If you have a presentation coming up, you may be nervous. This is especially true if you’re not familiar with the process of creating a deck or speaking in front of people. But fear not! This guide will show you how to create a fantastic, engaging presentation in five easy steps.
1) Know your objective
Know your objective before you begin to plan your presentation. What do you want people to know? Who are they? And why should they care about what you have to say? Brainstorm all the ideas you have for your presentation, and how they’re going to be structured. Once this is complete, you’ll know what style of content will be needed (text, images, video) and what information to cover. Then, use presentation software from beautiful.ai to build your presentation.
2) Do your research
Spend time to learn about the topic, read information, watch videos, and more. Learn anything and everything you can so your presentation is equipped with the most accurate information possible. This will not only boost your confidence but also ensure you deliver reliable, factual information for people to use.
3) Know your audience
This may be hard if you have hundreds of people viewing your presentation, but it will benefit you to do some research on the types of people in your audience. For example: Are they a group that has experience reading biomedical journals or are they a group that gets their scientific information from the evening news? Knowing who’s in your audience and what they know about your topic can help lead to a better connection with them during your presentation.
4) Practice, practice, practice!
The best way to present confidently is to practice your presentation as much as possible. Know what you’ll say and how to say it. Memorize a script if that helps you feel more confident about what you have prepared. However, don’t practice so much you’re too familiar and end up passing over important information or making yourself bored because you’ve gone over it multiple times.
5) Relax and be yourself
It might sound obvious, but the most important part of your presentation is to be yourself. Don’t try too hard to make it perfect. People want to hear from real, honest human beings. If you’re relaxed and enjoying what you have prepared for your audience, they’ll appreciate that and be more likely to connect with you.
Final Thoughts
With the right tools and a plan, you’ll be well on your way to presenting like a pro in no time. While there’s no replacement for experience, using the steps above can help you prepare for your next presentation and make sure you get better over time. At the end of the day, the most important thing is to be yourself, have fun, and enjoy the experience… because that energy will really transfer to your audience and help to make your presentation as interesting and engaging as possible.