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“Genius, a power that dazzles humans, is oft but perserverence in disguise.” H. W. Austin. I would also add the word ‘preparation’ to that quote from one of Britain’s successful tennis players back in the 30s.

Often the difference between a successful presentation and an unsuccessful one is the level of preparation that comes before. So it is imperative you prepare, and indeed very important when attending an interview or presenting to a prospective client.

You may be familiar with the Dragon’s Den, the tv series which has entrepreneurs present their business plans and ideas to already highly successful business men and women who form a panel of judges deciding on whether to invest in the products/services being shown to them. Well, i had a thought about what was the main difference between those that got what they came for, which was the investment of cash into their business and those that did not do so well.

And you probably guessed, those that managed to get the cash they needed were those that had prepared thoroughly before coming onto the show, making sure they knew their business inside and out, numbers included. After all, if you are going to ask for an investment of £100,000 or more, it makes sense to prepare in advance.

There is no difference when attending a job interview or when making a speech in front of an audience, the differentiating factor is the preparation. You must do your research, find out about the customer, as I have said in the past you are the product, a solution to their problem, and so how can you solve their issues if you do not know what it is. How would you react if you went to see a doctor, and he/she without asking you or knowing your problem or at least attempting to identify the problem the doctor just by sheer looking at you suddenly gives you a written prescription! Would you be doubtful of such act? Of course you would.

Any interviewer is not going to be impressed and is going to have doubt in you if you have not done your research about them, if you do not have an idea about their business, their problem, their issues, what they do etc etc…You see, as we use to say a few years ago when i worked in the financial markets industry, my boss back then would say, stoploss, stoploss, stoploss as this was important for investors to take heed if they did not want to lose their shirts trading in the risky business of the stock market. And so, I will coin something similar, you may have heard this before, but success in an interview or any presentation is down to 3 things: research, research, research. Nothing more, nothing less.

I myself have noticed the difference in my presentations, in the early days when I made a speech to an audience i did not prepare as perhaps I should have done, and my performances in my opinion have not been up to what I would have liked. But since I have begun to put more work and preparation into my research and presentation I feel I have got more confident, amazing how this works, and there is another tip for you, confidence comes from preparation.

So when next you have to make a presentation of any kind, make sure you have done your research beforehand and you too will soon notice the marked improvements in your new found confidence.

Men are visual beings. They get attracted most by sights than sounds or smell. That is the general rule. People realize that in marketing. Therefore, no matter how efficient and hard-hitting your product is, you will still need to market it to a larger population.

You might have made PowerPoint presentations in your life without taking it seriously. When adeptly done, it is an art. And when it’s an art, it automatically captures audiences. To reach that stage, you will need to inculcate certain things and work towards others.

Basic points

These cater to the style of your presentation, its duration and its pattern. Emphasize on your chief points and give them due weight-age. Use dark-colored texts over light background; for that gives the best view. Use one to two fonts and that too in large-enough size to ease viewing. Keep the story short and stress on strength of your products. Punctuate presentation with a dash of color and animation to enliven it. Fill it with meaningful graphs and pie-charts. Your presentation should have a unique bearing. Just check if it clearly expresses the inner meaning to the viewers.

Learning how to make PowerPoint Presentation

There are regular classes on PowerPoint presentation held at various places. Attend these if you may and you will get to learn many trick of attraction. Interacting with fellow colleagues is also a learning process. Go through some brilliant versions and make an inference of what actually made them brilliant. Then try to infuse those points in your future presentation.

Some specific points that improve the concoction

Once you have settled down with basic points, it is time to enter next level. It will be wise to go more for graphs than texts. Viewers follow graphs more. If at all, you’ve got to enter texts, put them in bullets that appear slowly to let people grasp its effects. You should follow slide guidelines consistently throughout. You have to assure uniformity of slide transition. Moreover, many special effects are available to give the presentation a flavor. Don’t use them just because it is there.

Being attentive is a great quality

You have to keep your ears open to become a good PowerPoint presenter. After every presentation, ask knowledgeable viewers the weak points of your presentation. Did you complete it in a hurry or started shabbily? Did you miss the vital points totally or mixed and diluted them in too much color and animation? Constructive criticism and feedback are great helping factors in life; you just have to be open and welcome to these ideas.

1. Keep Notes Short & Sweet

How many times have you been at work and read something three times before it sunk in? With so many distractions, it’s important to get straight to the point and just give the critical details about your business. You may have done this exercise before, but the ‘lift speech’ is a great way to ensure you cut the fluff from your notes. Create a short summary to quickly and simply define what you’re trying to say.

2. Make Your Information Accessible

These days, the office is the car, the coffee shop, the kitchen table – thanks to Tablet computers and Smartphones, it can be anywhere. You therefore need to make sure that your information can be accessed anywhere. Gone are the floppy disk days, get your presentation slides on a CD, a USB flashdrive – even add it to a website so it is truly portable – just make sure you have that web address printed on a business card or postcard so it doesn’t get lost.

3. Get To The Point

KISS – keep it simple stupid. It’s one of the most basic lessons you were taught at university, but is so often forgotten (maybe you had a killer hangover that day?). Think about it, how many times have you sat at your desk, twiddling your thumbs with nothing to do and thought “I wish I had mounds of information about a company to wade through.” Never. We all have a lot to cram into those 40+ hours a week, so if you want to stand any chance of being heard – just include the key information. Use bullet points, short notes, whatever it takes to get your point across in a pint-sized, easily digestible way.

4. Add the Wow Factor

You’re not the first person to create a presentation pack and you won’t be the last, so how do you make your guests gasp with glee when they see your work? Personalisation, style and creativity are the difference between you maintaining pride of place on a desk, and falling to the back of a dusty filing cabinet. The best way to achieve this is to invest in some great quality leather conference folders. Genuine leather folders are an impressive touch when trying to win over a client. They are durable, long lasting and usable, unlike some other gimmicky promotional items. Clients will use them year after year thanks to the high quality of our leather conference folders, with waterproof items handy for wiping of dirt and spills for years to come. Personalise your leather folder with the company brand name, and add a splash of colour for an extra special touch.

5. Bring Everything Together

So you have your company notes, your USB, your CD, your pens and business card – now what? Well this is where your leather business folder comes into its own. It’s not just designed to be a luxury gift for your client, the handy zipped pockets, ring binders and compartments inside allow you to store all of your information in the correct places, so it looks neat, tidy and well thought out. Your client will be impressed by the attention to detail and level of care that has gone into creating your leather folder. They’ll also thank you for organizing your information into an easy to use format, so they can quickly find what they are looking for.

So the next time you are presenting at a conference or pitching for business, invest in some stunning leather conference folders to deliver your information in a professional and organised fashion. Your leather folder will be around for years to come, acting as a constant reminder of your business.