in your presentation.
#10 – Practice Makes Perfect
This is a phrase that still applies even in the digital age, and it’s important when it comes to creating a presentation deck too! The best way to create a compelling presentation deck is simply by practicing over and over again until you’re satisfied with how everything flows from one slide to another; before long, creating great decks will become second nature to you without much effort at all. In fact, once you’ve perfected your craft, then you’ll be able to quickly create great presentations in mere minutes while standing on your head!
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