Speaking at an event is a great way to network, share your expertise, and market your business. There is a lot of preparation for a speaking engagement, not only your speech itself, but also the visual elements that will help make your presentation memorable.
Compelling visuals are important, according to the Academy of Educational Leadership Journal, the brain attaches meaning to a visual in 0.25 seconds, this is much better than any other form of communication.
There are many things that should be considered when preparing your visuals. You want to be sure your visuals are consistent, align with your brand, stand out, and are memorable. Remember you are marketing yourself and your business, in a subtle way. Your presentation is more about your expertise and empowering the audience with your knowledge to grow.
This does not mean that you should forgo using your company's branding, it just means it should be done in an indirect way.
There are many ways to do this and it begins early in the process.
Some of the visuals you will want to have designed in the beginning stages of preparation:
Email Announcements
Let your audience know about your speaking engagements. A well-designed email campaign can be forwarded to others and will spread the word about your event as well as your business. Bringing in possible new clients and business as well as helping to promote the event itself.
Social Media Posts
Using social media to get the word out is another great way to promote yourself, the event, and your business. This is definitely something you want to keep in line with your brand.
As you are preparing your speech, it is important to have visuals in mind that will help your audience remember your speech after the event. In fact, The Presentation Training Institute states that 60% of the audience will remember visual content 3-days after the event. You definitely want to be memorable.
Here are some items that should be designed for the day of the presentation to ensure your content is memorable:
PowerPoint
You do not want to use a typical "free" PowerPoint template for your event. Hiring a graphic designer to create the design with your brand fonts, colors, and logo, will ensure you present the information in an easy to read manner that fits your company branding. Your designer can even create a template, unique to your business, that can then be used for future presentations, as well.
Handouts/Notebooks
This can be as simple as a notepad with your logo and contact information for your audience to take with them. Or it can be more specific to your presentation and include questions and notes that follow along with your PowerPoint. Taking this handout home will be a reminder of your presentation and your business, while allowing the information to be accessed later.
Sign-up Sheet
This is a great way to add to your email list. If your audience is interested in your presentation, they may be interested in your business as well. Give them an option to be added to your email list while your presentation is fresh in their mind. This can be a QR code or pen and paper, but it should fit with your business's branding. Be sure you send an email thanking them for attending the event, as well.
Creating visuals for your presentation is necessary to being remembered after the event. If you are taking the time to present your expertise it is important that you leave a lasting impression on the audience. Creating beautiful visuals is an important step in this process and hiring a designer to create your visuals takes one thing off your plate, ensures a professional, unique design, and will be worth the investment in the long run. This is especially important when you consider that you can use the items many times after the initial setup.
If you have a speaking engagement scheduled, contact us today to get a quote for your visual designs.
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