One of the characteristics that separates a motivational speaker from other types of corporate educators (and salespeople) is that the latter often focus on the content of a presentation by way of their PowerPoint slides. And so, as a result, spend most of their preparation time fiddling with themes and animations.
Unfortunately, this approach doesn’t leave them with enough time left over to think hard about the really important things like how to be more persuasive.
This is just one of many bad habits that PowerPoint “jockeys” can develop. Here are some industry best practices to prevent this happening to you.
(FYI: In this article I’m going to concentrate on how to work with your PowerPoint slides so they support your program, rather than distract from it. (I’ll leave the preparation of the slides for another occasion.)
- Tip 1: If you’re in control of how the room is laid out, make sure the PowerPoint screen is located off to the side. This makes it easier for you stand “center-stage,” the most powerfully persuasive position.
- Tip 2: Here’s a tip I learned from a Texas motivational speaker. Don’t fall into the easy trap of reading from your PowerPoint slides. Make a specific effort to maintain eye contact with your audience. (Remember, you are responsible for persuading the audience, not the slides.)
- Tip 3: While you will have to dim the lights a little bit so attendees can see your slides, don’t let the event planner turn off all the lights completely. You become a less effective speaker when the audience can’t see your face. Also audience members will be tempted to fall asleep…Not good! (Rather than being unnecessarily confrontational, explain that you can’t see your notes…The planner has little choice but to adjust the lighting.)
- Tip 4: Have specific strategies for drawing the audience’s attention away from the PowerPoint slides. For example, consider using other media (such as a flip chart) in addition to your PowerPoint slides. You can then bounce off the bullets on your slides and expand on each point using the chart.)
- Tip 5: Don’t fiddle with the projector remote, it’s far more distracting than you realize.
- Tip 6: Always turn off the projection (not the projector) when you’re not actually referring to a slide. This is so audience members can refocus on you and your body language.
Here’s how: If you press “W,” the screen fades white. If you press “B,” the screen fades black. Simply repeat the keystroke to return to your presentation…Easy, and very important!
- Tip 7: Rehearse with your PowerPoint slides beforehand. Always know what your next slide is going to be; so changing slides doesn’t break your rhythm.
One final point…
The commonest time for a keynote speaker, salesperson or industry educator to mentally lose their place in a speech occurs as they transition between one content block and the next.
One of the best things about using PowerPoint slides is that your blocks of content are pre-organized. And so you can rest confident in the knowledge that you won’t “forget your place”. (If necessary, you can simply glance at the new slide to be reminded of your next subtopic.)
This leaves you free to focus on being your persuasive best so you can sell your product or motivate your team…
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