This is a guest post by Vivek Singh. He is a marketing manager by profession. He is also the author of the popular blog  www.allaboutpresentations.com. Visit his blog for useful tips on presentations.

If your CEO remembers the top 3 things you said during the presentation, you've done a great job.

Making a presentation to top management is very different from making a presentation to the middle/junior management. Today we will try to understand what exactly this difference is and how to successfully present to top management.

Present the conclusion at the very start
In school you would have written a précis. A précis is a summary of the main points of the story. You need to do the same thing for your top management. First you make the presentation the way you normally do. Then add an empty slide at the very start (let’s call it the summary slide). Run through your presentation and put down the main points on this summary slide.
Top management is not here to listen to the complete story. You cannot afford to build the argument gradually and reveal the conclusion at the end. Instead put the conclusion at the start. Then go on and explain how you arrived at this conclusion. Your audience will ask for explanations and details wherever they need. You need not provide too much information. Remember, less is more with the top management.

Time is money
Be short and sweet. Do not be slow and do not repeat your points. Your CEO is always busy and cannot manage to sit through hour long presentations. Neither does he have the time nor the attention span. You need to share everything you have to say in crystal clear terms and then leave the questioning to the CEO. Whenever he seeks explanation, you can go in-depth.
The success of your presentation can be measured by a simple question. “If your CEO remembers the top 3 things you said during the presentation and why you said those things; you have done a great job.”

Use Back up Slides
When you present to the top management use what is called a ‘Back up Slide’. Suppose you are presenting on cost cutting. You have done a lot of study and your presentation talks about your 5 findings; the areas your organization is losing money and how to cut costs in these areas.
You have made detailed calculations to arrive at these findings. Your presentation has these findings and then you go on to recommend cost cutting measures. You are not going to present these detailed calculations (which led you to the findings) else the presentation will stretch for hours.  In such a case, keep these calculations ready on a slide (place it after the last slide). You might be asked to prove your findings, in which case you can open these back up slides. These slides support your findings. They are to be presented when your findings are being questioned and investigated in details.

Do not try to show you have worked hard
There is a strong urge in managers to show to the CEO that they have worked hard. Because they get to spend less time with the CEO they make their best efforts to impress him. This behavior leads them to fill their presentation with minute details. The number of bullet points is treated as directly proportional to work done. The more the bullets, the harder you have worked.
This needs to stop. What will impress the CEO is a simple presentation which shares the crux in a few slides and is backed up by solid reasoning. If your presentation gets your point across clearly, the rest will take care of itself.

Give a Handout
Your CEO will be busy with his/her Black Berry most of the time. He will check his mail and get urgent calls. Understand that there are more important things for him to do. It would be great if you carry a print out of the main points of the presentation. Make it no longer than one page. If you HAVE TO share some data/charts to back up your main points, then use Annexure. In the annexure, share the chart/graph; give a suitable heading and a one sentence summary of the chart.

To read more presentation tips visit Vivek’s blog All About Presentations or read other tips in this SlideRocket blog series.

You’ve just finished giving a Webinar – and it was clearly a winner!  But, you invited thousands and only a hundred showed up.  What can you do to maximize the value of all your hard work?  Post it to the Web, where other members of your target audience can easily access it.

Many people prefer on-demand web seminars since they can watch at their own convenience

In fact, many people prefer the on-demand approach, since they can watch at their own convenience, or pause the presentation if something urgent arises, without missing any important points. But once your on-demand presentation has been made available, how do you let people know it’s there?   And even more importantly, how to you encourage them to download or view it?

Here are some of the best ways to market your on-demand presentation:

1. Go Back to the Base
Just because only a fraction of those you invited actually attended, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the others weren’t interested in what you had to say.  They may have wanted to participate, but prior commitments prevented them from doing so.  So, once you post your on-demand presentation to your Web site, be sure to go back and inform those who were previously invited.  You’ll be surprised at how many of them take the bait.

2. Make it a Call to Action
Many experts believe that the reason most marketing campaigns fail is because they lack a compelling call to action.  Unless you give recipients a solid reason to respond – for example, by offering them something of perceived value – they simply won’t reply.  Using the download of your on-demand presentation as a response mechanism is a great way to drive traffic to your Web site, and boost campaign response rates.

3. Leverage Industry Resources
No matter what market you work in, there are likely Web sites that serve as resource portals for potential buyers.  These are great places for vendors to post not only pre-recorded presentations, but white papers and other promotional materials as well.  The site administrators may even help you promote your session, to help drive additional downloads.

4.  Alert the Media
Try issuing a media alert or a press release when your session has been posted.  Perhaps you don’t think an on-demand presentation is “newsworthy”, but many publications will, indeed, make mention of these types of resources.  Editors and writers may even view the presentation themselves, to educate themselves on your product or service, or your company.

You can also form relationships with bloggers and other online journalists, who can make mention of your on-demand Webcast when they publish posts and articles on related topics.

5.  Use Social Networks
Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social media outlets provide an open venue for you to share information with people who are interested in similar topics or ideas.  By setting up profiles on each of these sites, you can find people who are seeking certain types of information. And, those you connect with are probably those that are most likely to download your on-demand presentation.

Want more valuable tips on effective presentation creation and delivery? Review our archive of presentation tips and check back every week for new posts.

Investors hear, on average, five to eight presentations each day from entrepreneurs looking to obtain financial backing for their new business ventures.  But, only a fraction of these startup companies will get the funding they want.  How do you make sure yours is one of them?

Investors hear, on average, five to eight presentations each day.

Here are some valuable guidelines to follow when preparing your pitch to venture capitalists, angel investors, and other financiers.

1. What’s the Goal?
You won’t know if you were successful, unless you know exactly what you were trying to achieve in the first place.  Whether you’re looking to secure a funding commitment, or simply spark enough interest to schedule a follow-up meeting, clearly define your objective ahead of time.

2. Sum it All Up at the Start
You’ve got one minute to grab an investor’s attention.  So, a pitch that gets off to a slow start is bound to fall flat.  Kicking your presentation off with a dynamic one to two sentence summary that highlights your idea and its potential value will help you get them interested.

3. Back it Up with Details
In order to win the confidence of investors, you’ll need to show them that you have more than just a winning idea.  In addition to explaining your high-level vision, be sure to provide some details about how you plan to execute, such as a go-to-market strategy.

4.  The Proof is In the Numbers
Venture capitalists and other investors like numbers, particularly “mega trends”. So, back your ideas and theories up with as many industry benchmarks, statistics, and metrics as you possibly can.  The more reputable the sources, the better.

5.  Leave the Spreadsheets at Home
Your audience wants to see anticipated return on investment in the form of revenues, profits, or market share.  But, boring, dry spreadsheets or profit and loss statements are not the most effective way to do this.  Instead, wow investors with charts, graphs, and other exciting visuals that clearly convey expected value.

6. Speak with Passion
If you don’t show conviction in your idea, it will be very hard to get your audience excited about it.  Strong voice inflection and dramatic hand gestures are just a few of the ways you can demonstrate your passion for your concept, and your belief in its viability.

Want more valuable tips on effective presentation creation and delivery? Review our archive of presentation tips and check back every week for new posts.

Many speakers follow up their presentation with a demonstration of their product.  Whether it’s a software application, a piece of mechanical equipment, or a small appliance, the demo is the presenter’s chance to put their words into action, validating the claims they made during their slide deck.

The demo is your chance to put words into action.

Yet, most presenters are so focused on the quality of the presentation itself, they forget to fine-tune the demo.  As a result, they build up audience expectations, then fall flat when it really counts.

Here are some great tips for giving an amazing product demonstration.

1. Differentiate Yourself
Chances are, the prospective customer already has evaluated similar products, or will be speaking to other competitors in the near future, before making a final decision.  Since time will be limited, don’t waste it walking them through all the “me too” features.  Instead, highlight the characteristics of your product that make it unique and/or superior.

2. Customize It
Every product has countless interesting features and functions, but you’ll only have time to demonstrate a fraction of them.  So, it’s best to gather a little intelligence in advance.  Find out what the customer is trying to achieve through the use of your product, and focus on those capabilities that will help them get there.

3. Make It Interactive
Keep your audience engaged at all times, especially if the product you are showing is complex in nature.  Allow them to ask questions, or even select an audience member to participate “hands on”.  This will not only prevent their attention from wandering, it will give you the opportunity to capture valuable information about what they want to see, so you can structure the demonstration accordingly.

4.  Keep It Simple
Always remember that your audience doesn’t have the same level of technical or mechanical savvy that you do.  To avoid confusion, whenever possible, steer clear of technical or engineering jargon, and present the features of your product in layman’s terms.

5.  Be Flexible
Scripting and practicing your demo ahead of time is a wise idea.  However, you need to leave some room for “on the fly” change, based on audience response.  For example, a prospect may request to see a certain feature that you weren’t planning to show.  Or, they may ask a question that requires you to go back and re-explain functions that were already covered.   While preparedness is important, you also need to be able to “go with the flow”, so the audience is satisfied.

6.  You Need a Plan B
You’ve finished delivering your slides, and you’re getting ready to show your product.  But, you discover that it’s broken.  Now what?  Make sure you always have a backup plan in case of such emergencies.  For example, if its equipment you’re demonstrating, bring a second piece, just in case.  Or, keep a brief tutorial video on hand, so you can convey how certain features work.  If you’re showing software, be sure the room has a Web connection.  If your laptop fails, you can simply access the application via the Internet.

Want more valuable tips on effective presentation creation and delivery? Review our archive of presentation tips and check back every week for new posts.

While in some presentation scenarios, the subtle approach in the better one to take, many cases call for a very over-the-top delivery, one in which everything – from the speaker’s hand gestures to the tone of his voice – has a theatrical flair to it.

Add some drama and give the audience a presentation they'll never forget.

By taking up the excitement and energy up a notch or two, and sprinkling in a little drama, you can give your audience a presentation experience they’ll never forget.

How can you make your delivery more theatrical and dramatic?  Here are some great ways to breathe life into your presentation:

1. Tell a Story
Nothing adds drama to a presentation more than an action-packed, one-of-a kind tale that demonstrates your key points.  Trying to teach attendees about motivation and perseverance?  Talk about the time your brother finished a triathlon – in first place – while battling the swine flu.  Giving advice on effective interview techniques?  Share the story of when you were put in front of an executive “firing squad”, and how you managed to keep your cool – and get the job.  Interesting, thrilling stories will captivate your audience, and create a sense of excitement around your subject matter.

2. Bigger, Bolder, Louder
At the heart of every dramatic presentation is the strong use of emphasis. Drama is all about exaggeration.  So, everything from your voice inflections to your hand motions and facial expressions, and even the images you use on your slides, should be far “grander” than normal, particularly at times when you want to draw attention to the most important elements within your content.

3.  Act It Out
Speeches can get dry and boring.  The presenter talks, the audience listens.  Yawn.  Whenever possible, jazz it up by acting out the ideas you’re trying to convey.  For example, if you’re training new customer support reps on how to handle angry clients, act out a mock conversation between a caller and an agent.  You can even engage your audience further by asking them to participate in these “acts”.

4. Its All About the Showmanship
When you are delivering a dramatic presentation, keep in mind that you are the host, the ringmaster, the emcee.  It’s up to you to set the tone, and to make your presentation as entertaining as possible.  Put on your showman’s hat, and bring all the charm and charisma you can muster.

5.  Put Yourself in the Audience’s Shoes
Review your presentation from the perspective of your attendees.  Go through it section by section, and analyze it carefully – for both content and delivery.  If it isn’t attention-grabbing, compelling, or high-impact, find a way to make it so – or remove it.

Want more valuable tips on effective presentation creation and delivery? Review our archive of presentation tips and check back every week for new posts.

You’ve done your research.  You’ve fine-tuned your content.  You’ve created a killer slide deck.  And, you’ve practiced over and over again.  What could possibly go wrong?

Are your presentations online?

The answer is – a lot!  If your slides are stored on your desktop or laptop, you may be leaving yourself open to major problems.  Many experts believe that hosting your presentation on the Web can reduce risks and help ensure a more seamless and trouble-free delivery.

Why do you need to put your presentation on the Web?

1. Computer Crashes
It’s the night before the big presentation, and you’ve decided to do one last dry run.  Halfway through slide number four, you get it – the dreaded “blue screen of death”.  And, to make matters worse, you didn’t make a back up copy of your deck.  You’ve now got a big problem on your hands, and will have to stay up until all hours of the night to re-create your presentation.  But, if you had posted a final copy on the Web, you could simply rent or borrow any Web-enabled PC to gain access your slides.

2. Corrupt Files
Perhaps your security software is out of date, creating major gaps in how completely your desktop or laptop is protected.  What happens if you get a virus (one that corrupts your presentation file)?  You’d be left with no visual aids for the audience – an issue that could seriously impact the effectiveness of your presentation.  But, if your slide set had been stored on the Web, it would be safe, virus-free, and easy to retrieve, regardless of what happens to your PC.

3. Version Control
Like most presenters, as you edit and modify your slide set, you likely end up saving multiple version of it on your PC.  Yet, in the midst of you pre-presentation jitters, you may accidentally open the wrong file on the big day.  Even worse, you probably won’t even realize your mistake until well into your session.  Which means, you’ll have to stop and switch decks mid-way – throwing both you and your audience off track.   But, if the final slide deck is posted to the Web before delivery, version control issues become non-existent.

4. Hyperlinks
Many presenters include hyperlinks within their slides, so they can easily get to Web pages they wish to refer to as they are speaking.  Now, imagine you have an outdated laptop without much processing power.  As the browser is opening, your PC locks up, making for one very awkward moment.  However, if you had been delivering a slide deck that was already on the Web, the browser would already be opened and the Web site would load quickly.

5.  Absentees
What happens if someone important can’t make it to your scheduled session, due to traffic, weather, or some other unexpected event?  In certain scenarios (for example, if you’re a sales rep giving a product pitch, and the missing person is the decision-maker), absences can make it nearly impossible to achieve your goal.  If your slides are on your laptop, there will be no way to share them without using a third-party tool – something that can take time to set up, and may delay the start of your session.  But, if you’ve already got your presentation hosted on the Web, it can be easily accessed from remote locations.  So, all important stakeholders can experience your slides, even if an emergency has prevented them from doing so in person.

Want more valuable tips on effective presentation creation and delivery? Review our archive of presentation tips and check back every week for new posts.