Are you unable to grab enough audience although you are working with one of the best presentation design company? Why? Because, you might just be doing it the wrong way. To make your presentation effective and one of the best presentation designs simultaneously, you need time and proper planning. But what’s the use of creating one, if it doesn’t convert your audience or let’s say at least grab their attention? So here are some mistakes that you dare not make in your target towards an effective presentation.

Not using enough white space:

Experimenting with too much colors is not what a business presentation demands. Colors are good but when it comes to corporate presentation designs, you need to be extra careful while choosing colors. Not using enough white space can be a major mistake when it comes to corporate presentations. White space promotes clarity and makes the slide content look cleaner. This may enhance your audience’s attention towards your presentation.

Using too much text:

We understand that you have a lot to convey to your audience. But stuffing too much information in every slide is irrelevant. Make sure your designing company knows this for a fact. Because your audience is not going to read any of those slides line by line. And even if they did, they wouldn’t understand any of it. All they need is a gist of what you want to convey. They simply need to know how your presentation is useful for them. That’s it. So, minimum texts and explaining the rest is what you need.

Using the same old graphics:

Let’s face it, the audience is bored of seeing the same old graphics. According to psychology, humans always want to see something new every time. Repetition bores them. Say goodbye to those in-stock graphics/images. Instead ask the presentation design company you’ve hired to try some more professional looking images that can grab you more audience.

Using a lot of Jargons:

Jargons are good but too many of them can spoil the language of your presentation. You need to understand that not everyone is well versed with Jargons. And repetitive usage might raise chances of misinterpretation among the audience. Ask the designing company to use Jargons sparingly and wisely so that it doesn’t spoil the presentation.

Too many slides:

You might not realize but your audience might just be losing interest, while you’re busy rushing from one slide to another. The audience needs time to absorb the content of one slide. And bombarding them with another one might just be a killer. Do not overload the audience with a lot of content in one go. It would make a simple thing look complicated. Ask the designing company to design few relevant slides only.

No coherency in Slides:

Before presenting to the audience, ensure if the slides are in flow. You should know which slide should be displayed first and which one later. Lack of a flow will distort the entire meaning of the presentation and the leave the audience confused. Maintaining the overall flow is therefore, a welcome step to create an effective presentation design.

No questions-answer round:

You cannot end your presentation without addressing the queries of the audience. As much as an effective presentation design is important, so is a question round at the end. And a lack of it might let your audience go with confused heads. So instead of ending the presentation vaguely, keep a separate section for questions, answer them confidently and there you go! You have a made a client already.

Not making a proper eye contact with the audience:

When it comes to confidence, eye contact plays a very important role. Clients/audience need assurance that they can trust you when it comes to your product/service. And it partially depends on the way you present. And it’s your responsibility rather than the presentation design company you’ve hired. If you consistently face your slides instead of the audience, they might have a tough time trusting you. This can further damage your reputation. Make sure you practice a lot before the final presentation to build up a confidence level.

Presentations and presentation designs are important part of your business deal. It’s the single chance you get with the audience to make them trust you. So, make sure you give your best. Don’t make the above mistakes and ruin that one chance with the audience. Find out where you go wrong, work on it and ace your next presentation!

Who delivers a better presentation and why?

Recently I listened to a group of senior sales and marketing executives speak at a networking meeting. I also served as a judge at a speech contest for 12-year-olds. These two unrelated events prompted me to compare the presentation skills of each group.

1. Guess who was more engaging, attention grabbing and memorable?

2. Guess who was boring, uninspiring and easily forgettable?

The answer to question one is – the 12-year-olds. They were good.

The answer to question two is – the sales & marketing executives. They needed improvement.

Why did 12-year-olds deliver better presentations than senior sales and marketing executives?

Competition The 12-year olds were competing in a speech contest. Many of their parents were there. Money and prestige were on the line, so they were well rehearsed.

Focus Each presenter had a focused message. Their presentation was designed to deliver that message. Some were deep and serious while others were light and whimsical. In all cases the message was clear and easy to summarize.

Relate The presenters spoke to the interests of the audience. The topics ranged from “the influence of the media”, “tourism in third world countries”, “the family van”, “peculiarities of the English language”, and “homework”. Yet each speaker related the topic to the listener.

Stories Each speaker told colorful stories. That sparked images in my mind. Many said things that were funny and made me laugh. Some statements challenged my opinion. I was impressed by the carefully selected words and phrasing. All were simple and understandable.

Passion Each speaker conveyed passion for their message. Each radiated that they were happy to be speaking to us.

Bold These speakers were bold. They stood before the audience, looked people in the eye, delivered their statements and performed.

What did the Sales & Marketing Executives (SME) do poorly?

Winging it The SME seemed to be winging it – even though they were competing for attention, memorability and jobs. These SME were between jobs but seemed reluctant to compete and rehearse. Yet, clearly a lot of money was on the line. If their family had attended, would they have prepared better?

Vague There was no focus or purpose evident. It almost seemed that they first were reciting their resume and then what they had for breakfast. Okay, I’m exaggerating the breakfast part – but it seemed as boring as porridge.

Pain Each speaker seemed to be caught in their own self-centered world. Most didn’t relate to me or how they might fix my pain or that of my contacts. How could I help them if I didn’t know what they were offering? Stating “who you worked for” tells me little. They needed to speak of pain and solutions.

Blah Facts, history and blah, blah, blah. Some related recent experiences but none that were worth remembering. Many used filler, self-sabotaging and jargon words. I was bored, confused and unimpressed.

Passion? I didn’t feel it. The emotion that I felt was remorse. “Why am I here?”

Timid You might think that Sales & Marketing Executives would be anything but humble. You might think that Sales & Marketing Executives would grasp the difference between benefits and features. I thought so too.

All of the SME sat while speaking, crunched in their chairs some with an arm draped over the back of the chair. It was as if this was a family picnic instead of a possible career defining meeting. I found it curious that none of the men wore a tie. Did they want to be taken seriously? Or was this just a social club?

Presentation Skills Contest Results What’s the score? 12-year olds -1. Sales & Marketing Executives – 0.

Some of you might think that I’m too hard on the Sales & Marketing Executives. That I’m expecting too much from them. Maybe – but I bet that I’m not the only one.