Mary Jane Mapes, CSP

For organizations that want solutions to communication problems and
for people who want to increase their personal effectiveness.

How to Maximize the Impact of your Presentation
by Mary Jane Mapes

Whenever you are presenting at a business meeting, keep the following in mind:

Limit your main ideas to three. We are told that people can remember anywhere from seven to nine items. Most people, however, won't remember more than three. Chunk your information to capitalize on the magic of three.
Remember that we live under the illusion of understanding. Whatever can be misunderstood will be by someone. Feedback is critical to success. Be sure to leave time, whenever possible, for questions and comments.
A good source of titles for your presentations is country western album covers...or song titles...a twist on an old quote, e.g. Hell Hath No Fury Like a Customer Scorned.
Make sure that your presentation has whole brain appeal. Don't just present the facts...tell a story, give an example, share an analogy. Appeal to both the head and heart. Most effective presenters will present the point (the abstract) and then support it with something concrete. This approach is will maximize learning efficiency.
Be present to the audience. Nothing creates a connection with individual members of the audience like being totally present.

You may reprint or repost this article providing that the following conditions are met:

The article remains essentially unaltered.
Mary Jane Mapes is shown as the author.
The notice Copyright 1999-2006 by Mary Jane Mapes or similar appears on the article
Contact information for Mary Jane is included with the article. You may refer readers to this Web site as a way to meet this requirement, or use the information on our contact page.
Any other reprinting or reposting requires specific permission which is almost always granted.