Why we are opting for Power Point presentation often? It’s an effective way of communicating, teaching, and learning. Anything which conveyed through pictures will capture all our minds quickly and reside inside easily. Isn’t it? Now we are going to discuss about how to make this effective communication more effective and perfect.

o First of all selection of background; This is called templates and that should be relevant to the topic or else at least colour of the background should be pleasing.

o Next is foreground option. This should match with background. For example some background with green colour font will be visible while you are creating the presentation, but during the show, the audience in the 5th row inwards can not view the contents. So the background and foreground should be contrast in color. Moreover it should not irritate audience eyes.

o For some text instead of underlining you can go for italic or bold, that make your presentation a neat one.

o Avoid much header and footers. That don’t use more content in master slides.

o A general statement is that for PPTs the rule 7×6 , i.e. 7 slides per presentation which is for one to one and half hours and 6 lines per slide. This rule is to avoid more information in single slide.

o The important and interesting feature is animations. The audience will enjoy the content if it is with text and picture animations. Because of the picture animations audience can easily remember the contents. But these should not be more also.

o You should avoid animations which has more time slice. Animations and text should coincide both in timings and relevancy. Any animation should not take more time to start, exists and exit.

o Even simply you can have picture only to explain content, which will give a great effect to the presentation.

o Don’t always use monotonous text sequence. If you are going to explain different terms, scatter the terms here and there, so that audience will sit straight after the usual show.

o Audio can be used wherever necessary. But it should not disturb your speech.

The best place to go to buy something special would be everywhere! You will find gifts wherever you go; in a bazaar, a mega sale or in a tag sale. There is bound to be something here that will be unique and special, and thus worth buying. You know when a loved one’s function or birthday will be around the corner; so you may as well buy something well in advance, to be gifted on the special day.

It is not that you have to always present something materialistic; there are many other ideas for a gift. You could present painting lessons or art history courses to the art enthusiast or perhaps a gift certificate of a shopping mall. Welcome services are always welcome as a gift! The tired housewife and mother will consider a body massage and some baby-sitting time the best gifts of the world! No gift could resist the opportunity of spending some quality time on oneself. Besides baby sitting and body massage, you could also present a fruitful day in the spa with all treatments or the services of a chef for a day to rid the mother of cooking for a day. All these ideas are booming ideas for the tired and busy mother.

Some people have a hobby of collecting antiques and artifacts. You could keep your eyes out for rare prints of books or notes, books that are no longer in circulation or antiques in internet auction sites and chat rooms. It is not that you spend loads on the antique; just buy something small, rare and memorable. If you love making things, you can always create gifts to be gifted. You could perhaps bake a lovely cake, or knit a pair of gloves or socks for your granny. Candle making is rampant today, so use your imagination to produce a candle that is attractive to the eye of the admirer.

If you are really lost on the perfect, unique gift for your loved one, you could always get the help of the internet. You could just follow links, till you find something interesting that could be gifted. If you are not the creative type to make something special as a presentation, you can still create something special for a gift. All you have to do is to approach a craftsman who makes unique gifts. You give an idea of the kind of gift you would like to make to your loved one, and the craftsman will definitely think up of something special to create for you.

Learn to mix and match, to create something new. Combine two items to create a single, stunning gift as a presentation. The unique lamp looks better with that lamp shade that you bought at a tag sale; use it together as a gift for your loved one. There is basically no steadfast rule for unique gifts; just use your imagination. For inspiration, you could leaf through magazines. But perspiration is needed for creating the unique gift!

As a free agent, independent professional, and/or freelancer, we are often asked to present a summary of what we offer to a board of trustees, several officers of a company, leaders of an organization, or members of an association. Dealing with more than one person can create a plethora of different considerations and approaches before reaching a successful outcome. In this article, I share some of my experiences with group presentations — what’s worked for me and what to watch out for.

Find out as much as you can before meeting with a group. I do a good bit of work for non-profits. These corporations all have vocal boards of trustees to whom they must answer when the spending of a considerable amount of money is involved. The more information I have about the corporation and its leaders, the better. If possible, I try to connect before the “big meeting” with the executive director and find out exactly what they are seeking and how much they are planning to spend — most non-profits, for example, vote on a yearly budget at the end of their fiscal year, so know exactly how much they have ear-marked for a project.

Others are putting out feelers to find out how much — or how little — they should set aside for the project. Oftentimes, there is background information you can discover. A lot of proposed projects have been in the works for awhile and have quite a history. Ask lots of questions and do all of the research possible. For example, I just finished an extensive website for a group that I discovered had initially talked with and had been turned down by many of the big design firms in town. I believe that I got the job because I was willing to take the time to meet with their board, listen to their suggestions and do the custom work they desired.

Prepare, prepare, prepare. No matter what kind of presentation you are making — whether to two people, twenty people or two hundred people — proper preparation is the key. First of all, know what your goal for the meeting is and have a plan and strategy ready. Write down the information you want the group to know about you and your services by the end of the presentation. What makes you unique and why should they hire you?

Realize that just telling them this is not going to work. You must create the right questions to ask them so that they will ask you the right questions. This is the way you will discover what it is they are looking for and whether or not you can help them get it. The operative word is “help.” When others feel that you care about them and their problems, that you are on their side and ready to help, they will be much more willing to open up and form a bond with you. You will also learn what you need to do to please them.

You’ve been asked to speak for an audience. However, the event organizer or meeting planner tells you they can’t pay you. Your heart sinks knowing that speaking for free will cost you in the long run. You think of all the expenses you’ll incur – gas, parking, photocopying materials, babysitter – and speaking for free means you won’t be reimbursed for these incidental costs.

Although a free gig can eat into your bottom line, you don’t need to refuse it altogether. If you’re still building your expertise, free gigs can help you to refine your message and try out new concepts on an eager audience.

The only way you can make money if you’re speaking for free, is to sell something. You just have to. Otherwise, known as back of the room (BOR) sales, here are some tips for ensuring that you rake in the cash even if you’re speaking for free.

Develop an information product that relates to your speech. You can sell a special report, a CD or a booklet that contains detailed information from your speech. For example, I do a speech called 7 Brainless Networking Techniques to Avoid. After my speech, I encourage attendees to buy my ebook on CD called Schmooze Your Way to Success for further reading and research. Even if you don’t have an ebook or physical book to sell, there are ton of information products you can develop. Here are some ideas:
Photocopies of a 10-page special report
An audio CD containing a teleclass you led
A data CD containing a collection of reports, articles or an ebook
A booklet with dozens of tips
A DVD with a training session you did for another group
Sell something that people can take away with them. People want to buy something that they can hold in their hands and walk out the door with. Coaching sessions, digital downloads and other intangible products may be a tougher sell since people can’t hold or touch it. Opt to sell a CD, a booklet or a book instead.
Ensure that your product is inexpensively priced. If it’s too expensive, attendees won’t buy. If it’s too cheap, attendees will ignore it. Anything priced between $10 to $20 is appropriate for BOR sales.
Accepting credit cards is a must. People are impulse buyers, especially at special events. If there’s a rush to the table to buy your product and you only accept cash, you will miss out on potential business. At least 45% of my BOR sales are through credit cards. Many credit card processing companies can set you up with a telephone call-in service within 2-weeks. You collect the credit card number at the event, then you call-in later from your home or cell phone to authorize it. Simple as pie.
Mention your product at the end of your speech. Never, ever, mention your product throughout your presentation. This will turn people off. It’s tasteless to introduce a concept in your speech, and then say, “You can find a more detailed, step-by-step process in my ebook.” Instead, graciously give attendees 45-minutes worth of useful information, then at the very end, after the Q&A, pitch a 2-minute commercial for your product.
Try to videotape or audiotape your presentation. You always want to improve on your speech and being able to review it later is always helpful. Hire a videographer to tape your presentation. If you can’t find one, record your presentation using an audio recording device. Capturing a recording of your speech will do 2 things:
You can evaluate the audience’s reaction to your sales pitch. If sales were low, you can tweak it. Or, if sales were high, you can duplicate what you said word for word at other speaking engagements.
If your speech was amazing, you can package the video or audio and sell it at your next speaking engagement. Imagine how grateful your audience will feel knowing they don’t have to take notes because they can purchase your presentation and review it at their leisure.
Remember to ask if you can make sales. Before saying yes to a free gig, always get the permission from the meeting planner or event organizer for BOR sales. Most times, they will say yes to your request. In the odd event that they say no, tell them you’ll donate a portion of sales to their group. This should win them over. If the meeting planner or event organizer still refuses your request for BOR sales, you may want to rethink doing a free gig for them.
Free speaking engagements can cost you big, but not if you incorporate BOR sales into your strategy. Follow the tips above and you’ll gleefully say yes to a free gig knowing that you’ll be able to cover your costs with the product sales you’ll make at the event.