By ronnyd – ETMG Project Manager

For 20 years PowerPoint has been a mainstay of corporate meetings, for good reason: it’s easy to use and can be a powerful tool to convey information. But ease and power come with a price and PowerPoint presentations often suffer from too much of a good thing. Here are some tips to keep your presentation focused and your audience engaged.

Tell a story. Provide a story arc throughout your presentation that moves your audience’s imagination and takes them from one place to another. Have an introduction that captures and engages, a middle that provides depth and context, and an end that motivates and compels the audience to do something with the content that you’ve shared.

Keep it simple. Limit your on-slide content to the key point you want to make and verbalize the rest. Don’t use the presentation as a crutch for remembering your message. Less is definitely more in this medium.

Use visuals. Choose and use effective, high-resolution visuals to support and enhance your message. Many people are visual learners who connect more readily with graphics and imagery than written or oral content. When used correctly, graphics provide great impact and can really bring your presentation to life.

Edit mercilessly. Refine your content to increase impact, and ensure that your messages stand out and are memorable. Knowing what to cut can be just as important, if not more so, than knowing what to share.

Be consistent. Use tried-and-true design and grammar principles to make your presentation effortless to digest and understand. Continuity of design “look & feel” will go a long way in capturing your audience’s attention and making the story resonate.

Be prepared. Basketball coaching great John Wooden’s adage ‘failure to prepare is preparing to fail’ certainly rings true. Preparation is a key determinant for success, so learn how to use your presentation tools well, and practice, practice, practice to communicate your messages effectively.