5 Tips for Presenting Engaging Material

Giving a good presentation that’s fun and engaging isn’t the easiest thing to do. But knowing that your presentation could benefit yourself, or the company, or even change lives, you may get so stressed out that it inhibits your ability to perform well. Most of us have been here at some point, but giving a presentation that will actually be enjoyed and keeping people engaged with your message is possible if you remember a few key things.

1. Make Your Printed Material worth Reading

Many presentations require printed material as a supplement to what’s at the front of the room. But let’s face it – sometimes they’re downright boring, and it’s a chore to read them. Say you have a training document. Break up the monotony of black and white with coloured separators and colour-coded sections. If you want people to read the material, make them pop! Get some help from experts like The Print Group who’ll know just what to do to turn ordinary print into a visual delight. Check out some examples here.

2. Keep Your Visuals in Check

You’ll probably have a PowerPoint presentation or other means of presenting charts, tables and graphs, and key points to illustrate your message. You need to keep them simple enough for everyone to read, absorb and remember. Too many words, or a ridiculous amount of graphs will complicate everything! You want them to listen too; they shouldn’t have to work too hard focusing on your slides.

3. Make it Short and Sweet

The longer your presentation, the faster your audience will lose interest. It’s a known fact that people’s attention will drop rapidly if you talk for 30 minutes or more. You’ll risk not making an impact with your core ideas and the audience won’t remember important morsels of information because your presentation was… just… too… long. The best speakers throughout history were known for condensing information into concise, short phrases loaded with meaning.

4. Make Your Audience Relate

Very quickly, your audience can lose track of what you’re saying if you use too many figures, graphs, or jargon. You need to reel them back in by using a little storytelling. Refer to events from everyday life that people are familiar with. Bang – you’ve drawn a connection between you! If you make things look simple, your audience can visualise the information clearly, thus they’ll have a better understanding of the subject.

5. Have Some Structure

When you’re done warming up the crowd, you can introduce your core ideas and concepts. However, you should stick to the same style throughout. If you started off with a joke, you can’t just start droning on. Throw a joke in now and then, and be positive and energetic to keep the audience happy and wanting to hear more. Have a structure. Ideally, your presentation should consist of several key points, addressed efficiently. Move from one point to the next in a logical way, accentuating the important points and ending with a strong conclusion.

If you want to engage people and be remembered as the person who gave that awesome presentation, you need to be make it fun and enjoyable, without appearing like you’re desperate for their validation. There are many things you can do to engage an audience effectively. Keep practicing and learn from some of the great speakers of the past.