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Have you ever seen a presentation which has content all over the place, and you wonder, which part to look at first? The slide may have charts on one side, text on another side and pictures on another side. They presenter assumes that since they are explaining what is written, the audience will ‘get it’.

Such slides typically happen when presenters use presentation templates provided along with their presentation software. While such complex presentation templates make the presenter look intelligent, they confuse the audience.

The reason for such ppt slides confusing the audience is – the way we read.

When we read, eyes typically travel in the following order:

1. From left to right

2. Top to down and

3. Clockwise

Given this order of reading slides, can you imagine how confused the audience becomes trying to read the slides with a lot of content?

A good presentation template should have content placed in a way that audience can read without feeling confused. The presenter’s aim is to always keep the audience focused on his content and not on reading tough to understand slides.

How much content on the slide is too much? Here are 2 simple rules to determine if there is too much content on the slide.

1. Follow the eye movement: Using the order in which eyes move, read the slide and see if your eye movements are smooth. If the eyes move in a zigzag way, then the ppt template is too complex and needs to be simplified.

For example if the slide requires the reader to move his eyes from left to right, it is simple enough. If it requires the audience to read from left to right and up to down and left to right again, it is too complex.

2. Two is company, three is a crowd: This common saying holds good for slides as well. If there are more than 2 types of elements on the slide, it is probably too complex. By elements, I mean a text box or graph or an image. For example, when a presentation template has text box, image and a table, it counts as 3 elements. It is probably too complex and needs to be simplified.

Remember, that adding a new slide does not cost anything. It is better to add another slide than to confuse your audience. When you confuse your audience, they stop paying attention to what you are saying.

So, whether you are selecting a ppt template, a presentation background or a readily available presentation template, remember to use 2 elements or less in a slide. We have seen a number of templates on offer that use strong colours as well as too many elements on a slide.

The dramatization, or showmanship, in your sales presentation allows you to appeal to as many of the client’s senses as possible. The more of his senses you can involve the more impact your product will have. Ask him to handle it, feel it, use it, if appropriate taste it, smell it or listen to it. Taste, touch, smell, looking involve the emotions. Build into your demonstration every opportunity for your client to become physically and emotionally involved with your product or service. While he is engaged with your product you can observe him and watch for signs of emotion, signs that he is believing, disbelieving, accepting or rejecting, the things you have said.

Remember only one third of what we hear is absorbed. The more senses we use in the learning process, the more information registers in the mind. Consequently the more you can use visual aids, the closer you will bring your client to the product. The elements, which make up showmanship are, Interest, Drama, Emotion, Excitement and Action.

Remember it’s your dramatic presentation that earns you the money that will make your life a success. Take time to study your approach, your opening of the sale, the way you present the benefits, backed up by the features of the product, the way you anticipate possible objections and how you counter them, and then how you close the sale. The Success Formula.

Initially I was taught to construct the sale around the word “IDEA” I = Interest: D = Desire: E = Enthusiasm: A = Action. Interest it is created by identifying a problem or a need that the client might have. Desire is stimulated by introducing your product as a solution to the problem. Enthusiasm is built up by emphasising the benefits your product will bring him through the features of the product.

Action is engaged in by making it easy to buy using your closing questions. EG: would you like the red version or would you prefer blue? Would you like to pay now or on delivery? This structure of a presentation worked well for me a number of years, until I learned of a new and better formula. This has since proved to be a far superior way of structuring a sale. The formula is DIPADA.

If you learn this structure and apply it, your presentations will flow more naturally to a close… D = Disturb: I = Interest: P = Proof: A = Acceptance: D = Desire: A = Action. D = Disturb your client by pointing out his need or his problem. It’s often the case that he is not aware that he has a problem. I = Interest him in the product by introducing it is as a solution to this problem. P= Prove that your product will be the ideal solution, get him to accept and agree that the product fits his need.

Proof and acceptance go together, Proof can also be provided by third-party testimonials or referrals to other satisfied users (especially if they are in the same line of business as himself.) A = Acceptance of the proof you give him is important, if he doesn’t accept the proof that your product or service will satisfy his need he won’t buy it. D = Desire is built by emphasising the benefits of owning your product which arise from its features. These might include the quality, price, safety, service or the guarantee, particularly those things that you notice have caught his attention. A = Action must be the close of the sale. This you can do at any point in the presentation by the use of trial closes.

To test whether the client is ready to buy you can ask closing questions: “What colour would you prefer?” — “Would you like the standard model or would the deluxe suit you better?” I used DIPADA to build up every kind of presentation I have made ever since. I even used it to construct sales letters. I have found the Proof and Acceptance area is the point at which you can introduce the common or standard objections yourself. When volunteered and dealt with in this way they disarm the client, which makes for a smooth flow through your presentation. By the end of your presentation the client is willing to buy and doesn’t feel as though he has been sold. It becomes a purchase rather than a sale.