If you use PowerPoint slides to accompany your presentation, you might like this powerful technique to distinguish your talk from the ocean of PowerPoint presentations. You don’t need to be a graphic designer to create this slide.
This is such a simple technique that many
presenters overlook it. That’s one reason you will stand out when you use it.
Use a blank (blacked-out) slide at critical
moments.
Start
your presentation with a blank screen
Set up your computer and projector before
your presentation. Check your slides for
size and focus on the screen then blank the screen.
You start your presentation standing in the
middle of the stage talking to your audience. That is most powerful position
and often that is dominated by the screen which forces the presenter off to the
side in a less significant position.
With the screen blank there is no
distracting slide stealing attention from your opening words.
This means that the first impression that
people have of your presentation is you. This gives you the opportunity to
connect directly with your audience. This first impression helps to establish
rapport and trust. A title slide will never do that.
After your opening you move to the side and
click for your first real slide.
Blank
the screen during your presentation
During your presentation there will be
points when you want to reconnect with your audience by removing the
distraction of the slides. You simply blank the screen and move to center stage
to talk with them. This will often feel like an intimate moment to your
audience.
Do this when reinforcing an important point
or answering questions. This technique allows the audience to focus on you and
your words.
End
with a blank screen
The close to your presentation is important
because it’s the last thing they hear. It’s your opportunity to reinforce your
key message. It’s your last chance to build on the human connection. The best
way to do that is with you speaking to them from center stage while delivering
your closing words.
Before you close tell the audience that you
are wrapping up with your closing message. Blank the screen and move to center
stage. Then deliver your close.
Here are three
ways
Click the “B” key. This is a PowerPoint
shortcut. It’s a toggle so you simply hit it again to display the slide.
Use the blackout button on the remote. Most
remotes have this feature. Hit it again to display the slide.
Insert a black slide in your PowerPoint presentation so it becomes part of your slide sequence. If you provide copies of your slides to the audience you probably want to exclude this slide from those handouts.
The words that you deliver with the screen
blank will tend to have more credibility because you will appear to be more
intimate with your audience.
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