February 10th, 2010
While it’s true that the most critical part of a presentation is a riveting opening, what you’re most likely to be remembered for is actually your closing. Here are some tips for creating a killer closing.
Grabbing your audience with a stellar opening is essential for getting their attention early on, leading your listeners to sit up and take notice. But the closing of your presentation (also called “the takeaway”) is your opportunity to drive home your most essential one to three key points.
Here are our top 3 tips for nailing the takeaway:
1 – Create a simple yet memorable summary slide.
Too often, presenters try to cram their top 8 or so points onto a single summary slide or — worse yet — use multiple summary slides. Remember that in most cases, your summary slide will remain visible longer than any other slide, so take full advantage of that extended screen time to really drive home your key point (no more than 3 key points). If possible, find a humourous or remarkable image to cement the point into their memories.
2 – Begin with the end in mind.
Before sitting down to draft your presentation, ask yourself this question: If I could only give my audience one key point as a takeaway, what would it be? Build your presentaion around that key point, and be sure it’s front and center on your summary slide.
3 – Repetition is key. Repetition is key. Repitition is key.
While it would certainly become annoying to simply repeat the same statement sequentially, repeating a key statement (short, simple, easy to remember, all-encompassing) throughout your presentation will make it that much memorable once the meeting is adjourned. We are bombarded with so many bits of information every day that repetition is usually necessary to make something stick with us. Create a simple summary statement that concisely and effectively makes your point. “Upsells create more revenue for all of us.” “In sales, repeat the positive and immediately dismiss the negative.” “Women are our largest buyer market, so we must market to women.”
Now you should be equipped to nail that all-important summary slide and really drive that takeaway point home. Go get ‘em, Ace!
Remember to reserve your rental projector from the top name in LCD projector rentals. Click here to experience Projector123.com.
February 8th, 2010
It’s no secret that the first 30 sexonds of your presentation can make or break your whole relationship with the audience.
How about when YOU read that opening line? Did you notice that we typed “sexonds” instead of “seconds”? The element of surprise is one way to get your audience’s attention right off the bat. Here are our top ideas for killer openings:
1. Create the element of surprise.
This can occur with a impact statement, a shocking image, a gesture, immediate audience participation, anything. It tells the audience straight away: “I’d better pay attention because I’m not sure what’s going to happen next.”
2. Create curiosity.
This is easily accomplished with a peculiar prop, article of clothing, gesture, statement, etc. It puts the audience on alert and gets their right and left brains engaged — their left brain starts asking, “what is the logical reason for this?” while their right brain is beginning to concoct ideas “why.”
3. Open with a question.
In order to create maximum impact, we recommend opening with a shocking question (“Why is THIS company content to rest on its laurels instead of completely dominating its field?”) or a non-rhetorical question that invites audience participation (“What are the top 3 changes we could make right now to skyrocket our sales?”)
4. Create drama.
No matter what anyone says, people of all walks of life love drama. If that weren’t true, box office sales wouldn’t be where they are today. You can create drama with a single word followed up by a personal story (“Bankrupt. That’s where I was, at the age of just 32.”) or with a single impact statement (“Nobody can hold you back — nobody — without your express permission.”) or an odd statistic (“In South Africa, road accidents cause the most deaths among children between 4 and 15 years. Nearly every day two children die on these roads, and half of these children are younger than age 8.”). Your impact statement should be startling (in a positive or negative way, depending on the nature of the rest of your presentation) and relative to the subject matter at hand.
These are just a few ideas, but they should give you enough creative ideas to get you started. Remember to prepare for your presentation by renting a projector from Projector123.com. Reserve yours today!
February 5th, 2010
In Part 1, we explored two key factors (duration and audience knowledge base) in determining whether or not to include audiovisual support in your employee training or orientations. Next, we’ll take a look at factors involving budget and content.
1. What is your budget? Perhaps the purchase of an LCD projector isn’t a justifiable budgetary expense for occasional employee training or orientations. That’s no problem when you can rent a projector for as little as $99 per rental. Plus, you won’t have to fuss with maintenance, storage, or depreciation – just rent a projector whenever and wherever you need it, and watch how easy and affordable it becomes to incorporate high-quality images into your training and presentation.
2. How technical is your content?
Generally speaking, the more technical your content is, the more necessary audiovisuals become. Highly specialized training requires multiple delivery methods in order to appeal to a wide base of learners and to help cement the new training in the minds of the participants. Whenever possible, you will want to incorporate visual, auditory and tactile learning methods for all key points during the training. An LCD projector can serve two of these three learning styles with high quality audio and visual support. Tactile learning can be incorporated in ways as simple as providing a workbook for participants to fill in blanks or write down notes, or by encouraging participation (speaking, raising hands, role playing, etc.) through simple incentives.
Should you decide to use an LCD projector rental at your next company training event, be sure to contact Projector123.com for the highest quality rental projectors at competitive pricing. Projector123.com is your one-stop shop for fast, affordable, reliable rental projectors. Rent one today!
February 3rd, 2010
Are you in charge of planning or executing employee training for your organization? Here are some helpful points to consider when deciding whether or not to include audiovisual support (and in what capacity) at your next corporate training event.
1. How long is your training or orientation scheduled to last?
You might consider that longer presentations require some form of stimulation to keep participants focused and engaged. Visual support through an LCD projector is an excellent way to get key points across, drive home takeway bullets, and keep your audience alert and attentive. Training that lasts more than 20 to 30 minutes will almost certainly require some sort of visual enhancement – especially when you remember that approximately 65% of the population is comprised of visual learners who require some form of image or printed words during any learning session.
2. How familiar is your audience with the material being presented?
Hopefully, if you’ve done your homework, you’re taking advantage of training and orientation time to teach your employees something new, as opposed to reviewing rote information. The less familiar your audience is with the information being presented, the more useful visual aids become. Even if your presentation is as simple as “Buidling C is the employee cafeteria,” imagine how much more useful an actual image of the building would be for your new recruits. Images really help to drive the messages home, especially when there’s a lot to cover in a relatively short period of time.
Leaning towards a “yes” for using an LCD projector rental at your next corporate training or employee orientation? Now is the perfect time to contact Projector123.com for professional-grade rental projectors at competitive pricing. Projector123.com is your one-stop shop for fast, affordable, reliable rental projectors. Visit our site to learn more.
June 16th, 2009
Summer is the time for parties, and the most frequent reasons for celebrating in June include our Dads and our Grads.
For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow…
Mark your calendar, because Father’s Day falls on June 21st this year, the perfect time for an outdoor bbq in honor of dad. This year, why not extend the fun well into the evening with movies on the big screen? No, not at a crowded movie theater, but right at home with a projector rental from Projector123.com.
You can rent a screen, or keep things simple by using an indoor or outdoor blank wall as your backdrop for Dad’s big night at the movies. Smooth light-colored walls tend to work best, or you can always hang a white sheet to be used as your screen.
Whether you choose the newest releases from Blockbuster or Netflix, or Dad’s favorite “guy” movies, he’s sure to love your high-tech touch. Best of all, weekend projector rentals are as low as $99, making your dad’s day fun and affordable.
Congratulations to the Graduate!
We’re all proud of our graduates — they’ve worked hard and earned their stripes. Which makes this the perfect time to celebrate their accomplishments with a party — inside or out.
A projector rental is a fun and interactive way to showcase the grad’s personality and share memorable moments with friends and family. Later in the party, you can use your projector rental to show your grad’s favorite movies in vivid detail, dazzling color and larger than life display.
Visit Projector123.com to find out just how easy it is to jazz up your upcoming summer celebrations, including Father’s Day, graduation parties and more!
