Bad presentations are brutal. Unfortunately, we’ve all been there in some way, either as the presenter or as an audience member. Let’s paint a visual.
As the presenter, you catch people nodding off in the back, scrolling on their devices in the front, and daydreaming about better days. Meanwhile, you’re sweatin’ bullets, time has conveniently decided to slow down, and you’re still talking too fast!
As an audience member, you might have sympathy for the poor lad up front. But more likely, you’re just dying to go home.
There are two quick fixes for your presentations that go beyond a public speaking class:
- MAKE THEM VISUAL – Presentations with visual aids are 43% more persuasive than those without.
- TELL A STORY – Instead of using hard selling, self-promotional tactics, storytelling appeals to emotions and enhances imagination.
While there are many approaches one can take to incorporate these aspects into a presentation, there is one thing you can do to include both at once: we’re talking GIFs, baby.
If you’re not living under a rock, then you know what a GIF is. They’re essentially short video clips, used as a humorous visual analogy to familiar emotions or relevant topics.
Here, we’ve hand-selected some classic GIFs and split them into scenarios to ensure your presentation entertains your audience.
When you’re presenting some confusing data…
Going over year-end financial reports?
or any math… ever?
…or boring information
When you’re drawing attention to a problem…
…and then introducing your innovative solution
When you’re trying to motivate and inspire your team…
…and it’s time to celebrate shared success
It may not be appropriate to do a dance yourself, but a GIF of someone else doing so is almost just as good.
When you’re announcing exciting news…
…or some bad or sad news
When you’re announcing something unexpected…
When things are getting competitive…
When you’re encouraging a faster pace…
Timely task? Trying to be short and sweet?
When you’re presenting at 3pm and everyone is experiencing a low blood sugar or caffeine crash…
We’ve all been there.
When you’re speaking about something no one wants to hear…
When that “something” is the fact that AI is taking over the world…
When you get to the good part everyone has been waiting for…
…or if the only good part is lunch
When you’re announcing a huge accomplishment…
When you’re asking for help…
Who can resist these faces?
The classic, “Questions?”
Finally, when you thank your audience at the end of your presentation…
Painting a picture for your audience and telling a funny, memorable story is one way to win them over.
If you’re looking for more strategic advice on how to do this in presentations and beyond, reach out to me on LinkedIn and we can set up a call about our content builder services!
This made me smile on this cold Friday in South Dakota – thank you!
Thanks Kristin. still cold outside but hopefully spring is coming soon. keep smiling!