How to Improve Your Small Business Presentations

Presentations for small business are vitally important in engaging potential investors, customers and clients. Aiming for clarity and simplicity while including an engaging design as well as a call-to-action callout are the keys to keeping audiences interested and attentive during your presentation.

Utilizing tools like Visme to craft visuals that are easier for your listeners to comprehend is the key to providing quick comprehension of data presented. Make your numbers relatable by turning them into data visualizations so they’re understood by your audience quickly.

1. Establish your credibility

No matter if it is an internal company presentation or public speech, people are more likely to trust you and listen if they believe that you are credible. Establish this by introducing yourself as an expert on your topic, providing evidence to back up your claims, etc.

As an example, you could include third-party certifications on your website to demonstrate that there’s an actual organization behind it and make it easy for visitors to contact you. The Stanford Web Credibility Research project has established 10 guidelines for building credibility online – such as eliminating fake or misleading information.

As part of your content creation strategy, it is also key to consider your audience’s knowledge level when creating material. Entry-level employees typically require more straightforward explanations of topics than higher level executives.

2. Keep it short

If your audience lacks prior knowledge on a subject matter, aim to keep content as simple as possible. For instance, when speaking in front of entry-level employees it would probably be simpler than addressing C-suite executives who understand your industry completely.

Narratives are easier for audiences to recall than lists of facts, statistics, or numbers. Consider starting your presentation off with an engaging narrative to keep their attention engaged while making sure their ideas stand out.

Try not to overwhelm your audience with text on your slides; try using full-screen images and relevant quotes as support instead of text and bullet points so you can focus on delivering your message rather than managing a slide deck.

3. Include a call-to-action

An effective call-to-action is one of the best ways to ensure that your audience understands what steps they should take after hearing your presentation, preventing them from being left in an uncertain state and wondering what their next move should be.

When discussing your company and employees, including a slide that features its team members is a sure way to demonstrate that your team possess all of the knowledge and experience to assist customers effectively.

Un additional way of motivating your audience is to inform them about any rewards that could await them if they continue with your business, such as freebies, discounts or trial versions of products or services.

4. Use visuals

Visuals like flowcharts can be an effective tool in helping to highlight key points and add interest to presentations; however, using too many visuals may become distracting and cause your audience to lose focus on what matters.

Font and color consistency is crucial to creating a professional presentation. Try not to use more than two fonts; choose sans-serif styles that are easy to read on slides. Also keep font size in mind so they can easily be seen from behind in the room.

Avoid including images and charts that appear pixelated as they may look unprofessional. As many people are red-green color blind, make sure any charts or graphs include high contrast labels to easily differentiate any specific hues in high contrast charts and graphs.

5. Rehearse

Unprepared business presentations will likely leave an indecipherable mess behind for potential investors to decipher and judge. Therefore, practice your presentation at least once every week with special focus placed on perfecting its start and end points.

Rehearsing before a small audience, even if that means family members alone, is often beneficial in identifying any mannerisms or gestures that don’t serve your cause and allow you to modify them accordingly.

Before your presentation, it is also advisable to familiarize yourself with the venue where you will present. Familiarizing yourself with its surroundings will enable you to better gauge how loudly to project your voice while testing any equipment like microphones or projector systems.