How to Prepare for Your Next Big Corporate Presentation

In our previous blog titled “Ingredients of a great corporate presentation”, we talked about the rudiments of PowerPoint presentations and what make them memorable. In this blog today, we’ll be talking about how to practice for a corporate presentation.

If you’re someone who relies too much on making notes, using slides as cue cards, then I’m afraid you have to “up” your game in order to deliver an effective PowerPoint presentation. Rote learning is a strict no-no as it would effectively kill your PowerPoint presentation. It is better to rehearse your presentation, the way you’d actually deliver it- with passion and confidence.

Here’s how you should go about rehearsing for your next corporate presentation:

• Voice:

Practice narrating the presentation in the way you’d actually present in front of the audience. Lay emphasis on important points; tweak your pitch around just like TV newscasters do. Ensure that you’re not speaking in a monotone.

• Slash it down:

As you begin rehearsing you might realize you’re presenting excess information to your audience, some of it that could be slashed. A good practice would be to eliminate whatever’s redundant. You should also simplify your sentences to ensure they’re understood by your audience.

• Time yourself:

Timing is a crucial aspect of presentations. It takes practice and skill to crunch a presentation down to the stipulated time cause you might rush through some topics and elaborate upon the others! The golden rule is to keep it succinct and to the point, ensuring quality maintenance throughout the length of the presentation. Keep enough time for question and answer sessions.

• Film yourself as you speak:

Check and double-check at every step. Keep a camcorder handy when you’re rehearsing your presentation. Notice the flaws and work upon them.

• Stop memorizing your script:

Memorizing your script and reading it down to the last word is a turn-off for the audience. It puts a lot of pressure on you and steals from it all authenticity. Instead, you should focus on grasping the entire gist of the presentation. Your presentation shouldn’t sound mechanical; it should have a logical flow to it!

Always remember, the driving force behind a memorable presentation is flawless narration. Unless you’re absolutely on trot with your wording, your presentation lacks impact!