Presentations cost $$$, so make them good

There are plenty of good reasons why the presentations you give should be as good as they can be. It’s not just so that you get your point across, educate and inform your audience, or event just to avoid Death by Powerpoint.

 

Presentations cost a lot to attend. They cost SO much that we almost always ignore this cost altogether. It’s never spoken about, and generally only grumbled about under one’s breath after attending a bad presentation.

 

I am talking about the cost of your audience’s time and energy.

 

The next time you are preparing a presentation, whether it be for a Board of Directors, a room full classmates, or a hall full of participants, take a moment beforehand to calculate what it will cost for everyone to be there. This includes the time it takes to get to the venue, the time spent listening to you and the time it will take to get back to wherever they need to be. There’s also the energy needed by your audience to sit and be engaged, to think about what you are saying, and to relay the key points to others who couldn’t attend.

 

And don’t forget, you should factor in your own time and energy as well.
With the above in mind in mind, you can add this into your list of considerations for how much effort to put into preparing a presentation. Try it. From my experience, it gives you extra motivation to really give every presentation your best shot.

 

Want some great tips on creating captivating data visualisations for your next presentation? Have a look at some great posts by Stephanie Evergreen.