Tips for Making an IMPACTFUL PowerPoint Presentation

 

QUALITY POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS

1. Avoid using patterned backgrounds because they can reduce readability.

2. Use contrasting colors for text and background. Light text on a dark background is best.

3. Use great-quality images that reinforce and complement your message. Ensure that your image maintains its impact and resolution when projected on a larger screen.

4. Make sure the slides are readable from the back row seats. Text and graphic images should be large enough to read but not so large as to appear “loud.”

5. Have a Plan B in the event of technical difficulties.

6. Practice with someone who has never seen your presentation. Ask them for honest feedback about colors, content, and any effects or graphic images you’ve included.

7. Do not read from your slides. The content of your slides is for the audience, not for you, the presenter.

8. Know your audience. 

9. Select a single sans-serif font such as Arial or Helvetica. In addition, avoid serif fonts such as Times New Roman or Palatino because these fonts are sometimes more challenging to read.

10. It is more effective to have bulleted points appear one at a time so the audience listens to the presenter rather than reading the screen

11. Speak comfortably and clearly.

12. BE YOURSELF.

13. SHOW YOUR PASSION for the work your organizations offers to people in need. People can easily sense genuine, heartfelt presentations. 

PRESENTATION LIMITATIONS

1. Limit punctuation and avoid putting words in all-capital letters. Empty space on the slide will enhance readability.

2. Limit the number of slides. Presenters who constantly “flip” to the next slide will likely lose their audience. A good rule of thumb is one slide per minute.

3. Simplify and limit the number of words on each slide. Use key phrases and include only essential information.

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5 Ways to Practice Your PowerPoint Presentation

1. Rehearse in front of a crowd.

Standing in front of a group of people, giving your speech, and seeing their reactions is a great ways to boost your confidence in your material and delivery.  

Whether it’s a small group of friends, co-workers, family, or even a random group of strangers, giving your presentation allows you to see reactions and get natural human feedback.  This will calm your nerves and make you more comfortable with the entire experience.  

You’ll often find that your worst mistakes will surface on this first go-around, leaving you with plenty of time and feedback to correct and re-organize your thoughts.

2. Record yourself.

You can judge your voice's inflection, speed, and enunciation by hearing and seeing yourself.  You always want to put yourself in your audience’s position, seeing and hearing yourself as they would see you.  

It is not so much about perfecting your orating skills are essential. However, the most IMPACT and ENGAGEMENT comes from showing your passion and personality through your words.  To come across as original and confident, you want to show your true character and that you’re comfortable in your speech.

It comes down to carefully observing yourself and constructively criticizing the elements of your speech.  You have to take the time to honestly grade yourself before you can expect to deliver a solid presentation.  

For example, TED TALKS speakers train themselves and prepare extensively in advance for their talks.  

Comfortably, be yourself. Again, blend your passion and personality with your message and find the happy medium between your goals and the outcome.

Honestly, answer these questions to yourself: What do you think?  Was this helpful?  Do you have any additional tips or guidelines about preparing for a presentation? 

3. Experiment.

Refrain from repeating the same lines repeatedly if you think it sounds boring or awkward.  

Let loose and find ways to make your presentation exciting for your audience.  

Experiment with variations of words, including a funny story, and make a joke.  

Relax!  Remember, your presentation's two most essential things are being transparent and passionate. You can have a lot of fun if you free yourself from the boring presentation structure and have a little fun out there.

4. Time yourself.

Timing is crucial in presentations. 

Effortless presentations take practice. The general rule of thumb is to keep it short, simple, and to the point.  Since your goal is to decrease time while maintaining quality, practice trimming your message to include the most important and relevant information without the fluff.  

Set a goal of the time you think is appropriate for your audience, then refine or beef up your talk accordingly.  The more comfortable you are with your time, the more flexible you can be as you give your presentation.

5. Take notes.

As you practice, it is helpful to stop whenever you notice a mistake or an uncomfortable moment and jot down a few notes.  

In any practice situation, do not hesitate to analyze and re-analyze your presentation as you go.  

Write down things like cutting down on time on certain parts, making sure you enunciate tricky words, or refining the structure of your talk.  

You would be surprised by how many issues you can find when you take the time to look at yourself closely.

Good luck, and feel free to contact us for more help!

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Understanding Facebook Business Page Lingo

Each year, about twice a year, I teach a social media marketing crash course in Philadelphia. For the last ten years I have seen at least 100 different Facebook business and personal page themes. The website and application updates are visual, loading time, and effective navigation.

For business owners, it can be frustrating keeping up with Facebook updates – especially once you are in a comfortable groove. The reality is more than half of U.S. small business owners do not specialize in marketing and branding. The thought of self-training is daunting, and outsourcing is overpriced.

To ease your pain, this article addresses common social media marketing verbiage or lingo used. I will also discuss frequently asked questions about Facebook business page feature. As a result, you will be able to understand the marketing terminology used by Facebook. This knowledge will allow to spend more time focusing on messaging and reviewing analytics.

Commons social media terms

Actions on Page:  The Actions on Page insight allows you to understand what people do when they are on your Page. The few actions that Facebook considered are clicking on “Get Directions”, clicking on your phone number, clicking on your website, and clicking on your action button.

Algorithm: an algorithm is a set of formulas developed for a computer to perform a certain function. This is important in the social sphere as the algorithm’s sites like Facebook and Google use are critical for developing content promotion strategies.

Avatar: An avatar is an image or username that stands for a person online, most often within forums and social networks.

Blog: Blog is a word created from two words: “web log.” Blogs are  supported by an individual or a business with regular entries of content on a specific topic, descriptions of events, or other resources such as graphics or video. "Blog" is  used as a verb, meaning to keep or add content to a blog.

Clickbait: Clickbait is a term to describe marketing or advertising material that employs a sensationalized headline to attract clicks. They rely heavily on the "curiosity gap" by creating just enough interest to provoke engagement.

Comment: A comment is a response or reaction to a blog post or message on a social network.

Crowdsourcing: Crowdsourcing, like outsourcing, refers to the act of asking for ideas or content from a group of people, typically in an online setting.

Engagement: Engagement is the interaction between people and brands on social networks. For example, on Facebook, engagement includes likes, comments and shares.

Engagement Rate: Engagement rate is a popular social media metric used to describe the amount of interaction -- likes, shares, comments -- a piece of content receives.

Facebook Group: Pages allow real organizations, businesses, celebrities and brands to communicate broadly with people who like them. Official representative creates and manage Facebook Groups. Facebook Groups supply a space for people to communicate about shared interests. Anyone can create a one or more Facebook Groups.

Facebook Stories:  Facebook Stories are short user-generated photo or video collections that can be uploaded to the user's Facebook.

Fan Page: A fan page (also referred to as a business or like page) is the only way for entities like businesses, organizations, celebrities, and political figures to represent themselves on Facebook. Unlike a personal Facebook profile, fan pages are visible to everybody on the Internet.

Fans: Fans is the term used to describe people who like your Facebook Page.

Follower: In a social media setting, a follower refers to a person who subscribes to your account to receive your updates.

Friends: Friends is the term used on Facebook to stand for the connections you make and the people you follow. These are individuals you consider to be friendly enough with you to see your Facebook profile and engage with you.

Geotag:  Geotags are directional coordinates that attach to a piece of content online. For example, Instagram users take photos and often use geotagging to highlight the location.

Hashtag: (on social media sites such as Twitter or Facebook) a word or phrase preceded by a hash or pound sign (#) and used to show messages on a specific topic.

Movies:  U.S. Facebook allows users to see which movies are playing nearby, available showtimes and a list of local theaters and their movie selections.

Social media:  a form of electronic communication (as websites for social networking and blogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages and other content (i.e. videos, photos).

Social media platform: a social media platform is a type of software of technology that enables users to build, integrate or help community, interaction and user-generated content. Blogs and wikis are both social media tools, while, Facebook, Wordpress and Wikispaces are social media platforms for people and companies to use to engage in blogging and creating wikis.

Tag:   You can tag a photo to show who is in the photo or post a status update and say who you're with. If you tag a friend or business like page in your status update, anyone who sees that update can click on the hyperlink (your friend's name or like page) and go to their profile.

User-generated content: the production of content by public rather than paid professionals and experts in the field. Also called “peer production”. User-generated content refers to materials such as blogs, daily news, encyclopedias and other references, product and movie reviews as well as articles on any subject. Editors, journalists, students generate content for school or work. Content creation is even a form of leisure, like journaling or personal blog post.

About the author:  DeAnn Cox is an E-Commerce Entrepreneur, Management, Development & Stewardship Specialist, and Founder of South Jersey Gay Pride. DeAnn enjoys owning and running own five companies. Each of her companies allows her to travel the world, make great friends, impressive networking, and plenty of business opportunities. She has over seventeen years of experience in fundraising, social media, market research and administration with a strong visual sense, excellent writing skills and ability to translate ideas and design concepts across all organizational levels. In her spare time, DeAnn enjoys working out, volunteering, video and board games, and spending time with her family.