Top 7 Strategies to Using Power Point Successfully

Power Point is aptly named and is here to stay. It’s one of the most powerful tools for communicating information in the business world today. Understanding how to use it effectively is vital to a successful presentation.

In any presentation, your primary goal is to communicate information to your audience. To hold their attention, you have to be interesting ­ not always easy to do with Power Point. Use the following suggestions to help you sharpen your Power Point skills, be more interesting and become more comfortable with the technique.

1. Limit the information on the screen to a few major bullet points. Expand on those points as you make your presentation maintaining frequent eye contact with your audience. (They’re not interested in viewing the top of your head.) The more direct the eye contact, the better the presentation.
   
   
2. Keep in mind that your main focus is your audience -- not the screen. Avoid the natural inclination to speak directly to the screen. Your voice will be lost to the audience when you do. (They’re not interested in seeing your back!). Strike the right balance between the information you’re presenting and your connection with your audience.
   
   
3. The ideal Power Point presentation is made with a laptop for easy reference. The information on the screen should be limited to no more than three or four bullet points. One of the most effective presentations I’ve seen brought up each point onto the screen one at a time to discuss them in detail.
   
   
4. If you do not have access to a laptop, use a laser beam to identify the points on the screen, never your arm. A flailing arm is a distraction. Keep you audience in mind by always maintaining as much eye contact as possible.
   
   
5. A presentation wants to be visually interesting. Use no more than three or four colors. Too much activity and graphics on the screen can be distracting and reduce the information the audience or client receives.
   
   
6. Avoid becoming too enamored with the technological aspect of your presentation. It can easily overwhelm your message. If you have added sounds and fancy animation make sure they contribute to ­ not distract from -- the message. It’s the message you want your audience to take away.
   
   
7. As you give your presentation, think of it as a conversation or dialogue with your audience. Be interested in your subject and speak with energy to maintain your vitality. Your voice and your eyes are an important part of that conversation if successful communication is to be achieved.

Dr. June Johnson, VOICE POWER, is an expert voice and speech coach presenting programs and workshops on Speaking with the Voice of Authority for conferences, conventions, and in-house training. She has authored a book, You Look Great, but How do You Sound? and set of training tapes Find the Powerin Your Voice, available on Tapes or CDs. Visit her web site at www.voicepoweronline.com [http://www.voicepoweronline.com] for more information. She can be reached at 866.210.3082 or via email - .