Having spent over 15 years in the presentation world, we have a philosophy here that simplicity is best, bullet points are an eyesore, and stories work. We’ve seen this in action and have witnessed its success time after time. Unforgettable content is just a few action steps away for any presenter. You just have to know what to put on the slide, what to leave off, and how to approach your narrative. Thankfully, we’ve got three solid content tips that will get you well on your way toward winning the hearts, minds, and memories of your entire audience.
Simplicity is Best
Let’s face it, your presentation content will either have people completely convinced to buy whatever it is you’re selling, or wishing they had a tomato to throw. This is because you’re either going to win them over or waste their time. In order to ensure your talk with them is time well spent, you need to narrow your focus. It’s important to embrace the fact your presentation needs a heavy dose of simplicity to be effective. By simply eliminating jargon, keeping the messaging on each slide to the size of a Tweet or smaller (140 characters), and crafting three solid takeaways, you’ll find that most of the tomatoes have vanished. Simple content is unforgettable content.
Bullet Points are an Eyesore
Know your presentation content and know it well–but keep it off the screen! A deck full of endless bullet points is sure to bore your audience. You’ve got to know how to spice things up and keep your audience invested every step of the way. A great exercise to make this easier is distilling the messaging for your entire talk down to a single sentence. Next, refer back to that sentence with each slide to ensure you aren’t cramming a ton of information on each and every slide. It also provides a true north for your narrative to follow. Try this method for developing your content:
- Start with a clear head, a quiet space to write, and a meaningful purpose.
- Compile everything you need to reference in a working document or have it all printed and in-hand.
- Jot down everything you know about your audience and start from there—this way you are tailoring your content for them specifically
- Designate three main points you want your audience to remember, and make sure those are well represented in your talk.
- Using everything you have so far, develop an outline that ensures your presentation has a logical flow, as well as the flexibility to change as needed.
- Cut, cut, cut. You probably don’t need half of the content you think is necessary—so have that red pen handy.
- Move most of your text to presentation notes. While it’s important for each slide to have a designated narrative, it’s even more important that that entire narrative is not on the screen. Do yourself a favor and eliminate as much as possible from the slide itself.
- Get a second opinion. Try enlisting the help of a trusted friend or colleague to see what you can’t. Then listen to their advice with an open mind.
Unforgettable Content Starts with Stories
Your audience wants to be invested in your pitch. In order for this to happen, you’ll need establish a hero. The best way to do this is through storytelling. This hero can be you, your audience, or even a completely hypothetical person. The most important consideration is that you utilize this hero—and don’t leave them hanging! Unforgettable content has a hero story journey with a solid beginning (story introduction), middle (3 main takeaways), and end (call-to-action). Refer back to your hero as often as possible so your invested audience gets the satisfaction of knowing how it all works out in the end, and, more importantly, what they should do about that. Your call-to-action should make it very clear what the next steps should be for your audience.
There are a million ways for presentation content to go wrong. If you follow these actionable items, you’re well on your way toward unforgettable content creation. And that’s what we’re rooting for. Need another set of eyes, more help narrowing down content, or help with slide design? We’ve got you covered! Reach out today for a free quote!
