What makes a good presentation? Not only do these include excellent PowerPoint slides; they are just one part of a successful presentation. They have to adapt form and content to the target group again and again to achieve the greatest possible success.
Presentation is an absolute key qualification today
The ability to present convincingly is one of the key qualifications in business and public life today. There are countless occasions where a presentation is now a part of the job. It starts at school, continues with studies or vocational training and accompanies a large number of working people throughout their working lives. Professional success depends to a large extent on whether a person can present professionally. Not so long ago, with a little luck, one could somehow get past this topic. Today, presentation is part of the working world.
The optimal type of presentation for all occasions is the dream of all presenters
Countless books have been written about presentations. The more books one reads about this topic, the more different opinions about the right way to present can be found. Many authors find that the pyramid principle developed for McKinsey in the 1960s is the ultimate method for building a presentation. Other experts argue that only through the right storytelling can important messages be conveyed safely. One author recommends showing only individual keywords on a slide, the next presentation professional assures that text has no place in modern presentations and that only the visual language will lead to the goal.
I myself have been dealing with the topic of presentation for decades. Over the years, I have read dozens of books about the right way to present yourself, and I have also written a few books on the subject myself. I am always invited to give lectures to explain my knowledge about the right methods. And of course I have also been looking for the ultimate blueprint for the perfect presentation. Clients who want to have professional PowerPoint presentations created by a presentation agency would of course want the ultimate for their money. So what could the perfect presentation look like that leaves nothing to be desired?
What are the basic rules for successful PowerPoint presentations?
But with the right method, it’s one of those things. I have often experienced how experienced speakers have used a generally accepted method and still only moderately appealed to the audience. Because as useful as it can be in one case to rely on the pyramid principle, it can be of little use in another topic and with a different audience. Storytelling is an excellent tool, but in certain situations the method is completely out of place. You will most likely not be able to reach all people in the audience with a certain presentation method. What may be too dry and overloaded with information for one viewer, may be too superficial and shallow for another. You will probably never be able to please everyone. But if by far the largest part of the audience gives positive feedback, you have done it right.
Professional preparation for the target group considerably increases the chances of success
There are speakers who go to an event with their presentation and then let themselves be surprised who is in the audience on that day. They rely on their experience and expertise and assume that they are already striking the right note. This is very reckless, because a failed one-time presentation can ruin the whole presentation. It is often a good start, for example, to create a good atmosphere with a little joke. But this can just as well go wrong if the jokes don’t do justice to the occasion or the audience. Therefore it is a very good idea to find out as much as possible about the audience before the presentation. Often you don’t have a homogeneous group in front of you, but most of the time you can find out something about whether the people sitting in the seats are more young or old, more academics or workers, people who want to be entertained or people who are looking for a solution to a problem. The more you can find out about your audience, the better you can adapt your presentation to them.
The audience decides what is a good or bad presentation. This simple fact is something many presenters do not take into account when preparing their presentations. Most focus their attention on what information they want to convey. But just as important is the question of who the information should go to.
If you work with a good PowerPoint agency, your contacts will attach great importance to analysing the target group in order to tailor a presentation to the needs of the expected audience.
The perfect target group looks different for different target groups.
A universal presentation that works equally well for any occasion and any audience is a tempting idea. But when you create a PowerPoint presentation, you need to consider many important factors at once. Companies often underestimate the effort required to make a presentation a real success. Even if you want to design the individual PowerPoint slides yourself, it is a good idea to consult an experienced presentation agency for strategic advice. The experts have extensive experience in determining which form of presentation is effective for which target group. This increases the chances of success for your next presentation considerably.
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