Presentations: The Worst Case Scenarios

Do people remember your PowerPoint presentation fully? Use these training tips to understand what people remember most. Plan a presentation, which sticks in your audience's mind longer than other presentations.
People tend to remember the visuals, pictures and graphs of a presentation. Several studies reveal statistics that support the use of photographs and visual images in PowerPoint presentations.
What happens after a meeting or presentation? If visuals and words are used during a presentation, retention is six times greater three days after the delivery than if the message was only spoken.
Many studies suggest that three days after an event, people recall only 10% of what they heard from an oral presentation. They recall 35% of what they saw in a visual presentation. But they recall 65% of the message from a visual and oral presentation.
It's a wonder that presenters still use bullet-only slides; or no visuals to share information. These are not messages with high recall!
Additionally, studies by educational researchers suggest that approximately 83% of human learning occurs visually. If you want to add impact and interest to your presentation, using visuals is not optional. Visual elements provide an essential ingredient for high impact and high recall.
When selecting a visual for your PowerPoint presentation, use these guidelines:
First, keep your visual message simple. Make sure it is easy to see and easy to understand.
Second, do not rely only on pictures. Combine key words to form a complete message of picture plus verbal message.
Third, use photographs to emphasize the human element of your presentation. Remember, you are presenting to other people - not animated characters. People tend to like to see images of other people.

To increase audience understanding and anchor your message, use visuals in your PowerPoint presentation.

Want to plan your PowerPoint presentation in half the time? With training in preparing and planning your winning presentation, you can cut planning time by 50% or more. The tips below will help you with a fast and easy approach even if you have to give a presentation tomorrow.
Planning Tips for PowerPoint Presentations

PowerPoint Presentation Tip 1
Do not try to "wing it." Prepare your presentation well in advance. The night before, the plane ride or the commute to your meeting is not the time to prepare.

PowerPoint Presentation Tip 2
Prepare an outline of your presentation goals, key points and supporting information. In many industries, you will also want to prepare backup data and handouts.

PowerPoint Presentation Tip 3
Limit your message to a major point. Do not fall into the trap of giving a laundry list of key points. More than one point indicates that you have packed more than one presentation into your slide deck.

PowerPoint Presentation Tip 4
Understand and adapt to your audience. By understanding your audience, you will be better able to prepare the appropriate presentation. This includes level, technical depth, and necessary background. Different audiences have different expectations. Some want to contribute; others prefer to listen and absorb. If you know more about your audience, you will be able to plan a better presentation.

PowerPoint Presentation Tip 5
Know your environment. Investigate the room set up and room layout. You will plan a different presentation for a small group versus a sales presentation to 150 people.
PowerPoint Presentation training provides timesaving systems to plan, prepare and refine presentations. These techniques can save you from unnecessary rewrites, time consuming makeovers and slide struggles after midnight. If you would rather spend your nights and weekends with people you love, instead of with your slide deck, be sure to check out PowerPoint presentation training