Keeping your audience’s attention is the most important element of any presentation. You could be presenting the most ground-breaking information that you’ve spent months preparing, but if you aren’t able to hold your audience’s attention, everything you say will be moot.
When incorporated intentionally, media can be an effective way of engaging your audience right from the start of your presentation and keeping that attention throughout your entire slide deck. Video, audio, photos, special effects, graphics, charts, and interactive elements are all forms of media that can be incorporated into a presentation to help take it to the next level.
If the wrong media is used or if you use too many media elements throughout your presentation, you could actually lose your audience’s attention. Here are some tips to keep in mind to effectively incorporate media into your next presentation.
How to Effectively Use Media in Your Next Presentation?
1. Ensure all Media is Intentional
Media should be used in a presentation to enhance and support your talking points. This means that all media used has to align with the content of the presentation and serve a purpose within the presentation. Any media used that doesn’t have a clear purpose in the presentation will ultimately distract your audience.
Be intentional with the media you select and ask yourself what it adds to the point you are trying to get across. Does it help to explain your point further? Does it give context to what you’re saying? Could it help visual learners better grasp the concepts you’re presenting?
2. Only Use High-Quality Media
Now that you’ve determined that each piece of media you’ve selected serves a purpose in your presentation, you must ensure that the media is all high-quality. Pixelated images, low-resolution video, and poorly designed graphics will make your presentation look unprofessional and make your audience think you didn’t put much effort into your work and they think it is not your best work.
High-quality, clear media will help enhance your presentation, whereas low-quality media will disengage your audience. So, instead of pulling a few pictures from google search engine or uploading a video taken on your smartphone, spend some time looking for or creating media that are clear and professional.
3. Work with a Presentation Design Company
So, you’ve assembled your high-quality, intentional media. Now comes the hard part of actually assembling the presentation. Many people underestimate how difficult it is to create an effective presentation and how much time and effort goes into a cohesive and aesthetically pleasing slide deck. Luckily, presentation companies can help you make stunning presentations that will captivate your audience and get your message across.
Presentation designers understand how to use design elements such as fonts, colours, and added media effectively when creating a slide deck. By working with a presentation design company, you can be confident that your slide deck will reflect all the hard work you’ve put into the content of your presentation. These specialists can also create best video clips, graphics, and animations to make the most of the media incorporated in your presentation.