Source: http://blog.slideshare.net/2013/08/26/want-to-be-memorable-it-starts-with-your-content/#!
I have one objective with this post: I want to make it worth your
time. After all, time is your most precious asset – more precious than
money.
Time cannot be deposited into a savings account to accrue over time,
and time can never be exchanged or refunded. Once you spend it, it is
gone forever.
If we can agree that time is a treasure, then let’s make sure the
next presentation you give respects your audience’s time. The experience
needs to be memorable, and it starts with how you develop your content.
Here are a few simple tips to make your content more memorable:
Record Your Thoughts
As a voracious reader, I constantly have programs like Evernote
within reach to track and document a new idea, quote or other piece of
inspiration. Choose the program that works best for you and track your
ideas so that you can share them at a later date. After all, it’s been
said that “A life worth living is a life worth recording.” Your life is
full of so many rich experiences and lessons. Most of these are worth
documenting. More importantly, some are probably worth sharing during
your next presentation.
Write Like You Speak
If you are the kind of person that likes to script out your content,
then make sure you are using everyday language. If your audience needs a
dictionary to comprehend your presentation, tone it down a bit. Nobody
appreciates a show-off. Be yourself and write like you speak.
Provide Clarity
If I were to make the statement “A dog walked across the street,” one
person will think Golden Retriever while another person will think
Great Dane. But if I were to say “The Bulldog walked across the street”
then the message is completely different. It’s clear. I’m doing the
heavy lifting as the presenter by providing an extra layer of clarity.
Speak in the Present
As a communications major in college, I quickly learned in my first
Broadcast Journalism class that “Is” is much more powerful than “Was.”
Turn on the channel to your local news station and you will see this at
play. Broadcasters always speak in the present tense. You should do the
same.
Make Three Points
The human brain works like this: 1, 2, 3…I forget. No one is going to
remember your 4th or 10th point. Always aim for three points. Always.
Break Things Up
I always like to pretend a child is sitting in the back of the room
when I’m giving a presentation. This mindset forces me to embrace some
basic rules of simplicity that includes “chunking” my content into bite
size pieces. The best way to do is this is by using lots of periods to
ensure your content is littered with multiple/easy-to-understand
sentences.
Create ‘Twitterable’ Moments
As presenters, we must embrace that we live in a world where social
media is now the norm. Every webinar, product launch or sales
presentation provides just another opportunity to share the value of
your brand. With that said, you need to create Twitterable moments –
clever headlines, golden nuggets and smart advice that you know will be
tweeted and shared with the rest of the world.
Now that you have invested 2-3 minutes to read this post, I hope it
has been a valuable return on the investment of your time. If so, pay it
forward.
Read More: The Best Way to Outline Your Presentation
Scott Schwertly is the author of How to Be a Presentation God and CEO of Ethos3, a Nashville,
TN-based presentation boutique providing professional presentation
design and training for national and international clients, ranging from
Fortune 500 companies to branded individuals like Guy Kawasaki.
