The Q&A visual
Many presentations end in some sort of Q&A session. During this discussion, the slide show usually comes to a standstill, and the last visual used stays on the projector for a long time. Make sure it is a useful one, since it might be the image that the audience will remember best. To be avoided:
- A completely random slide from the deck (the one that sparked the discussion for example)
- A "thank you" or "Q&A" slide
- A slide that addresses one of your weaker points (i.e., you got a touch question about the competition and did the best you could using the competitor comparison slide), move it after you used it.
- A dry list of bullet points recapping the content of your presentation using language full of abstract concepts ("ROI") and buzz words ("key competencies")
What could work: a visual that links back to a key point in your presentation. For example, if you spend 5 slides on describing how a teenager will use your mobile social network, just putting a picture of her back up will remind the audience of the story. (This time you can leave out the bullets arrows, boxes, just an image to refresh the memory).