I read this article on Marketing Today about the 5 Deadly Sins of Presentations. There is no doubt that if you have anything to do with marketing you are going to have to make a few presentations in you're life to get you're idea or product across. This article went over 5 sins of presentations you should never do. I'm going to list the 5 sins and then give my own idea about them.
1. Don't rely on bullet points- This is probably one of the biggest ones. I think if you just read off a screen you're just showing the people you're talking to that you know absolutely nothing about what you're talking about. If you have a presentation with bullet points you should make them only a few words. Just put the main points on the screen with a nice clean look and it will bring you a lot father then a busy screen. If you can try to stay away from power points, think outside the box.
2. Don't make the presentation relentlessly sober- This means don't make it boring. Who wants to sit through something they know is just going to be the most boring 30 minuets they ever had to live through. I worked at a huge company for an internship during my junior year of college. I sat through plenty of boring presentations that i forgot as soon as i walked out the door. If you're trying to capture attention and make people remember what you're talking about MAKE IT EXCITING. Make jokes, play videos, don't be afraid to look outside the box. Chart after chart after chart is not going to get people to remember you're idea. Shake it up a little bit, don't be afraid.
3. Don't showcase the self-evident- Don't state the obvious. People don't care if you can remember some facts that everyone already knows and just recite them in front of them like some fifth grade presentation. Make sure you have something new an exciting to say if you want to catch attentions. Try to look at things in a new light, in other words, don't be as obvious as this article. =)
4. Don't use clashing graphics- This kind of goes along with the first point. Try not to make you're presentations all messy with images and words. It's hard to listen to what you're saying if you can't keep you're eye off the the bright flashing lights and colors coming off the screen. If you really want to get people to pay attention try something new and exciting that no one has seen before. Think outside the box.
5. Don't forget to proof read it- I know i said the first one was probably the most important, well this one is the most important. Not to say that I'm great at spelling because I'm not. In these busy times who has time to worry about spelling and looking up in the dictionary how to spell things, there is just not enough time in the day. Oh, wait, this isn't 1979. There is a thing called SPELL CHECK. There is no reason not to hit F7 at the end of you're presentation to make sure everything is in order. Just a quick read through and you should be good. If you're presentation is filled with errors no one will give you the time of day.
What do you think are the biggest sins of presentations?
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