by Amy Huang

Created on: April 09, 2008

There may be many reasons to give a business presentation but each will share the same goal: to engage, and to inform. Giving a good business presentation goes beyond confidence and charisma; the success of the presentation often rely on the method of output and how the audiences can relate to the presentation contents.

1. Preparation
Like all other presentations, preparation is important especially for a business presentation that matters for the organization. Audiences of such presentation often assume you are the subject matter expert. Lack of preparation and knowledge will shake their confidence and respect for you, which is the key for the success of your presentation.

Know your audiences. Are they executives managers? Are they technical experts? Are customers critical to the business of your company? Every little detail matters when it comes to analyzing how your audience may react during the presentation. If they are senior managers, they will be less interested in the details and will want to know an overall high level idea of what you want to talk about. If they are technical experts, then you need to make sure you speak their jargon, and know what they are after. After all, they expect to be engaged and informed, and they don't want to know anything that may seem like trivial information.

Research into the material and everything that will possibly be asked at the presentation. Make sure you have sources to refer to as well as other experts in the room with you should you need to refer to their advice. You as the presenter doesn't have to know everything; however being the representative of the company, you need to make sure you know at least where to look, and to be able to give your audiences an answer when questions are asked.

Run through your contents and determine if it's enough. Is it persuasive? Does it sound ambiguous? If so, try changing your sentence structure or wording. You don't want your audience going away confused.

When it comes to visual aid, especially power point slides or similar presentation tool, make sure you are not relying heavily on it. The saying "Death by Power Point" is not joke, and your audience may be distracted from your presentation by the slides if not managed properly. The slides should include only brief information in point forms with you elaborating on those points. Insert some simple pictures can enhance the entertainment value but is absolutely optional. Charts and diagrams can help you describe your points, however

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