Phil Waknell presentation tips – Five key success factors for effective presentation

Phil Waknell, at Ideas on Stage, has generated standard steps for presentation generation called the Presentation SCORE Method (pSCORE). It is a tested method for creating and delivering memorable and effective presentations. Presentation SCORE Method has five key success factors for an effective presentation, and the term SCORE stands for

1. Simple
2. Clear
3. Original
4. Related
5. Enjoyable

What you say, What you show, and How you speak during the presentation all satisfy the SCORE principles, the presentation would surely resonate with your audience.

Now, we shall explore the five pSCORE success criteria with some presentation skills examples and their impact on business presentation success.

Five key success factors for effective presentation

1. Simple 

In recent years, TED talks have proved that short presentations perform better than extended lectures, although this concept isn’t new.

Take, for example, Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, which is one of the most renowned and well-respected addresses in history. How long had it been? Just a little more than two minutes.

Nobody has ever complained that a business presentation is too long; in fact, the efficacy of a presentation is usually inversely proportionate to its length.

Talk isn’t cheap. Time is money in business, and talking is costly. Too many people squander a great deal of time creating and listening to useless presentations. That’s not a good investment, so keep your presentation as brief as possible while still accomplishing your goals. The first aspect of simplicity is this.

The second step is to make sure you’re not saying too much. The more you speak, the less your audience remembers – and don’t underestimate how quickly people forget what they hear during a presentation. If you’re too ambitious and try to impart too much or too difficult information, people can forget everything because you didn’t emphasise anything.

2. Clear 

A smart way to start is to keep your aims and message simple and keep your presentation as brief as possible. In fact, just having a goal puts you ahead of the majority of presenters. However, there are still lots of ways for these straightforward goals and messages to get lost in the shuffle between speaker and audience.

• If the audience is unable to hear you, they will be unable to comprehend your message.
• They won’t have time to consider what you’re saying and what it means to them if you speak too rapidly, and they’ll forget each sentence as soon as the next begins.
• They won’t understand – or, worse, misunderstand – your message if you utilise sophisticated phrases or concepts or mispronounce words.
• If the writing on your slides is too small for your audience to read, they will attempt, fail, and think less of you – and they will not listen to you while they are trying to understand your muddled presentations.

You should also have a proper structure and flow of content so that your audience is never confused about where you are or where you are headed during your presentation. Make your main points shine out to your audience as a part of that structure. Expect them to guess what’s most important incorrectly or not at all.

3. Original 

Every day, many managers in the business world go through many presentations. The majority of those presentations are similar, meaning that none stands out and is remembered.

Assume you’re presenting a proposal to a prospective client. That client might have six vendors queued up to present one after the other. Which of the five presentations, if they all appear and sound the same, but one sticks out in some manner, are people more likely to recall the next day?

For the audience, a creative presentation is a welcome contrast from the regular, dull presentations. That same originality provides you, the presenter, a greater chance of being recalled, as well as a better likelihood of your essential messages being considered and implemented.

4. Related 

It’s not your gift when you spend time picking out and wrapping a present for someone — it’s theirs. It’s not your letter when you spend time writing one to someone — it’s theirs. It’s also not your presentation when you spend time preparing a presentation for an audience — it’s theirs.

The first magical component in a good presentation is your audience. This means it should be suited to them and their requirements, it should satisfy their expectations as much as possible, and it should be delivered in a way that suits them and establishes a bond with them. It should also be relevant to other issues on the agenda and the setting in which you are giving your presentation.

5. Enjoyable 

This may seem more appropriate for a TED talk than a serious business presentation, but “serious” does not have to imply “unenjoyable.” People pay greater attention when having fun, which the industry may learn from theatre, movies, and recent conferences like TED and WikiStage.

Consider what I said about viewing a movie versus sitting through a presentation. The more you appreciate a film, the more you pay attention to it, the less distracted you become, and the more you remember.

A presentation, a speech, a lecture, or a training course are all examples of this. The more fun leads to the more attention. You must first gain your audience’s attention if you want them to take action. Make your presentation enjoyable to attend if you desire their attention. Attention leads to action.

For now, let’s take a first look at pSCORE and start preparing to build a memorable and effective presentation that will SCORE with our listeners. Business Presentation Success is planned around the five criteria of pSCORE; each relates to one of the five key presentation revolutions stated by Phil Waknell.

You can download the free templates here: Free Slides

The Five key Business Presentation Revolutions related to the pSCORE Method

1. Foundation 

It takes you through the initial steps of preparing a presentation, keeping in mind that it’s not your presentation — it’s theirs. As a result, we’ll begin by focusing on the audience, their needs, and the context in which you’ll be presenting your presentation before outlining transformational goals. The essential stage that most presenters miss in their eagerness to start creating their slides is laying the basis on which you should build your presentation.

2. Ideation

It develops on your framework by producing ideas for what to speak, display, and do within your presentation to achieve your goals, to transform your audience rather than inform them.

3. Creation 

It takes your ideas and turns them into an attractive and impactful presentation plot, using storytelling strategies to captivate and hold your audience’s attention while also making your main themes memorable. You’ll know what to speak and in what order by the end of this stage, and you’ll be ready to assess whether your audience may benefit from some slides. Always start with your compelling story before starting your presentations and going further into your slides.

4. Illustration

It conveys your storyline well, avoiding a confusing mix of documents and slides and instead relying on good presentations and other visual aids to make your message more intriguing and remembered. You’ll have a finished presentation by the end of this step, knowing what to say and what to exhibit.

5. Connection 

It enables you to develop and practice your presentation well in advance and effectively and professionally while remaining natural. Your public performance is equally as vital as what you say, and display and your connection with your audience are even more so.

Wrapping Up

If you use these tactics in your next presentation, you will experience increased engagement and conversions. It will also result in more happy audiences, regardless of where you present. A business presentation is, after all, about ideas. You’re more likely to succeed if you describe your ideas and how you’ll make them a reality.

If you believe that creating effective business presentations is a job you can’t do alone? Outsourcing the task to specialists, such as the Visual Spiders team, will help you achieve better outcomes with less time and effort, allowing you to focus on the responsibilities you already have.

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