7 Ways to Make Presentations More Convincing

The point of a presentation is to convince decision-makers to make a public commitment to whatever

you're selling, according to G. Richard Shell and Mario Moussa, co-authors of the excellent book The Art
of Woo. Here's how:

1. Make it vivid.

Rather than abstract concepts ("reduces costs," "increases productivity") use concrete, real-life examples
that carry emotional heft with the audience ("saved ABC $1 million," "prevented XYZ from going
bankrupt.")

2. Put your heart into it.

If you don't really believe in yourself, your firm, and its offerings, you'll persuade nobody. And it's not
enough to simply believe... it must be obvious to the audience that you're a true believer.

3. Tell a story.

Humans use stories to order events so that they make sense to their daily lives. Your presentation should
have a hero who overcomes obstacles to achieve a goal. BTW, the hero must be the customer, not you.

4. Personalize your examples.

A presentation should cause an emotional shift from being "undecided" to being "certain." This is only
possible if your presentation is relevant to your audience's work and life experiences.

5. Make it a puzzle.

If there's some mystery to your presentation, your audience will get involved solving it. So don't reveal
everything up front, especially when you're telling a story. Let the story evolve into a meaningful ending.

6. Use telling metaphors.

Drawing parallels with the familiar helps the audience grasp complex ideas. Example: "Photolithography
becomes problematic at 180nm." Or, in other words, "It's like trying to draw a blueprint with a hunk of
chalk."

7. Force them to think.

True decision-makers are quickly bored by ideas and information that they already understand. Instead,
they crave opportunities to exercise their brainpower to learn something new and insightful.
Make Convincing Presentations in 4 Easy Steps

Worried about having to present your ideas to a group of people? Whether it’s a huge conference with
1000 delegates or 3 senior managers from another team, it can be daunting to have to put together
presentation material and then deliver it.

It doesn’t have to be overwhelming. You can give a convincing presentation and be confident about it if
you follow these 4 steps.

Step 1: Research

You need to know your topic. If it’s your business strategy or your current project then you probably
know an awful lot about it already. However, if you need to do any research then get that done so you
have the right information to prepare.

Think about the message you want to get across and the objective of the presentation. If you are asking
for funding, your message will be different to someone who is explaining the latest status of their
project.

This is probably the single most important thing that you can do to make your presentation convincing.
Pitching your material in a way that the audience can understand should not be understated as a way to
really make an impact.

Step 2: Illustrate

No one wants to watch a presentation that is just slide after slide of bullet points. You need to use
images to keep your audience interested and that means more than just clip art. The right images can
help you get your message across more easily.

The whole point of using pictures is that your audience will understand what you are talking about, so
when you’re discussing business strategy or your current projects don’t rely on stock images of people
shaking hands. Make your pictures count.

There are lots of online and desktop based image creation tools so find some that work for you. Don’t
spend too long on it though! You are probably working on a deadline.
Step 3: Practice

Practice, practice, practice! That means finding a quiet room, standing up and giving your presentation.
Do it a few times, and then a few more. You don’t want to sound as if you have rehearsed your script but
you also want the confidence that you’ve got your key points down. This is especially important if you
don’t have the opportunity to use notes, or you have chosen not to use them. For the record, there is no
harm in having notes, either in your notebook in front of you while presenting to a meeting room or on
the lectern in a large hall.

Practicing also makes sure that you can deliver your presentation within the time you have. It’s
uncomfortable to have 40 minutes of material when your slot is 25 minutes. Equally, if you’ve been told
to present for an hour you need to be able to fill the time (although coming in a few minutes early is
always a good thing!).

Step 4: Prepare For Questions

Finally, think about the end of your presentation. Will you get questions? As a keynote speaker at a
conference, you probably won’t. But in an office environment or a smaller setting, you probably will
want to factor in time for questions.

Questions are a good thing because it means the audience has listened and want to engage with you.
They also give you clues as to what is bothering the audience, which, if your presentation was a sales
pitch, is really valuable information.

You’ll also feel more confident if you have access to supporting documentation, so make those mindmap
links clickable and be ready to call up more information if you need it.

Next time you are faced with doing a presentation, follow these 4 steps and you’ll be confident and well-
prepared! Your arguments will be convincing and you’ll feel good about giving your talk. Good luck!