In the world of business, presentations are what solidify your bottom line. Most deals made involve some form of presentation in order to make the benefits and motivation for the deal clear. You don’t want to risk being without a stellar presentation and presenting skills, no matter what you’re selling. To avoid missing out on key opportunities, use the tips below to supercharge your presentation today and feel confident you’re doing a great job.
- Prepare
Preparation is key to a great presentation. The last thing you want is to forget an important segment or statistic that could make your case. Rehearse your presentation beforehand and don’t rely on cue cards or a script while you’re in the room with a prospect.
- Start strong
Don’t bore your audience to death. Start strong in your presentation and get them engaged immediately. Begin with your most compelling point or have them perform a physical activity, even raising their hands. This makes it a physical, not mental, performance. If you get listeners hooked at the beginning, they will be more likely to stay engaged throughout the presentation.
- Ask questions
If you spend too much of your presentation talking at your audience, you could easily lose them. People today have short attention spans. Include short breaks from talking where you ask your prospects questions to get them re-engaged. Great questions are “what do you think so far?” and “on a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you agree with what you’ve seen here today?” 0r something even more specific to your presentation. These kind of inquiries let you gauge how much you have really won them over.
- Overcome resistance
Unless you live in a dream world, your audience will have some resistance or questions to your presentation. In the interest of moving them forward with your ideas, you should prepare responses to common objections. Practice them beforehand so you can use them without hesitation. This will project greater confidence and persuade your listeners you know what you’re talking about and that your subject is interesting and beneficial.
- Obtain action
A presentation does not exist for the sake of giving a presentation. Establish the clear goal that you want out of it. Perhaps it’s a follow-up meeting, or a sale, or a donation. With this in mind, always ask for the “close” at your presentations’ end.
If you are a professional who makes presentations, your craft is something that must be learned over time. However, you can use quick techniques like those above as guideposts to improve your ability to wow your audience and customers. Use the tips today as you build an all-star presentation for your company.
