Considerations for presentations
You’ll need to consider several factors for your presentations, regardless of the type. Understanding these considerations will help your presentations be well-received and more effective with their intended message.
Handle questions and interruptions
Ideally, you’re not the only team member who’s participating in giving the presentation. Likely, another team member will be present to take notes. However, if you’re alone, make sure that note taking is still an important part of your presentation. Note taking is beneficial when you need to pause for audience questions or objections, or to get a presentation back on track when someone sidetracks the conversation with an unrelated digression.
Another benefit of note taking is that you can use it to help with follow-up responses. When faced with a question that you don’t have an immediate answer to, make sure that you repeat or rephrase the question so that you have a solid understanding of it. Then, you can use your detailed notes when researching the answer to the question. Make sure that you follow up as soon as possible after the presentation.
Example
The customer asks, “How fast can those forms load?”
You don’t have an immediate answer, so your response can be, “To clarify, you want to know the load times for the forms from this demo? Do you want to know about other forms as well? I’ll note your questions and follow up with you after this meeting.”
Be a good audience for other presenters
If you’re not leading the presentation, then you’re likely taking notes. In that scenario, make sure that you’re being a good listener, anticipating questions, and taking good notes for follow-up. Keep engaged in the conversation and help the primary presenter if you notice them faltering or speak up if you’re the expert on a topic that’s being discussed and questioned.
Presentation format
A presentation doesn’t necessarily involve you standing in front of an audience with a PowerPoint slide deck.
Instead, tailor your presentation to fit your style, the audience, and the topic. Your presentation can include a variety of approaches:
- Use a whiteboard to draw pictures or diagrams.
- Show a video to demonstrate the product or process.
- Conduct a workshop, where you gather information from your customers.
- Provide a live demonstration of your design document.
- Show a PowerPoint-heavy sales presentation.
You can choose to use only one format, or you can switch between the different formats for variety. For example, you might choose to use a PowerPoint slide deck, a live demonstration of the system, and a video of future functionality.
The presentation format can make or break a presentation. Some presenters support the notion that presentations need to include flashy visuals. The truth is that an extravagant presentation can remove focus from the presenter and the message of the presentation. A good presentation can make any presenter look good. A poorly constructed PowerPoint can make any presentation unappealing, regardless of the topic. The success of the presentation is dependent on who’s presenting, how they present the topic, and how the format backs up the presentation.
Audience
It’s important to know who you’re presenting to. Your audience is extremely important and should dictate how you’ll deliver your presentation. Make sure that you adjust your presentation to fit your audience.
For example, you’ll want to have different presentations for the executive management and for your users. The executive management team might not want to know how the different technical solutions in your system work, whereas your users will. Similarly, presenting internally to the project team will differ from presenting to someone who’s not involved in the project at all.
How good your presentation is doesn’t matter if it’s not adjusted to the right audience. Consider a scenario where you’ve given a presentation on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management. From your perspective, the presentation seemed to go smoothly and was a great success. However, on receipt of the post-presentation survey, you’ve discovered that your customer is extremely dissatisfied. Later, after you’ve received more requirements from the customer, you realize that they’re looking for a finance system, not a system for their supply chain. If you would have given a demonstration of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance, then the customer would most likely be happy.
Delivering the right content to the right audience is imperative.
Planned or spontaneous
Planned and spontaneous presentations differ significantly. A planned presentation takes considerable time in creating and planning before the actual presentation, whereas a spontaneous presentation happens instantaneously. Planned presentations can include a demonstration of the proof of concept that you’ve created and want the customer to approve. Conversely, with a spontaneous presentation, you might explain a new feature to a user who happens to walk into your office.
Online or in-person
The difference between giving presentations online and doing them in person is considerable. If you’re giving an online presentation, expect scenarios where no one reacts. People have grown accustomed to delivering presentations while looking at a screen, not knowing who’s on the other side listening in. When you’re giving an in-person presentation, it’s exceedingly easier to read the body language and the facial expressions of everyone who’s attending.
- Online presentations - When you do online presentations, consider the amount of light that you have in the room that you’re doing the presentation in. Make sure that you think about your background and how you dress your upper body.
- In-person presentations - When you give an in-person presentation, consider how you dress and your complete body language. Body language can make a good presentation excellent or make it unsuccessful. Think about your favorite presenter, about how they acted, the gesticulations that they used, and their tone of voice. Several techniques are available for you to use to learn how to become a good speaker. The more you practice, the better you’ll become.
Duration of the presentation
If you’re doing a workshop to go through the processes that the customer has, it can often take days. You might want to set the workshop duration to full days or several half days when you’re working with a customer. Alternatively, sales presentations will, in most cases, not last a full day. Typically, the normal sales presentation is one to two hours. The duration of your presentation will depend on the type of presentation, the audience, and the content.
An email can also be a delivery channel for a presentation. Sometimes, it's easier for the customer to get the presentation in an email rather than in a meeting. The reason is because, with an email, the customer has the advantage of reading through the content and getting back to you in their own time. Rather than feeling pressure to respond immediately, they’ll have the opportunity to gather their thoughts before they give thorough feedback.