Have you ever suffered while choosing the perfect font? We jiggled when deciding on the slide layout and tried to fit the titles. You might have wasted time manually tweaking colors and misaligning elements. Or something worse than this. You are not alone. We have all suffered through the graphic design grind of the presentation at some point. The struggle is real!
In this blog, we will discuss some tips for designing a presentation for executives that adds a professional touch. So, let’s design one.
Tips for designing executive-level presentations
Executives determine the destiny of a corporation. They totally rely on their teams to get the information to make informed decisions. So, designing a presentation by getting help from services like a presentation design agency in UK or Manchester, that not only hooks the audience but the executives are able to create a lasting impression on their team leads.
Know your target audience
Knowing what your target audience wants is the first step in designing a presentation. A basic understanding of how the audience will respond and receive the message of the content is essential. Therefore, before you design your presentation, look for your target audience and make preparations accordingly. For instance, during the presentations, you might be asked a question that indirectly relates to the content you are delivering. So, I need to be ready to ask any question with confidence.
Knowing how to anticipate the questions and prepare for the materials will help to ease your anxiety. You can stand with confidence and be prepared for anything that the audience will throw at you. Moreover, you can talk to your colleagues and take a look at the presentations that were delivered before. Ask them to discuss their experience as they have already worked with the executives.
Keep your message concise and crisp
One of the critical issues. Executives have busy schedules and lack time. They get distracted quickly. You must make sure that they can collect a lot from the presentation in one sitting.
Designing such short presentations while delivering complete information requires proper planning. To achieve this goal, you need to pay close attention to the context of the meeting. Avoid delivering the message that they already know. Plan a topic that is appropriate for the conversation. Designing a pre-read document will help. You can easily move to the core message of the discussion and focus on answering the questions.
Avoid gimmickry
The use of graphics, animations, and transitions during designing presentations helps emphasize the main message that is to be delivered. However, you need to pay attention and avoid overusing them, especially in executive presentations. Any hint of gimmickry can undermine your message.
Use the visual aids to highlight important ideas or when the message is deeply relevant to the topic or messaging. For instance, when you are delivering a new product or service, you can create a reveal-style transition. This will give a special effect to your slides. Always remember that the content of the slides is more important than the graphics. The credibility of the presenters should be at the top of the pyramid in the minds of the audience.
Expect interruptions and oversee the sea of questions
Keep in mind that when you are presenting before the executives, you will have to face a sea of questions. These questions might be sometimes out of curiosity, sometimes out of context, and sometimes the audience might be testing your confidence and ability to handle the questions.
Get yourself prepared for all sorts of questions and learn the ability to return to the main presentation. You should respond to all the questions in a crisp manner but stay focused on the main content. Sometimes, you might feel that the questions are addressed in subsequent slides. You can handle these situations by providing the handouts beforehand. The audience will know a little about the content.
You can address the questions by providing a short version of the answers and stating that the complete details are on their way. This will portray your respect for the audience, allowing you to continue with your presentation and help you earn credibility to handle tense situations.
Display the conclusion slide first
You read it correctly! Display the conclusion slide on the projector screen at the beginning and later at the end of the presentation. You can display the conclusion slide again. This is one of the most preferred methods for presenting to executives. But why?
Showing the conclusion slide first removes the element of suspense and allows the audience to focus on your message. They will know what they will learn at the end. This will hook them to their seats and learn how you arrived at the conclusions.
Design two files
However, you must have a backup file ready for all kinds of situations. However, your presentation should be designed in two versions: short and long versions. There is always a certainty that you might be asked to give a short presentation due to a short time or a detailed version of the information. Proper planning is needed for both versions. Answering the questions in a long version is less complex than handling the same question quantity in a short time. A short version prepared will help you cover all the points even in an emergency.
FAQs
What tips are essential when designing an executive presentation?
One of the most important tips when you sit to design these presentations is to keep it short and simple. As executives often run out of time, you should be able to deliver your main message in a few slides.
How can we design presentations that nail the major aim?
When you design a presentation, knowing the target audience is important so you can select a topic that aligns with their interest. Add the objectives of the presentation and start designing the content.
What is the main thing that executives look for in a presentation?
The executives look for the summarized information in each slide. The flow of information should be logical and the ability of the present to return to the main topic despite the question interruptions.
Is displaying the conclusion slide before the introduction a good idea?
One of the helpful tips is to display the conclusion slide before any other slides are considered ideal. This is because the audience will know what they will learn till the end of the presentation and help them to hook up to their seats till the end.
The final comment
All set to start with your executive presentation design. You can use different templates available to make your work manageable.
However, keep all these pointers in mind if you wish to nail the executive presentation. When you are designing the presentation, split the file into two versions that you can display according to the situation. Moreover, keep the message concise yet crisp to hook the audience.