product presentation essay

Make a Product Launch Presentation (+ Examples & Templates)

Master how to make a product launch presentation with our guide. Explore examples usable as templates to outshine competitors and captivate your audience.

9 minute read

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Short answer

What makes an effective product launch presentation?

An effective product launch presentation captivates with a clear value proposition, engages with compelling storytelling, and persuades with data-driven results.

It's visually appealing, audience-focused, and concludes with a strong call-to-action, setting the stage for market success.

Most new products fail - does yours have what it takes to succeed?

Think about this: every year, over 30,000 new products try to make their mark, yet 95% of them don't catch on.

Most new products fail to launch because they fail to grab attention with a compelling product launch presentation.

In a sea of competition, only the most compelling, clear, and persuasive presentations manage to break through the noise.

So, how do you make sure your product doesn't become just another statistic?

In this blog post, I’ll walk you through real, actionable strategies and examples to make your product launch presentation a hit.

Let’s get started!

What is the purpose of a product launch presentation?

Capture attention: Immediately engage your audience with a striking introduction that makes them want to learn more.

Highlight value: Directly address how your product solves a specific problem or fulfills a need, making it indispensable to your audience.

Drive action: Motivate your audience to take the next step, be it purchasing, subscribing, or sharing, by presenting a clear and compelling call to action.

How to structure a product launch presentation?

Introduction: Begin with an impactful opening that immediately captures interest. Use a compelling question, a relatable problem, or a striking statistic to draw your audience in and set the tone for what’s to come.

Problem statement: Articulate the specific problem or need your product addresses. This is where you connect with your audience by highlighting a universal challenge they face.

Solution presentation: Unveil your product as the solution to the problem identified. Detail its features and benefits, emphasizing how it offers a practical and innovative solution.

Market analysis: Provide an overview of the current market landscape. This includes trends, consumer behavior, and market needs, establishing the context in which your product enters the market.

Competitive analysis: Dive into how your product stands out from the competition. Discuss your product’s unique selling points (USPs) and how these differences position it as a superior choice.

Customer testimonials or case studies: Share success stories or endorsements from early users or beta testers. Real-world examples add credibility and illustrate the tangible impact of your product.

Pricing and packages: Provide clear, straightforward information about pricing and any packages or deals. Make it easy for your audience to understand what they're getting.

Marketing strategy: Before you call your audience to action, outline your marketing strategy. This shows how you plan to support the product post-launch, reassuring your audience of its longevity and value.

Call to Action (CTA): Conclude with a compelling CTA. Direct your audience towards a specific action, whether it’s making a purchase, signing up for a demo, or following your brand for more updates.

Interactive product launch presentation templates

Starting from scratch on a product launch presentation can feel like a huge task, especially when so much depends on this one moment.

Interactive product launch presentation templates offer a structured starting point. They come packed with features that are optimized to engage and guide your audience through the story of your product.

Grab one and create your best deck yet.

What does a product launch presentation look like?

A product launch presentation is a dynamic and interactive deck that captivates your audience, making them feel like active participants rather than passive listeners. It does more than just share information; it creates an experience.

Here’s what a modern product launch presentation looks like:

What makes a successful product launch presentation?

Engaging storytelling: It starts with a story that resonates. This narrative weaves through the entire presentation, making the problem, solution, and benefits of your product felt on a personal level.

Visual impact: High-quality images, embedded videos, and data visualization components bring your product and its benefits to life. These elements work together to create a visual story that complements your spoken words.

Interactivity : Interactive elements like narrated design, surveys, and clickable demos involve the audience, transforming your presentation into a two-way conversation.

Strong Call to Action: The presentation ends with a clear and compelling call to action. Whether it's signing up for a trial, making a purchase, or simply learning more, the CTA is direct and easy for the audience to follow.

How to make a product launch presentation?

In a world where the majority of new products struggle to make an impact, your presentation is the golden ticket to standing out. Let's explore how to craft a product launch presentation that not only showcases your product but also makes it irresistible.

1) Know your audience

Understanding your audience is the cornerstone of a successful presentation. Dive deep into their world—what challenges do your ideal customers face? What solutions have they tried and found wanting?

Personalizing your presentation to address these specific concerns makes your audience feel seen and valued, significantly boosting the relevance and impact of your message.

2) Define your presentation goals

Clarity in your presentation's purpose is crucial. Are you aiming to ignite interest, drive pre-orders, or secure investment?

This goal will dictate your presentation's structure, content, and call to action. It acts as a guiding light, ensuring every element of your presentation is aligned with achieving this objective.

3) Start with a bang

Your first words are your first impression. Start with something that sticks—a startling statistic, a compelling story, a question that piques curiosity, or a bold statement that challenges conventional wisdom.

For example:

"In a world where every second counts, we've found a way to give you hours back."

piques curiosity and positions your product as a revolutionary solution from the outset.

4) Highlight the problem

David Ogilvy's insight, “More often new products fail because they are not new enough,” underscores the importance of highlighting a genuine problem.

Make your audience feel the pinch of the issue your product resolves, making your solution not just wanted, but needed.

Illuminate the problem your product solves in a way that your audience can feel the pain. This creates a context for your product's introduction and underscores its necessity. Remember, the more relatable the problem, the more desirable the solution.

It's about striking a balance—your product shouldn't be so ahead of its time that it's alien, nor should it be so familiar that it fails to excite.

Here's a great example of a problem slide:

5) Unveil the solution

When introducing your product, clarity and simplicity are key. Explain how it addresses the problem you've outlined, focusing on features that translate directly into benefits.

This is where your product moves from being a concept to a tangible solution in the minds of your audience.

6) Highlight the benefits

Features tell, but benefits sell. Articulate how your product enriches or simplifies life for your customer. Whether it's saving time, reducing costs, or enhancing well-being, benefits that resonate on an emotional level are incredibly compelling.

Here's a great example of solution and benefits slides:

7) Conduct solid research

Akio Morita once famously said:

“We don’t believe in market research for a new product unknown to the public. So we never do any.”

While this may have worked for Sony, today's market demands solid research. Understanding your market, competition, and consumer behavior is non-negotiable for crafting a presentation that hits home.

Here's a great market research slide:

8) Incorporate interactive elements

Enhancing your presentation with interactive elements can transform a standard pitch into an engaging, memorable experience.

For instance, embedding interactive charts allows your audience to explore data points relevant to your product's success in real-time.

Interactive timelines can illustrate your product's development journey or future roadmap in a visually dynamic way, inviting the audience to engage with your content at their own pace.

Additionally, incorporating clickable sections within your presentation can lead viewers to more detailed information, videos, or testimonials, enriching their understanding and appreciation of your product without overwhelming them with information all at once.

These interactive elements keep your audience engaged and provide a deeper, more personalized exploration of what your product has to offer.

Here's a great example of an interactive slide:

9) Demonstrate your product in action

A live demo or a well-crafted video demonstration can be incredibly persuasive. It offers proof of concept and allows your audience to see your product in action. This tangible experience can be the push your audience needs to move from interest to action.

10) Personalize your presentation

Personalization can significantly increase the impact of your presentation.

Tailoring content to reflect your audience's specific industry, interests, or challenges shows that you understand and care about their unique needs, making your product more relevant and appealing.

Here's how you can easily personalize your presentation using Storydoc:

11) Provide social proof

Incorporating social proof lends credibility to your product. It's the difference between taking your word for it and seeing evidence of your product's impact. This builds trust and can significantly influence decision-making.

For new products, traditional forms of social proof like user testimonials may not be readily available. However, you can leverage beta tester feedback, expert endorsements, or pilot study results as powerful forms of social proof.

Engaging with industry influencers to review your product or securing a seal of approval from a reputable authority within your field can also serve as compelling evidence of your product's value and effectiveness.

Even highlighting the number of pre-orders or waitlist signups can act as social proof, showcasing demand and anticipation for your product.

Example of a social proof slide:

12) Present your marketing strategy

When it comes to your product launch presentation, unveiling your marketing strategy is like showing the roadmap of how you plan to introduce your product to the world.

It's not just about the product itself but how you're going to make sure it reaches the right people, in the right way, at the right time.

This part of your presentation should clearly outline the channels you'll use, whether it's social media, email marketing, influencer partnerships, or traditional advertising.

Explain how each channel fits into your overall strategy and the role it plays in engaging your target audience. This is your chance to show that you've not only created a great product but that you also have a solid plan to ensure it's a success.

Here's a great example of a marketing strategy slide:

13) Create a compelling call to action

Your conclusion should be a clear, compelling invitation to take the next step—whether that's to learn more, sign up, or make a purchase. Make this action as simple and straightforward as possible, removing any barriers to engagement.

Here's a great example of a CTA slide:

Winning product launch presentation examples

When it comes to product launches, standing out is everything. A successful presentation goes beyond facts and figures; it captivates, convinces, and converts.

Let's dive into some product launch presentation examples that do just that, leveraging interactivity to outshine the competition.

Product launch proposal

This deck showcases how interactivity can elevate a product launch presentation from good to great, engaging the audience in a way that traditional slides simply can't match.

What makes this product launch presentation great:

Engaging and interactive: The presentation uses an interactive format, inviting the audience to actively participate in the journey of discovering the product.

Clear value proposition: It effectively communicates the unique selling points of the headphones, such as advanced noise cancellation and intuitive controls, making it clear why they set a new standard in audio excellence.

Compelling narrative: The presentation tells a story of innovation and passion, from the problem statement to the solution, and wraps up with a vision for the future, making it memorable and impactful.

Light mode product newsletter

This feature launch within the light mode product newsletter is a game-changer for businesses looking to deepen engagement and track the effectiveness of their communications.

Personalization using dynamic variables: It introduces the ability to personalize using dynamic variables. This means businesses can now tailor their messages to each recipient, making communications more relevant and engaging.

Access to analytics panel: With the panel, businesses gain real-time insights into how readers are interacting with their newsletters. It tracks opens, clicks, and engagement time on each slide, providing valuable data to optimize future decks.

Clickable links: You can incorporate clickable links throughout the presentation. These links offer the audience the opportunity to explore additional information, access detailed resources, or even sign up for product demos.

SaaS product demonstration presentation

This product demonstration presentation effectively communicates the value of the company’s solution, making a strong case for why businesses should consider their platform to revolutionize their operations.

Clean design: The presentation leverages a clean design with ample white space, making it easy for viewers to focus on key information without feeling overwhelmed.

The option to embed videos: The option to embed a product demo video directly into the deck allows potential customers to see the product in action within the context of the presentation.

Clear pricing package overview: The presentation includes a clear overview of pricing packages, making it easy for potential customers to understand their options and make informed decisions.

Physical product demo presentation

This product launch presentation aims to bridge the gap between traditional business processes and modern efficiency, highlighting a physical product's role in streamlining workflows and enhancing productivity.

Option to extract branding from a website: One of the standout features is the ability to extract branding elements directly from a website, ensuring that the presentation is consistent with the company's branding.

Access to analytics panel: The presentation includes access to an analytics panel that provides insights into how viewers are interacting with the deck.

Option to edit details post-send: This presentation allows for the editing of details even after it has been sent. This ensures that the information remains up-to-date, reflecting any changes in the product, pricing, or other critical details.

Software demo presentation

Through a detailed walkthrough of the software's capabilities, this presentation aims to illustrate the seamless integration of tasks, the automation of workflows, and the facilitation of real-time collaboration, all designed to optimize performance and eliminate inefficiency.

Option to embed links to case studies: This feature allows viewers to explore in-depth examples of how your software has been successfully implemented in various businesses, providing tangible evidence of its effectiveness and versatility.

CRM integrations: The presentation leverages CRM integrations, enabling it to pull live data directly into the deck.

Responsive design: The presentation is designed with responsiveness in mind, ensuring that it looks and functions flawlessly across a variety of devices and screen sizes.

ERP software demo presentation

This product launch presentation is designed to showcase how the offered solution can revolutionize business operations by integrating various processes into a single, efficient system.

It aims to demonstrate the software's ability to streamline workflows, enhance collaboration, and significantly improve operational efficiency across the board.

Quirky design: The presentation employs a quirky and engaging design that mirrors the dynamic and multifaceted nature of the ERP industry.

Use of grayed-out content to direct attention: Strategic use of grayed-out content effectively directs viewers' attention to the most critical information, ensuring that key features and benefits of the ERP software are highlighted.

Logo placeholders: The presentation includes customizable logo placeholders, empowered by a logo finder feature, allowing for seamless integration of your or partner branding directly into the presentation.

Modern product launch

This product launch presentation introduces a groundbreaking solution designed to revolutionize how companies operate. It promises to streamline operations and boost efficiency through innovative features tailored for the digital era.

Interactive approach: Using an interactive platform, the presentation engages the audience directly, making the exploration of the product an immersive experience.

Clear solution to a common problem: It effectively communicates how the product addresses the pressing needs of businesses looking to enhance collaboration and automate processes in a rapidly evolving corporate landscape.

Visionary and inspirational message: The presentation focuses on the product's features but also shares a compelling vision for the future, emphasizing the transformative impact on businesses and the industry as a whole.

Light mode product launch

This approach to the product launch educates the audience about the product's capabilities and gets them excited about the potential for transformation in their own operations.

User-centric design: The presentation emphasizes the product's user-friendly interface, showcasing how it simplifies complex processes for everyday users, making technology accessible to all levels of technical expertise.

Direct address of business needs: The presentation zeroes in on the specific challenges faced by companies today, demonstrating how the product directly solves these issues with innovative technology.

Scalability and integration: It highlights the product's ability to scale with business growth and seamlessly integrate with existing systems, ensuring a smooth transition and long-term utility.

Dark mode product launch

This striking dark mode-themed presentation unveils a product designed to captivate and cater to modern businesses. This launch introduces a groundbreaking product with a keen eye on user experience and market demands.

Comprehensive market analysis: It dives deep into market trends, consumer behaviors, and competitive landscapes. It provides a detailed view of where the product fits within the current market and how it's poised to meet emerging needs.

Segmented marketing strategies: The content is organized into tabs, each detailing strategies tailored to different segments of their target audience. This ensures that potential customers receive personalized and relevant information.

Multiple smart CTAs: The presentation features various smart Call-to-Action (CTA) buttons, guiding viewers through a journey from initial interest to taking actionable steps.

Versatile product launch presentation

In a market flooded with standard pitches, this deck sets a new standard. By leveraging the latest in presentation technology, it crafts a narrative that's not only about a product but about inviting the audience into a new ecosystem of efficiency and innovation.

Use of grayed-out content: It uses grayed-out content to subtly direct viewers' attention to key areas. This visual technique ensures that the focus is on the most important information, enhancing the audience's retention.

Embeddable videos: It comes with the option to embed videos that can be played directly within the deck. This allows you to showcase your product in action, providing an immersive experience that text and static images cannot achieve.

Data visualization components: The deck incorporates advanced data visualization components, enabling the presentation of complex data in an intuitive and easily digestible format.

Modern product demo presentation

By incorporating interactive features, this modern product demo presentation effectively captures the audience's attention and guides them through a compelling narrative, from identifying with the problem to seeing the offered product as the ideal solution.

Clear value proposition: The presentation effectively communicates the company’s value proposition, outlining how their SaaS product can transform business operations.

Problem-solution framework: The presentation is structured around a clear problem-solution framework, making it easy for the audience to understand the context and need for the offered product.

Option to embed multiple smart CTAs: The presentation enhances interactivity by incorporating the option to embed multiple smart CTAs (Calls to Action). This makes readers more likely to take the desired next step after viewing the deck.

Hi, I'm Dominika, Content Specialist at Storydoc. As a creative professional with experience in fashion, I'm here to show you how to amplify your brand message through the power of storytelling and eye-catching visuals.

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Product Presentation Example

Effectively introducing a product is the main goal of a successful product presentation example. The art of presenting a product to the audience in the most appealing way possible is a trade of skill and creativity. Producing such presentation is a direct responsibility of the marketing department of any company. Therefore, the basic design of a product presentation is an exceptionally common task assigned to students on a variety of marketing-related courses in higher education. As a result, the provided product presentation example may reveal to be an invaluable tool for one’s personal development.

Designing an effective product presentation is neither an ordinary nor a simple task. One has to resemble a sufficient amount of common sense and creativity in order to be able to present a product in the most appealing and exciting way to the public. The presentation should focus on important aspects of the product, however, it should not be oversaturated with statistical data and unnecessary information that may seem tedious. It is important to outline how the product is capable of influencing and changing the lives of its consumers.

In most cases, a product presentation consists of a number of slides that are produced in specific graphic design software, such as PowerPoint. One should not be discouraged from the use of such software if he/she has never been acquainted with it before since its is very simple in practice and there are numerous tutorials online.

As a brief introduction, the presentation may start off from a short background about the company and the history of its product line. Once the audience has been acquainted with the company, the product presentation should emphasize on the following characteristics of the product and the company that is presenting it:

• The mission: what is the product bound to achieve;
• The vision: what does the company wish to achieve;
• Objectives: how will the product’s mission help achieve the company’s vision;
• Target market: for whom will be the product provided and why;
• The product: its nature, functions, and characteristics;

One may find a brief example of the key features of such presentation below.

The Minitendo Snitch Game Console

The Minitendo company has been in the video games business for decades. The company has provided numerous successful video game products and aims to achieve new heights with the presentation of the Minitendo Snitch Game Console.

• The mission of the product is to provide portable and fun gaming experience.
• The vision of the company is to provide portable and fun gaming experience to everyone.
• The objectives are to make the Snitch game console an affordable, portable, and fun gaming device that would appeal to all members of the family, from kids to grandparents.
• The product itself is a small touchscreen tablet with gamepad functionality. Games can be played either on the go or from the TV screen using an HDMI cable, which results in a unique flexibility of gameplay.
• The presented Snitch game console is bound to unite both hard-core and casual gamers from all age ranges and spheres of occupation. The author is more than sure that it is a product that will benefit both the company and the consumer by providing a fantastic and unique experience in the video game industry.

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What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

• Carmine Gallo

Five tips to set yourself apart.

Never underestimate the power of great communication. It can help you land the job of your dreams, attract investors to back your idea, or elevate your stature within your organization. But while there are plenty of good speakers in the world, you can set yourself apart out by being the person who can deliver something great over and over. Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired together are more memorable); don’t underestimate the power of your voice (raise and lower it for emphasis); give your audience something extra (unexpected moments will grab their attention); rehearse (the best speakers are the best because they practice — a lot).

I was sitting across the table from a Silicon Valley CEO who had pioneered a technology that touches many of our lives — the flash memory that stores data on smartphones, digital cameras, and computers. He was a frequent guest on CNBC and had been delivering business presentations for at least 20 years before we met. And yet, the CEO wanted to sharpen his public speaking skills.

• Carmine Gallo is a Harvard University instructor, keynote speaker, and author of 10 books translated into 40 languages. Gallo is the author of The Bezos Blueprint: Communication Secrets of the World’s Greatest Salesman  (St. Martin’s Press).

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How to create and deliver an impactful product presentation

As a product leader, a crucial part of your job is to communicate with and present to other teams across your company (e.g., the engineering team, the sales team, etc.).

One of the best ways to do this is to deliver a product presentation. In this guide, we’ll share some tips on how to prepare and deliver an effective product presentation that cuts to the chase and aligns stakeholders on your product direction .

How to structure your product presentation

Giving a good, short, and sharp product presentation can be done in a super straightforward way that effectively follows the Pain-Agitate-Solution (PAS) framework.

This three-step framework is a great tool to help you frame a compelling story around your product strategy and align and rally the team around a common goal.

From there, based on the information presented in the first three sections, explain, in audience-appropriate terms, what you plan to do to solve customers’ problems and how you plan to do it.

Following this structure, your product presentation should flow as follows:

• What will you do?
• How will you do it?

This is your chance to set up the entire presentation and create a memorable first impression.

You want to keep this section short and to the point. In some cases, this could be your first interaction with a team, executive, investor, prospect, or customer, so make it count.

Start with an image that figuratively or literally depicts the problem and add some text. For example:

• “Is this you?”
• “This is our customer”
• “This is our focus for the next quarter”

A good example of a pain point is the way people used to seek support for their software products: They would email or call a support contact, send screenshots and attachments, and explain — often poorly — the steps they took so the agent could attempt to reproduce the problem.

Once you’ve identified the problem, it’s time to agitate it — in other words, make the problem seem as big and as urgent as possible.

The goal here is to get your audience members thinking about how much better things could be if this problem were solved.

Describe the implications if the problem goes unaddressed: What are the consequences of not solving it? Again, make this relatable and digestible for your audience.

Instead of slides upon slides of market insights and trends analysis , this is a great place to drop in two or three key stats to back up your argument and highlight the problem you’re setting out to solve.

For example:

3. Solution

Finally, it’s time to introduce your solution. This is where you get to talk about how you plan to solve the customer’s problem.

Be sure to focus on the features and benefits that matter most to the customer . What makes your product unique? Why should people care?

Ideally, you should have an image that depicts — figuratively or literally — what a successful customer looks like. Bonus points if you include a quote from a real customer that explicitly indicates a cessation of the pain referenced in the first slide.

The tone you want to present is something like, “Fear not! There is a product with a solution. Here’s how it will help our users solve their problems.”

4. What will you do?

What will you do to help your customers solve their problems?

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Describe the features and benefits using language that resonates with your audience. The goal is to help them understand how your product will improve the lives of your customers.

5. How will you do it?

Finally, you get the slide that most people are after: the product roadmap .

Explain to your audience how you plan to achieve the goals and objectives outlined in your roadmap. What do you plan to focus on today, tomorrow, and beyond?

The roadmap section of your presentation is also an opportunity to showcase the product in action.

A live demonstration or video serves as an effective tool for promotion and solidifies understanding. By walking through the product’s use, you can help the audience understand how your product solves customer problems.

What is the goal of a product presentation?

Following the PAS framework when creating and delivering a product presentation will help you persuade internal stakeholders of the product’s value and gain the buy-in you need to execute your roadmap .

An effective product presentation clearly articulates the problem, agitates its implications, introduces a solution, and outlines what you will do and how you will do it. This framework is designed to help product managers rally product and cross-functional teams around common goals.

Using storytelling techniques and referencing key data points as you go through these steps helps you captivate your audience and drive home key points. This product presentation format can work for product introductions, product strategy, quarterly kick-off meetings, sales pitches, marketing briefs , and more.

Product presentation template

Click here to access the template I used to create the example presentation referenced throughout this guide.

To customize this product presentation template , select File > Make a Copy or download the file to your computer.

How to deliver an engaging product presentation: 4 tips

By this point, you’ve prepared an awesome presentation. Now it’s time to deliver it.

Here are some tips on how to take that compelling presentation you created and deliver it with the oomph it deserves:

• Know your audience
• Start with a bang
• Keep it concise
• Engage with your audience

1. Know your audience

The first step to giving an effective presentation is to know your audience:

• Who are you presenting to?
• What are their needs and wants?
• How knowledgeable are they about the subject matter?

Answering these questions will help you tailor your presentation so that it resonates with your audience.

For example, if you’re presenting to a group of engineers, you’ll want to focus on the technical aspects of your product . If you’re presenting to a group of salespeople, you’ll want to focus on how your product can be sold effectively.

By understanding who your audience is, you can ensure that your talking points hit the right note.

2. Start with a bang

You only have one chance to make a first impression and hook the audience, so make it count by highlighting the problem in powerful, impactful terms. The first few minutes of your presentation are crucial in terms of setting the tone and grabbing your audience’s attention.

One way to do this is to start with a strong opening statement that tells your audience exactly what to expect from your presentation.

For example, you could start by saying something punchy and ambitious, like: “Our new product has the potential to revolutionize the way we do business.” This will immediately pique the interest of your audience and set the stage for the rest of your presentation.

3. Keep it concise

When it comes to presentations, less is almost always more. No one wants to sit through a long, drawn-out presentation — they’ll tune out before you even get to the good stuff.

The product presentation template used in the example above only includes five slides; there’s no real need to go beyond that. The template is versatile enough to be used across many different types of audiences.

Get your point across in as few words as possible. Use short sentences and bullet points instead of long paragraphs and resist the urge to include too much information.

Remember, you can always provide more details later if necessary; for the core presentation, just focus on hitting the key points.

If needed, add an appendix that you can jump to depending on the audience. For example, you might have a marketing spend breakdown, engineering resourcing by team, or more elaboration on the detail of the product roadmap.

4. Engage with your audience

An effective presentation is not a one-way street; it should be interactive and engaging.

Don’t just stand at the front of the room and lecture your audience. Instead, try to get them involved in what you’re saying. Ask questions, invite input from the group, and encourage discussion.

The more engaged your audience is, the more likely they are to remember what you’ve said — and, hopefully, buy into it.

Giving an effective product presentation doesn’t have to be difficult — it just takes a little planning and preparation.

By following these tips, you can be sure that your next product presentation goes off without a hitch!

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How To Write A Presentation 101 | Step-by-Step Guides with Best Examples | 2024 Reveals

Jane Ng • 05 Apr 2024 • 8 min read

Is it difficult to start of presentation? You’re standing before a room full of eager listeners, ready to share your knowledge and captivate their attention. But where do you begin? How do you structure your ideas and convey them effectively?

Take a deep breath, and fear not! In this article, we’ll provide a road map on how to write a presentation covering everything from crafting a script to creating an engaging introduction.

So, let’s dive in!

Table of Contents

What is a presentation , what should be in a powerful presentation.

• How To Write A Presentation Script
• How to Write A Presentation Introduction 

Key Takeaways

Tips for better presentation.

• How to start a presentation
• How to introduce yourself

Start in seconds.

Get free templates for your next interactive presentation. Sign up for free and take what you want from the template library!

Presentations are all about connecting with your audience. 

Presenting is a fantastic way to share information, ideas, or arguments with your audience. Think of it as a structured approach to effectively convey your message. And you’ve got options such as slideshows, speeches, demos, videos, and even multimedia presentations!

The purpose of a presentation can vary depending on the situation and what the presenter wants to achieve. 

• In the business world, presentations are commonly used to pitch proposals, share reports, or make sales pitches. 
• In educational settings, presentations are a go-to for teaching or delivering engaging lectures. 
• For conferences, seminars, and public events—presentations are perfect for dishing out information, inspiring folks, or even persuading the audience.

That sounds brilliant. But, how to write a presentation?

How To Write A Presentation? What should be in a powerful presentation? A great presentation encompasses several key elements to captivate your audience and effectively convey your message. Here’s what you should consider including in a winning presentation:

• Clear and Engaging Introduction: Start your presentation with a bang! Hook your audience’s attention right from the beginning by using a captivating story, a surprising fact, a thought-provoking question, or a powerful quote. Clearly state the purpose of your presentation and establish a connection with your listeners.
• Well-Structured Content: Organize your content logically and coherently. Divide your presentation into sections or main points and provide smooth transitions between them. Each section should flow seamlessly into the next, creating a cohesive narrative. Use clear headings and subheadings to guide your audience through the presentation.
• Compelling Visuals: Incorporate visual aids, such as images, graphs, or videos, to enhance your presentation. Make sure your visuals are visually appealing, relevant, and easy to understand. Use a clean and uncluttered design with legible fonts and appropriate color schemes. 
• Engaging Delivery: Pay attention to your delivery style and body language. You should maintain eye contact with your audience, use gestures to emphasize key points, and vary your tone of voice to keep the presentation dynamic. 
• Clear and Memorable Conclusion: Leave your audience with a lasting impression by providing a strong closing statement, a call to action, or a thought-provoking question. Make sure your conclusion ties back to your introduction and reinforces the core message of your presentation.

How To Write A Presentation Script (With Examples)

To successfully convey your message to your audience, you must carefully craft and organize your presentation script. Here are steps on how to write a presentation script: 

1/ Understand Your Purpose and Audience

• Clarify the purpose of your presentation. Are you informing, persuading, or entertaining?
• Identify your target audience and their knowledge level, interests, and expectations.
• Define what presentation format you want to use

2/ Outline the Structure of Your Presentation

Strong opening.

Start with an engaging opening that grabs the audience’s attention and introduces your topic. Some types of openings you can use are: 

• Start with a Thought-Provoking Question: “Have you ever…?”
• Begin with a Surprising Fact or Statistic: “Did you know that….?”
• Use a Powerful Quote: “As Maya Angelou once said,….”
• Tell a Compelling Story : “Picture this: You’re standing at….”
• Start with a Bold Statement: “In the fast-paced digital age….”

Main Points

Clearly state your main points or key ideas that you will discuss throughout the presentation.

• Clearly State the Purpose and Main Points: Example: “In this presentation, we will delve into three key areas. First,… Next,… Finally,…. we’ll discuss….”
• Provide Background and Context: Example: “Before we dive into the details, let’s understand the basics of…..”
• Present Supporting Information and Examples: Example: “To illustrate…., let’s look at an example. In,…..”
• Address Counterarguments or Potential Concerns: Example: “While…, we must also consider… .”
• Recap Key Points and Transition to the Next Section: Example: “To summarize, we’ve… Now, let’s shift our focus to…”

Remember to organize your content logically and coherently, ensuring smooth transitions between sections.

You can conclude with a strong closing statement summarizing your main points and leaving a lasting impression. Example: “As we conclude our presentation, it’s clear that… By…., we can….”

3/ Craft Clear and Concise Sentences

Once you’ve outlined your presentation, you need to edit your sentences. Use clear and straightforward language to ensure your message is easily understood.

Alternatively, you can break down complex ideas into simpler concepts and provide clear explanations or examples to aid comprehension.

4/ Use Visual Aids and Supporting Materials

Use supporting materials such as statistics, research findings, or real-life examples to back up your points and make them more compelling. 

• Example: “As you can see from this graph,… This demonstrates….”

5/ Include Engagement Techniques

Incorporate interactive elements to engage your audience, such as Q&A sessions , conducting live polls, or encouraging participation. You can also spin more funs into group, by randomly dividing people into different groups to get more diverse feedbacks!

6/ Rehearse and Revise

• Practice delivering your presentation script to familiarize yourself with the content and improve your delivery.
• Revise and edit your script as needed, removing any unnecessary information or repetitions.

7/ Seek Feedback

You can share your script or deliver a practice presentation to a trusted friend, colleague, or mentor to gather feedback on your script and make adjustments accordingly.

More on Script Presentation

How to Write A Presentation Introduction with Examples

How to write presentations that are engaging and visually appealing? Looking for introduction ideas for the presentation? As mentioned earlier, once you have completed your script, it’s crucial to focus on editing and refining the most critical element—the opening of your presentation – the section that determines whether you can captivate and retain your audience’s attention right from the start. 

Here is a guide on how to craft an opening that grabs your audience’s attention from the very first minute: 

1/ Start with a Hook

To begin, you can choose from five different openings mentioned in the script based on your desired purpose and content. Alternatively, you can opt for the approach that resonates with you the most, and instills your confidence. Remember, the key is to choose a starting point that aligns with your objectives and allows you to deliver your message effectively.

2/ Establish Relevance and Context

Then you should establish the topic of your presentation and explain why it is important or relevant to your audience. Connect the topic to their interests, challenges, or aspirations to create a sense of relevance.

3/ State the Purpose

Clearly articulate the purpose or goal of your presentation. Let the audience know what they can expect to gain or achieve by listening to your presentation.

4/ Preview Your Main Points

Give a brief overview of the main points or sections you will cover in your presentation. It helps the audience understand the structure and flow of your presentation and creates anticipation.

5/ Establish Credibility

Share your expertise or credentials related to the topic to build trust with the audience, such as a brief personal story, relevant experience, or mentioning your professional background.

6/ Engage Emotionally

Connect emotional levels with your audience by appealing to their aspirations, fears, desires, or values. They help create a deeper connection and engagement from the very beginning.

Make sure your introduction is concise and to the point. Avoid unnecessary details or lengthy explanations. Aim for clarity and brevity to maintain the audience’s attention.

For example, Topic: Work-life balance

“Good morning, everyone! Can you imagine waking up each day feeling energized and ready to conquer both your personal and professional pursuits? Well, that’s exactly what we’ll explore today – the wonderful world of work-life balance. In a fast-paced society where work seems to consume every waking hour, it’s vital to find that spot where our careers and personal lives harmoniously coexist. Throughout this presentation, we’ll dive into practical strategies that help us achieve that coveted balance, boost productivity, and nurture our overall well-being. 

But before we dive in, let me share a bit about my journey. As a working professional and a passionate advocate for work-life balance, I have spent years researching and implementing strategies that have transformed my own life. I am excited to share my knowledge and experiences with all of you today, with the hope of inspiring positive change and creating a more fulfilling work-life balance for everyone in this room. So, let’s get started!”

🎉 Check out: How to Start a Presentation?

Whether you’re a seasoned speaker or new to the stage, understanding how to write a presentation that conveys your message effectively is a valuable skill. By following the steps in this guide, you can become a captivating presenter and make your mark in every presentation you deliver.

Additionally, AhaSlides can significantly enhance your presentation’s impact. With AhaSlides, you can use live polls , quizzes , and word cloud to turn your presentation into an engaging and interactive experience. Let’s take a moment to explore our vast template library !

Frequently Asked Questions

How to write a presentation step by step .

You can refer to our step-by-step guide on How To Write A Presentation Script: Understand Your Purpose and Audience Outline the Structure of Your Presentation Craft Clear and Concise Sentences Use Visual Aids and Supporting Material Include Engagement Techniques Rehearse and Revise Seek Feedback

How do you start a presentation? 

You can start with an engaging opening that grabs the audience’s attention and introduces your topic. Consider using one of the following approaches: Start with a Thought-Provoking Question: “Have you ever…?” Begin with a Surprising Fact or Statistic: “Did you know that….?” Use a Powerful Quote: “As Maya Angelou once said,….” Tell a Compelling Story : “Picture this: You’re standing at….” Start with a Bold Statement: “In the fast-paced digital age….”

What are the five parts of a presentation?

When it comes to presentation writing, a typical presentation consists of the following five parts: Introduction: Capturing the audience’s attention, introducing yourself, stating the purpose, and providing an overview. Main Body: Presenting main points, evidence, examples, and arguments. Visual Aids: Using visuals to enhance understanding and engage the audience. Conclusion: Summarizing main points, restating key message, and leaving a memorable takeaway or call to action. Q&A or Discussion: Optional part for addressing questions and encouraging audience participation.

A writer who wants to create practical and valuable content for the audience

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Business writing essentials

How to write a presentation (and deliver it, even via Zoom)

Jack elliott.

31 minute read

You’ve been asked to give a presentation. Chances are, your response will be roughly one of the following:

1. It’s a subject you’re passionate about and you’re a confident speaker. You’re pleased to have the opportunity.

2. You secretly worry that your style is flat and unengaging. You’re not looking forward to it.

3. At best, the prospect makes you nervous; at worst, terrified. You’d rather have root canal surgery.

If you belong in one of the last two categories, you probably know you’re not alone. You may have heard the statistic that public speaking is more widely feared even than death .

However you feel about the prospect of presenting, this comprehensive guide will take you step by step through the process of planning, writing and delivering a presentation you can be proud of (even via Zoom).

Use the contents links below to jump to the section you need most, make your way through methodically from start to finish, or bookmark this page for next time you need it.

What is a presentation?

Essentially, it’s a story. And its origins go back thousands of years – to when our ancestors gathered around the campfire to listen to the wise elders of the tribe. Without PowerPoint!

These days, presentations encompass the glitz and scale of the Oscars or the new iPhone launch through to business briefings to smaller audiences, in person or – increasingly – online. We’re focusing on the business side.

Whatever the occasion, there’s always an element of drama involved. A presentation is not a report you can read at your leisure, it’s an event – speakers are putting themselves on the spot to explain, persuade or inspire you. Good presentations use this dynamic to support their story.

Always remember: everyone wants you to do well

If you are nervous, always remember: no one sets out to write a poor presentation and no one wants to go to one either. There may be private agendas in the room, but for the most part audiences approach presentations positively. They want to be engaged and to learn. They want you to do well.

First things first: the date’s in the diary and you need to prepare. Let’s break it down.

1. Preparing your presentation

Imagine you’re a designer in the automotive industry and your boss has asked you to give a presentation. The subject: the future of the car and how it will fit with all the other modes of transport.

Where to start? How to approach it? First you need an angle, a key idea.

We talk about ‘giving’ a presentation – and of course it’s the audience who will be receiving it. So, instead of beginning with cars (in this case), let’s think about people. That way we can root the talk in the everyday experience we all share.

Maybe you remember a time you were stuck in traffic on a motorway. Morning rush hour. No one moving. Up ahead children were crossing a footbridge on their way to school, laughing at the cars going nowhere. And you thought, ‘Enjoy it while you can! This will be you one day.’ But maybe not. Surely we can do better for future generations!

There’s your opening – the whole issue captured in a single image, and you’ve immediately engaged your audience with a simple story.

The who, the why and the what

Always begin with the people you’ll be addressing in mind. Before you start writing, answer three fundamental questions: who is your audience, why are you talking to them and what do you want to say?

The answers will provide the strong foundations you need and start the ideas flowing. Ignore them and you risk being vague and unfocused. Clear writing is the result of clear thinking and thinking takes time, but it’s time well spent.

Got a presentation to write? Before you do anything else, answer three fundamental questions: who is your audience, why are you talking to them and what do you want to say? @EmphasisWriting Click To Tweet

Start with the audience

Are you a senior car designer talking to your team? If the answer’s yes, you can assume high-level, shared knowledge.

But if you’re talking to the sales or marketing departments, you can’t make the same assumptions – there are issues you might have to explain and justify. And if it’s a press briefing, it’s about getting the message out to the general public – a different story again.

Knowing your audience will also dictate your tone. Your presentation to the board is likely to be quite formal, whereas a talk for your team can be more relaxed.

And what’s the audience’s mood? On another occasion you might have bad news to deliver – perhaps the national economy and the company’s finances are threatening people’s jobs. Then you must empathise – put yourself in their position and adapt your tone accordingly.

I want to …

You also need a clear objective (the why ). For our car designer, the overriding objective should be to plant a key idea in the audience’s mind. Starting with that image of the schoolchildren, it’s to convince the audience that the company has a radical and distinctive design future.

That’s the takeaway. How should they do that? Should they explain, persuade or inspire – the three key strategies for any presentation? You may need to use several of them to achieve your goal.

Objectives should always complete the statement ‘I want to …’. What do you want to do ?

It’s about …

The what is the substance of your presentation – the building blocks, all the facts and figures that tell the audience ‘It’s about …’.

Back to our designer. The move away from petrol and diesel will allow a complete rethink of car design. The electric power unit and battery can lie under the car’s floor, freeing up all the space taken up by the conventional engine. And then there are all the issues around emission-free, autonomous vehicles in the ‘smart’ cities of the future.

When you’re planning, it can be helpful to get all the information out of your head and onto the page, using a mind map , like the example below (for a talk on UK transport policy).

This is an effective way of unlocking everything you know (or still need to do more research on). Start with your main topic, then keep asking yourself questions (like who, what, when, where, how and why) to dig into all the aspects.

Mind map with the topic of ‘UK transport policy at the centre. Arrows point out to six bubbles with the labels ‘Who’, ‘When’, ‘Why’, ‘How’, ‘What’ and ‘Where’. More arrows point out from each of these bubbles to explore related points in each area, and still more arrows from some of those points to expand further. The information reads:

• Special interests / NGOs
• Need for clear government direction
• What industry will do
• R&D spend
• What industry is doing
• Congestion [this leads to the sub-point ‘Wasted time and money’]
• More pollution
• More congestion
• More wasted time and money
• Climate change
• Road pricing
• Legislation
• Working together
• New technology
• Exports/revenue
• Social policy
• Rest of world
• Emerging economies

Once you’ve got it all out on the page, you can identify which parts actually belong in your presentation. Don’t try to include every last detail: audiences don’t want to process piles of information. They are more interested in your ideas and conclusions.

Now let’s put all this research and planning into a structure.

2. How to structure your presentation

On 28 August 1963, Dr Martin Luther King Jr stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC and delivered one of the most powerful speeches in history: ‘I have a dream’.

He was the leader of the civil rights movement in the US and his audience that day numbered in the hundreds of thousands. His goal was to inspire them to continue the struggle.

Presentations usually aim to either explain, persuade or inspire – sometimes with elements of all three. Your aim will determine your structure. This will be the backbone of your presentation, giving it strength and direction.

Explain in a logical sequence

When you explain, you add to people’s knowledge to build the key idea. But ask yourself, what does this audience already know?

If you’re an astrophysicist talking to an audience of your peers, you can use terms and concepts you know they’ll be familiar with. If you’re explaining black holes to Joe Public, you can’t do that. Typically, you’ll have to use simple analogies to keep the audience with you (‘Imagine you’re in a huge dark room …’).

Whether it’s black holes or new software, good explanations start with what we know and then build on that understanding, step by step, layer by layer. The audience will stay with you if they can follow your logic and you can help this with linking comments – ‘Building on that … ‘, ‘This means …’, ‘To illustrate that, I’ve always found …’.

Presentations usually aim to either explain, persuade or inspire – sometimes with elements of all three. Your aim will determine your presentation's structure. @EmphasisWriting Click To Tweet

We need to change

If you’re writing a persuasive presentation, you also need to follow a particular sequence.

Whether you’re writing a pitch for a prospective customer or making research-based recommendations to a client, you follow the same structure. That structure is the Four Ps . It’s a powerful way of leading your audience’s thinking.

Start with the current situation – where you are now ( position ). Explain why you can’t stay there, so the audience agrees things have to change ( problem ). Suggest up to three credible ways you can address the issue ( possibilities ). Then decide which one is the optimum solution ( proposal ).

Three is a magic number for writers – not too many, not too few. But there may be one standout possibility, in which case you go straight to it ( position, problem, proposal ).

Think about how the pandemic has profoundly changed our working lives. Towns and cities are full of offices that people used to commute to. But to maintain social distancing, we’ve been encouraged to work from home where possible and to stay away from public transport.

At some point, decision-makers within organisations will have to make a call – or share a recommendation – about what to do long term. Should we go back to the office, stay at home or combine the two?

If we had to present on this choice using the Four Ps structure, we could outline the pros and cons of each possibility and then make a push for the one we recommend above the others. Or we could join the likes of Google and Twitter and simply propose purely remote working well into the future.

I have a dream

A presentation that inspires is about the future – about what could be. Scientists inspire children to follow careers in astronomy or physics with their passion and stunning visuals. Designers re-energise companies with their radical, exciting visions. Business leaders convince their staff that they really can turn things around.

An audience watching an inspirational presentation is not going to take away lots of facts and figures. What’s important is their emotional and intellectual engagement with the speaker, their shared sense of purpose. One way to build that engagement is with your structure.

From dark to light

The most inspiring presentations are so often born of shared struggle. On 13 May 1940, Winston Churchill addressed the British parliament – and the British people listening on their radios – in the darkest days of the Second World War.

He was brutally realistic in his assessment of the current position: ‘We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering.’ He then set out his policy: ‘To wage war by sea, land and air, with all our might … against a monstrous tyranny’, and the prize: ‘Victory, however long and hard the road may be.’

In difficult situations, audiences immediately see through false hope and empty rhetoric. They want honest acknowledgement, and the determination and clear strategy to lead them to the future.

We can imagine how the same structure could show up in a more business-related context:

‘I’m not going to sugar-coat the figures. We have to change to save jobs and secure our future. There will be dark days and sacrifices along the way, but what’s the hardest part of any turnaround? It’s getting started. To do that, we all need to keep asking two fundamental questions: where can we improve, how can we improve? And if we push hard enough and if we’re utterly relentless, change will come and our momentum will build.’

Are you going to appeal to your audience’s

• habits of thought (current beliefs)?

If your recommendations run counter to their current beliefs, try appealing to their emotions.

3. Writing your presentation script

You don’t have to write a script. Some people put a few PowerPoint slides together and wing it; others make do with bullets on a smartphone, laptop or cue cards. It depends on the event and the presenter.

Writing a full script takes time, but if it’s a very important presentation and you might use it again – perhaps to appeal for investment – it will be worth it.

Some people will write a full script because the company or organisation that’s commissioned a presentation will want to see a copy well ahead of the event (often for legal reasons). Others will write the script, edit it down to the required time and then edit it down again to bullets or notes.

If the presentation is to a small audience, your notes or bullets will suit a more conversational approach. There are no rules here – see what works best for you. But what you must do is know your subject inside out.

To write clearly, you must think clearly and a full script will expose the areas that aren’t clear – where an explanation needs strengthening, for example, or where you should work on a transition.

Timing is everything

A full script also helps with working out timing, and timing is crucial. TED talks, for example, have a strict 18-minute limit, whether in front of an audience or online. That’s short enough to hold attention, but long enough to communicate a key idea. (The ‘I have a dream’ speech lasted 17 minutes 40 seconds and it changed the world.)

It takes a very skilled presenter to go much over 30 minutes. If you are taking questions during or after your presentation , however, it’s fine to build in extra time.

Imagine you’re writing your presentation in full and your slot is 20 minutes. On an A4 page with a 14-point Calibri font and 1.5 line spacing, that will equate to about 10 pages.

You can also divide the page in two, with slides on the left and text on the right (or vice versa). Then you can plan your words and visuals in parallel – and that will be roughly 20 pages.

Script page with a slide on the left-hand side and text on the right. The slide has the heading ‘What is your purpose?’ and has a photo of a smiling person at a whiteboard mid-presentation. The text on the slide reads:

Do you want to:

• do a combination of all three?

The notes next to the slide read:

How should they do that? Should they explain, persuade or inspire – the three key strategies for any presentation? You may need to use several of them to achieve your goal.

The most powerful key on your keyboard – Delete

Use these numbers as your goal, but your first draft will probably be longer. That’s when you start deleting.

Be ruthless. Anything not adding to the story must go, including those anecdotes you’ve been telling for years ( especially those anecdotes). It’s not about what you want to tell the audience, it’s about what they need to hear.

Don’t feel you have to include every single issue either. Dealing with two or three examples in some detail is far better than saying a little bit about many more.

And interpret visual material you’re displaying rather than describing it, just as you wouldn’t repeat the text that’s on the screen. The audience can see it already.

It’s a conversation

Be yourself – don’t write a script that’s not in your style. We want the real you, not a supercharged version.

Some people are naturals when it comes to presenting – which can mean they’ve learned how to draw on their authentic strengths.

Sir David Attenborough is a great example. He has a wide-ranging knowledge of the natural world. He has an infectious passion and enthusiasm for his subject. And most importantly, he doesn’t lecture the camera: he talks naturally to his audience (and he’s now using Instagram to inspire new generations).

You can take a cue from Sir David and make your presentation style your own. Knowing your own strengths and really understanding your why will help you speak with purpose and passion.

And aim to speak naturally. Use conversational, inclusive language. That means lots of personal pronouns ( I believe, we can) and contractions ( Don’t you wonder …, you’re probably thinking …).

Sir David Attenborough introduces his new series, Our Planet at its premiere. He builds up our awareness by layering information alongside arresting statistics. These are framed simply, in relatable terms (‘96% of mass on the planet is us …’), so we easily grasp their shocking significance. He also uses ‘we’ and ‘us’ a lot to underline how this environmental emergency affects us all on ‘the planet we all call home’.

Finding the right words

Imagine you’re talking to someone as you write. And try saying the words out loud – it’s a good way to catch those complex, overlong sentences or particular words that will be difficult to say.

Presentations are not reports that can be reread – the audience has to understand what you are saying in the moment . Don’t leave them wondering what on earth you’re talking about, as they will only fall behind.

So avoid using long or complex words, or words you wouldn’t hear in everyday conversation (if your everyday conversation includes ‘quarks’ and ‘vectors’, that’s fine). And beware of jargon – it can exclude the audience and it quickly becomes clichéd and outdated.

Here are some more hints and tips on how to write effectively for speaking:

Syntax (word order): Disentangle your thoughts and arrange the words in your sentences to be simple and logical. Often, complex syntax shows up when the main point is getting lost inside excess information (or that the speaker is unsure what their main point is).

Pace, rhythm and tone: Varying the pace, rhythm and tone of sentences makes both the speaking and listening experience far more enjoyable.

Make sure the stress falls on the most important words. For example, ‘To be or not to be ‘ (where the stress rises and falls on alternate words) or ‘I have a dream ‘ (where the stress falls on the final word).

Vary the length of sentences and experiment with using very short sentences to emphasise a point.

Play with rhythm by arranging words in pairs and trios. Saying things in threes gives a sense of movement, progression and resolution: Going, going … gone . Saying words in pairs gives a more balanced tone (‘courage and commitment’, ‘energy and effort’) or a sense of tension between the words (‘war and peace’, ‘imports and exports’).

Analogies: Good analogies can work well in presentations because they paint vivid pictures for the audience. The best way to do it is to use either a simile (‘It wasn’t so much a dinner party, more like feeding time at the zoo’) or a metaphor (‘He was the fox and the company was the henhouse’).

Alliteration: This means using two or more words that start with the same sound, like ‘big and bold’, ‘sleek and shiny’ or ‘key components’. On the page alliteration may look contrived, but it can effectively highlight important phrases in a presentation.

Words to avoid: Be careful about using clichés like ‘pushing the envelope’, ‘playing hardball’ and ‘thinking outside the box’. And think carefully about using any word that ends with -ism, -ise, -based, -gate, -focused and -driven.

Be careful with humour too: don’t write jokes unless you can naturally tell them well. Keep the tone light if it fits the occasion, but a badly told joke can be excruciating.

4. How to start your presentation

People tend to remember beginnings and endings the most, so make sure your opening and conclusion are both strong.

You have about a minute to engage an audience. You want them to be intrigued, to want to know more, to come slightly forward in their seats. If you only learn one part of your presentation by heart, make it that minute.

A quick ‘thank you’ is fine if someone has introduced you. A quick ‘good morning’ to the audience is fine too. But don’t start thanking them for coming and hoping they’ll enjoy what you have to say – you’re not accepting an Oscar, and they can tell you what they thought when it’s over. Get straight down to business.

There are four basic types of introduction which will draw your audience in:

• News – ‘Positive Covid-19 tests worldwide have now reached …’
• Anecdotal – ‘About ten years ago, I was walking to work and I saw …’
• Surprise – ‘Every five minutes, an American will die because of the food they eat.’
• Historical – ‘In 1800, the world’s population was one billion. It’s now 7.8 billion.’

You can interpret these beginnings in any number of ways. If you were to say, ‘I have an admission to make …’, we will expect a personal anecdote relating to your main theme. And because you’re alone in front of us, it’s playing on your vulnerability. We’re intrigued straight away, and you’ve established a good platform for the rest of the presentation.

You can also combine these techniques. The historical beginning creates a sense of movement – that was then and this is now – as well as a surprising fact. It may prompt a thought like, ‘Wow, where’s this going?’ And you can trade on this with your own rhetorical question: ‘What does this mean for everyone in this room? It’s not what you think …’.

As well as setting up your story, you need to quickly reassure the audience they’re in safe hands. One way to do that is to give them a map – to tell them where you’re going to take them and what they’re going to see along the way.

Then you’re starting the journey together.

5. How to end your presentation

Your ending is what you want the audience to take away: your call to action, your vision of the future and how they can contribute.

If your presentation is online or to a small group in a small room, your ending is not going to be a battle cry, a call to man the barricades – that would be totally inappropriate. But equally don’t waste it with something flat and uninspiring.

Here are four effective ways to end your talk (like the intros, you can combine them or come up with your own):

• Predict the future – ‘So what can we expect in the next ten years? …’
• Quotation – ‘As our chief exec said at the meeting yesterday, …’
• Repeat a major issue – ‘We can’t carry on with the same old same old.’
• Summarise – ‘Continuous improvement isn’t our goal. It’s our culture.’

Predicting the future fits well with a historical beginning – it completes the arc of your presentation.

If you end with a quotation, make sure it’s relevant and credible – it has to be an authoritative stamp.

Repeating a major issue means pulling out and highlighting a major strand of your presentation, while summarising is about encapsulating your argument in a couple of sentences.

Your ending can also be a change of tone, perhaps signalled by the single word ‘Finally …’. It’s the audience’s cue to come slightly forward again and pay close attention.

As with your opening, it will have more impact if you’ve learned your ending – put down your notes, take a couple of steps towards the audience and address them directly, before a simple ‘Thank you.’

6. Creating your PowerPoint slides

We’ve all been there – watching a seemingly endless, poorly designed slide deck that’s simply restating what the presenter is saying. So common is this tortuous experience that there’s a name for it: Death by PowerPoint. But it doesn’t have to be like this.

Do you need slides at all?

As with your script, the first thing you should ask is ‘Do I actually need this?’ In 2019, Sir Tim Berners-Lee gave the Richard Dimbleby lecture for the BBC. He spoke for about 40 minutes with no autocue (he’d memorised his script) – and no speaker support.

This is a uniquely powerful form of presentation because the audience’s attention is totally focused on that one person. The call to action at the end of a presentation and delivering bad news are also best done without visuals.

Visual support

But if they’re well-judged and relevant, slides or other visuals can add enormously to a presentation – whether it’s photography, video or the ubiquitous PowerPoint. There are, however, two things everyone should know about PowerPoint in particular:

• It’s incredibly versatile and convenient.
• In the wrong hands, it can be unbearably tedious.

Your PowerPoint slides should not essentially be your cue cards projected onto a screen. They shouldn’t be packed margin to margin with text or full of complex diagrams.

If the presentation is live, the audience has come to watch you, not your slide deck. Online, the deck may have to work harder to sustain visual interest.

As with the script, keep your finger poised over that Delete key when you’re putting the deck together.

How many slides?

There’s no hard-and-fast rule about how many slides you should use, but think in terms of no more than one or two a minute on average. And don’t use more than a couple of short video inserts in a 20-minute presentation.

You might have a section where you show a few slides in a sequence or hold a single slide for a couple of minutes, which is fine. Varying the pacing helps to keep a presentation moving.

Optimise for psychology

As self-professed presentation aficionado David JP Phillips notes in his TEDx talk , people – and that includes your audience – have terrible working memories. If you don’t account for this fact in your slides, your talk will not have a lasting impact. In fact, most of it will be forgotten within around 30 seconds.

To counter this effect, David identifies five key strategies to use when designing your PowerPoint:

• Only have one message per slide: more than that and you’re splitting your audience’s attention.
• Don’t use full sentences on slides, and certainly don’t imagine you can talk over them if you do. People trying to read and listen at the same time will fail at both and absorb nothing. Move your running text into the documentation section instead, and keep the slide content short and sweet.
• People’s focus will be drawn to the biggest thing on the slide. If your headline is less important than the content below it, make the headline text the smaller of the two.
• You can also direct people’s attention using contrast. This can be as simple as guiding their point of focus by using white text (on a dark background) for the words you want to highlight, while the surrounding text is greyed out.
• Including too many objects per slide will sap your audience’s cognitive resources. (Your headline, every bullet, any references, even a page number each count as an object.) Include a maximum of six objects per slide and viewers will give a mental sigh of relief. This will probably mean creating more slides overall – and that’s fine.

More Powerpoint and visual aid tips

Here are a few more guidelines for creating your visual aids:

• Never dive into PowerPoint as job one in creating your presentation. Work out your talk’s structure (at least) before designing your slide deck. Making a genuinely effective PowerPoint requires that you know your subject inside out.
• List any visuals you’ll need as you prepare your script. That terrific photo you saw recently could be difficult to track down, and you might need permission and to pay to use it.
• It bears repeating: keep each slide to one key idea.
• Use the build effect of adding one bullet at a time (or use the contrast trick above) and try not to use more than three bullets per frame (or six objects overall).
• Strip each bullet to the bare minimum – no articles (‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’), no prepositions (‘in’, ‘at’, ‘to’ etc) and cut right back on punctuation.
• Every word that’s not there for a reason has to go. Delete, delete, delete.

‘Extra’ slides

• Use a ‘walk-in’ slide. Rather than have the audience arrive to a blank screen, this tells them who you are and your presentation’s title.
• Use occasional holding slides in between those with more content – perhaps an image but no text. They give the audience a visual rest and put the focus back on you.
• A plain white background might look fine on a computer monitor, but it will be glaring on a big screen. Invert the norm with a dark background, or use shading or ‘ghosted’ images to break up backgrounds and add visual interest.
• Some colours work better than others on-screen. Blues and greys are soft and easy on the eye. Red is a no-no, whether for backgrounds or text. And if you stick with a light background, favour a more subtle dark grey over black for the text.
• Use sans serif fonts (like Arial, Helvetica or Calibri) and think about point size – make sure it’s easily legible.
• Only use upper case where absolutely necessary.

Images and data

• Photos work well full screen, but they also really stand out well on a black background.
• Make sure your charts and graphics aren’t too complex. The dense information that’s fine on the page will not work on-screen – it’s too much to take in. Graphs behind a TV newsreader are often reduced to a single line going dramatically up or down.
• Don’t present data or graphs and expect them to speak for themselves. You need to find the story and significance in the data and present that .

And finally

• Proofread, proofread, proofread – or risk standing in front of an embarrassing spelling mistake.

Technical check

• Check what laptop they’re using at your venue. If you’ve written your deck on a PC, run it on a PC (and, of course, the same rule applies if you’ve used a Mac).
• If you’ve emailed your presentation to the venue, take a USB copy along as back-up.
• If you’re presenting online, check which platform you’ll be using and get comfortable with it. If someone else will be hosting the event, make sure you arrange a time for a rehearsal, especially if there will be a producer.

7. Delivering your presentation

You’ve put a lot of time and effort into preparing your presentation and now you’ve come to the sharp end – it’s time to stand and deliver.

Run it through

You don’t have to rehearse, but most presenters do and for good reason – it catches weak points and awkward transitions. And, crucially, it bolsters confidence.

Read your script or go through your bullets aloud – it will help to settle your nerves. If you use colleagues as a dummy audience, you can do a sense check too: ‘Does that bit work?’ ‘Have I explained it clearly?’ ‘Do you get the big picture?’ And rehearsing out loud will catch those words and sentences you thought you could say but can’t.

The more you rehearse, the more familiar and natural the presentation will become. Rehearse the technical side too – where the video is going to come in, how you’re going to vary your pace and tone to maintain interest.

Try speaking slightly more slowly than you would normally so the audience catches every word, and don’t be afraid to pause now and again. It gives a breathing space for you and the audience.

Connect with your audience

When you deliver your presentation for real, establish eye contact with the audience, just as you would in a conversation. In a small room with a small audience, talk to individuals. In a larger space, don’t talk to the first couple of rows and ignore the rest – include everyone.

And if you stumble over your words here or there, carry on and don’t dwell on it – you’ll lose your concentration. Audiences are generally forgiving and they might not even notice.

Each audience is unique: they react differently in different places. And although tomorrow might be the tenth time you’ve done the same presentation, it will be the first time this audience sees it. Your duty is to keep it fresh for them.

A final point

This is your presentation – you’re in control and the audience needs to feel they’re in safe hands.

It’s perfectly natural to feel nervous , but it’s the thought of doing it that’s the worst bit. Once you get going – and especially when you sense the audience is with you – the nerves will start to disappear. Try to enjoy it. If you enjoy it, it’s far more likely the audience will too.

And remember: everyone wants you to do well.

8. How to present online

Taking to Zoom or another online platform to present was once the exception. These days, online presenting is as essential a skill as presenting in person.

The switch to online can be nerve-wracking and cause even usually skilled presenters to falter. But there’s no need for that to happen.

Indeed, all of the advice we’ve talked about on preparing, structuring and writing for in-person presenting is equally relevant for your online delivery. You just need to be ready for the unique challenges that remote presentations pose.

An obvious one is that while you still have an audience, it will probably be muted and possibly even unseen (if webcams are switched off). This makes it far more difficult to gauge audience reaction, and if the event is pre-recorded, there might not be any at all – at least not immediately. Clapping and laughing emojis are not quite like the real thing.

Keep eye contact

But although your audience may be many miles away, there are still ways you can – and should – create a sense of connection with them. Your presentation will have much more impact if you do.

Whether the event is live or recorded, at least start with your webcam on (unless you really can only use slides). If it’s an option and feels appropriate, consider keeping your camera on throughout – remember, you are the presentation as much as any visuals.

If you will be on display, make sure you know where your webcam’s lens is and at key moments of your talk look directly into it – and out at your audience – to punctuate those points.

And don’t look at a second screen to cue up your PowerPoint – viewers will think your attention is wandering.

Engage your online audience

Being an engaging speaker is always important, but remember that the online world is already a place we associate with distraction. It’s also easier for a viewer behind their laptop to disguise their wandering attention than it would be for one in an auditorium or boardroom.

This isn’t to say your audience don’t want to give you their attention. But it is more important than ever to keep your presentation sharp and concise. Revisit your structure, your script or cue cards and your slides. Take a really critical eye to it and (as always) delete, delete, delete anything that’s not directly relevant.

If it works for your format, you can look at making your presentation interactive. You can then break the content into short segments, interspersed with comment, polls, questions and discussion. The variety will be a welcome change for your viewers.

Your visuals are part of what will keep people with you – along with the interplay you create between you and them. This means following the best-practice guidance we covered earlier is even more important.

Using Zoom for your presentation? Master the art of online delivery through this simple mix of set-up, delivery and technical tricks @EmphasisWriting Click To Tweet

Modulate your voice

Your tone of voice is extremely important here because presenting online is like radio with pictures. When people say ‘You have a great voice for radio’ what they mean is that it’s easy to listen to, often because you’re using quite a low-pitched, warm and relaxed register.

Listen to voices on the radio and voiceovers and identify the ones you particularly enjoy. What do you like about them? Why do you enjoy some voices and not others?

A flat, unmodulated voice, for instance, is difficult to listen to for long periods (and isn’t likely to inspire anyone).

Experiment with intentionally adding energy to your voice, as internet audio can have a dulling effect. As our trainer Gary Woodward puts it: ‘Turn up the enthusiasm dial even higher than you think, to make sure it comes through.’ And always vary your pace and tone as you would in a normal conversation.

And if it suits the tone of your talk, smile now and again. Smiling is contagious, and people will hear it in your voice even if they can’t see you.

Perfect your transitions

One of the other key challenges of remote presentations is that you have another layer of technology to wrestle with: sharing your PowerPoint online.

This means that many presentations begin with the popular catchphrase ‘Can you see my screen?’

This can also cause many presenters to stumble through their transitions, making the links between their slides clunky. And while remote audiences may be forgiving, for a slick presentation it’s best to prevent these sort of fumbles.

Naturally, practice plays a part here. But you can also give yourself the advantage with your set-up.

Dave Paradi from Think Outside the Slide explains one great way of setting up Zoom so you can smoothly cue up and run your slide deck – and be certain what’s being displayed.

You’ll even be able to see the rest of your screen (but the audience won’t). As you’ll be able to see what’s coming up, your transitions can also be seamless.

The trick is to use one of Zoom’s advanced settings after you hit ‘Share screen’, to share only a portion of your screen:

Advanced screensharing options pop-up box in Zoom, with the options ‘Portion of Screen’, ‘Music or Computer Sound Only’ and ‘Content from 2nd Camera’. The ‘Portion of Screen’ option is highlighted in blue.

This will give you a frame you can move to the part of the screen you want the audience to see.

Put your PowerPoint slides into ‘presenter view’ before launching the screenshare. Then you’ll be able to see the upcoming slides and your notes throughout, and your animations (like build slides) will work as normal.

Zoom’s ‘portion of screen’ setting in action

Presenter view in PowerPoint, with the current displayed slide on the left and the upcoming slide displaying smaller on the right, with notes below it. There is a notification saying ‘You are screen sharing’ at the top and a sharing frame positioned around the current slide.

The other part of the trick? Set it up in advance shortly before you’re due to speak. Once you’re happy with the set up, you can stop sharing until it’s time to kick off your talk. When you return to ‘Share screen’ again, it will reopen the frame in the same place.

Dave shows you the process in this video:

Five practical tips for a truly professional online presentation

You’re happy with the content of your talk, you’ve ruthlessly streamlined your slides and mastered your radio voice. Now just make sure you cover these crucial practicalities for a polished presentation:

1. Create a good space Make sure you have your environment well set up:

• Keep the background on display as tidy and minimalist as possible – a plain wall or backdrop is great, if you can.
• Manage and minimise background noise (shut the window, ensure your phone’s on silent, put the cat out, make sure someone’s watching the kids in another room – whatever it takes).
• Check your lighting: have your light source in front of you, not behind you (or you’ll be in shadow).
• Set up your computer or device at eye level so that you are well-framed and facing it straight on – avoid looming above it while providing a lovely view into your nostrils.

2. Think about your appearance Dress in the same way you would if the presentation were in person, and judge your choice of attire based on the formality of the event and your audience.

3. Practise! Run through the presentation and rehearse the technical side. Practise your transitions, including the initial cueing up of your slides (perhaps using the Zoom tip above), so that you can be confident in doing it all smoothly.

4. Be primed and ready Log in early on the day of your talk. Check all your tech is working, get your headset on and ensure everything is set up well ahead of time. This will save any last-minute issues (and stress) and means you can hit the ground running.

5. Stand and deliver Even online, consider giving your presentation standing up, if you can do so comfortably (adjusting your device or webcam accordingly). This may put you more into a presenting frame of mind and will differentiate you from most remote presenters.

Are you still there?

Live audiences have a group dynamic – as soon as a few people start laughing it becomes infectious and the others join in. It’s naturally different online. But that doesn’t have to throw you.

You might not get that immediate feedback, but don’t overcompensate and feel you have to win them back.

Yes, it’s often more difficult to gauge an audience’s reaction online – especially if their audio is muted and their webcams off. Yes, this can be daunting. But they are still out there listening. You may or may not hear (or see) laughter, but they could still be smiling and very interested in what you have to say. Have faith in your own content. Whatever form your delivery will take, keep coming back to your purpose and message for giving this talk – and keep considering the people you’ll be talking to. Whether the address will be online or in person, it is keeping this focus which is the key to every powerful presentation.

Ready to learn even more? Work one-to-one on your presentation-writing skills with one of our expert trainers or join our scheduled presentation-writing courses . If your team are looking to upskill, we also offer tailored in-house training . And if fear of presenting is holding your team back, check out our in-house course The reluctant presenter .

Image credit: lightpoet / Shutterstock

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These days he's one of Emphasis' top business-writing trainers, but in previous career lives Jack has written for many public and private sector organisations. He has an in-depth knowledge of the engineering and manufacturing sectors, particularly the UK automotive industry. As the lead scriptwriter for chairmen and CEOs, he has been responsible for proposals, pitches and reports as well as high-profile speeches and global product launches.

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14.1 Organizing a Visual Presentation

Learning objectives.

• Identify key ideas and details to create a concise, engaging presentation.
• Identify the steps involved in planning a comprehensive presentation.

Until now, you have interacted with your audience of readers indirectly, on the page. You have tried to anticipate their reactions and questions as all good writers do. Anticipating the audience’s needs can be tough, especially when you are sitting alone in front of your computer.

When you give a presentation, you connect directly with your audience. For most people, making a presentation is both exciting and stressful. The excitement comes from engaging in a two-way interaction about your ideas. The stress comes from the pressure of presenting your ideas without having a delete button to undo mistakes. Outside the classroom, you may be asked to give a presentation, often at the last minute, and the show must go on. Presentations can be stressful, but planning and preparation, when the time and opportunity are available, can make all the difference.

This chapter covers how to plan and deliver an effective, engaging presentation. By planning carefully, applying some time-honored presentation strategies, and practicing, you can make sure that your presentation comes across as confident, knowledgeable, and interesting—and that your audience actually learns from it. The specific tasks involved in creating a presentation may vary slightly depending on your purpose and your assignment. However, these are the general steps.

Follow these steps to create a presentation based on your ideas:

• Determine your purpose and identify the key ideas to present.
• Organize your ideas in an outline.
• Identify opportunities to incorporate visual or audio media, and create or locate these media aids.
• Rehearse your presentation in advance.
• Deliver your presentation to your audience.

Getting Started: Identifying and Organizing Key Ideas

To deliver a successful presentation, you need to develop content suitable for an effective presentation. Your ideas make up your presentation, but to deliver them effectively, you will need to identify key ideas and organize them carefully. Read the following considerations, which will help you first identify and then organize key ideas:

• Be concise. You will include the most important ideas and leave out others. Some concepts may need to be simplified.
• Employ more than one medium of expression. You should incorporate other media, such as charts, graphs, photographs, video or audio recordings, or websites.
• Prepare for a face-to-face presentation. If you must deliver a face-to-face presentation, it is important to project yourself as a serious and well-informed speaker. You will often speak extemporaneously, or in a rehearsed but not memorized manner, which allows for flexibility given the context or audience. You will need to know your points and keep your audience engaged.

Determine Your Purpose

As with a writing assignment, determining the purpose of your presentation early on is crucial. You want to inform your readers about the topic, but think about what else you hope to achieve.

Are you presenting information intended to move your audience to adopt certain beliefs or take action on a particular issue? If so, you are speaking not only to inform but also to persuade your listeners. Do you want your audience to come away from your presentation knowing how to do something they that they did not know before? In that case, you are not only informing them but also explaining or teaching a process.

Writing at Work

Schoolteachers are trained to structure lessons around one or more lesson objectives. Usually the objective, the mission or purpose, states what students should know or be able to do after they complete the lesson. For example, an objective might state, “Students will understand the specific freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment” or “Students will be able to add two three-digit numbers correctly.”

As a manager, mentor, or supervisor, you may sometimes be required to teach or train other employees as part of your job. Determining the desired outcome of a training session will help you plan effectively. Identify your teaching objectives. What, specifically, do you want your audience to know (for instance, details of a new workplace policy) or be able to do (for instance, use a new software program)? Plan your teaching or training session to meet your objectives.

Identify Key Ideas

To plan your presentation, think in terms of three or four key points you want to get across. In a paper, you have the space to develop ideas at length and delve into complex details. In a presentation, however, you must convey your ideas more concisely.

One strategy you might try is to create an outline. What is your main idea? Would your main idea work well as key points for a brief presentation? How would you condense topics that might be too lengthy, or should you eliminate topics that may be too complicated to address in your presentation?

1. Revisit your presentation assignment, or think of a topic for your presentation. On your own sheet of notebook paper, write a list of at least three to five key ideas. Keep the following questions in mind when listing your key ideas:

• What is your purpose?
• Who is your audience?
• How will you engage your audience?

2. On the same paper, identify the steps you must complete before you begin creating your presentation.

Use an Outline to Organize Ideas

After you determine which ideas are most appropriate for your presentation, you will create an outline of those ideas. Your presentation, like a written assignment, should include an introduction, body, and conclusion. These components serve much the same purpose as they do in a written assignment.

• The introduction engages the audience’s attention, introduces the topic, and sets the tone for what is to come.
• The body develops your point of view with supporting ideas, details, and examples presented in a logical order.
• The conclusion restates your point of view, sums up your main points, and leaves your audience with something to think about.

Jorge, who wrote the research paper featured in Chapter 11 “Writing from Research: What Will I Learn?” , developed the following outline. Jorge relied heavily on this outline to plan his presentation, but he adjusted it to suit the new format.

Planning Your Introduction

In Chapter 12 “Writing a Research Paper” , you learned techniques for writing an interesting introduction, such as beginning with a surprising fact or statistic, a thought-provoking question or quotation, a brief anecdote that illustrates a larger concept or connects your topic to your audience’s experiences. You can use these techniques effectively in presentations as well. You might also consider actively engaging your audience by having members respond to questions or complete a brief activity related to your topic. For example, you may have your audience respond to a survey or tell about an experience related to your topic.

Incorporating media can also be an effective way to get your audience’s attention. Visual images such as a photograph or a cartoon can invoke an immediate emotional response. A graph or chart can highlight startling findings in research data or statistical information. Brief video or audio clips that clearly reinforce your message and do not distract or overwhelm your audience can provide a sense of immediacy when you plan to discuss an event or a current issue. A PowerPoint presentation allows you to integrate many of these different media sources into one presentation.

With the accessibility provided by the Internet, you can find interesting and appropriate audio and video with little difficulty. However, the clip alone will not sustain the presentation. To keep the audience interested and engaged, you must frame the beginning and end of the clip with your own words.

Jorge completed the introduction part of his outline by listing the key points he would use to open his presentation. He also planned to show various web links early on to illustrate the popularity of the low-carbohydrate diet trend.

Planning the Body of Your Presentation

The next step is to work with the key ideas you identified earlier. Determine the order in which you want to present these ideas, and flesh them out with important details. Chapter 10 “Rhetorical Modes” discusses several organizational structures you might work with, such as chronological order, comparison-and-contrast structure, or cause-and-effect structure.

How much detail you include will depend on the time allotted for your presentation. Your instructor will most likely give you a specific time limit or a specific slide limit, such as eight to ten slides. If the time limit is very brief (two to three minutes, for instance), you will need to focus on communicating your point of view, main supporting points, and only the most relevant details. Three minutes can feel like an eternity if you are speaking before a group, but the time will pass very quickly. It is important to use it well.

If you have more time to work with—ten minutes or half an hour—you will be able to discuss your topic in greater detail. More time also means you must devote more thought into how you will hold your audience’s interest. If your presentation is longer than five minutes, introduce some variety so the audience is not bored. Incorporate multimedia, invite the audience to complete an activity, or set aside time for a question-and-answer session.

Jorge was required to limit his presentation to five to seven minutes. In his outline, he made a note about where he would need to condense some complicated material to stay within his time limit. He also decided to focus only on cholesterol and heart disease in his discussion of long-term health outcomes. The research on other issues was inconclusive, so Jorge decided to omit this material. Jorge’s notes on his outline show the revisions he has made to his presentation.

You are responsible for using your presentation time effectively to inform your audience. You show respect for your audience by following the expected time limit. However, that does not mean you must fill all of that time with talk if you are giving a face-to-face presentation. Involving your audience can take some of the pressure off you while also keeping them engaged. Have them respond to a few brief questions to get them thinking. Display a relevant photograph, document, or object and ask your classmates to comment. In some presentations, if time allows, you may choose to have your classmates complete an individual or group activity.

Planning Your Conclusion

The conclusion should briefly sum up your main idea and leave your audience with something to think about. As in a written paper, you are essentially revisiting your thesis. Depending on your topic, you may also ask the audience to reconsider their thinking about an issue, to take action, or to think about a related issue. If you presented an attention-getting fact or anecdote in your introduction, consider revisiting it in your conclusion. Just as you have learned about an essay’s conclusion, do not add new content to the presentation’s conclusion.

No matter how you choose to structure your conclusion, make sure it is well planned so that you are not tempted to wrap up your presentation too quickly. Inexperienced speakers, in a face-to-face presentation, sometimes rush through the end of a presentation to avoid exceeding the allotted time or to end the stressful experience of presenting in public. Unfortunately, a hurried conclusion makes the presentation as a whole less memorable.

Time management is the key to delivering an effective presentation whether it is face-to-face or in PowerPoint. As you develop your outline, think about the amount of time you will devote to each section. For instance, in a five-minute face-to-face presentation, you might plan to spend one minute on the introduction, three minutes on the body, and one minute on the conclusion. Later, when you rehearse, you can time yourself to determine whether you need to adjust your content or delivery.

In a PowerPoint presentation, it is important that your presentation is visually stimulating, avoids information overload by limiting the text per slide, uses speaker notes effectively, and uses a font that is visible on the background (e.g., avoid white letters on a light background or black letters on a dark background).

Work with the list you created in Note 14.4 “Exercise 1” to develop a more complete outline for your presentation. Make sure your outline includes the following:

• An introduction that uses strategies to capture your audience’s attention
• A body section that summarizes your main points and supporting details
• A conclusion that will help you end on a memorable note
• Brief notes about how much time you plan to spend on each part of the presentation (you may adjust the timing later as needed)

Identifying Opportunities to Incorporate Visual and Audio Media

You may already have some ideas for how to incorporate visual and audio media in your presentation. If not, review your outline and begin thinking about where to include media. Presenting information in a variety of formats will help you keep your audience’s interest.

Use Presentation Software

Delivering your presentation as a slideshow is one way to use media to your advantage. As you speak, you use a computer and an attached projector to display a slideshow of text and graphics that complement the speech. Your audience will follow your ideas more easily, because you are communicating with them through more than one sense. The audience hears your words and also sees the corresponding visuals. A listener who momentarily loses track of what you are saying can rely on the slide to cue his or her memory.

To set up your presentation, you will need to work with the content of your outline to develop individual slides. Each slide should focus on just a few bullet points (or a similar amount of content presented in a graphic). Remember that your audience must be able to read the slides easily, whether the members sit in the front or the back of the room. Avoid overcrowding the slides with too much text.

Using presentation software, such as PowerPoint, allows you to incorporate graphics, sounds, and even web links directly into your slides. You can also work with available styles, color schemes, and fonts to give your presentation a polished, consistent appearance. Different slide templates make it easy to organize information to suit your purpose. Be sure your font is visible to you audience. Avoid using small font or colored font that is not visible against your background.

Use PowerPoint as a Visual Aid

PowerPoint and similar visual representation programs can be effective tools to help audiences remember your message, but they can also be an annoying distraction to your speech. How you prepare your slides and use the tool will determine your effectiveness.

PowerPoint is a slideware program that you have no doubt seen used in class, seen in a presentation at work, or perhaps used yourself to support a presentation. PowerPoint and similar slideware programs provide templates for creating electronic slides to present visual information to the audience, reinforcing the verbal message. You will be able to import or cut and paste words from text files, images, or video clips to create slides to represent your ideas. You can even incorporate web links. When using any software program, it is always a good idea to experiment with it long before you intend to use it; explore its many options and functions, and see how it can be an effective tool for you.

At first, you might be overwhelmed by the possibilities, and you might be tempted to use all the bells, whistles, and sound effects, not to mention the tumbling, flying, and animated graphics. If used wisely, a dissolve or key transition can be like a well-executed scene from a major motion picture and lead your audience to the next point. But if used indiscriminately, it can annoy the audience to the point where they cringe in anticipation of the sound effect at the start of each slide. This danger is inherent in the tool, but you are in charge of it and can make wise choices that enhance the understanding and retention of your information.

The first point to consider is which visual aid is the most important. The answer is you, the speaker. You will facilitate the discussion, give life to the information, and help the audience correlate the content to your goal or purpose. You do not want to be in a position where the PowerPoint presentation is the focus and you are on the side of the stage simply helping the audience follow along. Slides should support you in your presentation, rather than the other way around. Just as there is a number one rule for handouts (do not pass them out at the start of your presentation), there is also one for PowerPoint presentations: do not use PowerPoint slides as a read-aloud script for your speech. The PowerPoint slides should amplify and illustrate your main points, not reproduce everything you are going to say.

Your pictures are the second area of emphasis you will want to consider. The tool will allow you to show graphs, charts and illustrate relationships that words may only approach in terms of communication, but your verbal support of the visual images will make all the difference. Dense pictures or complicated graphics will confuse more than they clarify. Choose clear images that have an immediate connection to both your content and the audience, tailored to their specific needs. After the images, consider using only key words that can be easily read to accompany your pictures. The fewer words the better. Try to keep each slide to a total word count of less than ten words. Do not use full sentences. Using key words provides support for your verbal discussion, guiding you as well as your audience. The key words can serve as signposts or signal words related to key ideas.

A natural question at this point is, How do I communicate complex information simply? The answer comes with several options. The visual representation on the screen is for support and illustration. Should you need to communicate more technical, complex, or in-depth information in a visual way, consider preparing a handout to distribute at the conclusion of your speech. You may also consider using a printout of your slide show with a section for taking notes, but if you distribute it at the beginning of your speech, you run the risk of turning your presentation into a guided reading exercise and possibly distracting or losing members of the audience. Everyone reads at a different pace and takes notes in their own way. You do not want to be in the position of going back and forth between slides to help people follow along.

Another point to consider is how you want to use the tool to support your speech and how your audience will interpret its presentation. Most audiences wouldn’t want to read a page of text—as you might see in this book—on the big screen. They will be far more likely to glance at the screen and assess the information you present in relation to your discussion. Therefore, it is key to consider one main idea, relationship, or point per slide. The use of the tool should be guided with the idea that its presentation is for the audience’s benefit, not yours. People often understand pictures and images more quickly and easily than text, and you can use this to your advantage, using the knowledge that a picture is worth a thousand words.

Incorporate Visual Media

Even if you do not use a slideshow to complement your presentation, you can include visual media to support and enhance your content. Visual media are divided into two major categories: images and informational graphics.

Image-based media, such as photographs or videos, often have little or no accompanying text. Often these media are more powerful than words in getting a message across. Within the past decade, the images associated with major news stories, such as the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, the Abu Ghraib prison abuses from 2004 to 2006, and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, have powerfully affected viewers’ emotions and drawn their attention to these news stories.

Figure 14.1

Even if your presentation addresses a less dramatic subject, you can still use images to draw in your audience. Consider how photographs, an illustration, or a video might help your audience connect with a particular person or place or bring a historical event to life. Use visual images to support descriptions of natural or man-made phenomena. What ideas lend themselves to being explained primarily through images?

In addition, consider how you might incorporate informational graphics in your presentation. Informational graphics include diagrams, tables, pie charts, bar and line graphs, and flow charts. Informational graphics usually include some text and often work well to present numerical information. Consider using them if you are presenting statistics, comparing facts or data about several different groups, describing changes over time, or presenting a process.

Incorporate Audio Media

Although audio media are not as versatile as visual media, you may wish to use them if they work well with your particular topic. If your presentation discusses trends in pop music or analyzes political speeches, playing an audio clip is an obvious and effective choice. Clips from historical speeches, radio talk shows, and interviews can also be used, but extended clips may be ineffective with modern audiences. Always assess your audience’s demographics and expectations before selecting and including audio media.

Review the outline you created in Note 14.11 “Exercise 2” . Complete the following steps:

• Identify at least two to three places in your presentation where you might incorporate visual or audio media. Brainstorm ideas for what media would be effective, and create a list of ideas. (In Chapter 14 “Creating Presentations: Sharing Your Ideas” , Section 14.2 “Incorporating Effective Visuals into a Presentation” , you will explore different media options in greater depth. For now, focus on coming up with a few general ideas.)
• Determine whether you will use presentation software to deliver your presentation as a slideshow. If you plan to do so, begin using your outline to draft your slides.

Figure 14.2

Source: http://www.agenciabrasil.gov.br/media/imagens/2010/01/14/14.01.10RP5978.jpg/view

Planning Ahead: Annotating Your Presentation

When you make a presentation, you are giving a performance of sorts. It may not be as dramatic as a play or a movie, but it requires smooth coordination of several elements—your words, your gestures, and any media you include. One way to ensure that the performance goes smoothly is to annotate your presentation ahead of time.

To annotate means to add comments or notes to a document. You can use this technique to plan how the different parts of your presentation will flow together. For instance, if you are working with slides, add notes to your outline indicating when you will show each slide. If you have other visual or audio media to include, make a note of that, too. Be as detailed as necessary. Jotting “Start video at 3:14” can spare you the awkwardness of searching for the right clip during your presentation.

In the workplace, employees are often asked to deliver presentations or conduct a meeting using standard office presentation software. If you are using presentation software, you can annotate your presentation easily as you create your slides. Use the notes feature at the bottom of the page to add notes for each slide. As you deliver your presentation, your notes will be visible to you on the computer screen but not to your audience on the projector screen.

In a face-to-face presentation, make sure your final annotated outline is easy to read. It will serve to cue you during your presentation, so it does not need to look polished, as long as it is clear to you. Double space the text. Use a larger-than-normal font size (14 or 16 points) if that will make it easier for you to read. Boldface or italics will set off text that should be emphasized or delivered with greater emotion. Write out main points, as well as your opening and closing remarks, in complete sentences, along with any material you want to quote verbatim. Use shorter phrases for supporting details. Using your speaker notes effectively will help you deliver an effective presentation. Highlighting, all capital letters, or different-colored font will help you easily distinguish notes from the text of your speech. Read Jorge’s annotated outline.

Some students prefer to write out the full text of their face-to-face presentation. This can be a useful strategy when you are practicing your delivery. However, keep in mind that reading your text aloud, word for word, will not help you capture and hold your audience’s attention. Write out and read your speech if that helps you rehearse. After a few practice sessions, when you are more comfortable with your material, switch to working from an outline. That will help you sound more natural when you speak to an audience.

In a PowerPoint presentation, remember to have your slides in logical sequential order. Annotating your presentation before submitting it to your audience or your instructor will help you check for order and logical transitions. Too much text or data may confuse your audience; strive for clarity and avoid unnecessary details. Let the pictures or graphics tell the story but do not overload your slideshow with visuals. Be sure your font is visible. Look for consistency in the time limit of your presentation to gauge your level of preparedness.

Begin to annotate your outline. (You will probably add more notes as you proceed, but including some annotations now will help you begin pulling your ideas together.) Mark your outline with the following information:

• Write notes in brackets to any sections where you definitely plan to incorporate visual or audio media.
• If you are presenting a slideshow, add notes in brackets indicating which slides go with each section of your outline.
• Identify and set off any text that should be emphasized.

Key Takeaways

• An effective presentation presents ideas more concisely than a written document and uses media to explain ideas and hold the audience’s interest.
• Like an essay, a presentation should have a clear beginning, middle, and end.
• Good writers structure their presentations on the thesis, or point of view; main ideas; and key supporting details and create a presentation outline to organize their ideas.
• Annotating a presentation outline is a useful way to coordinate different parts of the presentation and manage time effectively.

Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Using a Speech to Promote a Product or Service-Use Public Speaking as Marketing

This is part three of our posts on  How to Use Public Speaking in Your Career . In this session, we are going to show you a few simple ways to use public speaking to promote or market your new product or service. In fact, using a speech to promote a product or service is one of the most effective ways to conduct marketing campaigns for both large and small businesses alike.

Using a Speech to Promote a Product or Service

There are a number of different ways to use a presentation or speech to promote a product or service. We will cover each of these briefly in this post.

Promoting a Product or Service in Personal Meetings and Sales Calls.

• In-Person Marketing Meetings and Seminars.

Webinars to Both Educate the Public and Promote Your Product or Service.

• Paid or Guest Spots on Webinars or Podcasts.
• Use Videos to Promote Your Product or Service.

Below are a few ideas for each of these categories.

The most common type of speech to market a product or service is a sales call or sales presentation. Although this one has been around since commerce began, it is quickly becoming a lost art. As a result,  those who can do this well, are now, highly sought-after in the business world .

Salespeople get a bad rap. Movies typically depict salespeople as dishonest and immoral. However, if a salesperson is dishonest, he or she may survive for a little while, but bad behavior will quickly catch up with the person.  Good salespeople, though, are trusted confidants. They are problem-solvers and educators.  So, if you are giving presentations to individuals or small groups as a way to promote your product, the goal is to educate your audience. Help them solve a problem, and they will buy the solution. Your speech shouldn’t be about you or your product. It should be about the problem(s) your potential buyers are experiencing and how to solve these problems.

In decades past, if you needed a new suit, you went down to the local department store. The salesperson in the store was an expert on suits. The salesperson would be able to educate potential clients on the qualities of each style of suit, what was currently in fashion, and how to care and accessorize each suit.

That leaves a tremendous opportunity for people and companies who understand this need.  For instance, although we have a popular podcast, a YouTube channel, and a ton of social media pages, we still get most of our business from people who have a question, and who can’t get that question answered anywhere else. When someone calls our 800 number (800-975-6151) they are connected with an instructor who actually teaches our classes. We don’t have a room full of telemarketers who are reading off a script. We have professional educators who can answer any question that a potential customer might have. As a result, we are filling a need that almost all of our competitors have neglected.

Sales presentations whether one-on-one or one-to-a-group are becoming a lost art, but they’re a great business model. If you get really good at doing them, you will help your customers make better decisions. And the best results will increase your income.

If you are looking for a  step-by-step process to create a good sales presentation along with examples , visit this post. You may also be intrested in our post about how to design  Bid Presentations . It also has a  Great Sales Presentation Outline .

In-Person Seminars and Conferences

Prior to the video streaming era, in-person seminars were one of the easiest ways to maximize your promotional time. Instead of setting up a series of individual one-on-one sales meetings, you could invite prospective customers to a live seminar. These seminars were often either free or for a nominal fee to encourage audience members to come.

Back when I first started teaching leadership seminars, we promoted a 12-week series of training sessions. Since the class was both a significant investment of both time and income, we typically offered an “introduction” session a week before the series started. We would allow people who were interested in the class, but who hadn’t yet registered, to come and preview the course.

It worked really well. The preview session reduced the risk of making a bad buying decision because the prospective customer could actually see and experience part of the class in advance.

If you are over the age of 35, you may remember the financial planners offering the “free how to retire” seminar at the local Holiday Inn. This was a way for the financial planner to show a group of people how skilled he/she was at helping couples plan for their retirement. By offering part of his/her expertise for free to the public, the financial planner was often able to convert some of those attendees to customers. The sales managers from many companies, big and small, used to invest a tremendous amount of money on TV and radio ads to promote these seminars with the same end goal.

Today, though, getting a group of people to a seminar is much simpler.  With websites like  MeetUp  and  EventBrite , a company can create a seminar or conference with little or no investment.

Here is an example:

A local dentist can create a seminar called, “ How to Whiten Your Teeth Three Shades in Less than Six Weeks. ” (I just made that up. I’m not sure if that is actually possible, but you see how that might get someone’s attention.) The dentist promotes this seminar to every patient who comes in for a month. The dentist might tell his patients that the seminar is $29 per person, but if they bring a friend that is not already a patient, both of them can get in for free. Or, perhaps we could tell attendees that if they post the event to their Facebook page, they could get free admission. Regardless, we make the fee nominal but give attendees ways to come to the event for a discount or for free.

The goal is to  get a room full of potential new customers from your target market  and win them over with your skill as a dentist. The topic of your speech must also be something that captures your audience’s attention, of course. With a room full of your target audience, all you have to do is give a persuasive speech by expertly delivering your key points and providing valuable information.

By the way, according to a Bizzabo, a company that specializes in event marketing,  in-person seminars and conferences  are one of the big trends in recent years. Big companies like Apple started the trend with their huge product roll-outs to Apple enthusiasts. However, other huge companies have followed the trend as well. Last year, I was invited to speak at Transitions Academy. This is a conference where eye doctors, lens manufacturers, and salespeople come to learn about trends in the industry (and about Transitions Lenses). I had a blast speaking there, and the attendees gave positive feedback on the event as well.

Companies have realized that they can  replace the missing education part of the sales process with webinars . However, webinars are a little tricky. If you make them too “salesy,” you will turn off your audience.

Especially in web-based products and services,  webinars have become the go-to education and sales channel  (According to Go-To-Meeting… No pun intended.) They claim that 73% of the top marketers in the world believe that webinars are the best way to market, today. If you recall, since the education function of a sales professional has practically been eliminated in most industries, webinars are a great way both educate the potential customer and move them through a sales process.

Just as a warning,  leading webinars and leading in-person speeches are TOTALLY different skills . Just because you are good at one, doesn’t mean that you will be good at the other. For instance, when I lead an in-person meeting, I typically use few and simple visual aids, because my goal is to build the trust of the audience in me. In a webinar, your visuals are critical to keeping the audience tuned in to the presentation. So, when I speak for 30 minutes in person, I might use three or four slides. But when I lead a webinar, I might go through as many as 20 slides in the same time period.

For details on  How to Design a Good Informational Webinar , click here.

Paid or Guest Spots on Podcasts/Webinars

If you want to really get good at using a speech to promote a product, start a Podcast . However, this is a real-time commitment. If you want to test the waters,  promote yourself as a guest on someone else’s podcast or webinar . It does take a little homework to get one of these guest spots, but there is a tremendous opportunity if you are willing to do the work. An easy way that doesn’t take much effort is to just  Google [Your Industry] with the word “podcast” .

I tried to pick a really obscure subject matter just to show that Google will find anything. I found an article called  12 weird jobs you’ll be surprised to know exist  published by Business Insider. One of the weird jobs is a “Professional Bridesmaid.” If this was your career, you’d likely type “wedding podcast” into Google. When I did, I got  Top 10 Wedding Podcasts .

You’re likely to think, “Oh sure, Doug, weddings — of course there are a bunch of podcasts about weddings.” Okay, another obscure career is “Snake Milking.” I Googled “Snake Podcast” and I found  Best Reptile Podcasts . If you happen to be in either of these industries, I suspect that many of the podcast hosts for these programs would ABSOLUTELY LOVE to have you on as a guest!

Once you know who the host is, you can often easily find the person’s website, fill out a “contact us” form, and wait for a callback.

If you want to move faster on a guest slot, many companies have lists that they will market to and be the host of an impromptu webinar, teleconference or podcast. You can use the same process as we just talked about, but offer a fee to the host. He/she will likely move you to the top of the list.

The final genre for using a speech to promote a product or service is video. I won’t be able to cover everything that you will need to know in order to show the value of video when promoting your product or service. However, let’s cover a few basics.

Practice with Instagram Stories

The live video social media and “stories” are fantastic ways to begin to practice making marketing videos, but they have a short shelf-life. (They go away after 24 hours or so.) So, while you are learning, you won’t be leaving embarrassing videos of yourself all over the internet. (See my embarrassing early video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja_BEMmpcUo). It’s also a good idea to use these kinds of social media platforms to test your main points on the public. This will help give you a reference point for which topics you should put more effort into.

Get Some Help

The best investment that I ever made for The Leader’s Institute ® is hiring a full-time video expert. You don’t have to invest in a full-time person, though. You can contract out most video jobs very easily. Hiring the right people can get you solid advice on filming, lighting, and sound as well.

Don’t Post to YouTube Until It is Perfect

YouTube is hard work to break into, so you only want to put your absolute best stuff on that platform. Use Vimeo, Facebook, or Instagram for anything that looks less professional.

We will be talking a lot about video (especially live video) on future podcasts, so stay tuned and subscribe to the podcast!

You are Your Best Marketing Strategy

In today’s world, there are a tremendous number of ways to share your expertise with others to market your product or service. Using a speech to promote a product is just one of many. But always realize, that you are your best marketing. A fancy proposal, a flash ad, or an expensive business card will not do nearly as much to promote your product or service as you share your expertise with a potential customer!

Podcasts , presentation skills

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7 Amazing Sales Presentation Examples (And How to Make Them Your Own)

7 Types of Slides to Include In Your Sales Presentation

Inside the mind of your prospect: change is hard, before-after-bridge: the only formula you need to create a persuasive sales presentation, facebook — how smiles and simplicity make you more memorable, contently — how to build a strong bridge, brick by brick, yesware — how to go above and beyond with your benefits, uber — how to cater your content for readers quick to scan, dealtap — how to use leading questions to your advantage, zuora — how to win over your prospects by feeding them dots, linkedin sales navigator — how to create excitement with color, how to make a sales pitch in 4 straightforward steps, 7 embarrassing pitfalls to avoid in your presentation, over to you.

A brilliant sales presentation has a number of things going for it.

Being product-centered isn’t one of them. Or simply focusing on your sales pitch won’t do the trick.

So what can you do to make your offer compelling?

From different types of slides to persuasive techniques and visuals, we’ve got you covered.

Below, we look at data-backed strategies, examples, and easy steps to build your own sales presentations in minutes.

• Title slide: Company name, topic, tagline
• The “Before” picture: No more than three slides with relevant statistics and graphics.
• The “After” picture: How life looks with your product. Use happy faces.
• Company introduction: Who you are and what you do (as it applies to them).
• The “Bridge” slide: Short outcome statements with icons in circles.
• Social proof slides: Customer logos with the mission statement on one slide. Pull quote on another.
• “We’re here for you” slide: Include a call-to-action and contact information.

Many sales presentations fall flat because they ignore this universal psychological bias: People overvalue the benefits of what they have over what they’re missing.

Harvard Business School professor John T. Gourville calls this the “ 9x Effect .” Left unchecked, it can be disastrous for your business.

According to Gourville, “It’s not enough for a new product simply to be better. Unless the gains far outweigh the losses, customers will not adopt it.”

The good news: You can influence how prospects perceive these gains and losses. One of the best ways to prove value is to contrast life before and after your product.

Luckily, there’s a three-step formula for that.

• Before → Here’s your world…
• After → Imagine what it would be like if…
• Bridge → Here’s how to get there.

Start with a vivid description of the pain, present an enviable world where that problem doesn’t exist, then explain how to get there using your tool.

It’s super simple, and it works for cold emails , drip campaigns , and sales discovery decks. Basically anywhere you need to get people excited about what you have to say.

In fact, a lot of companies are already using this formula to great success. The methods used in the sales presentation examples below will help you do the same.

We’re all drawn to happiness. A study at Harvard tells us that emotion is contagious .

You’ll notice that the “Before” (pre-Digital Age) pictures in Facebook’s slides all display neutral faces. But the cover slide that introduces Facebook and the “After” slides have smiling faces on them.

This is important. The placement of those graphics is an intentional persuasion technique.

Studies by psychologists show that we register smiles faster than any other expression. All it takes is 500 milliseconds (1/20th of a second). And when participants in a study were asked to recall expressions, they consistently remembered happy faces over neutral ones.

What to do about it : Add a happy stock photo to your intro and “After” slides, and keep people in “Before” slides to neutral expressions.

Here are some further techniques used during the sales presentation:

Tactic #1: Use Simple Graphics

Use simple graphics to convey meaning without text.

Example: Slide 2 is a picture of a consumer’s hand holding an iPhone — something we can all relate to.

Why It Works: Pictures are more effective than words — it’s called  Picture Superiority . In presentations, pictures help you create connections with your audience. Instead of spoon-feeding them everything word for word, you let them interpret. This builds trust.

Tactic #2: Use Icons

Use icons to show statistics you’re comparing instead of listing them out.

Example: Slide 18 uses people icons to emphasize how small 38 out of 100 people is compared to 89 out of 100.

Why It Works:  We process visuals 60,000 times faster than text.

Tactic #3: Include Statistics

Include statistics that tie real success to the benefits you mention.

Example: “71% lift driving visits to retailer title pages” (Slide 26).

Why It Works:  Precise details prove that you are telling the truth.

Just like how you can’t drive from Marin County to San Francisco without the Golden Gate, you can’t connect a “Before” to an “After” without a bridge.

Add the mission statement of your company — something Contently does from Slide 1 of their deck. Having a logo-filled Customers slide isn’t unusual for sales presentations, but Contently goes one step further by showing you exactly what they do for these companies.

They then drive home the Before-After-Bridge Formula further with case studies:

Before : Customer’s needs when they came on

After: What your company accomplished for them

Bridge : How they got there (specific actions and outcomes)

Here are some other tactics we pulled from the sales presentation:

Tactic #1: Use Graphics/Diagrams

Use graphics, Venn diagrams, and/or equations to drive home your “Before” picture.

Why It Works:  According to a Cornell study , graphs and equations have persuasive power. They “signal a scientific basis for claims, which grants them greater credibility.”

Tactic #2: Keep Slides That Have Bullets to a Minimum

Keep slides that have bullets to a minimum. No more than one in every five slides.

Why It Works:  According to an experiment by the International Journal of Business Communication , “Subjects exposed to a graphic representation paid significantly more attention to , agreed more with, and better recalled the strategy than did subjects who saw a (textually identical) bulleted list.”

Tactic #3: Use Visual Examples

Follow up your descriptions with visual examples.

Example: After stating “15000+ vetted, ready to work journalists searchable by location, topical experience, and social media influence” on Slide 8, Contently shows what this looks like firsthand on slides 9 and 10.

Why It Works:  The same reason why prospects clamor for demos and car buyers ask for test drives. You’re never truly convinced until you see something for yourself.

Which is more effective for you?

This statement — “On average, Yesware customers save ten hours per week” — or this image:

The graphic shows you what that 10 hours looks like for prospects vs. customers. It also calls out a pain that the product removes: data entry.

Visuals are more effective every time. They fuel retention of a presentation from 10% to 65% .

But it’s not as easy as just including a graphic. You need to keep the design clean.

Can you feel it?

Clutter provokes anxiety and stress because it bombards our minds with excessive visual stimuli, causing our senses to work overtime on stimuli that aren’t important.

Here’s a tip from Yesware’s Graphic Designer, Ginelle DeAntonis:

“Customer logos won’t all necessarily have the same dimensions, but keep them the same size visually so that they all have the same importance. You should also disperse colors throughout, so that you don’t for example end up with a bunch of blue logos next to each other. Organize them in a way that’s easy for the eye, because in the end it’s a lot of information at once.”

Here are more tactics to inspire sales presentation ideas:

Tactic #1: Personalize Your Final Slide

Personalize your final slide with your contact information and a headline that drives emotion.

Example: Our Mid-Market Team Lead Kyle includes his phone number and email address with “We’re Here For You”

Why It Works: These small details show your audience that:

• This is about giving them the end picture, not making a sale
• The end of the presentation doesn’t mean the end of the conversation
• Questions are welcomed

Tactic #2: Pair Outcome Statements With Icons in Circles

Example: Slide 4 does this with seven different “After” outcomes.

Why It Works:  We already know why pictures work, but circles have power , too. They imply completeness, infiniteness, and harmony.

Tactic #3: Include Specific Success Metrics

Don’t just list who you work with; include specific success metrics that hit home what you’ve done for them.

Example: 35% New Business Growth for Boomtrain; 30% Higher Reply Rates for Dyn.

Why It Works:  Social proof drives action. It’s why we wait in lines at restaurants and put ourselves on waitlists for sold-out items.

People can only focus for eight seconds at a time. (Sadly, goldfish have one second on us.)

This means you need to cut to the chase fast.

Uber’s headlines in Slides 2-9 tailor the “After” picture to specific pain points. As a result, there’s no need to explicitly state a “Before.”

Slides 11-13 then continue touching on “Before” problems tangentially with customer quotes:

So instead of self-touting benefits, the brand steps aside to let consumers hear from their peers — something that sways 92% of consumers .

Leading questions may be banned from the courtroom, but they aren’t in the boardroom.

DealTap’s slides ask viewers to choose between two scenarios over and over. Each has an obvious winner:

Ever heard of the Focusing Effect?

It’s part of what makes us tick as humans and what makes this design move effective. We focus on one thing and then ignore the rest. Here, DealTap puts the magnifying glass on paperwork vs. automated transactions.

Easy choice.

Sure, DealTap’s platform might have complexities that rival paperwork, but we don’t think about that. We’re looking at the pile of work one the left and the simpler, single interface on the right.

Here are some other tactics to use in your own sales presentation:

Tactic #1: Tell a Story

Tell a story that flows from one slide to the next.

Example: Here’s the story DealTap tells from slides 4 to 8: “Transactions are complicated” → “Expectations on all sides” → “Too many disconnected tools” → “Slow and error prone process” → “However, there’s an opportunity.

Why It Works:   Storytelling in sales with a clear beginning and end (or in this case, a “Before” and “After”) trigger a trust hormone called Oxytocin.

Tactic #2: This vs. That

If it’s hard to separate out one “Before” and “After” vision with your product or service because you offer many dissimilar benefits, consider a “This vs. That” theme for each.

Why It Works:  It breaks up your points into simple decisions and sets you up to win emotional reactions from your audience with stock photos.

Remember how satisfying it was to play connect the dots? Forming a bigger picture out of disconnected circles.

That’s what you need to make your audience do.

Zuora tells a story by:

• Laying out the reality (the “Before” part of the Before-After-Bridge formula).
• Asking you a question that you want to answer (the “After”)
• Giving you hints to help you connect the dots
• Showing you the common thread (the “Bridge”)

You can achieve this by founding your sales presentation on your audience’s intuitions. Set them up with the closely-set “dots,” then let them make the connection.

Here are more tactical sales presentation ideas to steal for your own use:

Tactic #1: Use Logos and Testimonials

Use logos and  testimonial pull-quotes for your highest-profile customers to strengthen your sales presentation.

Example: Slides 21 to 23 include customer quotes from Schneider Electric, Financial Times, and Box.

Why It Works: It’s called  social proof . Prospects value other people’s opinions and trust reputable sources more than you.

Tactic #2: Include White Space

Pad your images with white space.

Example: Slide 17 includes two simple graphics on a white background to drive home an important concept.

Why It Works:  White space creates separation, balance, and attracts the audience’s eyes to the main focus: your image.

Tactic #3: Incorporate Hard Data

Incorporate hard data with a memorable background to make your data stand out.

Example: Slide 5 includes statistics with a backdrop that stands out. The number and exciting title (‘A Global Phenomenon’) are the main focuses of the slide.

Why It Works:  Vivid backdrops are proven to be memorable and help your audience take away important numbers or data.

Psychology tells us that seeing colors can set our mood .

The color red is proven to increase the pulse and heart rate. Beyond that, it’s associated with being active, aggressive, and outspoken. LinkedIn Sales Navigator uses red on slides to draw attention to main points:

You can use hues in your own slides to guide your audience’s emotions. Green gives peace; grey adds a sense of calm; blue breeds trust. See more here .

Tip: You can grab free photos from Creative Commons and then set them to black & white and add a colored filter on top using a (also free) tool like Canva . Here’s the sizing for your image:

Caveat: Check with your marketing team first to see if you have a specific color palette or brand guidelines to follow.

Here are some other takeaways from LinkedIn’s sales presentation:

Tactic #1: Include a CTA on Final Slide

Include one clear call-to-action on your final slide.

Example: Slide 9 has a “Learn More” CTA button.

Why It Works:  According to the Paradox of Choice , the more options you give, the less likely they are to act.

Step One : Ask marketing for your company’s style guide (color, logo, and font style).

Step Two: Answer these questions to outline the “Before → After → Bridge” formula for your sales pitch :

• What are your ICP’s pain points?
• What end picture resonates with them?
• How does your company come into play?

Step Three: Ask account management/marketing which customers you can mention in your slides (plus where to access any case studies for pull quotes).

Step Four:  Download photos from Creative Commons . Remember: Graphics > Text. Use Canva to edit on your own — free and fast.

What are the sales presentation strategies that work best for your industry and customers? Tweet us:  @Yesware .

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Top 7 Product Evaluation Templates with Samples and Examples

Picture yourself in a supermarket aisle, surrounded by countless options for a single product. Now, put yourself in the shoes of the companies that created these options.

Have you ever wondered why some companies consistently succeed in the market, while others struggle to keep up? The process might seem like a mystery, but in reality, it's all about making smart and informed choices that decide what shape the final product takes. The secret often lies in  an effective internal business process, referred to as product evaluation. 

Product evaluation is the process of carefully assessing your offerings to ensure they meet customer needs and expectations.

Explore our Evaluation Matrix Templates for strategy formulation, reward, incentive system framing, overall strategic management exercise, etc., in any business.

Why should your company invest time and resources in product evaluation?

• Product evaluation enhances customer satisfaction . With an understanding of what your customers desire, you can tailor your products to meet those needs accurately.
• It boosts competitiveness . In a market flooded with options, standing out is crucial. Effective product evaluation helps you identify your unique selling points.
• It saves resources . Launching a product without proper assessment can lead to costly failures.
• This process promotes innovation . Regular evaluation encourages your team to think creatively, leading to the development of groundbreaking ideas that resonate with consumers.

Product evaluation showcases a detailed analysis of a product's aspects, providing valuable insights.To streamline this process and ensure a professional presentation, SlideTeam has curated 7 pre-designed and 100% customizable and editable PPT Templates. With our unique value proposition of content-ready templates, you get both structure and flexibility. The content-ready nature provides you a starting point and the structure you were looking for; the editability feature ensures you can tailor the template according to the requirement.

Let’s dive in!

Template 1: New Product Evaluation PowerPoint Template Bundle

This PowerPoint Deck, a complete deck in 17 slides,  starts with an introductory slide followed by a competitive evaluation process for a new product. It assists in eliminating drawbacks and formulating strategies. This slide includes determining competitors, performing competitive research, collecting product information and formulating strategy. This informative bundle includes a slide on evaluation matrix, framework, checklist for manufacturers, new beauty product evaluation survey, KPI dashboard, and more. Download Now!

Download Now!

Template 2: New Product Performance PPT Template

It takes a lot of effort and money to introduce a new product to the market. To streamline this process, SlideTeam has put together this PPT Bundle of 70 slides. It displays multiple methods, KPIs, and metrics that will help any marketing manager track their products' performance. The presentation begins with an introductory slide, followed by objectives and table of contents. The slide shares details on  the need of developing new product, product performance analysis and in-depth market analysis. It also includes product launch details, detailed product analysis, new marketing strategies and key risks associated with the marketing strategies. There are a few additional slides for new customer engagement strategy, budget, training schedule, and company’s mission and vision. Use this PPT Template deck today!

Template 3: Product Opportunity Evaluation PowerPoint Template

This PPT Deck  starts with an introductory template followed by a presentation outline, key statistics, market survey, market landscape and market analysis. This bundle includes a slide for market assessment agenda, which focuses on the market to be targeted based on its landscape, sizing and recommendations. There is a separate slide on market sizing, intelligence framework, opportunity evaluation and identification of unmet needs. Apart from the main templates,  additional slides offer  details regarding the company, its team, doughnut chart, bar graph and timeline.  Download now!

Template 4: Product Evaluation PowerPoint Presentation Slides

This PowerPoint Bundle on product evaluation illustrates the components of the market research process like assessing consumers’ needs, package testing, and more.  Of its 19 slides, the  first one is an introductory slide followed by market segmentation, product mapping, competitive opportunity, market landscape and detailed market analysis for the new product. There is a separate slide on the market research process and new product development process. These include primary and secondary research, consumer usage research, product testing, product concept and packaging development, etc.  With this template, also showcase your market attractiveness, mission and vision of the company, about the team and idea generation. Get this Slide Bundle now!

Template 5: Product line evaluation matrix with market size PowerPoint Slide

This PPT Template Slide focuses on the evolution of the product line based on its features. It also showcases the size of the market for the product. . Market size greater than $550million comes under the bracket of clear leader, between $50million and  $200million fall under followers and the ones under $10m have no presence. Download this informative template now!

Template 6: Product Portfolio PowerPoint Template

Use this technically-defined product portfolio evaluation PPT template to analyze the growth of your business. It describes the factors of product portfolio and their impact on business’s growth such as low, medium and high. It is based on the attractiveness to the business and the industry. Download this PowerPoint design today!

Template 7: Software Product Evaluation for Security Systems PPT Slide

This PPT Template showcases the process of software product evaluation. It starts with stating the evaluation criteria which include, bug history, usage in system, company core expertise and more. The next step is to initiate software research and risk determination. This step states whether the level of risk is low, low-medium, medium or high. Lastly, based on the level of risk the team decides if the product requires further analysis. Download this template for a systematic evaluation of the product.

Empowering Excellence Through Precise Product Evaluation

Product evaluation isn't just a mere step – it's a strategic advantage that empowers businesses to thrive. It ensures customer satisfaction, strengthens competitiveness, saves resources, and fosters innovation. So, if you're aiming to steer your company towards success, start by evaluating your products and watch your business set sail towards new horizons.

FAQs on Product Evaluation

What is product evaluation.

Product evaluation involves the systematic assessment of a product's performance, features, and overall value. It aims to gauge customer satisfaction, identify strengths and weaknesses, and gather insights to enhance the product's design, functionality, and market positioning. Through methods such as user testing, surveys, and data analysis, product evaluation helps companies make informed decisions for improvement, innovation, and strategic planning. The aim is to ensure  that the product meets customer needs, stays competitive, and aligns with business objectives.

What are the methods of product evaluation?

Companies employ methods for product evaluation, including user testing, where real users interact with the product to uncover usability issues; surveys and questionnaires to gather customer feedback and preferences; competitive analysis to benchmark against rival products; sales data and market research to assess demand and trends; and expert reviews to gain insights from industry professionals. These methods provide a holistic view of a product's performance, enabling companies to refine features, address shortcomings, and make data-driven decisions to enhance  quality and market success of their offerings.

What is a product evaluation report?

A product evaluation report is a document that assesses a product's performance, features, and market reception. It encompasses findings from evaluation methods such as user-testing, surveys, market research, and expert reviews. The report highlights strengths, weaknesses, customer feedback, and areas for improvement, providing actionable insights for product enhancement and strategic decision-making.

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• 8 Steps of New Product Development to Give Your Product a Kickass Launch
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• Why Product Management Templates Are a Must for Every Business in 2021

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What Are Effective Presentation Skills (and How to Improve Them)

Presentation skills are essential for your personal and professional life. Learn about effective presentations and how to boost your presenting techniques.

At least seven out of 10 Americans agree that presentation skills are essential for a successful career [ 1 ]. Although it might be tempting to think that these are skills reserved for people interested in public speaking roles, they're critical in a diverse range of jobs. For example, you might need to brief your supervisor on research results.

Presentation skills are also essential in other scenarios, including working with a team and explaining your thought process, walking clients through project ideas and timelines, and highlighting your strengths and achievements to your manager during performance reviews.

Whatever the scenario, you have very little time to capture your audience’s attention and get your point across when presenting information—about three seconds, according to research [ 2 ]. Effective presentation skills help you get your point across and connect with the people you’re communicating with, which is why nearly every employer requires them.

Understanding what presentation skills are is only half the battle. Honing your presenting techniques is essential for mastering presentations of all kinds and in all settings.

What are presentation skills?

Presentation skills are the abilities and qualities necessary for creating and delivering a compelling presentation that effectively communicates information and ideas. They encompass what you say, how you structure it, and the materials you include to support what you say, such as slides, videos, or images.

You'll make presentations at various times in your life. Examples include:

Making speeches at a wedding, conference, or another event

Making a toast at a dinner or event

Explaining projects to a team 

Delivering results and findings to management teams

Teaching people specific methods or information

Proposing a vote at community group meetings

Pitching a new idea or business to potential partners or investors

Why are presentation skills important? 

Delivering effective presentations is critical in your professional and personal life. You’ll need to hone your presentation skills in various areas, such as when giving a speech, convincing your partner to make a substantial purchase, and talking to friends and family about an important situation.

No matter if you’re using them in a personal or professional setting, these are the skills that make it easier and more effective to convey your ideas, convince or persuade others, and experience success. A few of the benefits that often accompany improving your presentation skills include:

Enriched written and verbal communication skills

Enhanced confidence and self-image

Boosted critical thinking and problem-solving capabilities

Better motivational techniques

Increased leadership skills

Expanded time management, negotiation, and creativity

The better your presenting techniques, the more engaging your presentations will be. You could also have greater opportunities to make positive impacts in business and other areas of your life.

Effective presentation skills

Imagine yourself in the audience at a TED Talk or sitting with your coworkers at a big meeting held by your employer. What would you be looking for in how they deliver their message? What would make you feel engaged?

These are a few questions to ask yourself as you review this list of some of the most effective presentation skills.

Verbal communication

How you use language and deliver messages play essential roles in how your audience will receive your presentation. Speak clearly and confidently, projecting your voice enough to ensure everyone can hear. Think before you speak, pausing when necessary and tailoring the way you talk to resonate with your particular audience.

Body language

Body language combines various critical elements, including posture, gestures, eye contact, expressions, and position in front of the audience. Body language is one of the elements that can instantly transform a presentation that would otherwise be dull into one that's dynamic and interesting.

Voice projection

The ability to project your voice improves your presentation by allowing your audience to hear what you're saying. It also increases your confidence to help settle any lingering nerves while also making your message more engaging. To project your voice, stand comfortably with your shoulders back. Take deep breaths to power your speaking voice and ensure you enunciate every syllable you speak.

How you present yourself plays a role in your body language and ability to project your voice. It also sets the tone for the presentation. Avoid slouching or looking overly tense. Instead, remain open, upright, and adaptable while taking the formality of the occasion into account.

Storytelling

Incorporating storytelling into a presentation is an effective strategy used by many powerful public speakers. It has the power to bring your subject to life and pique the audience’s curiosity. Don’t be afraid to tell a personal story, slowly building up suspense or adding a dramatic moment. And, of course, be sure to end with a positive takeaway to drive your point home.

Active listening

Active listening is a valuable skill all on its own. When you understand and thoughtfully respond to what you hear—whether it's in a conversation or during a presentation—you’ll likely deepen your personal relationships and actively engage audiences during a presentation. As part of your presentation skill set, it helps catch and maintain the audience’s attention, helping them remain focused while minimizing passive response, ensuring the message is delivered correctly, and encouraging a call to action.

Stage presence

During a presentation, projecting confidence can help keep your audience engaged. Stage presence can help you connect with your audience and encourage them to want to watch you. To improve your presence, try amping up your normal demeanor by infusing it with a bit of enthusiasm. Project confidence and keep your information interesting.

Watch your audience as you’re presenting. If you’re holding their attention, it likely means you’re connecting well with them.

Self-awareness

Monitoring your own emotions and reactions will allow you to react well in various situations. It helps you remain personable throughout your presentation and handle feedback well. Self-awareness can help soothe nervousness during presentations, allowing you to perform more effectively.

Writing skills

Writing is a form of presentation. Sharp writing skills can help you master your presentation’s outline to ensure you stay on message and remain clear about your objectives from the beginning until the end. It’s also helpful to have strong writing abilities for creating compelling slides and other visual aids.

Understanding an audience

When you understand your audience's needs and interests, you can design your presentation around them. In turn, you'll deliver maximum value to them and enhance your ability to make your message easy to understand.

Learn more about presentation skills from industry experts at SAP:

How to improve presentation skills

There’s an art to public speaking. Just like any other type of art, this is one that requires practice. Improving your presentation skills will help reduce miscommunications, enhance your time management capabilities, and boost your leadership skills. Here are some ways you can improve these skills:

Work on self-confidence.

When you’re confident, you naturally speak more clearly and with more authority. Taking the time to prepare your presentation with a strong opening and compelling visual aids can help you feel more confident. Other ways to improve your self-confidence include practicing positive self-talk, surrounding yourself with positive people, and avoiding comparing yourself (or your presentation) to others.

Develop strategies for overcoming fear.

Many people are nervous or fearful before giving a presentation. A bad memory of a past performance or insufficient self-confidence can contribute to fear and anxiety. Having a few go-to strategies like deep breathing, practicing your presentation, and grounding can help you transform that fear into extra energy to put into your stage presence.

Learn grounding techniques.

Grounding is any type of technique that helps you steer your focus away from distressing thoughts and keeps you connected with your present self. To ground yourself, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and imagine you’re a large, mature tree with roots extending deep into the earth—like the tree, you can become unshakable.

Learn how to use presentation tools.

Visual aids and other technical support can transform an otherwise good presentation into a wow-worthy one. A few popular presentation tools include:

Canva: Provides easy-to-design templates you can customize

Powtoon: Animation software that makes video creation fast and easy

PowerPoint: Microsoft's iconic program popular for dynamic marketing and sales presentations

Practice breathing techniques.

Breathing techniques can help quell anxiety, making it easier to shake off pre-presentation jitters and nerves. It also helps relax your muscles and get more oxygen to your brain.  For some pre-presentation calmness, you can take deep breaths, slowly inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth.

While presenting, breathe in through your mouth with the back of your tongue relaxed so your audience doesn't hear a gasping sound. Speak on your exhalation, maintaining a smooth voice.

Gain experience.

The more you practice, the better you’ll become. The more you doanything, the more comfortable you’ll feel engaging in that activity. Presentations are no different. Repeatedly practicing your own presentation also offers the opportunity to get feedback from other people and tweak your style and content as needed.

Tips to help you ace your presentation

Your presentation isn’t about you; it’s about the material you’re presenting. Sometimes, reminding yourself of this ahead of taking center stage can help take you out of your head, allowing you to connect effectively with your audience. The following are some of the many actions you can take on the day of your presentation.

Arrive early.

Since you may have a bit of presentation-related anxiety, it’s important to avoid adding travel stress. Give yourself an abundance of time to arrive at your destination, and take into account heavy traffic and other unforeseen events. By arriving early, you also give yourself time to meet with any on-site technicians, test your equipment, and connect with people ahead of the presentation.

Become familiar with the layout of the room.

Arriving early also gives you time to assess the room and figure out where you want to stand. Experiment with the acoustics to determine how loudly you need to project your voice, and test your equipment to make sure everything connects and appears properly with the available setup. This is an excellent opportunity to work out any last-minute concerns and move around to familiarize yourself with the setting for improved stage presence.

Listen to presenters ahead of you.

When you watch others present, you'll get a feel for the room's acoustics and lighting. You can also listen for any data that’s relevant to your presentation and revisit it during your presentation—this can make the presentation more interactive and engaging.

Use note cards.

Writing yourself a script could provide you with more comfort. To prevent sounding too robotic or disengaged, only include talking points in your note cards in case you get off track. Using note cards can help keep your presentation organized while sounding more authentic to your audience.

Learn to deliver clear and confident presentations with Dynamic Public Speaking from the University of Washington. Build confidence, develop new delivery techniques, and practice strategies for crafting compelling presentations for different purposes, occasions, and audiences.

Article sources

Forbes. “ New Survey: 70% Say Presentation Skills are Critical for Career Success , https://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/2014/09/25/new-survey-70-percent-say-presentation-skills-critical-for-career-success/?sh=619f3ff78890.” Accessed December 7, 2022.

Beautiful.ai. “ 15 Presentation and Public Speaking Stats You Need to Know , https://www.beautiful.ai/blog/15-presentation-and-public-speaking-stats-you-need-to-know. Accessed December 7, 2022.

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Sales Presentation Essay

• 3 Works Cited

The personal selling process is a continuously revolving cycle of stages that assist the professional sales person of today in developing basic selling strategies and tactics that help them improve and prefect their own personal selling styles. As listed in the text, “there are countless small tasks in the personal selling process that are generally organized into seven major stages that overlap and interact which are: 1. Prospecting and Qualifying 2. Planning the sales call (pre-approach) 3. Approaching the prospect 4. Making the sales presentation and demonstration 5. Negotiating resistance and objections 6. Confirming and closing the sale 7. Following up and servicing customers.” (Personal Selling, pg102) The first and initial …show more content…

Before a sales representative is even able to do this step, they must first be sure they understand and KNOW their Product inside and out, their Company’s priorities, and the Marketplace in which they plan to function in. Most importantly, a good sales representative should understand the value of and actually believe in what you are attempting to sell. Once those basics are in place, prepared sales representatives should and most often use a special method for setting their sale call objectives called “SMART”. The acronym “SMART” simply means that a sales representative should have a Specific objective, the their objective is Measurable, ensure their goals are Achievable, focus on the Relational aspect of the sales call, and be prepared and open to Temporal or trial-run situations. (Personal Selling, pg. 137) This process and knowledge of this information is essential in preparing for a productive and successful call. The next stage in the personal selling process is approaching the prospect. This means actually having an initial first meeting with the prospect for the first time, face-to-face. (Personal Selling, pg.136) Like most things in life, “Practice Makes Perfect”, and in this particular case, this statement holds true in that the more a sales representative practices and rehearses their sales presentation, the better. Practicing and rehearsing one’s presentation assist sales representatives in

unit 11 M2 Essay

Introduction: In this assignment I will be giving information the following point talk about each sales staff must do or be like when working for these different scenarios. Also I have included the sales technique out of four of them: Cold-calling, Face to face, Telemarketing and drop in visits. Also I have included their own personal interpersonal skills of what it takes to be a sales staff to be working for those scenarios, I have also included examples and relevant pictures.

Unit 9 - Creative Product Promotion P1 Essay

Personal selling is where a sales man actually comes to target market doors and tries to promote and make a sale from his product. This method of selling is perceived to be quite intimidating and often salesmen can be quite bullish in their approach of the customer. A business that is looking to maintain its corporate image will want to employ good salesmen that will not give off a bad aura when they are at work.

Mulgrave Case Summary

In hot sales markets a second chance to impress a prospective client never happens. The sales person's skills have to be their and ready to deploy to meet the clients. The real estate office must know the market and preposition its policies to best suit a successful sales process.

Analysis Of The Phycology Of Selling By Brian Tracy And Michael Tracey

There is a phycology behind selling. In the article The Phycology of Selling, by Brian Tracy and Michael Tracey, they speak about the salespeople and what they do to become successful. They explain the 80/20 concept which states that twenty percent of the people make eighty percent of the money. They also expand on it by explaining how people become successful. They say that if one sets a goal and works to achieve it will eventually become true. Furthermore they say that self-confidence is a strongly necessary. To have confidence and believing in oneself is the way to succeed.

John Steinbeck's 'Confirmation Process'

During this stage, it is of great importance to listen, ask questions, and make statements to clarify information given by the buyer. Also, salespeople need to verify their understanding of what the buyer is trying to communicate and vice versa. This is related to what was covered in class when it comes to making sure that there is a clear understanding of communication between the prospect and the seller. In addition, at this stage, it is recommended to check the level of commitment from the buyer. For instance, the salesperson can ask the buyer if he is willing to make a change or to make a commitment at the end of the presentation. This enables the salesperson to know beforehand if the buyer is actually wanting to gain the benefit from your service or product. This is similar to what was covered in class when it comes to making sure that the buyer is actually willing to make a purchase. If not, then the salesperson will be able to move on without having to waste their time and efforts in a dead end

Imaginative Staffing Inc

Sales presentations should be simple not overwhelming with information a customer may not be able to remember. The goal of a sales presentation is to sell a solution to a customer, that solution being the product or service of the salesperson. A presentation must be relevant, make a connection with the product and the prospect, be to point, use showmanship, be animated, use physical demonstration, and belief in the product.

Case Study : Hubspot, Inc.

3. A customary sales approach allows salesmen to individually associate with the consumer’s so that the consumer may relish a personal sales experience with the salesmen; the salesmen, in turn, can exploit their individuality of their sales skill set or selling methods.

How For Achieving A Successful Sale Essay

Selling your property can be a very stressful process and will most likely be one of the biggest financial decisions you will ever make in your life. We have put this guide together to help you maximise your sale price and guide you through the conveyancing process.

Understanding Cultural Differences : The Different Aspects Of Sales

The salesperson must make it their goal to facilitate the best they can between the two parties.

Successful Sales Presentations : Marketing, Charm, And An Unbiased Approach

Powerful sales presentations are essential to sell a product. Sales presentations have a reputation of being lengthy, rehearsed, robotic monologues. This should not be the case. A successful presentation ties in colloquial conversation, charm, and an unbiased approach; leading to a lucrative sale. Using a combination of productive preparation, engaging techniques and a well-formulated structure, an adequate sales presentation creates a lasting impression on the prospect.

Essay On Point Of Sales

“POS” Point of sale is the term commonly associated with the retail industry and involves the place of transaction between a buyer and a seller. (Kelley, p. 108) There are three major revenue streams that can leverage POS for schools and universities; ticket sales, concessions and retail licensed merchandise. In order to make any organization profitable and increase revenue, one must leverage every point of sale, beginning with ticket sales. There are several different ways that organizations can increase their customer database, upsell their current customers and solidify their longtime customers, all which will help improve their revenue and overall bottom line. We will focus on the ways that universities and schools can do this with and in coordination with sporting events and teams.

Training Module

Properly designed and implemented, effective training improves one company's success. Without a basic sales process and methodology, sale people are left to their own devices. That leaves management without a standard way to review trouble areas and predict success. Improved sales benefit every part of one company. Sales training can address multiple areas involving personal and interpersonal skills, business knowledge, and sales process and methodology. Each area has specific value and delivers different benefits to help individuals to be better.

Essay On Increasing Sales

Suppose you wanted to conduct an experiment on whether a certain advertisement is effective in increasing sales. Select a specific product or service.

Personal Selling

A business cannot survive without personal selling there are tangible evidence that sales are the major source of revenues to a business, salesman introduces the goods to the customers, arouses their interest and persuades them to purchase the goods and finalizes the deal. He plays a very significant role in selling the products. Indeed, salesmanship is the major factor underlying the success of most business houses. As the sales people pushes sales of product or a service, there is an assurance to the business of gaining profits thereby continuity of business is brought about.

Adaptive Selling

Since the 1970s, researchers are trying to understand the various determinants, antecedents and consequences of adaptive selling. It all began with the perception of personal selling as a dyadic sales process (Spiro 1976). This process is determined by a continuous reflection and consideration of the progress

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Characteristics of Consumer Goods - Essay Example

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Examples of an Essay About Product, Be It Software, Vegan Food, or Anything in Between

If you have to write a piece about some service or an item meant to solve a problem for a person willing to pay for it ? congratulations, you're about to write about a product. And the issue with essays on product is that the number of possible topics is vast. So you need to either think about your subject really well and pick one or check out our directory of free sample papers for inspiration and possible options.

Or you can do both! Browse products essay samples presented below to see about what and how you can write to come up with a meaningful piece. With hundreds of samples available, you're sure to find something worth your attention ? from marketing to metals production, from Netflix to Apple Watch, and more. All these are the products that solve a problem or problems of one or many people or organizations, hence providing a broad range of topics to write about.

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How to Convert an Essay or Written Content to a PowerPoint Presentation?

Transform your written brilliance into engaging presentations! Learn how to convert essays to PowerPoint seamlessly with expert tips and tricks.

Sanskar Tiwari

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What caused Dubai floods? Experts cite climate change, not cloud seeding

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Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; editing by Maha El Dahan and Alexandra Hudson

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Nigeria's oil regulator on Thursday clarified that recent changes to fuel sulphur content standards for diesel are part of a regional harmonisation effort, not a relaxation of regulations for local refineries.

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More than 100 pilot whales stranded in Western Australia, experts say

Marine wildlife experts were frantically trying to rescue some 140 pilot whales stranded on Thursday in the shallow waters of an estuary in the southwest of the state of Western Australia.