You are almost ready to deliver a PowerPoint presentation, but before you do, you need to polish and refine your PowerPoint presentation and also solidify your plans for your delivery techniques. You need to ensure that you are comfortable speaking about the slides and also operating the hardware while speaking publicly. You now need to enhance the delivery of the presentation and rehearse it so that it becomes a tool which aids the delivery of your message.
Remember: The presentation will be given in a variety of locations to several different audiences including:
- to the board of directors of the parent company.
- to small groups of Venture Capitalists.
- to both commercial and investment bankers.
- to the stockholders at the annual meeting.
Create an analysis which discusses the techniques you will use to finesse your presentation. Address such issues as readability. (Remember that you are delivering the presentation to a diverse group of attendees and also remember that the physical setting will widely vary with each group). Be specific as to how and what you will change about your presentation. Are the same type fonts and points equally good choices for each of the situations? Can you use the same themes and color schemes? Specify why you made the choices which you did.
What kinds of handouts are you going to use? What is the level of detail you will give each audience? Will the handouts contain the same information for each audience? Will they all be printed on the same kind of paper? What other considerations are there? Are you going to staple the handouts or have them professionally bound?
Will you vary the emphasis of your delivery depending upon the intended audience? If so, describe how.
Will any of the presentations require different visual aids, flip charts or sample prototypes? To which audience will you make modifications to your basic presentation? Why?
How will you vary the level of detail to accommodate your intended audience? Are you planning to speak for a half-hour to one group, but only 5 minutes to another? What is your plan? Will the ordered sequence of slides and the actual number of slides vary by presentation?
Be specific as to the techniques and strategies you will use in the delivery.
How are you rehearsing the timings? Your remarks? Your speech patterns? The volume and speed of your talk? Your eye-contact level?
Make the following refinements to your PowerPoint presentation:
- Incorporate any requisite changes into the PowerPoint presentation.
- Add a footer and a title page to the PowerPoint presentation.
- Add least one sound or audio clip which logically enhances the message of the slide(s).
- Add an "Animation Scheme".
- Add a "Slide Transition".
- Time the settings to advance the slides every 3 seconds.
- If you have not already done so, ensure that the final screen displays black.
- Ensure that your presentation can be viewed on your Instructor's computer. Review "Package for CD" as needed.
- Save it using a new file name.