3 tips for Digital Presentations

I had a meeting to explore working with a new client recently.  As we were going over the project, a few things jumped out at me.

1. 60-70 slides for a 1 hour presentation.

2. The goal for the presentation was actually much broader than initially described.

3. This presentation would be given live by multiple presenters with a wide variety of public speaking skills.

So we discussed how to move forward on the project and the why behind the strategies.  Let me explain.

1. 60-70 slides for a 1 hour presentation.

That felt like a lot. 1 slide per minute or less. I had a vision of a strobe light, and glazed eyes of the audience.

But this also means that the audience is in constant alert for new information, which means constant cognitive processing. The ability to retain any of the content in the presentation is minimized.

So naturally, the question was asked: How many slides should we have?

And of course, I gave the most frustrating answer: I can’t say.

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? Remember this was an exploration call. So, once I have an overview of the core content and better understand the flow of information, I can look for ways to consolidate slides.

How will I do that?  I will use simple animation and visuals as much as possible.

2. The goal for the presentation was actually much broader than initially described.

I learned that the content needs to be valuable to industry professionals as well as the general public. This feels tricky as it spans from expert to novice. But the end goal is the same: understand and value the unique qualities of the product to buy it.

This shifted the strategy from educational to sales, from providing facts to building momentum, with an expectation of a decision at the end, a proverbial “YES” at the end.

How do we get a YES? We show the value. We keep it simple yet engaging.

3. This presentation would be given live by multiple presenters with a wide variety of public speaking skills.

Oh! This surprised me, but it is vital information. It will add this to my exploration calls!

This opened the door to put ‘script’ content in the Notes section. 

#1: This helps control messaging.

But equally important, it gives ALL presenters a chance to PRACTICE! They can video themselves giving the presentation, or work with peers or supervisors, or me, to practice and get feedback. 

Also, this may reveal hiccups in the presentation that the author and myself become too familiar with.

The client shared a story of giving a presentation that was designed to use the notes section. But when the moment came, there was not an easy way to see the notes. And this last minute snafu understandably threw off everything.

So we will test various scenarios and provide a pdf guide for how to give the best presentation possible.  Watch for this soon!

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