Looking good

Even school and college students expect to make presentations these days, so every business person ought to be able to deliver a decent one

Present yourself in the best light

If you don't like giving presentations...

You should at the very least have standard presentation prepared that will help you to present your company in a professional manner.

There is no excuse these days for not having a decent standard PowerPoint presentation prepared and set up with a short cut (so that you can access it easily and speedily) on your laptop.

Having the presentation there will give you confidence and it can act as an excellent aide-memoire to ensure that you cover all the main points.

The fact that you have taken the trouble to put one together is also a further demonstration that you take your business and the meeting with your prospect seriously.

Whether you choose to customise it for each initial meeting is up to you.

Whether you wish to or get the opportunity to use it at each initial meeting will probably vary according to circumstances, but it is the way of a professional to be prepared.

Not everyone can be an ace presenter with a slide show that's full of whistles and bells (and that kind of presentation isn't always appropriate) but everyone can learn to give a decent presentation. And, as with most activities, almost everyone improves with practice.

The following simple guidelines should help you with yours.

Structure

The classic structure of any presentation is:

• Tell them what you are going to tell them
• Tell them
• Tell them what you have told them

Content

• Brief company background introduction that gives credibility to your product or service
• Major (Selling points and) Benefits of your offer in general
• Appropriate illustrations if and where applicable
• Testimonials
• No "fluff" or unnecessary padding
• No industry jargon
• A powerful conclusion

Preparation

• Prepare an outline guide for the presentation
• Write the standard presentation out in full
• Select the main points to be included in the slide presentation and learn to talk around them
• Don't have everything you intend to say on the screen - use the notes facility in PowerPoint to remind you how you want to expand on the main points

Rehearse your presentation

The people you see who can stand up and give a presentation at the drop of a hat may well be 'naturals'. But they could equally well be individuals who were originally pretty useless and it's only practice, practice, and yet more practice that has enabled them to adopt their calmly confident manner.

• Use the Notes pages that come with PowerPoint to help you do this initially and practise until you no longer need to refer to them
• Prepare probable/possible questions and answers that may arise from the presentation content
• Practise delivery of the presentation without constantly looking at and talking to the slides, and time it
• Practise varying the pace of delivery and incorporating light and shade into your voice
• Deliver your presentation to at least two different people and ask for their feedback before going "live" with a prospect
• Revise and improve the presentation until it's the best you can make it and are comfortable with it