No matter who your audience is or what your subject is about, the common goal of a presentation is to capture (and hold) your audience’s attention—especially for a sales presentation.

Also common to all presentations: a structure. Every presentation has a beginning, a middle and an end. Each of these parts needs to be strong:

• The introduction: Be enthusiastic, and thank your audience for having you there. Be sure to give a quick acknowledgment to the people who made that happen.
• The main point: Be clear and concise with your information. Emphasize your expertise, and talk up how what you offer can help the client (save money, increase productivity, reduce their risks, etc.) In short, tell them how you can help them do what they do better. (You should not give a presentation until you understand the client’s needs, wants, goals, etc. This requires advance work before the presentation.)
• The conclusion: Summarize your main points, highlight once more the benefits of doing business with your firm and thank your audience sincerely.

That said, we’ll continue our series on presentations with some tips for keeping your audience focused.

Solicit input. After major points, get some feedback. Ask how what you’ve just presented will help the client. Do they agree with you? Do they have any concerns you should address as you present? This back and forth keeps your audience focused.

Time matters. Get to your point quickly; stay within your time limit; and avoid complex, difficult-to-understand presentations. If you’re given 45 minutes for your meeting, plan on a 30-minute presentation and leave 15 minutes for questions, answers and surprises.

A picture is worth a thousand words. Make your presentation as visually pleasing as possible. Use images whenever you can. Make your message more appealing with some type of audio/visuals such as interactive white boards, slides, posters, large screens/monitors, etc.

Stay off the Internet. A real-time visit to the Internet sounds exciting, but there are just too many things that can go wrong.

Don’t just stand there, do something. Move around the room; this makes you seem more accessible. Also, make eye contact. But don’t just focus on the decision-maker. Connect with assistants and secretaries, too. You never know how much say they have in company decisions.

Next week, we’ll look at what you can do after your presentation to improve your technique and do what you do better.

A good presentation has a beginning, a middle and an end. Open with enthusiasm, speak with clarity and end with a summary. Solicit feedback after major points. Get to your main message quickly, and stay within your time limit. Make your presentation visually pleasing. Stay off the Internet; too many things can go wrong. Move around the room, and make eye contact with everyone—from the boss to the assistant.