Pause every few slides with a visual interlude or break in your delivery. This is especially true if you must present a lot of financial data, graphs or charts. This technique is almost as good as starting fresh in each segment and your audience will retain more information and stay right on track with you since most people will only remember the first two and last two slides long after what they remember from the middle. This technique creates more starting points to grab the attention of the audience. Keep the attention of your viewers by talking about the charts, not just reading them word for word. You want the audience to focus on you, not to read your charts and then wait for you to finish and move to the next slide. Appealing graphics in line with your presentation and few words will go a long way to keep your audience attentive. Keep your material professional. Use low-key transitions and visual effects or animated .gif files but use sound sparingly, or better yet, not at all. Your color scheme should match your corporate identity, and your logo or company name should be present on each slide. There is always a creative way to accomplish this if you have other themes you want to use as a background template. There are many ways to keep your corporate or company identity and still break out of the mold creatively with your slides. If nothing else: try to keep words on each slide to a minimum. It's better to break information into smaller blocks on multiple slides rather than attempting to fit everything on one slide. Sometimes it's also a matter of simple editing -- are there unnecessary words that can be cut? Use your slide notes as prompts for what you need to say. That way you don't have to depend on your slides for every word, and you presentation will be much more interesting. Be sure to use visually appealing colors. Charts and graphs, text elements and lists should be easy to read. Watch out for certain colors that should never be grouped together. Are labels where they need to be? Will your audience know what the segments in your graphs mean?                               Easy on the eyes -- easy on the ears.      You will stand out in your delivery and your audience will thank you for it. Visual Web Design Valuable presentation ideas and tips are available in this eBooklet, Dynamic Presentations Made Stress-Free, for $3.75. Included are several pages of professional pointers to help you with everything from preparing yourself and your slides, content, delivery and connecting with your audience. Topics include: Before the Presentation, Avoid Technical Disaster, Preparing your Slides and Materials, Showtime, Active Listening and Participation, Additional Resources and more. 14 informative and helpful pages. Presentation Tips Even if you are an experienced presenter, you may be wondering if there are some simple ideas that will make your presentation stand out and get noticed. That is often a challenge, especially to someone who is just starting to deliver presentations. It doesn't matter if you are speaking to a small group or a large crowd, some of these generic tips will help you look your best. People learn and remember information in a variety of ways. With a presentation, it's best to tell your audience briefly what you are going to tell them, deliver your information and then summarize what they have heard.   Comprehensive ideas and suggestions all in one place. No more endless searching on the internet for ideas! © JT eDesigns.com 2010