Many presenters, particularly novices, struggle to find a presentation style that works best for them.  Luckily, throughout the years, after much trial and error, many successful techniques and methodologies for presentation creation and delivery have emerged, giving speakers a variety of existing approaches to “borrow” from.

From top left: Lawrence Lessig, Masayoshi Takahashi, Seth Godin, Mino Monta

Here, we’ll describe and evaluate some of the most famous – and popular – presentation methods.

1. The Takahashi Method
This extremely unique method calls for the use of very, very large text.  The goal is to use no more than a handful (preferably, less than three) of easy-to-understand words, or a single image or photo with no accompanying words, on each slide, to deliver a very clear, very high-impact message in a very short period of time.  Many believe that this approach forces the audience to listen to the speaker, since the slides alone do not demonstrate all the content to be delivered.

2. The Lessig Method
Based on the style of Stanford Law professor Lawrence Lessig, this method is quite similar to Takahashi’s approach in its simplicity.  Presenters who use this technique incorporate only a brief quote, a short sentence, or a photo with a caption onto their slides, and spend only a few seconds on each.  But, while Takahashi-style presentations are often rather short – usually ten slides or less – Lessig presentations are often quite long, sometimes hundreds of slides that are passed through very quickly.  The idea behind this method is that the rapid-fire pace of delivery prevents the audience from growing bored or getting distracted.

3.  The Godin Method
Although not yet formally recognized by presentation pundits, this method, made popular by best-selling author and marketing guru Seth Godin, focuses mostly on the element of presentation slide design – particularly, how to select accompanying visuals to enhance messages appropriately.  Godin promotes the use of bold fonts, contrasting colors, striking images, and other clear, compelling visuals to better convey thoughts and ideas.

4. The Monta Method
Like the Takahashi approach, this technique originated in Japan.  Introduced by a knowledge worker in the tech field, it emulates the personality and charisma of a popular game show host.  Presenters are encouraged to use questions and answers on all their visuals.  When the question is posed to the audience, the answer is kept covered or hidden, only to be revealed once attendees have tried to “guess”.  The advantage of this approach is that it is highly effective at keeping the audience interested and engaged, and thus, their attention is less likely to wander.

This is the continuation in a series of Incredible resources for presentations. If you have an idea for incredible resources or want to add one of your own just add a comment below this post or see the whole incredible presentations series.

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 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.

We are proud to announce that SlideRocket is a part of Google’s newly launched Google Apps Marketplace. Now over 2 M Google Apps customers can access SlideRocket right from Google’s universal navigation bar.

The integration between SlideRocket and Google Apps makes presentations more dynamic than ever.  Some great benefits include real-time updating of SlideRocket charts and graphs with data feeds from Google Spreadsheets, single sign-on, contact integration, and Google Presentation import. Combining the information and content in Google Apps with SlideRocket’s presentation design and management capabilities turns ordinary data into high-definition, visually captivating presentations that can be securely controlled and measured.

This is one more step in turning a common business tool into living, breathing and dynamic web content.

View a presentation with all of the information by clicking here. Or check out the press release here, for the full list of benefits.

You spend countless weeks researching, compiling, and preparing your content.  You practice your delivery over and over again.  And still, you – and every other speaker – will undoubtedly make a few mistakes during your presentation.  Some of these will be minor, and won’t have much impact on the success of your session.  Yet others can be detrimental, hindering your ability to achieve your goal, and rendering all your hard work wasted.

Here are five of the most common presentation pitfalls today’s presenters face – and how you can effectively avoid them.

1. Don’t Rely Solely On Your Content
No matter how interesting or informative your subject matter is, the words on your slides, and those you speak, simply aren’t enough to keep the audience engaged.  Your delivery of those thoughts and ideas must be dynamic.  The format of your presentation must be exciting and interactive.  And, you must incorporate visual elements, anecdotes, real-world stories, and other techniques to make your topic, and all supporting points, as relevant and memorable as possible.

2. Don’t Confuse Your Audience
In many cases, your attendees are coming to you to learn something specific.  As you are putting together your slides and speaking notes, always keep in mind that they lack the knowledge and expertise that you have.  So, you may need to “dummy” it down a bit.  For example, avoid terminology or phrasing that they may not understand, be sure to explain what any acronyms or industry jargon mean, and provide in-depth detail (and when appropriate, background information) when covering key concepts.

3. Remember the “Aid” in “Visual Aid”
Your slide deck is not the focal point of your presentation.  It is there to enhance and compliment what you’re saying.  Using too many images, videos, graphics, and other visual elements, or packing too much copy onto each slide, will have the opposite effect on your audience.  Instead of helping them understand and absorb your material, it will actually distract them and minimize information retention.

4.  Proofread!
Absolutely nothing will destroy your credibility as quickly as slides or handouts that are chock full of typos.  Misspellings, duplications, formatting inconsistencies, and other errors always convey a sense of inexperience or unprofessionalism.  So be sure to read through your materials very carefully before your session.  It wouldn’t hurt to have a peer review them as well, since a fresh set of eyes may catch mistakes you missed.

5.  Stick to the Schedule
If your allotted time is 45 minutes, then keep it to 45 minutes (or, preferably, less).  Once your scheduled end time arrives, your audience will begin thinking about where they need to be next, how many emails are flooding their inbox, etc. – and anything you say from that point on will likely be ignored or forgotten.  And, since the close or summary is one of the most important portions of your presentation, you want to make sure you still have their undivided attention.

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

We’ve all heard the old saying – “you never get a second chance to make a first impression”.  This advice, while important in many situations, is particularly valuable during the opening of your presentation.  Those first few moments are crucial to laying the foundation for a successful session, setting the tone for how your audience perceives your content, and more importantly, how they perceive you.

Start your presentation with a bang!

What are some of the best ways to open your presentation with a bang?

1. The First 30 Seconds are Key
You have just a small window of opportunity to grab the attention of your attendees.  After all, the first few minutes of your presentation are just about the only time you’re guaranteed their full, undivided attention.  Start with a joke, an interesting quote, a thought-provoking question, a shocking story – some exciting and compelling, yet relevant way to spark their interest or peak their curiosity.  If you can get them hooked quickly, keeping them engaged throughout the course of your presentation will be far easier.

2. Get to the Point
Many speakers save their summaries for the end of the slide deck.  However, some experts believe that beginning with a few key points that let the audience members know what they can expect to learn or what value they’ll take away from the presentation will excite them and give them something to look forward to, encouraging them to pay attention so they don’t miss anything important.

3. Kick It Up A Notch
Your opening is the perfect time to be a bit dramatic.  Use stronger voice inflections and more pronounced hand movements.  Pause strategically after important thoughts or ideas.  Slightly exaggerate your facial expressions. This will lend a sense of importance or urgency to what you’ll be speaking about.  But be careful not to overdo it.  If you’re too animated, you may look silly and destroy your credibility.

4.  Pick a Style – And Stick to It
While starting strong is vital, consistency is the key to maintaining interest throughout your presentation.  Let your opening convey your delivery style, and be sure that style flows throughout the rest of the session.  For example, don’t open with a joke, and then follow with serious and somber content. Or, don’t begin by shocking your audience, only to continue with light-hearted banter.  The tactic you use to get their attention is the same one you should use to keep 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.