Persuasion Tactics For Your PowerPoint Presentation Design

Aristotle once said, "All speaking is persuasive speaking." What did he mean by that?

Well, to put it simply, when someone speaks, not only is he selling his ideas across, but he is selling his credibility and value. Even if his ideas are brilliant, you will only accept them if he is trustworthy. Unfortunately most times, PowerPoint presenters think they are only exposing information. They don’t focus on their persuasion tactics during the PowerPoint presentation design process, which is why there are so few good PowerPoint presentation speakers in the world today. There are thousands of presenters, but only a handful who are good and persuasive. So, if you have a PowerPoint presentation to design coming up and are looking to hone your skills, the following steps should help with your game.

Make your PowerPoint presentation logical

Persuasion is not all about the person who is presenting but it also lies in the intensity of the content. As human beings, we like to create links between information and we like to find some logic behind a given data. That’s how our brains are wired. We also remember information that is weaved nicely. If it is all over the place, with no connection, our brain will reject that information. So, to enter the minds of your audience, make sure that the ideas you are sharing with them follow a sequence and are logical.

Put emotions into your presentation

Corporate PowerPoint presentations are not courtroom drama movies, we know that. But to connect with the audience at an emotional level, you should hit the heart and the gut. We are not asking you to share emotional stories, unless you have a relevant one. But based on the demographic of your audience, choose an incident that they can relate to, which will strengthen your ideas, and share it with the audience. Your goal is to create a need in the minds of your audience. Then, share with them how that need can be met. If the need is not met, enlighten them on the pain they will face.

Gain credibility

As soon as you can gain the trust of your audience, they will believe everything that you have to say. On the other hand, if they don’t find you credible, no matter how brilliant your ideas may be, you will face rejection. So, how do you build this credibility factor, especially if you are someone who is new to the industry? First and foremost, you should share your bio data with your audience. This data can be shared with your audience in the form of a profile. You can distribute your printed material and your profile, so that the audience can read about you before your presentation begins. Once the audience knows who you are and how you relate to the industry, they will give more importance to your words. 

Speak passionately

Last but not the least, you should speak passionately about the subject matter you are presenting on. Passion is something that comes from within, so there is no way that you can pretend to speak passionately. Your audience is smart and they know when a speaker is passionate or not. When you are really keen on a topic, you will speak convincingly and your body language will emphasize your drive and passion. Always remember that there are no boring topics, there are only boring speakers.

Now that you have learnt the four key persuasion tactics, it is time to put them to the test. So, for your next presentation, try implementing our guidelines, one at the time, and see the difference with your own eyes. Keep these tactics in mind during your next PowerPoint presentation design and work it into your slides.