Basic Tips to have a Great Presentation

One thing I've always wanted to be an expert in is doing presentations. I have no problems facing a crowd especially when it involves a karaoke machine neither do I have issues upon one-on-one meetings. But put that together and I end up with half-baked, snooze-worthy, bordering on awkward, shaky presentations. 

Now I have a friend who's a part of the Sales Industry and one thing's for certain: the guys is a certified Salesman. He can talk to anyone up to the point of becoming their close friend on the first meeting and when he talks, everyone listens, no matter how silly or serious the topic is. Sales presentation seems to be of no big deal to him and he shared with me some of his tips:

Prepare, prepare, prepare 

Apparently, he isn't born that articulate or fluent, he practices it. He would forced, I mean, ask a colleague to hear out his speech and would ask for an immediate feedback. That way, he'd know right away what lines to work on, what parts he would need to improve on.

Ready your mental keywords 

I used to memorize a script when I was working as a Sales Executive and when I'd flub a line or two, I'd forget the rest of the lines which would make me lose that momentum. Friend mentioned having just a set of keywords that would trigger a set of ideas instead of memorizing and panicking over a whole damn script. Once you've practiced your lines enough, you'd easily discern the keywords that you could use to associate the next lines you'd want to say.

Speak as simple as possible

Unless you're speaking to programmers or scientists, avoid using jargons. Use layman terms, don't use technical terms that your market wouldn't understand, unless the customer started spitting out never-before-heard tems, don't try that with everyone. But remember also to use words that would fit your audience. I don't think using the phrase "Sup nigga, how's shorty doin" would be appreciated by anyone.

Share personal experiences

This what makes presentations truly relevant, when the speaker shares some personal anecdote. It makes the whole presentation interesting and gives out a mental picture to the audience. If they're really listening, they'll be able to actually visualize your story, making your product or service more real and fitting to them.

Inject jokes when appropriate

But when you're not comfortable delivering one, don't even attempt it. Or you'll just be met with an uncomfortable silence and a clumsy segue.

Probably the most important thing I've noticed and heard from a great presentation would be:

Be lively.

Deliver a presentation with enthusiasm. You can have the most boring, stupidest, most useless product in the whole wide world but when you present that with such gusto, such passion, complete with animated gestures and expressive features, they won't even notice your product stinks. Well, after the presentation that is. Point is, a spirited presentation works a whole more than a dead, lethargic one.

A well practiced, simple and enthusiastic presentation would do wonders not only for your confidence but would also positively affect your buyer's interest. So remember practice makes perfect and a passionate presentation trumps a prepared yet dull one.