Is your PowerPoint presentation looking dull and boring? The time has come to tweak it to perfection. The lack of creativity can turn an information-filled slideshow into something the audience ignores entirely.
It’s important to realize that a presentation is a form of entertainment. It’s similar to an educational program for kids – a fun way to get the information through. Even if your audience is a crowd of seasoned space scientists, it doesn’t mean they are ready to listen to boring facts.
In this article, we can help you add some creativity to your presentation to ensure getting through to your listeners.
1. Tell a Story
People love stories. Engaging tales can keep the audience’s attention piqued for hours. If you manage to pack your facts into a nice package, you can reach your goal easily. The package is a story. Now let’s compare two things:
- She saw a man with a gun and ran away
- While she was slowly walking down the street, her head filled with thoughts about the way the world was changing, she failed to notice a mysteriously looking man following her closely. Suddenly, he pulled out a gun! She gasped and started running.
Which one sounds better?
A story is a powerful communication tool that can help the audience see your point and enjoy the presentation process. While telling a good story, you’ll never see anyone yawning.
Stories are entertaining. Use their power. Organize your facts into a freely flowing tale.
2. Use Music
When you open up a PowerPoint, people are expecting to see a series of text-filled (or in the best case image-filled) slides. Surprise them! Put some music on to help your audience focus on what you are about to tell them.
Loud and entertaining tracks could be an excellent way to catch an audience’s attention and make sure all the talking in the room stops. You can be sure people will remember this strong presentation opening for many days to come.
3. Ask Questions
A Q&A section after a PowerPoint presentation is a must-have. But it’s also boring and predictable. Shake up your audience by asking questions in the middle of the presentation. Don’t lull them into slumber by talking, explaining, and sharing. Interrupt your monologue and ask a sudden question.
You don’t need anyone to answer. In fact, you should provide the answer on your own. However, consider waiting a few seconds to let the audience try and find the answer in their heads. It’s an excellent way to get their brains working.
4. Take Advantage of Humor
Humor is the best way to make the presentation memorable while allowing the audience to relax. Even if you are talking about serious subjects such as the ozone layer or global warming, there is always room for a couple of jokes.
Even though humor is an excellent tool, it’s also highly delicate. If you use it the wrong way, you’ll see annoying looks and rolled eyes. So if you aren’t sure your jokes are good, borrow them from someone else. You can even add a few funny videos to your presentation to help break the ice.
5. Structure Your Presentation Creatively
Many people make the mistake of thinking that a PowerPoint presentation should summarize your points on paper. In reality, the slides should complement what you are saying.
So if you are telling a story, your audience shouldn’t see bullet points on the wall behind you. It should enjoy images, quotes, and graphs that complement the flow of your monologue.
According to experts from PresentationGeeks, it’s possible to add some creativity to the presentation by choosing the right template and customizing it to your liking. Never take advantage of the default and free templates.
PowerPoint was created back in 1987. For over 30 years, people have been looking at the same templates. Do you want to risk working with a template that another company used for a bad presentation? Such things tend to stick in people’s minds and lead to unpleasant associations.
6. Don’t Read Slides
If you want your delivery to appear creative, don’t ever try to read from the slides. If you can’t memorize what’s written there, make small flashcards to read from. But if the audience sees you reading, it will inevitably follow suit.
When that happens, all your efforts for making the presentation creative disappear in vain. People’s minds start wandering when they read, failing to catch important information.
So allow the slides to be a supporting factor for your presentation rather than playing a key role in it.
7. Keep it Short
Nobody wants to spend long hours listening to a presentation. Even if it’s amazingly creative. That’s why you have to be careful about the time you spend talking. The ideal presentation duration is between 15 and 20 minutes. After about 18 minutes, people’s minds start to wander.
No matter how important the subject of your presentation is, it’s possible to pack the information into a 20-minute PowerPoint. All your creativity will be lost if people start feeling bored and annoyed.
