Professional Powerpoints and Powerful Presentations- Why Your Webinar Can’t Live Without Them

In a world of reduced face to face experiences, we often forget how easy it is to go the extra mile and provide that extra layer of professionalism. From conference calls to emails to talking on the phone, the 21st Century has given us more ways and more reasons not to speak to audiences in person face-to-face. Don’t make the horrible mistake of thinking that just because your webinar audience is not looking at you in person that they do not care about the appearance of your powerpoint.

Powerpoints Are Your Lifeline

Powerpoints may be the only true face link between you and your webinar audience. I say this because after the end of your webinar,  powerpoints are often sent out to the attendees of the meeting. If they missed something during the webinar, they can easily go back to your powerpoint and check the details. You may be able to sell them with your confidence and explain your product in a way that they want to make an instant purchase during your webinar session. You’ll also want your powerpoint to show them exactly how to do this and how to find out more about you and your company.

Use Powerpoints With Purpose

Powerful powerpoint presentations have one underlying theme: they are concise and use bullet point phrases throughout the presentation. Try to limit each slide to no more than 3-4 bullet points. If you are trying to highlight a specific product and need to include a definition, try limiting your slide to just that definition and a picture of the product that is large enough to be seen.

Be Concise

With each slide being only 3-4 bullet points, this helps you to move from one slide to the next in five minutes or less. Never stay on one slide for more than five minutes, your audience may become distracted and click to a different screen on their computers (such as the internet, email, etc). There are a million reasons to get distracted online, your job is to limit those distractions as much as possible within your power.

Professionalism Always Matters

Be professional as possible and win over your clients by planning a successful webinar. It cannot be emphasized enough: your powerpoint presentation is your face to the online audience during your webinar. Keep all fonts and formats the same throughout the  If you need to update your Powerpoint skills, go ahead and do it! The ten- fifteen minutes of additional research will definitely help you stand out and show your audience that not only do you have the best offerings, but you also are a step ahead of your competitors who do not have this clout.

Powerpoints Are the Start, Your Voice Sets the Meeting Tone

Once you have prepared your powerpoint presentation and any other visuals in the order that they will be viewed by your attendees during the webinar, you’ll want to ensure that you talk clearly into your microphone, if you are letting people view you on the screen, avoid too much movement as it can get distracting very quickly. Pace yourself, but do not talk too slowly. Be conversational in your approach. Granted, some topics will be more exciting to you to discuss than others, go ahead and show this excitement, but do not carry yourself beyond what you have up on your slide. It’s important to convey your message both verbally and visually at the same time. Smile when you are talking, that natural excitement in your tone is sure to be conveyed through the mic and to your audience.

Icebreakers

Icebreakers are always a great way to start your webinar session. It’ll get your audience interested in you as a person and more likely to stay tuned throughout the session looking for your next joke. Especially if this is your first webinar, you’ll want to appeal to the masses and convince them that you are worth their lunch break or other hour that they put away just for you.

Transitions

Once you start into your presentation, ensure that your transitions flow from one slide to the next. It’s always helpful to keep a copy of the powerpoint printed out right next to you with your own highlights and text to remind yourself of where you want to go with the webinar. If you utilized your webinar to launch a new product: don’t over-explain it and don’t under-explain it. A friend is often the best judge of how long is too long to explain a new product- try to get some feedback beforehand from friends.  You might think that your keywords and phrases are catchy and memorable, but running it by a trusted friend may enable you to see from another’s perspective how it can sound confusing and you can both discover better phrases and keywords for your webinar audience.

Ending Strong

As you wrap up your presentation, inform your attendees how they can “raise” their hands for questions and that you can unmute them to listen in for their comments. Always repeat back the question that was asked to ensure that you got it right and that your other attendees will know what you are talking about.

Sell Yourself With Confidence

Lastly, let the audience know that you’re thankful for their time and that you want their business. As you step into your final and ending slide, look straight into your web camera and genuinely let them know exactly how easy it is to get your product or service and how quick it is. Inform them that you will be sending out a copy of the powerpoint to all the attendees. This gives you the final opportunity to showcase your presentation and your business to your new potential clients.

Mark Harris is in his mid-30’s and is a highly successful, sought-after freelance writer and Internet marketer. He works from the comfort of his home and at local coffee shops. While researching for professional webinars, he came across an excellent site, www.webconferenceclassroom.com and now actively uses its features on a weekly basis to keep his peers updated across the country on projects that he’s working on. He also loves to get outdoors and spend time on the area’s many beaches. He is an avid kayaker and hiker, lives with his wife in White Rock, BC on Canada’s beautiful west coast.