Death by PowerPoint – How to wow your delegates
In an age of hyper-connectivity with social media, instant messaging, Zoom and 24/7 emails all vying for our attention, delivering engaging presentations is harder than ever and the risk of ‘death by PowerPoint’ is ever increasing. As a tool it certainly has its uses; however there is a tendency for presentations to become long and uninspiring when speakers rely on it. Slides are often stacked with text that’s too small to read, the images all look the same and by the time the Q&A comes round most of your audience have switched over to watching cat videos on their smart phone.
Think differently to engage with your attendees. Make them part of the conversation and let their contributions help evolve the event. The Events Team at Hampshire conference venue, Careys Manor, share their top tips to help you to think outside of the box:
Get your audience to focus
The most important thing is to grab your audience’s attention straight away – and then maintain it. You need to be very clear on what your message is and what you want them to take away, so make it as easy as possible for people to grasp your message from the off.
Make your finale memorable by leaving people with one last anecdote or example. Or use a powerful statistic or quote that sums up your findings.
Start a conversation
If you want to engage your audience it’s important to initiate a conversation. Ask them for their point of view via interactive polls and surveys that can be done in the session. Networking is also a key part when delegates are attending an off-site event so consider an activity to break down barriers, and get people talking, such as interactive group workshops or discussions.
Take breaks
We’re not talking toilet breaks but intersperse content with discussion, group exercises and reflection time. The human attention span doesn’t last long so keep your audience invested and engaged with breaks from you just talking at them. Careys Manor’s corporate wellness packages include healthy snack breaks to keep your delegates energised and nourished.
An interactive presentation is an engaging one, so ask questions (perhaps using polling technology) and design group exercises that get people talking. Our experts at award-winning Thai spa, SenSpa, have designed a range of wellness workshops from mindfulness to desk yoga also help to break up the day and keep it interesting.
Mix it up
We all learn in different ways, so mix up the media and engage your audience through various senses. Discover how you can illustrate your points through photos, music, live demos and videos. It can even be helpful to provide something tangible for your audience to hold in their hands whether passing around an item or getting them to vote and engage via social media. Don’t forget to include your hashtags for people to get involved in the conversation.
Get active
If you really want to engage, motivate and bond with your delegates then why not consider an indoor, outdoor or evening teambuilding activity? We work with a number of Hampshire teambuilding companies who can bring a different approach with a range of activities to give that wow factor to your next event.
Feedback
Don’t forget to ask them for feedback from what elements of the conference they found most engaging, as well as what turned them off, so you will be able to fine-tune the content for next time.
Swap the city for fresh forest air and fresh thinking at Careys Manor Hotel. Our Hampshire conference venue gives you everything your business needs – flexible meeting spaces for 8-150 people, a choice of dining options, a team of wellness experts and so much more besides.
