Chris Brogan recently interviewed Nancy Duarte, CEO of Duarte, and author of Slide:ology and Resonate, revealing several insightful tips on how to create and deliver a first-rate presentation.

Here are the most important takeaways on how to deliver your very best:

Document vs. Story
PowerPoint and Keynote are terrific tools to use to create documents. These documents should be distributed as a document. They need easy navigation, complete with an index and “book-like” layout. Dynamic slides are used to tell your story.

Be a Mentor

Your presentation is all about telling your story.  Duarte suggests not talking about yourself, simply because the speaker isn’t the hero, the audience is. When giving a presentation, you need not be a hero, but a mentor. As Duarte said, “In myths and movies, we’re not Luke Skywalker, in reality we’re Yoda! The mentor comes alongside the hero to help the hero become unstuck.” If your presentation is built the correct way, the audience will feel they have received guidance and wisdom.

Reaching Your Audience

Did you spend time thinking about the audience you are targeting? As simple as it sounds, it’s essential to do your research in order to reach these individuals and create a presentation with a heartbeat. Adding humanity and a story to your presentation gives it a pulse.

Duarte offers a valuable piece of advice from author Dr. Nick Morgan –– “When going on stage, think of someone you love that you haven’t seen in a long time, and pretend you’re going to see that person.” This helps you, the speaker, speak more comfortably and appear warmer to the crowd.

STAR Moment (Something They’ll Always Remember)

A “STAR” moment can be a story, a photo, or a dramatization. One example includes a TED Talk by Bill Gates on malaria. During his presentation, he released mosquitos into the room, which created a moment that resonated with the audience. Speakers can create that “star moment” to make a lasting impact on their audience.

Creating that lasting impression even applies to B2B. Brogan explains that everyone in B2B wants to be entertained as well. The presenter is the salesperson and the final experience. One of your main objectives is to make that connection and allow the audience to feel attached to you.

SLIDE

The acronym for “SLIDE” provides fundamental elements for the best presentation slides:

Simplify – Don’t cram so much text into one slide. Leave enough white space.
Lose the Clichés – Use different ways to use images and metaphors. Push the boundaries on how you display information!
Information Needs Emphasis – Highlight what is important in your data.
Designate Elements Purposefully – Arrange elements so it’s easy for the audience to digest. Lose any visual clutter.
Empathy for Your Audience – Never deliver a presentation you would never want to sit through yourself.

Five Things Everyone Should Stop Tomorrow

Duarte gives five final pointers on what to avoid:

• Stop thinking about yourself. Think about others and how they need to process information differently than us.
• Stop being boring. Keep it interesting. Mix it up and try something different.
• Stop pretending that you’re not a human. It is stories that captivate us. Speakers should be more transparent.
• Stop winging it. People do not want to waste their time to see you wing it.
• Stop before the time is up. Leave enough time for Q & A. This allows you to create a bond with the audience and give answers.

View the complete interview: