Tag: powerpoint designer

Presentation Tips to Counterpunch Your Nerves

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Rick Enrico

SlideGenius

Feb 07, 2017

Even experienced presenters can feel nervous before stepping in front of an audience. The fear of public speaking can cause anxiety, shaking, or even mental blocks, but with the right techniques, you can manage and overcome these nerves. The key is to counterpunch your nerves with strategies that build confidence and calm your mind.Here are some presentation tips to help you manage nerves and deliver with confidence:

1. Practice, Practice, Practice

Preparation is the best antidote to nerves. The more you practice your presentation, the more familiar you’ll become with the material, and the less likely you are to feel anxious. Rehearse your presentation out loud multiple times so that you can deliver it naturally and confidently.Why It Works:

  • Builds Familiarity: Repeated practice helps you internalize your content, making it easier to recall under pressure.
  • Increases Confidence: The more you practice, the more confident you’ll feel about delivering your presentation smoothly.

How to Apply It:

  • Practice in front of a mirror, record yourself, or rehearse in front of friends or colleagues.
  • Pay attention to your pacing, tone, and body language during rehearsals.

Example: Run through your presentation 3-5 times before the actual event to ensure you’re fully prepared and can anticipate any challenging sections.

2. Breathe Deeply

Deep breathing is a simple yet effective technique to calm your nerves and reduce anxiety before and during your presentation. It helps regulate your heart rate and relaxes tense muscles, allowing you to regain control when you feel overwhelmed.Why It Works:

  • Reduces Physical Symptoms: Deep breathing helps reduce the physical symptoms of anxiety, such as a racing heart or shaky hands.
  • Centers Your Focus: Focusing on your breath shifts your attention away from negative thoughts or fears, helping you stay present and grounded.

How to Apply It:

  • Before starting your presentation, take a few deep breaths—inhale slowly through your nose, hold for a few seconds, and exhale slowly through your mouth.
  • Use deep breathing during your presentation if you start to feel nervous.

Example: Take three slow, deep breaths before you walk on stage or begin your virtual presentation to help calm your mind and body.

3. Visualize Success

Visualization is a powerful technique that involves imagining yourself successfully delivering your presentation. By visualizing a positive outcome, you can reduce anxiety and boost your confidence, making it more likely that you’ll perform well in reality.Why It Works:

  • Boosts Confidence: Visualization helps replace negative thoughts with positive ones, making you feel more confident and in control.
  • Prepares Your Mind: When you visualize success, you mentally rehearse the actions and behaviors that will lead to a positive outcome.

How to Apply It:

  • Close your eyes and imagine yourself walking confidently onto the stage, delivering your presentation smoothly, and receiving positive feedback from your audience.
  • Visualize every detail, from your body language to the way you articulate your key points.

Example: Before your presentation, spend a few minutes visualizing yourself delivering the presentation confidently and receiving applause from the audience.

4. Channel Nervous Energy into Enthusiasm

Nervous energy doesn’t have to be a bad thing—it can be channeled into enthusiasm and passion. Instead of trying to suppress your nerves, use that energy to engage more with your audience and bring excitement to your presentation.Why It Works:

  • Turns Anxiety into Positivity: Channeling your nervous energy into enthusiasm helps transform anxiety into something positive and productive.
  • Engages the Audience: Passionate delivery captures the audience’s attention and makes your presentation more compelling.

How to Apply It:

  • Focus on the message you’re passionate about and let that passion drive your delivery.
  • Use gestures, facial expressions, and a lively tone to express enthusiasm.

Example: If you’re excited about a new project, let that excitement show in your voice and body language, turning nervousness into positive energy.

5. Start with a Strong Opening

The first few moments of your presentation are critical for setting the tone and calming your nerves. Starting with a strong opening—whether it’s a personal story, a surprising fact, or a thought-provoking question—can help you gain control and establish confidence from the get-go.Why It Works:

  • Builds Momentum: A strong opening helps you gain confidence early in the presentation, making it easier to maintain your composure throughout.
  • Captures Attention: A compelling opening immediately grabs the audience’s attention, allowing you to focus on delivering your message instead of worrying about nerves.

How to Apply It:

  • Plan and rehearse your opening several times so that you feel confident in delivering it smoothly.
  • Choose an opening that resonates with your audience and relates to the main message of your presentation.

Example: Start with a surprising statistic or a personal anecdote that ties into your presentation topic to establish credibility and engage the audience from the beginning.

Final Thoughts

Overcoming presentation nerves requires preparation, mental focus, and the right techniques to calm your body and mind. By practicing your presentation, using deep breathing, visualizing success, channeling nervous energy into enthusiasm, and starting with a strong opening, you can counterpunch your nerves and deliver with confidence. These tips will help you transform anxiety into positive energy that enhances your performance and engages your audience.

Throw Away Slides from a Bloated PowerPoint Deck

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clear communication

outlining

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preparation

reducing slides

Rick Enrico

SlideGenius

Feb 06, 2017

Quantity doesn’t mean quality when it comes to a presentation.You might think having a lot of slides in your deck is a sign of hard work.Having too many slides could be seen as a delaying tactic and reflects poorly on your credibility as a speaker.You have better things to do than spending a lot of time making hundreds of slides when less than half the amount will do.Focus on the quality of your content and be free from a bloated PowerPoint presentation.

When Is Enough Enough?

Letting slides pile up is a lazy attempt at looking prepared. It also comes off as a delaying tactic that places too much attention on background information.After all, no one will question the amount of time and effort spent at making all those slides.It’s impressive to look at now, but audiences are going to fall asleep from your PowerPoint epic.Don’t challenge their attentiveness and focus.This isn’t a contest to see who can stay awake the longest.Important clients won’t be impressed by the length of a presentation. Chances are that they’ve seen this delaying tactic being used by unprepared speakers and will avoid listening to you when you try it on them.Save everyone’s time by being brief and to the point.

Focus on What Matters

The reason why it’s hard to let go of so much content is uncertainty.Not knowing which information to keep as your main point and then hanging on to more and more ideas out of fear will only hold you back.June Saruwatari’s expertise as a productivity and organizing consultant advocates organizing your physical space around the goals you want to achieve.In the context of presentations, this means you should prepare an outline first so your slides will become easier to manage and be more cohesive.The foundation you create will actually save you more time in the long run, even if it seems counter-intuitive to spend time on it.A bloated PowerPoint deck will also result in a larger file size.This will be a problem if you need to share you file with others.Large files are more difficult to share online since they’re more likely to exceed the limit for file attachments.

Using the Right Moment

There must be a really good reason why an idea needs to be explained by a lot of slides.It’s not impossible to engage audiences even when you use up a thousand slides in your deck.You can speed through a lot of slides in under a few minutes as a storytelling technique.Use only one word or image per slide and rapidly move through slides.But not all decks can rely on this delivery style to get its message across.A good outline will give you a more coherent and organized presentation.

Streamline Your Process

The number of slides you have on your deck won’t guarantee success.It’s detrimental to have too many slides because it creates too much delay.Don’t just look prepared by relying on an excess of slides, be truly prepared by mastering your content.Drafting an outline will save you more time to focus on other areas of your presentation.Fewer slides in your deck also means a smaller file size that will be easier to share, so think twice if you really need to use a lot of slides.The general consensus is to throw out anything that doesn’t serve a purpose in your deck so that your main ideas can shine. 

References

“3 Small Talk Habits That Delay Professional Presentations.” SlideGenius PowerPoint Design & Presentation Experts. September 17, 2015. Accessed October 21, 2015.Porter, Jane. “The Psychology Behind All That Clutter You Can’t Get Rid Of.” Fast Company. May 4, 2015. Accessed October 21, 2015.Featured Image: “cluttered” by linus_art on flickr.com

About SlideGeniusSlideGenius.com is your Power Point developer for business. Based in San Diego, California, SlideGenius has helped enhance the presentations of more than 500 clients all over the world, including J.P. Morgan, Harley-Davidson, Pfizer, Verizon, and Reebok, among others. Let us help you with your presentation needs! Call us at 1.858.217.5144 today.

How to Tame the Bullet Points in Presentations

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key points

PowerPoint bullet points

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ppt designer tips

ppt designs

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presentation design

Presentations

Rick Enrico

SlideGenius

Oct 07, 2015

The brain is efficient at discarding useless chunks of memories, but the most embarrassing and boring ones never leave the brain. Flashbacks from a long, drawn out lecture enter the mind out of nowhere. Most of the time, the boring lectures come with a hail of bullet points. Then another flashback sets in… and it turns out you were giving that presentation riddled with bullet points.There are no set rules for using the bullet point, which makes it difficult to know how to use it successfully. Technically, bulleted lists are only a matter of format. They should contain key points that will be discussed during the presentation.Let’s take a look at this example:

Tame Bullet Points

  • Milk
  • Eggs
  • Bread

The above is a simple grocery list. It’s composed of three distinct items, which are then separated from each other through bullet points. Even without writing these items down in a list again, they’re easy to understand and recall. Now, compare it with this bullet list:

Wild Bullet Points

  • Milk
  • The eggs should be brown.
  • Bread
    • Sandwich
    • Toast
    • Banana bread

The latter looks disjointed and confusing for different reasons: inconsistent formatting, too many bullet points, and difficult recall. The first two items nested under “bread” are different ways to prepare bread, while the last item is a type of bread. Eliminate the three items under bread to maintain the general idea of the list, since the three sub-bullets are specific.The list is more difficult to recall than the former because the general and specific ideas are mixed together. A specific list will have different kinds of bread, and other types of milk and eggs. Ideas need to be refined further and follow consistent formatting.

Troubleshooting

If a bulleted list looks too much like the latter example, there are several ways to simplify it and make it look more like the former.

1. Don’t play mind games

In the context of creating a deck, if the bullet points only make sense in the mind of the speaker, then the audience takes the burden of trying to understand the information. A presentation has new information for the audience, therefore it’s wrong to assume that they possess this information beforehand.

2. Hold their hand

The poorly made bullet list in the latter example branches off wildly in all directions, completely disregarding the audience. According to Think Outside the Slide‘s Dave Paradi, a consistent style is necessary to avoid confusion. Hold their attention by showing bullet points of the main topics, then explaining each topic.

3. Prevent a bullet point tragedy

The most boring kind of bullet list is the kind that pretends to be a bullet list. A group of sentences is called a paragraph, but a bullet list of sentences is a paragraph formatted unnecessarily. Be careful not to mislead the audience into thinking that the bullet-list-paragraph is a bullet list.

4. Maintain harmony

Ideas get along well with each other through formatting and style. Format the topics as a sentence, phrase, or a single word for a bulleted list. If the bullet point begins with the first word capitalized, then the rest of the list should follow the same format. Consistency is important since discrepancies are distracting from the flow of thought and information.

5. Use Bullet Points Sparingly

Bullet points are key points for the audience, not a series of cue cards for the speaker. Use as few bullet points as possible to break up a presentation visually and to avoid overloading the audience with information. Insert an image between slides, and make sure to break up big chunks of information down for the audience.

The Verdict

It’s important not to accidentally play a game of PowerPoint-Karaoke by reading bullet-list-paragraphs throughout the presentation. Break up information by using a bulleted list with proper formatting and just enough information for easier recall. The proper usage of the bullet list is important to successfully get a point, or several points, across.Finally, free yourself of the flashbacks of bullet list tragedies and exercise the responsible use and control of bullet points.

References

Paradi, Dave. “How to Write Powerful Bullet Points.” ThinkOutsideTheSlide. Accessed on October 2, 2015. www.thinkoutsidetheslide.comFeatured Image: “Bearpit Karaoke” by sfreimark from flickr.com

Perfecting Your Choreography for Professional Presentations

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effective professional presentations

Powerpoint

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ppt tips

presentation

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Professional Presentations

Rick Enrico

slide genius

tips

tricks

Oct 02, 2015

For performers, choreography combines proper body movements, positioning, and timing to elevate their act. Dancers rehearse their performance by familiarizing themselves with corresponding dance steps. Visiting the venue helps them experience the actual feeling for the live show.Stage players also do this by matching their lines with appropriate body movements and gestures to engage the audience. They rehearse in the venue to arrange the setup, make minor adjustments, and be comfortable with the blocking and placement. Similarly, perfecting your movements can help you improve your pitch delivery, boosting your convincing ability.

Choreograph Your Pitch

Since choreography relates to physical space between the speaker and the audience, this is where the four spatial zones (intimate, personal, social, and public) take place.

  • Intimate space covers a foot and a half to zero, and is usually reserved for significant others.
  • Personal space ranges from four feet to a foot and a half – the right amount for close friends.
  • Social space spans twelve feet to four feet. This is sufficient for large gatherings and social functions.
  • Public space goes beyond twelve feet. As the name suggests, is best for public speaking.

As a presenter, you don’t have to stay within the public space all the time. Audience interest increases the closer you move to them.

Activate Your Audience’s Mirror Neurons

Interacting with a large audience is possible thanks to mirror neurons. As author Vicki Kunkel defines in her book, Instant Appeal, a mirror neuron allows people to experience the same feeling when observing others, mirroring their behavior as if they’re in the same situation.Communications expert Nick Morgan suggests this technique when you’re in a crowd of 500 people have no room or time to engage each of them. In this case, you can connect freely with your audience by moving towards chosen audience members.Kunkel cites Dr. Wayne Dyer, a well-known speaker, who knows this technique by heart. When telling a story, he’s able to make his audiences feel that they’re actually on the same occasion. He also uses typical stage areas when making and emphasizing a point. For example, when he describes an event or a situation, he stays in one location. He transfers to another position when he tackles another issue or topic.This makes the performance more chronological and understandable, where audiences can easily follow. Let’s take a look at some room setups which you can best maximize to your advantage:

1. U-Shape Setup

This setting lets you engage your audience at the center, then walk towards them at some part of your speech.Be careful not to show your back to some audience members. Eye contact shouldn’t be discarded since it contributes to your connection with the audience.

2. Classroom Setup

This style depends on the number of aisles in a classroom. If it has only one, you can walk through to move closer to some of your listeners in the middle. In this case, you interact more with the people sitting in front.If there’s no aisle, stay in front and proceed with your pitch. Compensate with your body language to emphasize your points, and you’ll still connect with them.

3. Auditorium Setup

If you’ll be giving your speech in an auditorium, it’s advisable to practice in the actual venue more than once. This will allow you to familiarize yourself with the area, and think of best strategies to engage the audience. A venue this large gives you more chances to maximize the stage.Let your audience know your desire to connect with them by supporting your pitch with the right body language.

In Conclusion

Choreographing your presentation helps you maximize space and grab attention. Meanwhile, activating your audience’s mirror neurons through body language provides an emphatic and emotional connection.Lastly, familiarizing yourself with the different room styles engages audiences more effectively for impactful professional presentations. Plan your pitch like a stage performance to get the best out of any public speaking opportunity.To help you with your presentation needs, SlideGenius experts can offer you a free quote! 

References

Morgan, Nick. “How to Choreograph Your Presentation.” Forbes. April 11, 2013. Accessed August 12, 2015. www.forbes.comKunkel, Vicki. Instant Appeal: The 8 Primal Factors That Create Blockbuster Success. New York: AMACOM, 2008. Featured Image: “Poly Prep – Afternoon of Student Choreography” by Steven Pisano on flickr.com.

Psychological Biases: The Bandwagon in Sales Presentations

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PowerPoint Design

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PowerPoint Experts

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sales presentations

slide genius

SlideGenius

Sep 30, 2015

We’ve already discussed the psychology of decision-making and examined the use of anchoring in sales presentations. In this post, we’ll focus on another psychological bias: the bandwagon effect.If you have high regard for group thinking and conformity, then this brain quirk can help you sell more. Let’s see what makes this technique suitable for your pitch.

Defining the ‘Bandwagon’ Effect

Coined after the political term “jump on the bandwagon”, this refers to voters’ tendencies of choosing the most successful campaign to support. The bandwagon effect implies hopping onto a trend, joining a movement, or supporting something that everyone else has been doing.According to Hubspot’s Emma Snider, social proof can be a powerfully persuasive tool. People have this natural tendency of following another’s actions regardless of their own beliefs. The likelihood of this increases when more of them begin adopting the idea or behavior.

Why Use This in Presentations?

All marketers aim to increase a product or service’s popularity, so they create marketing efforts for higher product demand at a faster rate. Using the bandwagon effect in presentations gives you the advantage in persuading your audience. It relates to your prospects’ emotions, which in turn increases the popularity of your product and consumer demand.The idea of popularity introduces your product into the market, which makes people jump onto the bandwagon. It appeals to the human emotions of wanting what others already have, and of fitting in with the majority. Customers will take the word of their fellow consumers for it because they’re sure they aren’t out to sell them anything. Making it appear that there are more users tuned into your product or service reassures them of your quality.

How to Make The Bandwagon Effect Your Ally

You have to adapt to your audience’s needs like how chameleons adapt to their environment. With a handful of product innovations coming, the consumer society is now yearning for transparency, info-bites, and greater customer experiences with the products they use. Cater to these needs by using the bandwagon as social proof.Introduce your product in a way that strengthens your credibility. Include testimonials from your valued clients or present a statistic that shows how many people have been using your offering.Giving them quantifiable proof of your product standing and market value is the best way to turn them into buying customers.

Are You In or Out?

The bandwagon effect is one useful psychological bias that relates to consumer decision making.Use the power of this phenomenon in influencing purchases and experience a breakthrough success in your business.

References

Kay, Magda. “How to Use Cognitive Biases for Effective Marketing.” Psychology for Marketers. n.d. Accessed August 3, 2015.Snider, Emma. “How to Use Psychological Biases to Sell Better and Faster.” Hubspot Blogs. January 31, 2015. Accessed August 3, 2015.Featured Image: “Dueling Bandwagons” by Eric Kilby from flickr.com

5 Presentation Habits That Skilled Speakers Should Avoid

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Presentation Habits

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presentation tip

Aug 25, 2015

Skilled speakers can still fall into common traps that undermine their effectiveness. Here are five presentation habits that skilled speakers should avoid to maintain engagement and professionalism:

1. Overloading Slides with Text

  • Why to avoid it: Filling slides with excessive text overwhelms the audience and shifts attention from the speaker to reading. Audiences may struggle to absorb both spoken words and on-screen text.
  • Solution: Use minimal text and focus on key points. Support your spoken message with visuals and bullet points to keep slides clean and impactful.

2. Using Too Many Filler Words

  • Why to avoid it: Repeated use of filler words like “um,” “uh,” “you know,” or “like” can distract your audience and reduce your credibility. It may give the impression that you are unprepared or lack confidence.
  • Solution: Practice pausing instead of using filler words. Regular rehearsals and mindfulness about your speech patterns can help you speak more clearly and confidently.

3. Reading Directly from Slides or Notes

  • Why to avoid it: Reading directly from slides or notes makes the presentation feel scripted and monotonous, causing a loss of audience engagement.
  • Solution: Memorize your main points and speak more conversationally. Use slides as a visual guide rather than a script, and maintain eye contact with the audience.

4. Neglecting to Engage the Audience

  • Why to avoid it: Failing to engage with the audience can make your presentation feel like a lecture, causing people to lose interest. Audience interaction enhances retention and interest.
  • Solution: Ask questions, encourage feedback, or use interactive tools like polls or quizzes to create a more engaging experience.

5. Rushing Through the Presentation

  • Why to avoid it: Rushing can lead to unclear communication, leave important points under-explained, and create an impression of nervousness or unpreparedness.
  • Solution: Focus on pacing and build in natural pauses to allow the audience to absorb information. Time your presentation during practice sessions to ensure you’re not speeding through it.

By avoiding these habits, even skilled speakers can elevate their presentations and ensure their message resonates with the audience.

Collaborating with a Professional PowerPoint Designer

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powerpoint services

professional presentation designer

Aug 05, 2014

You’ve been asked to give a presentation that is crucial to your company’s performance. The stakes are high and there’s little room for error. Your presentation needs to be clear and concise, enhanced by strong visuals that help deliver your message. To ensure success, the best way forward is to work with a professional PowerPoint designer.[sg-blog-modules module=one]Working with a PowerPoint designer involves an extensive process of communication. After your initial conversation, you can’t just sit back and wait for magic to happen. While they’re experts at turning ideas into visuals, PowerPoint designers are no mind readers. A lot could get lost in translation if you don’t take the time to properly convey your vision. Without proper communication, you might end up with a PowerPoint deck that clashes with what you’re presenting.Make the most out of working with a professional PowerPoint designer. Follow these tips for effective collaboration:

Provide specific instructions

The secret to a successful collaboration is open communication. When you first contact a professional PowerPoint designer, you have to provide specific details about the nature of your presentation. It’s not enough that you share what color scheme you’d want your PowerPoint deck to have. PowerPoint designers are experts at turning business stories into comprehensible visuals. They can’t do their jobs with mere superficial details.Introduce the PowerPoint designer to the nature of your presentation by answering these specific questions:

  • What is the presentation about and what is it for?
  • Who is the audience?
  • What is the key message/main takeaway?

You should also provide the designer with materials they can use, including logos and pictures. Make sure the content is complete when you hand it over to your designer.At SlideGenius, we have a team of copywriters who can help you come up with compelling content.

Know what you want but keep an open mind

It’s wrong to think that professional PowerPoint designers will take care of everything. As we pointed out earlier, you need to be clear about the things you’d like for your PowerPoint deck. Don’t give generalized instructions. Be decisive because you and the designer could have different interpretations of what “something amazing” could mean.On the other hand, you should also keep an open mind. It’s important that you learn to trust the PowerPoint designer you’re collaborating with. Give them some leeway to explore their creativity and you’ll be surprised at what they can deliver.

Be specific with your feedback

There’s an awkward dance most collaborators do. After an initial draft is presented, feedback is repeatedly given in small doses. This forces the PowerPoint designer to go back and forth just to make sure all the points are covered. It’s a common situation, but it’s definitely far from the ideal. Too much back and forth in the communication process can be frustrating and time-consuming.To streamline your collaboration, you need to be able to provide specific and substantial feedback. Examine drafts carefully and take note of all the things you’d like to have modified. Once you have all your notes compiled, turn it over to the designer. Feedback should be given through one powerful dose. For more tips, read “How to give feedback (without driving your designer insane!)” from Trigger and Sparks.com.–Remember: the key to any collaboration is clear and open communication. To ensure the success of your presentation, build a healthy working relationship with your PowerPoint designer.At the end of the day, there’s no better way to make an impact on your audience than with visuals that tell an interesting story.[sg-blog-modules module=two]Featured Image: Ken Teegardin via Flickr

How to Work with a Professional PowerPoint Designer

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presentation design

presentation designer

professional PowerPoint designer

Jun 27, 2014

Even with a working knowledge of PowerPoint, there will be times when you’d rather hire a presentation designer than work on it on your own. Either you’re too busy and don’t have the time or the event is too important for a DIY presentation. In any case, having a professionally designed PowerPoint gives you a number of advantages.For one, you can be sure that your slides are given a lot of tender, loving care. You know can’t go wrong once you step in front of your potential audience with your PowerPoint. Professional PowerPoint designers can certainly come up with attractive and mind-blowing designs. They don’t even need your help or input at all, right? Wrong.There’s more to working with presentation designers than telling them your preferred design and paying for their expertise. There are still some things expected of you to ensure that your presentation would look unique and not as though it was made using a cookie cutter template. To make the most of your collaboration (and your budget), here are some tips that you may want to follow when working with a designer:

Prepare your content

Unless you want your presentation to contain generic stock photos, you’ll need to provide your designer with appropriate materials to use. You also have to make sure that the text data is complete and ready.This way, the designer can work on your PowerPoint immediately and get it done according to your time frame.

Communicate properly

Your designer needs to understand your objectives for your presentation. If for some reason you’re going to be busy for the next couple of days, be sure to provide him or her with a description of what you want your slides to convey. This includes the general style, feel, and tone.If there are any specific colors and typeface that you want, then say so. Avoid giving general instructions such as “make it look awesome” or telling the designer to “surprise me.” Vague instructions can be interpreted in many different ways and really “surprise” you in the end.

Trust your designer’s instinct

When in doubt, put your trust on your designer. For sure, he or she has an extensive experience and the right skills to deliver great results.If you have some ideas that wouldn’t jive with the overall presentation design, let your designer work on a solution. After all, you’re working with an expert.

Conclusion

Working with a professional PowerPoint designer is not a one-way street. Both of you want the same thing: A well-designed PowerPoint presentation that will leave a great impression. So, as much as possible, be open to suggestions and if you’re presented with a concept, respond constructively.Keep in mind that successful projects are generally the result of a great collaboration between two people who respect each other’s skills and capabilities. 

Reference

“Colors and Typography.” Virginia Tech. Accessed June 27, 2014.