12 Tips for Powerful Presentations

By Trish Nicolas, Executive Vice President, Communications Strategy
October 6, 2022

At some point in your career, you will give a presentation. It may be in a small meeting or on a big stage, but – regardless of the format or purpose of your presentation – what you say and how you deliver the information can make or break the opportunity.

Below are our top 12 tips for powerful presentations to help you do your best:

1. Know the different types of presentations. Are you presenting a report, doing a pitch or presentation to an audience (e.g., to your company or at a conference), or is your presentation a performance (e.g., a keynote or TEDTalk)? Understanding what you are ultimately delivering drives both content and delivery. For example:
   
   
   • A report may have more data or information and be anchored in graphs and charts that help to tell a story. Often, reports are read offline instead of being presented.
   • A “classic” presentation at a conference or to a client, partner, or your company should be shorter and have less words, fewer and uber-simplified graphs (if any), and is more about delivering information in a compelling, verbal and visual way to engage your audience.
   • A performance is a keynote, like a TEDTalk – you are both entertaining and engaging – and possibly inspiring – your audience.
     
     
2. PowerPoint is *not* your presentation. What you say – the story you tell – is the presentation. Do not limit yourself and bore your audience in the process. Start with the story! Map it out on a whiteboard, stickies, in Word, then think about the medium/media that will be most relevant and resonant. Maybe that’s PowerPoint, but perhaps it’s a poem, a single photograph, a video, or no props or gimmicks at all.
   
   
3. If you do decide that PowerPoint is the perfect way to deliver your presentation (insert pensive emoji), do not use it as a crutch. It is a backdrop, a prompt, a visual depiction and imprint of what you are saying (see tip #2!). And, s’il vous plaît, don’t read from your slides.
   
   
4.  If PowerPoint is your pal, limit the number of slides. We coach clients to do a run-through, then delete 1/2 of the slides and 2/3 of the words on the slides. Less is best!
   
   
5. No one – we mean no one – wants lots of words on slides, unless it is a report read-out, or a document designed specifically for reading and not presenting. Do you want your audience listening to you or reading what’s on screen? The former is active engagement; the second is passive. Studies show that most people cannot simultaneously effectively read content on a slide and listen to the presenter. Minimize words and use high-impact visuals that are immediately relatable. Move words to the notes for talking points.
   
   
6.  Don’t cram too much into the presentation. What is the one thing you want to convey and your audience to retain? Be cognizant and shape your story around your intended audience takeaways.
   
   
7. Make it easy for your audience to follow by organizing content, ideally into three sections. What are the objectives? Why are you presenting? Give it context and construct.
   
   
8. Simplify, simplify, simplify! People are overwhelmed with information inundation. The most powerful presentations are those where the audience walks away knowing at least one key idea that they can talk about, wrap their heads or hearts around, or that is actionable.
   
   
9. Regardless of the format, you should always understand who your audience is, what’s important to them, what their perspective is… and put yourself in their shoes as best you can and speak in a way that resonates. What do you want them to hear, learn, share, feel, do? Plan and present with intent.
   
   
10. Your goal is not information delivery, it’s information (or inspiration!) consumption and resonance. Keep that in mind as you prepare. Put yourself in your audience’s shoes.
    
    
11. Human stories make your content relatable and are more easily retained by your audiences. Bring the content to life with authentic, relatable human perspective, visuals and storytelling!
    
    
12. Practice. The most experienced orators and performance artists rehearse, many times over. The most viewed TEDTalkers rehearse hundreds of times before going live. Follow their example!
    
    

Bottomline, both content and delivery are critical. It’s the difference between:

• rambling or resonating
• boring or beguiling
• enervating or engaging
• tuning people out or turning them on to your thinking

Powerful presentations and performances are not just about how you deliver information – it’s about how it’s received. That’s the key to audience engagement, resonance, and communications success.