emPower Plant - enhancing your presentations

Once upon a time, the only visual aids available to a public speaker were hard copy graphics. These days there is a plethora of tech available to make your presentation glow. emPower has researched what's hot and what's not and how it all works.

PowerPoint

Designed to give public speakers a snazzy way to present visuals alongside their presentation, PowerPoint is truly a wonderful tool. Unfortunately, there's a lot of misconception about how to use best use this technology. Here are 5 things to keep in mind if you're planning on using Power Point.

1. Don't overwhelm your audience with too much text or brilliant graphics.  Minimize your slides to a few key words or phrases with a simple background.
2. Don't use so may slides that your presentation gets lost in the technology.  Don't draw the focus away from what you're saying with a deluge of slide changes. The standard is about 20 slides for an hour long presentation.
3. Check readability from your audience's prespective - don't use illegible fonts. A standard font (Times New Roman) and light lettering on a dark background is easier to read.
   
4. Double check your presentation for glitches before your audience arrives. Make sure you practice with the PowerPoint, and be certain that any embedded or linked media is moved along with your PowerPoint slides.
   
5. Be certain that you are speaking to your audience directly, not around the Power Point. Nothing is worse than a speaker who reads from his notes, except for a speaker who reads from his slides.

Keeping your audience in mind as you put together your presentation is still just as important as it was before technology stepped in to make our lives easier. Don't overlook that important fact and your presentation will shine.