Being a compelling presenter is not something that comes naturally. Obviously, you should possess the creative skills required for capturing your audience’s attention. Creating engaging
PowerPoint templates are an art that is more than just throwing together a bunch of slides. You can take a look at different presentation ideas to get inspiration for your upcoming presentation!
Well! If you want to devise such presentations that won’t put your people to sleep, stand out of the box, and avoid the most common mistakes that many presenters make while preparing their PowerPoint presentations, here’s the list of the mistakes you should avoid!
Not Using Enough Images
It is well said that “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Using relevant images in your presentation will help you grab your audience’s attention at once. Employ high-quality images in your presentations as low-quality images will ruin your efforts and simply waste your precious time.
A representative photograph can be used in place of the text. Illustrating numerical data through charts and graphs like pie charts can be employed to depict the concepts related to ratios etc.
Media clips like audio and video are also beneficial for increasing the audience’s interest so you can add those to your presentation as well.
However, it is important to know that images are of two types; low quality and high quality. Using the wrong image quality can have a detrimental effect on your presentation such as using low-quality images in your presentation will make it look unprofessional. On the other hand, high-resolution graphics can make complex information easy to read which will make your presentation legible from all corners of the room.
Overcrowding With Text
One of the biggest mistakes many presenters make is cluttering the slide with too much text. Try using bullet points in your presentations and divide the topic into chunks to give a clear understanding.
Generally, people write detailed information on the slides leaving no space for images. When the audience finds more text on the slide, they focus more on reading the text rather than concentrating on what the presenter says.
Using Weird Fonts
The font type and the font size used should be legible. The font used should neither be too big nor too small. Choose a color that is clearly visible even from a distance. The color of the font should be in contrast to the background so that it is visible.
Avoid using neon, yellow, or light colors for fonts. These have a subconscious effect on your viewers, causing them to form a positive or negative opinion about the delivered presentation.
Ignoring Your Audience
Sometimes the presenters get so wrapped up in delivering the presentation that they forget to target the audience. Before creating a PowerPoint presentation, gather information related to your audience like their age, income level, occupation, etc.
Choose a topic relevant to your audience. Consider their existing knowledge, interest, and preferences while creating your presentation. The example and language used should be tailored explicitly keeping your target audience in mind. If you don’t address your audience’s feelings and tap them in your presentation, you will surely lose their interest in the very beginning.
Reading, Not Speaking
The goal of your presentation is to make a connection. However, you lose the connection at the time you start reading the text that is there on the slides. Try using fewer words in your PowerPoint presentation rather than making it completely text laden. Remember not to use the template as a script; it only accompanies what you say.
Merely reading from the slide will make your presentation monotonous and will surely put your people to sleep. Make eye contact with your viewers, as it will help you keep your audience engaged.
Avoiding Filler Words
Avoid using too much of filter words such as “uh” “um” “like” and “so”? while delivering the presentation. Delivering a presentation with such words will make your audience believe that you don’t know much about the topic.
These words aren’t an issue if used once or twice but using such words repetitively can really kill a person’s credibility. This often happens when you too are nervous or distracted. Prepare well before going for a session, be confident, and focus on the topic more.
Well, presentation skills training can help you eliminate these words.
Fear Of Being Judged
Many presenters go to self-defeating lengths because of the fear of being negatively judged by the audience. Because of this fear, they are no able to communicate their thoughts effectively, which ruins their efforts involved in preparing the presentations.
Be confident and take a few deep breaths before going for a session. Do not pretend that you are nervous. If you are nervous before going for a session, pretending not to be nervous can make things worse.
Conclusion
Creating a PowerPoint presentation is not a cakewalk; it requires a lot of effort and time on your part to devise an engaging and compelling presentation. Avoiding these mistakes while preparing a PowerPoint presentation will help you stand above the rest. These common mistakes can be avoided if you’re aware of them. Keep this article as a checklist to ensure that you are delivering the best to your audience.
Jenna Davis is a Business Analyst at SlideTeam, the world's largest PowerPoint templates provider on any topic or field. Reading and writing is one of her favorite activities in free time. She is passionate to assist businesses to attain a competitive edge with her writing skills on small business topics, marketing, branding and business success stories.
