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There is no doubt that today’s marketplace is attracted to visual images. Just look at the rise of Pinterest and YouTube – both visual mediums. Time and again people choose to watch a video, rather than read the manual.
That’s why you need to use visuals if you want to attract your market’s attention online. One of the easiest ways to add visual interest to your marketing is to use video-based presentations. These presentations may be in the form of a live webinar or a recorded presentation.
When using a live webinar you have the added excitement of a live event. For most people presenting “live” in front of an audience carries a level of risk, particularly when you first start. But when you create your presentation slides in advance you can rehearse until you are comfortable with the presentation.
Likewise when you record a presentation to be offered at a later time you again can get comfortable with the content and the way in which you’ve chosen to present it – long before you hit the record button.
And one of the easiest ways to plan and create your presentation to use a slide program like Powerpoint.
While Powerpoint receives a lot of criticsm as “boring”, the level of interest is actually created by you, the author of the presentation. Powerpoint, and the other slide programs, such as free ones by Open Office and Google, include several tools that make creating a good presentation a lot easier.
First you’ll want to use the Outline view to outline your content. Too many people start with the Design view which puts the emphasis on how a presentation looks, rather than what it says. Reverse that thinking and start with your content first.
Once you have your content into the program, you’ll want to do your first practice of your content. Yes, it’s still on a plain white screen. But that lets you focus on the content and presentation flow, rather than on which graphic you need to change.
Finally, once you have your content arranged as you want, in the order you prefer, you are ready to start dressing up the presentation. By this time you’ve already gone through your presentation multiple times, essentially rehearsing each time through.
When you approach your presentation in this logical, content first manner, you’ll find that not only will you have confidence in your online presentation, but others will get your message – not just your fancy graphics. And everyone knows that Content is King online!
Dr. Jeanette Cates has taught online presentation skills for more than 15 years. She shares her unique approach to creating Powerpoint presentations quickly and easily in One Hour Powerpoint.
