How to keep an audience interested in your Powerpoint presentation

Does your Powerpoint include lots of facts and figures?

If you have to deliver a long series of facts, remember that it's not the facts and figures that are important, it’s the underlying meaning or outcome of those facts that will strike home.

With that in mind, it's important to structure your presentation in such a way that your message will truly resonate with those who are listening.

Figure out what your 'story' is before you begin, and take the audience on a journey with you that will result in them taking the action you want - whether this is changing their mind about a particular subject, encouraging them to sign up for further education, or purchase a product or service.

This doesn’t mean you should start your presentation with “Once upon a time”, just that you should build it in such a way that the chronology of the topic is clear.

Avoid 'death by Powerpoint'

Can you think of any 'hooks' or plot twists that can be shared along the way to keep the audience interested and highlight your key points?

You might find that writing an initial ‘script’ away from PowerPoint is helpful before you go diving into slides. This is a useful exercise that not only enables you to plan your story in advance, but also allows you to refine your messaging, including cutting and rewording any sections you're not sure about, before spending too much time fitting text to slides that you may not need.

We have helped to create hundreds of presentations for our clients so are pretty well versed on what works and what doesn't. If you need assistance in writing your script, storyboarding or getting your timing right, let us know.