Company presentation

They will be talking about you after your next presentation… make sure that it’s for the right reasons.

Putting together a company presentation? Perhaps it is an investor presentation, a sales presentation or maybe just an overview of your role..

The company presentation is one of the important ways that your company values and brand are communicated. Here are a few tips.

What does the audience want to hear?

Before you start putting together your slides start thinking about what they want to hear and not what you want to tell them. Do they really care about the arcane detail of your company structure? They may be more interested in understanding about how your unique proposition could directly benefit them. Always think about the key things you want your audience to remember.

Do it yourself?

You have Microsoft Access installed on your PC – you wouldn’t dream of becoming the company’s database administrator. You have Microsoft front page on your system but you wouldn’t design the company’s web site. So just because you have Microsoft PowerPoint what makes you think that you will design the company’s presentations?

Common mistakes

One of the most common mistakes that we see in a company presentation is not reducing your proposition to an understandable level. Just because you know how the industry works, don’t assume that your audience does. Simplify your proposition and leave your audience knowing what you do.

Train your staff on how to use the presentation.

We see a lot of of company presentations – particularly sales presentations – that are skillfully put together and then are simply emailed out to the rest of the company. If you want to create the best impact get your best presenter to train the rest of the company in how to give the presentation. If it is difficult to get everyone together you may want to video it and distribute it to the team on CD or on your Intranet. As an absolute minimum put together a set of speaker notes on how to give the presentation.

 

21 Presentation Tips

Keep your audience engrossed from start to finish with these twenty-one simple presentation tips… 1.    Know the Room

By developing a familiarity with the presentation room beforehand, you’ll be able to give your audience a far superior experience.  Visit the area well in advance to identify any issues that might affect your delivery. Is an unruly blind causing projection blur? Does the room carry an obtrusive echo? These and more are factors your audience really should not have to endure, so recognise and resolve them as early as possible.

2.    Avoid Jargon

You may expect your audience to have full prior knowledge of the subject at hand, but what was that ancient proverb concerning the perils of assumption? Speak in plain English to ensure that any impromptu visitors don’t fall victim to your techno-speak.  And should you suspect that certain viewers are falling behind, don’t be afraid to make repetitions.

3.    The Effective Pause

Used strategically, pauses will not only allow you to prepare yourself to deliver the next point, they’ll also allow your audience to absorb the information you’ve just given. Beware, though, that your pauses are not spent fumbling with your laptop or preparing the next slide.  Instead, use the time to display confidence in your material by maintaining strong eye contact with the audience.

4.    Self-Reliance

Never rely on your visuals to carry your presentation – you may come across as languid and spiritless. So keep your slides simple, with clear, abbreviation-free illustrations and not more than thirty words on each.  Then talk your audience through the material, expanding on your major points and using appropriate anecdotes to seal your arguments in the viewers’ memory.

5.    Never Apologise

Searching for a way to lose authority and respect? Easy, just bombard your audience with constant apologies at every minor hiccup. To affirm your position as a competent host and power figure, train yourself to remain dignified in the face of misfortune.

PowerPoint acting up? It’s “Bear with me a mo” not “Sorry it’s so slow”.

6.    Accept the Nerves

Whether it’s your first ever or your thousandth, nerves go with presentations like storms at sea; you never know just when they might pop up.  But if you learn to harness your nervous energy, you’ll be able to give an all-round more effective presentation – and improve your confidence for the next time.

For a full list of jitter-busting tips, please see our dedicated guide here.

7.    Savvy Structure

Unfortunately, your audience’s concentration levels will tend to dip after your initial introduction, and remain in this decreased state, more or less, until a sudden perk-up as you approach your closing statements. Take advantage of this trend by emphatically delivering your most important points at the beginning and end of your presentation.

8.    Dress Rehearse

You’ll want to rehearse – fully clad in your finest presentation attire – at least once before the big day. Ensure that your slides, projector and other apparatus are all in fine working order, and record yourself rehearsing. By then listening to the recording, you’ll be able to gauge your vocal volume and clarity, and add material if you find that the talk falls short of its intended length.

9.    Reveal Yourself

Preferably not literally, but if you express some of your own unique character traits during the presentation, your audience will be able to relate to you on a personal as well as professional level. In turn, your pitch will become more memorable – and its major points far more effective.

10.    Interact

Audience interaction should not be reserved solely for the Q&A session at the end. If you surge through your presentation without giving your viewers the opportunity to comment or raise questions, you’ll risk giving the audience the impression that they’re being spoken “at” rather than “to”. So, pre-designate certain points in your pitch when viewers will be free to voice their thoughts.

11.    Plan for the Worst

Disasters seem to strike at the very least convenient of times, so plan your talk under the assumption that a mid-point power-cut will zap your pitch to an untimely demise. Bring along all the notes you’ll need to deliver an impromptu non-AV presentation, and don’t forget markers for re-creating your slides on the whiteboard. Should the worst happen, your spontaneous aptitude will not go unnoticed.