Talk to any sales guy
and he’ll tell you how cruel it is to design slide after slide for a big
presentation! Although he might be good with PowerPoint presentation templates,
chances are he’ll fail to address the bigger picture: a compelling story! PowerPoint
isn't as evil as people have made it to be: it is instead a great tool if you
could put it to good use. The soul of a PowerPoint presentation lies in
mounding it in the form of a compelling narrative. The use of dramatic
principles of storytelling should be incorporated into every presentation, so
that it grips the audiences’ collective attention!
Here are 4 tips on how to tell interesting stories using the most used and err… ‘feared’ computer tool:
1. Narrate the draft before you open PowerPoint
Don’t simply start off with opening PowerPoint and yammering away with whatever you’ve prepared. Have you ever picked a book without reading its review? Prepare a narrative before you finally switch on the projector. Tell your audience what you’d be talking about before you begin with your slides. This would help them brace themselves for what follows and they’ll be more attentive to what you’re trying to say!
2. Use a perfect blend of pictures and text
An overdose of either would fail to deliver the intended impact. A visual story is the one which is replete with equal textual and graphical content. Compile photos that would perfectly relay the message that you want to convey to your audience. A valuable word of advice: use faces whenever possible as the brain would respond favourably to faces over abstract images. Avoid using clip-arts at any cost!
3. Make it memorable
You can’t have a gripping story unless you make it memorable! Use real life stories to add substance to your presentation. For instance, if you’re delivering a product related PowerPoint presentation, ensure that you pull out live examples where the product has helped people out of their predicament!
4. Stir emotion yet don’t make it melodramatic!
Fusing in emotion would have a greater impact on your audience. The more emotion you stir, the more your presentation would etch itself in the memory of your target audience. However, you should avoid being too melodramatic. It would make your story sound less authentic and more “creatively woven”! That’s the last thing you want to happen!
Here are 4 tips on how to tell interesting stories using the most used and err… ‘feared’ computer tool:
1. Narrate the draft before you open PowerPoint
Don’t simply start off with opening PowerPoint and yammering away with whatever you’ve prepared. Have you ever picked a book without reading its review? Prepare a narrative before you finally switch on the projector. Tell your audience what you’d be talking about before you begin with your slides. This would help them brace themselves for what follows and they’ll be more attentive to what you’re trying to say!
2. Use a perfect blend of pictures and text
An overdose of either would fail to deliver the intended impact. A visual story is the one which is replete with equal textual and graphical content. Compile photos that would perfectly relay the message that you want to convey to your audience. A valuable word of advice: use faces whenever possible as the brain would respond favourably to faces over abstract images. Avoid using clip-arts at any cost!
3. Make it memorable
You can’t have a gripping story unless you make it memorable! Use real life stories to add substance to your presentation. For instance, if you’re delivering a product related PowerPoint presentation, ensure that you pull out live examples where the product has helped people out of their predicament!
4. Stir emotion yet don’t make it melodramatic!
Fusing in emotion would have a greater impact on your audience. The more emotion you stir, the more your presentation would etch itself in the memory of your target audience. However, you should avoid being too melodramatic. It would make your story sound less authentic and more “creatively woven”! That’s the last thing you want to happen!
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