A well-planned presentation is key to sharing your writing with an audience in a way that will leave them impressed by your knowledge. Yet, crafting an engaging presentation can be challenging if you are inexperienced with public speaking, and even professional orators often need a refresher course. Fortunately, the best practices for creating an interesting presentation are quite simple to follow, and these strategies can help you prepare a slideshow that will organize your information while keeping your audience engaged. So, how to make a good presentation?
Consider Your Audience
The first step to take before creating any presentation is to spend a few minutes thinking about your audience since this will guide every other critical element. In order to make a good presentation, you should intensively think about who will be listening to you. For example, an audience of your peers may allow you to inject more humor into your presentation. Alternatively, an audience of professionals may require more attention to providing factual information.
Develop The Main Point
Information overload is one problem that you can avoid by selecting one main objective to cover throughout your presentation. Ideally, your main point should be broad enough that it can be broken down into smaller chunks of supporting information. You would not make a good presentation if there would not be the main point in it. For a presentation based on an essay, your main point will likely be your thesis.
Use Stories To Generate Interest
A presentation that only consists of facts and figures is guaranteed to be dry and boring.
A presentation that only consists of facts and figures is guaranteed to be dry and boring. Be sure to break up the monotony by adding a few stories into the mix. Personal stories that relate to the theme work well since they encourage the audience to relate to the material. News stories are another way to add a narrative to your presentation that can heighten interest while demonstrating that your information is relevant to current events. Those stories will definitely help you to make a good presentation.
Choose The Right Software
PowerPoint is often the go-to software for students and professionals who must create a presentation. However, there is a wide variety of software available that can be used to enhance your presentation. For example, Prezi is a free option that can help you avoid the typical slideshow and instead use a free-flowing design that allows you to zoom in on your desired area of the presentation. While you are exploring software types, go ahead and also use an online plagiarism checker to ensure that your essay and presentation are free from copying.
Find The Right Structure
The structure of your presentation will guide your audience through the information in a way that is memorable and sensible. Assess your essay to identify which type of structure will work best for your information. For example, a how-to essay would work well with a linear structure that goes from one step to another while a historical essay may work best by talking about each point in chronological order. Once you have created your presentation, take time to double-check for errors and potential instances of plagiarism. Then, practice presenting it in front of your family and friends. Remember, that audience participation will keep everyone engaged so ask questions, walk through the room or suggest a pop quiz at the end. By taking the time to make sure your presentation is organized and engaging, you will speak with confidence and stand out as an authority on your topic.
We hope these tips will help you to make a good presentation. Good luck!