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PowerPoint Presentations: Do You Really Need Them?

PowerPoint is the undisputed king of all presentation software. With about 500 million users relying on it to create their visual aids, no one can deny its dominance.

Aside from the contemporary presentation designs it offers, we need them to enhance and support our core message.

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We still get questions from some presenters, wondering if they even need slides to go with their speech. To answer this question, let’s first examine how they benefit your presentations:

All-Around Usefulness

What helps PowerPoint immensely is its inclusion in Microsoft Office.

Its similarity to Word (and even freeware Word variations) means that it’s convenient for all types of users and purposes.

This software has basic photo-manipulating capabilities, whereas animations and image placement are easy to do. It’s also made it easier to edit and layout text. With these advanced features, sharing visual information has become easier to plan for and execute.

According to tech guru, Aaron Parson, most presentations will benefit from PowerPoint’s versatility. It can be used for pitching, selling, teaching, and even entertaining. It lets you draw diagrams, assorted graphs, charts, and even basic illustrations, with possibilities for online sharing.

Notable Exceptions

While PowerPoint exhibits all-around usefulness, there are still some situations where you shouldn’t depend on it.

Motivational speeches often don’t need accompanying visual aids. They require greater focus on the presenter’s body language and facial expressions – things that projected slides could distract from.

Speeches that focus on a speaker’s personal experiences generally don’t need an accompanying deck. Better described as performances, presenters serve as their own visual aids through non-verbal communication.

PowerPoint by Default

Determine from the beginning if your presentation needs an accompanying deck. This allows you to better divide and plan your time and resources for maximizing your speech.

Knowing that you almost always need a deck to back you up, it pays to know what makes for effective PowerPoint presentations.

Conclusion

PowerPoint remains a vital tool to complement your message visually because of its convenience and ease of use.

Knowing from the beginning whether you need to include a PowerPoint deck will help you plan for it, or prepare to present without it.

Certain types of presentations lend themselves to PowerPoint decks. If you’ll be giving a speech based on personal experience, without needing to explain complicated facts, people will focus more on your facial expressions and body language. In the instances you do need to use slides, learn the various factors that determine its success or failure.

Looking for something to inspire you on PowerPoint presentations? Check out our portfolio, or contact us now for a free quote.

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References

Parson, Aaron. “5 Uses of PowerPoint.” EHow. June 2, 2015. Accessed July 6, 2015.
PowerPoint Usage and Marketshare.” Infogr.am. Accessed July 6, 2015.

Three Effective Ways to Evaluate Your Sales Presentation

Rehearsing your sales presentation prepares you for the actual delivery, but it’s only the first half of the process.

Be prepared for whatever questions your audience can ask you.

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According to Michael and George Belch, the advertising industry has its own way of evaluating pitches before suggesting it to clients. Play your own devil’s advocate to find out if your proposal will work by asking yourself three questions:

1. Is Your Solution Consistent with Your Client’s Marketing or Business Strategies?

Each company has their own way of doing business.

Some gadget distributors buy their products from reputable manufacturers. Some grocery stores give shelf space only to common goods.

See if your proposed solution is consistent with how your client sells themselves in their market and how they operate their company.

2. Is Your Sales Pitch Consistent with Your Strategy and Objectives?

Is your business presentation simple enough to show exactly what it’s supposed to?

Visuals are great selling tools, but excessively using them drowns out your message.

Using images effectively with the right words presents your message in a straightforward manner, as with the Crisis Relief’s “Liking Isn’t Helping” campaign.

In his book, Hey Whipple, ad veteran Luke Sullivan presents the following questions for presenters to think about:

Do you want to highlight the features and benefits of your product?
Do you want to pitch your product or services to solve your client’s specific problems?
Do you want to highlight your advantages over the competition?

Whatever tactic you use must be consistent with these strategies, and your slide content mustn’t overwhelm your message.

3. Is Your Sales Pitch Appropriate for the Client and Their Customers?

Whatever proposal you present will always affect your client and their customers, if they have any.

More than the products or services you present, the PowerPoint deck you use and your manner of speaking should be relevant enough for the client to relate to and not be offended.

Dated pop culture references may work, but they lose their relevance when faced with the wrong demographics.

Stay truthful, tasteful and straightforward when delivering business presentations. Give your clients a good reason to invest in you.

Staying Prepared

Anticipating your client’s questions and your audiences’ reactions gives you enough room to stay calm and composed when you deliver the actual presentation.

Being critical of your own work lets you spot possible errors before entering the conference room.

Lastly, having an extra pair of eyes to improve your work makes your business presentation the best it can be.

Take a few minutes to talk to a professional presentation partner today!

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References

Belch, George E., and Michael A. Belch. “Creative Strategy: Implementation and Evaluation.” In Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective. 6th ed. Singapore: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2003.
Sales Presentation Skills: Stay Relevant to Pitch Ideas.” pitchdeck.com, May 11, 2015. Accessed June 22, 2015.
Sullivan, L. Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Ads (3rd Ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, 2008.
Nudd, Tim. “The World’s Best Print Ads, 2012-13.” AdWeek. Accessed June 22, 2015.