A well-designed presentation can be the difference between a student falling asleep in your lecture and an engaged potential client learning about your company. Representing your brand with a creative, bold and straightforward PowerPoint keeps listeners interested by conveying the most crucial information. As a result, your audience retains more of the information you share.
In order to optimize your presentations, it's crucial to include the following:
1. Clear brand identity
Your presentation should represent your brand. As a B2B company, it is especially important to show a business what you have to offer that another company doesn't. By staying on brand, you communicate that you are consistent and detail-oriented. And overall, it gives a much more professional look and feel.
2. The rule of 7s
I'm not entirely sure which grade school instructor taught me this rule, but it stuck with me for the last 10 years, so that's worth something. The rule of 7s is simple:
No more than 7 words per line, and no more than 7 lines per slide.
That's it. A maximum of 49 words per slide. Again, this keeps your reader engaged and won't make them feel bogged down by an overwhelming amount of information. Even, if this means your presentation is 10 extra slides, do it.
3. Include slides with no copy.
This speaks for itself, but include slides that feature no copy at all. Not only is this a break for the viewer, but you can increase engagement with an interactive visual, interesting photograph of your product or perhaps a graph showing the benefits of what you can offer as a B2B company. Slides with no copy are also a great chance for discussion with the audience, by forcing you to speak on a topic that has no verbatim copy up on the screen. Keep it visual, keep it engaging.
4. Skip the effects.
As interesting as it may seem, fancy transitions detract from your information. When sharing your B2B content marketing strengths, a spiral effect won't necessarily emphasize your ability to help your prospect reach their goals. Stick with a clean, crisp and functional presentation that gets to the point and let your work speak for itself.
A strong presentation can make or break your business deal, so make sure you have a reliable PowerPoint template that speaks to your brand identity, keeps copy to a minimum and eliminates the fancy effects. When in doubt, trust your designer to create an engaging presentation template to which you can add your notes and optimize your pitch. Do you agree? Disagree? Let me know in the comments below. Happy presenting!
