Are You Making a Big Impact with your Small Business Presentation?
The Benefit of Presentations
Presentations allow for unique opportunities for you to talk about your business. It is a format that allows for complete control of the conversation around your brand.
It is in the presentation that you can either loose or gain an audience who can help generate good or bad discussions around your services or even your industry. Beyond the PowerPoint slides, the content you prepare matters if you want to give a clear idea of the value you provide to anyone in your audience.
Having something prepared In the event you have a chance to present your business can give you an extra edge. Even if you do not have a presentation currently scheduled, you should review several ways you might be able to provide relevant information in an extended-dialogue format.
With that in mind, let’s talk about your business presentation plan.
- Define your purpose before you begin
First think about what your presentation is going to accomplish.
Unless you have been asked to give a lecture as an expert, do not fill your time up with highly technical industry knowledge and techniques.
If closing a sale is not the point of your presentation, then do not make your audience sit through a sales pitch. But if the event is for marketing your brand, do it effectively.
When you think about who your audience might be, think of what they will gain from your presentation. Remember that their time is as valuable as yours, so maintaining their attention and getting your information across starts with respecting the audience and the setting.
Ask questions about why you might speak
- Could you be invited to present as an expert in your field?
- Is there a themed event where you may present relevant content?
- Do you have an opportunity to train your sales force?
- Are you making a statement for your industry?
- Will you be launching a product or service?
Whatever the purpose, be vigilant to maintain laser-sharp focus on your purpose throughout your time presenting.
If holding questions until the end helps you keep focused, then plan your outline accordingly.
If discussion is driving the presentation, then have questions ready that drive the direction of the discussion and peripheral questions that keep the discussion focused.
Ask questions about your audience
- What information do they need the most?
- In what ways can they benefit from giving you their time?
- What specialized information do you have that they do not?
- What should they know about your business if they were to recommend you?
- What should they know if they work with you?
With a planned presentation, you want to set a clear goal of what you want to accomplish by the end of your time.
Each opportunity you have to present, you might end up with a slightly different outline of goals. It helps to have several different kinds of presentations prepared for whatever the occasion brings.
Try this; write multiple outlines with a purpose and an audience in mind for each one. Pick two or three points you might present to accomplish each purpose from each audience.
- Set the boundaries of your presentation
The boundaries to consider in a presentation are elements like length of time, topics to avoid, what information to keep gated, or even what legal disclaimers you need to make or adhere to.
If defining your purpose is about getting the big picture the setting boundaries is about cropping the picture to fit the appropriate occasion.
Especially if you are an expert in your field, or you have a particular passion for a certain subject in your industry, it can be easy to run over time, accidently touch on sensitive topics, or veer off in the wrong direction in the middle of your discussion.
For this reason, setting boundaries is an absolute priority in perfecting the presentation.
Plan your time.
Your time boundary is the easiest to toe. Within a ten-minute presentation a breakdown might look like this:
2 minutes Introduction
5 minutes 2 topics on my business and industry
3 minutes Closing, call to action, Q & A
If you are using a slide presentation, you have the option of setting timers to your slides so that you have an automatic cue for moving your topics along. Be sure to know how to override this easily though, so you do not get tripped up during speaking.
Try this; divide your time according to number of slides, topics you will cover, and a Q & A session. Practice each section a couple times through, then put them altogether. Do this enough times, and you will be able to cover your presentation forwards and backwards and with or without slides.
Boundaries for avoidance
If there are topics or discussions that circulate around your business that stir controversy or trauma, it is your responsibility to direct the conversation.
Avoid topics that might cause conflict or break down communication between you and your audience.
If your presentation requires you cover these sorts of topics, double check that you are approaching these with extra care.
Always be aware that all business is people business, and your relationships are your most valuable assets. Treat them respectfully. If you appear as though you lack compassion, there is little you can do to redeem your credibility.
If you have suggestions for your industry or in general, let’s talk in the comments about what topics you would avoid.
- Give a relevant introduction
So now you have a captive audience. It’s the perfect time to tell them every detail of your life, all your greatest accomplishments and especially outline the biggest moments that lead up to this very opportunity, right?
Save that for your ask me anything, will you?
Instead stick to business-relevant information in your introduction Think of this is the professional profile you might put forward in an interview.
Try this; Think about the information that will stick most closely to the information you are presenting. Ask questions about yourself like:
- What in my background sparked my interest in this topic?
- When did I get into this industry?
- What credentials did I have to earn to get where I am?
- What kind of business am I running today?
- Who do I do business with?
- What do I attribute my success to?
These are just a few questions to help get you started with your introduction. You will see it is not some personal information about yourself is okay. However, if you are giving a business presentation your audience will trust your professionalism if you are personable with your delivery instead of just your information.
- Give your Why
Your WHY answers the question, “Why did I start this business?” or perhaps even the question “Why should others care about this business?”
This information is best delivered in multiple ways throughout your presentation. Giving a brief outline in your introduction of WHY you do your work can offer immediate relatability with your audience.
In the body of your introduction, you can expand on your WHY by offering useful information related to the purpose of your business.
And concluding with your WHY when you are summarizing your presentation will ensure that your audience is left with the impression that you want them to remember you when they need you for something important.
This will also help guard against the temptation to use your platform as a sales pitch if it is not the purpose of the presentation. Trying to catch a sale in an inappropriate setting is a sure way to have people squirming toward the exit by the end of your time together. Don’t be that guy. Just don’t do it.
Try this; create a list of the “whys” for each section of your presentation. (Intro, body, close). Think about the presentation’s purpose as you create the why for each section.
- Have intentional visuals
There are several ways you can tackle having the room’s attention, but visuals are a key component in keeping eyes on you.
But keep in mind, not all visuals are created equal. There are “filler” visuals and there are context-relevant visuals that aid your presentation. There are stretched and badly cropped visuals, and there are carefully curated or crafted visuals.
Just about everyone who has been through a slideshow of either one can spot the difference between the two.
Avoid slideshows with walls of text where you stand by and read word by word the entire show. NO one want to sit through that snooze fest.
Instead, liven up the presentation by showing easy-to-remember pictures and graphs. Some things you might include could be:
- Pictures of work you do
- Short video explaining a part of what you do
- A flowchart of your process
- A short, bulleted lists of helpful information
- Visual representations and statistics
- A sample of your product or marketing loot
There are pitfalls you want to avoid when using visuals, but a presentation is more commanding when the visuals are purposeful and relevant.
Try this; find areas of your presentation where you can “show” your audience something rather than just “tell” them. Then, gather different types of visuals into one folder. (design hint: try sticking to one type of artwork or a specific color theme that tie your visuals together)
- Provide an education
When you teach what you know and others connect to themselves or others because of it, you empower the community through education. Education is something we carry with us everywhere we go, and often pass on to those who will listen.
When we learn something connected to information we are already familiar with, our brains tend to store it in long-term memory easier. Making a long-term connection with someone can be as simple as teaching them something they can immediately use and never forget.
Along with recalling information, we often associate it with where we learned it. Some information changes our core behaviors or beliefs. Effective teachers change us and we do not forget them.
Remember when “showing not just telling” you become a valuable resource for your audience. It is this aspect of your presentation that will keep them remembering you.
In other words, be an effective teacher, don’t just present to sell.
Try this; provide terms to know related to your industry. Find resources to share with your audience, and challenge them to read, join, or try something that they will learn and remember easily.
- Avoid or provide technical information
If you are familiar with your audience, it is easier to gauge what sort of language you use with them. Expert audiences can handle expert vocabulary, but if you are presenting to those outside of your industry, be sure to clear up technical information before using it in your presentation.
Technical information offered before diving into the meat of your presentation can give your crowd a better grasp on your topic.
- If you have to explain how the logistics of your company works in order to give a clear picture of where you fit into the process, then provide a brief overview of the industry logistics.
- If your industry has precise meanings for certain terms, then define the terms precisely before using them.
- If you have specialized information about something most people come into contact with every day, then clue us in.
Each of these suggestions is just an example. If you have any examples of how technical information can clear up communication in a presentation, please leave a comment for others to read.
Try this; browse FAQs of your go-to resources, competitors, industry leaders and pick out the ones your audience might ask and answer them in your presentation.
- Stay specific
Wordiness or over-selling will cloud the purpose of your presentation. In your speaking and in your visuals, cut to the point. Give complete but simple answers to the questions your audience might ask.
- Who are you?
- Why should I trust you?
- Why are you presenting?
- What questions are you answering?
- What do you want from me?
- What will I walk away with?
- How can I use this information?
- Where can I connect with you if I have questions?
Spending just a couple of minutes on each of these areas is more than enough to fill ten minutes. Commit to answering each of them thoroughly but without fluff.
Try this; answer these questions in the information you put together. Check off each one when you feel it’s been answered throughout your presentation.
- Showcase your value
Showcasing your value can be done through a variety of methods. Providing an education is notably one of the must-haves for showcasing your value.
However, challenging yourself to get creative with this task can be one of the more exciting aspects of assembling your presentation.
One presentation I attended was given by a security company. The gentleman brought high-grade mase, alarm keychains, alarm doorstops, and other personal security devices as merchandise that showcased his value.
This is one of the areas where marketing savvy comes in handy. What ideas can you come up with?
- PROVIDE AN EDUCATION
- Give helpful resources
- Allow an advocate/reviewer share their experience
- Highlight your newsroom articles
- Bring useful branded merchandise
- Direct to ONE call to action (CTA)
This one is quite simple. A call to action is the final part of getting your presentation to fulfill its purpose.
You can always give contact information at the end of a Q&A portion. So before piling up your last paragraph with request after request of where to connect or what to do next, consider simplifying.
Try ONE call to action should match your ONE purpose.
- Is my presentation for selling a product? Give the product link.
- Is my presentation for making connections? Give your contact.
- Is my presentation for asking for referrals? Tell who you are specifically looking for.
- Is my presentation for impact and action? Tell where and how to act.
This will also mean that if you speak often, you can better measure the impact of each unique CTA. Measuring those results after trial and error can help you key in on improving the quality of your connections.
Try this; create a CTA for each presentation you have outlined. Highlight which media channel each audience might connect with the most for your “contact me” call to action.
