In order to effectively engage an audience, a marketing presentation needs to be passionate, consistent, and alive. We’ve all sat through awful pitches and presentations in our lives, and the one thing they all have in common is that they were completely unmemorable – whether it’s because the speaker failed to make the subject matter interesting because they weren’t familiar with the material, or because their pitch was a complete mess. These presentations lose the attention of their audience from the word go, resulting in wasted time and effort.

To make an impression, you need to be engaging, clearly interested in what you’re speaking towards, and most importantly, you need to be able to clearly communicate exactly what it is about your product, service, or idea that stands out or deserves a chance. An effective marketing presentation needs to be informative and interactive while doing everything it can to maintain the interest of your audience. This perfect balance takes time, effort, and plenty of dedication, but will pay off in spades if you get it just right.

Interactivity and minimalism make for more engaging presentations

The best way to grab the attention of your audience is to get them interacting with your presentation. Asking questions, telling stories, using gifs, and telling jokes for a quick laugh or reaction, and playing short videos or audio clips can go a long way towards holding people’s attention. Remember to use these things wisely – relying too much on interactivity can have a negative impact on your presentation.

As with most things, too much pizzazz can be overkill. While your presentation should include essential information to make it easy for viewers to follow along, it’s important to not bog down your audience with too much technical information. Leave animations and flashy transitions in the past, as they only serve to distract your audience and can take credibility away from your presentation.

Make sure you have the right tools for the job

Arguably the most important aspect of your presentation are the tools with which you create and present it – especially in a post-COVID world where fully remote presentations will surely become the norm for many businesses. In order to create a vibrant presentation that perfectly reflects the message you’re trying to convey, you need to be able to rely on a tool that makes presentations come to life.

Tools like Zoho Show allow you to create powerful slideshows that can support your presentation, letting you tell stories with your slides and convey thoughtful messaging through a user-focused interface that makes creating beautiful slideshows simple, and a wide array of themes that will lend a professionally-designed feel to your slideshow. You and your entire team can work together in real-time from anywhere, facilitating discussions, editing, or adding slides and information to create more effective presentations.

Once your presentation is ready to be heard by your clients, colleagues and partners, you’ll be able to broadcast it with the help of video conferencing solutions like RingCentral and Google Hangouts Meet, which offer powerful platforms for you and your team to present to large audiences without interruptions or hiccups. Both Google Meet and RingCentral feature integrations with your favourite CRM and productivity solutions that unify your technology ecosystem and make sharing information and broadcasting presentations seamless.

Beyond technology solutions that will enhance your ability to engage your audience, it’s important to make sure that you have an appropriate space to present information in. Video conferencing means that you and members of your team will be visible to your audience, making it imperative that you consider things like lighting, sound, and the background of your video. 

A high definition webcam and ring lighting is a great way to add a professional touch to presentations, and a USB microphone can ensure that your audience will hear every word of your pitch. Reduce anything that might serve as a distraction – the background of your video should be as blank or static as possible.

Going into your presentation with an engaging and professional-looking slideshow, the correct information at your disposal, and the right tools for the job will greatly increase your chances of impressing clients in your upcoming marketing presentation. Remember to ask questions throughout, listen to the concerns of your audience, and be confident when addressing these things. With the right amount of dedication and effort, your presentation will be one to remember.

ion8 is a Zoho Advanced Partner and Google Partner with a full team of experienced consultants who are ready to help you get the most out of your marketing presentations through seamless implementation and custom integrations. For more information about everything that ion8 can do for your business, contact us today.

Note: In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Google has made the Enterprise edition of Hangouts Meet free for users until September 30, 2020, with features including meetings of up to 250 participants, live streaming for up to 100,000 viewers, and the ability to record meetings and save them to Drive. This is an invaluable resource for businesses that are in the process of transitioning to remote work.