10 Easy Ways To Make Your Presentation Message Unforgettable

As a presenter, you want to make an impact on your audience. After all, you spent a lot of time working on your slides and your speech, hoping to get everything perfect. Alas, the sad truth is that a great majority of presentations barely make an impact on people’s minds. If you don’t want your hard work to go to waste, then continue reading this article. Today, you’re going to find out 10 easy ways to make your presentation message unforgettable.

You Want Your Presentation Message To Be Memorable (But Not The Wrong Way)

You’ve probably attended many presentations in your lifetime. Do you remember any speakers who’ve made a considerable impact in your life? Someone who taught you something new?

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you can somehow have the same effect on your audience from this point forward? You know, touch people’s lives and make an impact on them? Weeks, months, or even years later, people will still remember your presentation. You’d feel great, wouldn’t you!

Now, there are two ways you can make your presentation message unforgettable to your audience. There’s the right way and the wrong way. The right way is what I’m going to be showing you later in this article. Would you like to take a guess what the wrong way is?

Well, if you thought about botching up your presentation so badly, then you’re absolutely right! Do something embarrassing on stage, and you’re guaranteed to be ‘memorable’ to your audience. But, is that really what you want?

Some people say negative publicity is still publicity. If you want to be known as a professional and credible presenter, then you’d take steps to ensure your presentation is as smooth and as perfect as possible.

How To Make a Truly Unforgettable and Memorable PowerPoint Presentation

Making your presentation memorable enough for your audience will take some work. But if you’re willing to put in the time and the effort to master the techniques below, then there’s no reason why you can’t make things go your way! Here are some creative presentation ideas to make your message stick:

1.    Know your audience

The first thing you must do if you want to make your presentation message memorable is you must know who your audience is. There are no two ways about it – presenting the right content in front of the right audience is the holy grail to presentation success.

Many presenters don’t even put the tiniest bit of effort to know more about their audience. For instance, if they’re given a topic to present on, then that’s all they’re going to care about. They won’t care about presenting their information in such a way that their audience is going to be able to relate to it.

With that said, knowing who your audience is will help you avoid unnecessary faux pax. For instance, you can avoid making insensitive jokes that may be insulting to your audience. It might sound harmless enough to you, but not for your audience members.

The moment you blurt out your not-so-well-thought-out joke, you’ve lost your audience. They can either tune you out and leave it at that, or they’ll broadcast your faux pas on social media. The wrong joke will not only ruin your presentation, but it also has the potential to ruin your career and your reputation!

So, do the right thing and learn more about your audience. Figure out how you can serve them, or how they’ll benefit from your presentation. I guarantee you’ll be increasing the likelihood that they’ll remember your presentation.

2.    Do your research

It doesn’t matter if you know your audience very well if you don’t know your topic at all. You can tell all the right jokes and endear yourself to your audience, but the moment they see you trying to pass off fluff and poorly-researched content as facts, then you’re going to lose credibility.

The saying “content is king” still holds true to this day. In many cases, even an inexperienced and not so savvy presenter can win his audience over if he presents compelling, interesting and well-researched content.

But, don’t be geeky about it. Don’t try to use technical mumbo-jumbo. Instead, make sure everyone understands what you’re talking about. You don’t want to make people feel stupid, it’s one of the quickest ways you can alienate your audience!

3.    Be authentic and real

It’s okay to be nervous when giving a presentation. Even the most seasoned presenters have gone through this phase, and until now, many of them still feel nervous right before they go on stage. However, they’re able to channel their nervousness into positive energy and project it on stage to make their presentation come alive.

Another thing is people can tell when you’re trying to project something you’re not. Most of us are pretty astute at detecting B.S. It might be harder to detect in online or video presentations, but for in-person or live presentations, it’s a lot harder to pull off. So, just be as natural and as authentic as possible. Don’t mind your imperfections, we all have them!

Here’s one of the most awe-inspiring and authentic TEDx Talks ever:

4.    Be a likable presenter

Building rapport with your audience is a must. The more rapport you build, the more people will like and trust you. They’ll be more willing to listen to your message.

But how exactly do you build rapport with your audience?

First, you want to make sure you dress up appropriately for your presentation. You don’t want to be overdressed, and you don’t want to be underdressed either. Make yourself look good. Remember, appearances count for a lot. People will judge you and try to pigeonhole you into a stereotype.

As a speaker, you don’t want to stereotype your audience, but you don’t have the same control over your audience. It’s up to you to make sure they don’t perceive you negatively even before you open your mouth to speak.

Put your best foot forward and put your audience’s needs ahead of yours. Sure, you may want to impress them and make a sale (if you’re giving a sales presentation). But at the end of the day, if you want people to like you, you need to make sure they’ll actually benefit from your presentation.

Think about it – we like it when other’s care about what we think. Shouldn’t we give others the same privilege too? Pay attention to what your audience wants, and you’ll go far beyond building simple rapport. You’ll be building relationships with your audience members!

5.    Make a promise in your introduction

Great presenters make a promise when they begin their presentation. It’s sort of like signposting your presentation. You let your audience know you’ve got something awesome in store for them. But they need to pay attention to your presentation so they can benefit from it.

When you make your promise, make sure your audience’s interest is actually going to get piqued. This is another benefit to knowing your audience – you’d know if they’re actually going to care about your promise or not!

It’s a great idea to make big promises, but you need to make sure you actually fulfill your end of the bargain. If you make promises, make sure you do as you say. Otherwise, you’re going to lose your credibility, and it’s not something you want to happen. Because no matter how great your presentation message is, if you’ve lost your credibility, then your message is going to fall on deaf ears.

Memorable presentation openings are far and few in between. Invest the time necessary to make sure yours count!

6.    Focus on one key theme

You don’t want your presentation to be all over the place. Instead, you want to focus on one topic and one topic alone. If you branch out into unrelated subjects or topics, you will lose your audience. They’ll probably look at you with bewildered expressions on their faces, wondering why you’re suddenly talking about animals when your presentation is supposed to be about something totally unrelated.

If you make a segue from your topic to a seemingly unrelated one, then make sure you let your audience know. You need to warn them beforehand to allow their minds to catch up. It will also help you transition your talk smoothly.

Additionally, this one-theme concept doesn’t just extend to your talk, it also includes your visual aid or your presentation slides. Make sure you use a single theme, a single design all throughout. Make your presentation as simple and as easy to follow as possible for your audience.

7.    Tell a story

Who doesn’t love a good story? Well, when it comes to presentations, audiences soak up stories like sponges. But, make sure your story is actually related to your topic! Again, you don’t want to lose your audience.

Now, when it comes to telling stories, you need to make it relatable to your audience. Paint your story and make it as vivid as possible in people’s minds. Identify your hero or heroine and their enemy.

Put your audience right at the very center of the action and make them feel like a part of the story. Captivate them with the right words and the right tone. And don’t forget to weave your presentation’s topic or theme right into the story – that’s the key to making it memorable for your audience!

8.    Choose the right words

Don’t try to ‘impress’ your audience with the use of highfalutin’ nonsense, it can seriously backfire on you. If you want people to pay attention to your presentation, then make it easy for them to listen to you. If they can’t understand half of what you’re saying, then how easy would it be for them to retain your message?

For presentations, it’s always best to follow the K.I.S.S. (keep it simple, stupid) principle. The more you complicate your presentation, the more you alienate your audience. So, if you want to draw them in, then make sure you keep your language as simple as possible.

9.    Break the ice

Presenters who know how to break the ice can keep their audience engaged far longer than those who don’t. Usually, the most common approach is by using humor. However, not everyone can pull it off especially if the presenter hasn’t done his or her assignment on knowing more about their audience.

Instead of saying something witty or charming, you can easily come across as sarcastic or rude. There are so many ways a joke can go wrong, so use it with caution especially if you’re a total stranger to your audience!

You don’t even need to limit yourself to using humor as an icebreaker. Ask an interesting question, something that will make your audience think really hard. Try holding a contest.

Whatever icebreaking method you choose to implement, it’s important that it should somehow enhance your presentation in a way, and not detract from the message you’re trying to say.

Check out this video on how you can use humor to break the ice and make people like you:

10.  End your presentation strongly

The final tip in this post is to make sure you end your presentation on a strong note. The conclusion is the last step to make your message memorable. Don’t waste it, make it count!

One of the best ways to end your presentation with a bang is by inviting your audience to follow your call to action. Or you can try asking them a thought-provoking question, something they’ll be munching on long after your presentation has ended.

You can also try dropping a knowledge ‘bomb,’ something no one else knows. Make your audience feel special and give them something solid and substantial to take home with them. If you made a bold promise in the beginning part of your presentation, then now is a good time to remind them of that promise, and tell them the right answer!

Are You Ready To Make Your Presentation Message Unforgettable?

Work on the memorable presentation ideas I’ve shared in this article, and you’ll soon see a marked improvement in your future presentations. Remember, practice makes perfect. So, don’t be afraid to go out there and share your message with the world!