Having the right AV equipment can mean the difference between a good presentation and a great presentation. Research has proved that using AV technology increases the effectiveness of a presentation in delivering a message.  Wireless sound components, retractable displays, audio video displays, digital signage, interactive surfaces, QR codes and LCD Plasma screens are just some examples of AV technology that can be used to enhance business presentations.

Steve Jobs is considered one of, if not the best presenter of all time.  He informed, inspired and entertained.  But it wasn’t always like this, he was not a good presenter when he started out in his career, but he refined his skills over time.  Five things he used to make his presentation engaging were:

1. Know the one critical point of your presentation — use visuals that support that point.

2. Acknowledge why people are listening to you – tune your presentation in a manner that makes them more receptive listeners

3. Make an immediate, personal connection – make an emotional connection with the audience as this builds empathy, which in turn encourages your audience to be more receptive to what you have to say.

4. Keep the audience focused on you the speaker, not your presentation – That may mean bringing a prop to hold up and draw their attention to, or it may mean inserting a blank slide into your presentation so that the audience is forced to look at you. Steve Jobs often did this, again, drawing the audience’s attention to himself.

5.  Know your story – Regardless of your style, mastery of your story affords you the luxury of calm and clarity, essential components to a great presentation.

Clearly, Steve Jobs utilised many audio visual components into his presentations, which earned him the reputation of delivering the best, most effective presentations, ever.

Audio

Audio fixtures ensure that the entire audience can hear the speaker and media. These fixtures facilitate the integration of music and multimedia sound into the presentation, which helps to ‘tell the story.’

Wireless sound accessories are also an integral part of this process as they facilitate the speaker with the freedom to move about the stage or room, thus keeping the audience focussed on the speaker, not the presentation.

Visual

Projector walls, LCD Plasma screens, digital signage or interactive surfaces enable exhibitors to incorporate video elements into their presentation.  This can help demonstrate the ‘one critical point of the presentation.

The interactive element of the interactive tools means the audiences sense are engaged on a higher level i.e. through vision, sound and also touch.  This means they will have a more ‘personal connection’ with the presentation and be able to remember its ‘one critical point of the presentation’ for a long time.

Of course the type of AV equipment you need to deliver your presentation depends on many factors of the presentation itself.  The things you need to consider are:

· Is the presentation indoor or outdoor?

· Is the AV equipment that is appropriate for the venue i.e. if it’s a listed building, some of the assemble components might be difficult

· Who is your audience?

· Who is supplying your AV equipment and what lead time do they require?

· What is your budget?

· Will you provide supporting printed materials?

These decisions will drive what AV equipment you require.

Retention of information

Delivering a business presentation has one desired outcome; to communicate information with your audience.  This process relies on the fact that audience members will remember and access the conveyed information.  AV aids add impact and interest to a presentation. They enable you to appeal to more than one sense at the same time, thereby increasing the audience’s understanding and retention level. With pictures, the concepts or ideas you present are no longer simply words – but words plus images.

The studies, below by the U.S Department of Labour, reveal interesting statistics that support these findings:

· In many studies, experimental psychologists and educators have found that retention of information three days after a meeting or other event is six times greater when information is presented by visual and oral means than when the information is presented by the spoken word alone.

· Studies by educational researchers suggest that approximately 83% of human learning occurs visually, and the remaining 17% through the other senses – 11% through hearing, 3.5% through smell, 1% through taste, and 1.5% through touch.

· The studies suggest that three days after an event, people retain 10% of what they heard from an oral presentation, 35% from a visual presentation, and 65% from a visual and oral presentation.

There is an overwhelming argument for using audio visual equipment to enhance your business presentation.  Essentially it creates a better learning environment.  If your business does not have its own AV department or equipment, there are plenty of suppliers which will be more than happy to provide a consultation service as well as a supply the technology.

About Oliver Carding

Oliver Carding is an English SEO Consultant, he strategises and implements campaigns for a number of clients and writes on his own SEO blog Olivercarding.com