5 tips to make a more Professional Company Presentation

At the end of every college year, companies start brushing up their presentations to make it more professional and interesting. Their aim is to get the best of new talent and they compete with companies from across industries for this.

Here are 5 tips on how to make your presentation really stands out and attract maximum new employees.

1.       Use professional presentation templates

Many times managers find it is convenient to use the existing presentation with modified data. Company presentations have too much space allocated to logo and color related branding. The people you present to will get their impression of your company based on the quality of presentation you use. Low quality images, poor opening slides, unprofessional ppt backgrounds etc. reflect badly on your company. Check online on sites like BuyAPresentation for professional ppt templates that truly reflect what your company is about – from title images to slide backgrounds to diagrams.

2.       Sell your company

A company presentation is not just about your company, but also about the audience. Include slides that will tell them what they can expect when they join you. This will ensure that they attend the company interviews with interest. Tell them what is unique about the company, how their career will progress. Give them examples of people who have done well with you.

3.       Dress to reflect your company

It is not just about the slides and the presentation template. You also reflect your company image.  Dress the way you would dress to work on a good day. If your company  is professional one, wear a suit, if it is about fun and being laid back, wear what feels comfortable.

4.       Prepare for question and answer questions

While a professional company presentation covers basics like salary, locations and career paths, potential employees are bound to have questions beyond that. Leave enough space in the allocated time so that you can interact with them and answer their questions.

5.       Leave behind

Those really interested in your presentation will want to follow up by looking up sources. Give them websites, books, references where they can look up to know more about your company.

As you can see, a company presentation is not a simple information presentation. The slides and the presenter need to be geared to treat it as a sales presentation.  Even if the presentation is being made internally to people who have just joined the organization, it needs to go beyond just providing information. Every company presentation is a professional sales presentation and needs to be treated as such.

Are you ‘closing’ your business presentation or are you ‘ending’ it?

There is a difference between ‘Closing’ a presentation and ‘Ending’ a presentation. The difference is far more than the semantics. 

Over the years of teaching people on how to make winning presentations, I find one strange phenomenon. Presenters take a lot of effort to create a good opening for their presentation. But, they hardly take the effort to plan a good ‘close’ for their presentation. As a result, they end up wasting all their effort and end up losing potential business, which they almost had in their pocket. 

If you are a business presenter, here are two reasons why you must take that special effort to plan your close.

·         The aftertaste has a bearing on the decision making process:

The feeling that lingers after the presentation triggers more word of mouth than the feeling during the presentation. 

The reason is simple. When your audience feels good during the presentation, they do not have much chance to express that feeling apart from the odd claps here and there. But, the feeling they carry at the end of the presentation is usually discussed with friends and colleagues.  So, when you build a great argument during your presentation, but do not close it powerfully – you waste your effort.

·         Your Q and A session leaves the last impression on your audience:

Remember, it is not your last slide, but the question and answer session that follows your last slide, which leaves the last impression on your audience. 

Usually, question and answer sessions are a medley of opinions of your audience and you. You discuss everything, from the one off poor service someone received from your company, to the one extra product feature offered by your competition. These opinions stay back in the minds of your audience – unless you take the effort to contextualize those opinions in light of the bigger picture you wish to present. 

 So, what should you do to close your presentation?

·         Summarize after the Q and A session:

Don’t leave the last impression to chance. Summarize your key differentiators after the Q and A session. If possible, make a one page handout listing the top benefits and distribute them to your audience, at the end of your presentation. 

·         Remind them of the vision:

Make a slide that shows happy audience and your product shot. Leave this slide on - during the entire session of Q and A, instead of showing a blank slide.

Allow your audience to envision the ‘better scenario’ after using your product. These are the feelings you want them to leave the room with. 

·         Show them where they can reach you:

Include your contact details – including your email, website and mobile number on the last slide. Allow them time to take it down.

These simple tips will make a winning difference in your next presentation. Try them.

Happy presenting!

5 ways to sell yourself in a business presentation

In a business presentation, YOU are the package that carries Your message- the content of your presentation. When YOU show nervousness on stage, it reflects on the quality of your content.  So, how to make the right impression on your audience even if you are nervous? 

How do you make your audience feel at ease, even if your knees are shaking? Read on to find the answers.

·          

Fake it till you make it:

•  A business presentation is not the easiest thing to do. Your nervousness is completely understandable. But, the fastest way to control your nerves is to fake confidence. 

•  Smile, even if you don’t feel like smiling. Shift your eyes from the screen to your audience – even if it feels intimidating. These signals reassure your audience, and they begin to reciprocate your warmth. Soon, you start feeling better and you show even more confidence. The spiral continues. 

·         Walk towards your audience: 

• Don’t stand rooted to one place if you want to connect with your audience. Slowly walk towards them as you make your point. 

• As you move closer to them physically, you reduce the mental distance between you and your audience. When you look at the screen standing close to them, you give a subtle signal that you are ‘with them’ in trying to find the right solution to their concerns. When they connect to you, they start connecting to your message too.

·         Raise your voice to reflect your conviction: 

• Have you noticed that, when you say something you ‘believe in’ strongly, you automatically raise your voice? That is an invaluable cue to convey confidence in your presentation. 

• When you are nervous, your vocal chords get stiff and you sound ‘weak’. Take the effort to raise your voice consciously. Raise it to the point that it reflects the conviction in your product. You will start seeing a new sense of energy flowing in the room.

·         Occupy space on stage:

• Do you know, the space you occupy reflects your ego? That is why, you see footballers running all around the ground, with their hands spread like wings when they score a goal. 

• The freedom of your movement is seen as your comfort with your audience. So, move around stage. Unfold your hands and use them to reinforce your ideas. 

·         Make your audience a part of your presentation:

• A presentation is not about you. It is about your audience. The more they are involved, the more are your chances of winning them over. 

• A simple way to involve them is – to ask polling questions. Ask simple questions that would invite them to raise their hands or share their opinion. Build on those answers. 

• Plan the questions you would ask in your presentation, instead of just planning the text that you would rattle off for each slide. 

These simple tips make your audience LIKE YOU as a presenter. When they like YOU, they start liking your product too. 

Happy presenting!