The central purpose of any presentation is to communicate your idea effectively. Effective presentations would grab the attention of your audience and invoke the desired response from them. Since learning is better reinforced through visuals, it is desirable to use presentation software to create your slideshow. While such presentation software simplifies the task to a large extent, here are some tips for you to best exploit it to create effective presentations:

Know yourself

Most of us are victims of stage fright of varying degrees, so rehearsing in advance and altering your presentation in a way that would keep you most comfortable while facing a slideshow will allow you space to stay alert and responsive.

Know your audience

Doing a little research on your audience in advance will help you to assess their existing level of knowledge so that you neither start right from the ABCs nor talk about your product in indecipherable coded jargon. Also, it would help you to select your approach while making your presentation.

Know your subject

It is essential for you to know your product inside-out. The worst image of a business is when its staff seems clueless about the prospect's queries. If you are unsure of certain aspects, you must be able to smoothly direct questions to departments in the know.

Structure

A clear and concise overview about the topic you are going to address will help the audience to stay focused. Besides, a well-structured presentation, with distinct title, body and conclusion slides, following a logical sequence, will not only enable your audience to easily grasp what you convey but also build confidence in you and, consequently, in your business.

Tangibility

Pictures being worth a thousand words, remember to use graphics extensively to emphasize your points. Relevant charts and graphs and even the occasional funny image will keep your audience engaged throughout.

Text

An effective presentation [http://www.sliderocket.com/solutions/] should use text only to emphasize what you are saying, instead of acting as your script. Contrary to myth, one key point per slide, made using a large font, actually goes down better with an audience as compared to slides overflowing with data.

Interact

Imagine a history class where a professor drones on about the Civil War while you, at best, tune him out and dream about life after the bell goes off. The same scenario will repeat if you do not allow the audience to talk or question anything you say. Instead, ensure that you invite interaction and bring back attention through simple, relevant questions at regular intervals.

Alternative media

Online presentations are rapidly becoming the media of choice to make effective presentations. Live, online presentations and webinars are more suitable for large audiences, especially across geographical distances.

A challenge inherent in making effective online presentations is that the prospect's attention must be arrested right at the start, before he decides to shut down and leave. Accompanying well-scripted voice narration and animated slides are must-haves of online presentations.

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