5 Tips for Effective Presentations

Presentation fatigue is real. And while evolving technology tools can help, content is still up to the presenter. These five simple tips can help you create more interesting and memorable content:

Make a plan. Start with your objective, then determine your main points and key takeaways. Include all need-to-knows: who, what, when, where, how.
Follow the 5/5/5 rule = no more than 5 words per line of text, 5 lines of text per slide or 5 text heavy slides in a row. Keep your audience from disengaging by keeping content to a minimum. Slides should only list main points; let your narrative explain and offer further information. If the audience can just read along with what you say, they will eventually start to tune you out.
Add visual interest. This will break up text-heavy slides and should emphasize your content. Photos, icons and (especially) infographics are great tools and make it easier for audiences to retain information.
Maintain consistency. Presentation decks that have a consistent look help audiences stay focused on the material and are more memorable. Use no more than two to three different fonts and keep visuals consistent in look/feel/color. Refer to your company brand standards for guidance. *Let me know if this is a tool you could use!
Make it memorable and fun! Humor always helps break the ice and capture audience attention. An easy way to do this? Share a funny personal photo to illustrate something in your bio or other material (when appropriate). Leading in with the element of humor will immediately put you and the audience at ease.

Here’s some inspiration: I’m sharing a few Google slides from a recent presentation project that illustrate these rules. I created infographics to add visual interest to the main points of the presentation, all while keeping to the client’s brand colors and style guide.

Want to reinvigorate and re-engage your team and/or clients? I can create presentations and other marketing materials that are on-brand by using personalized images, infographics and more – making your content more memorable, impactful and effective. Or I can simply provide pointers or an “upgrade” for existing or upcoming presentations.