Presentation Design Techniques for Different Target Audiences
Each presentation has its target audience and it is prepared for this target audience. It is important to consider each presentation’s own audience to get the desired result from the presentation.
Therefore, when thinking about presentation design techniques, you first need to determine your target audience.
Determining the target audience
In order to use presentation design techniques efficiently for different target audiences, it is necessary to define the audience to be addressed from many dimensions and to understand their needs and expectations.
Generally, the target audience of the presentations is predetermined. In this respect, there is a big difference between the target audience study to be conducted before introducing a product to the market and the target audience study for the presentation. While working on presentation design techniques, it is necessary to recognize the specific audience and prepare a suitable design and content for it.
First of all, it is important to determine the purpose for which we transfer the information to be transferred. For example, product promotion, information, sales increase, loyalty increase can be counted among these purposes. By deciding what we are doing the presentation for, we do not lose focus and have the opportunity to make a presentation that serves its purpose.
The determined goal is made more focused and stronger by considering the target audience. For this reason, before starting the presentation, it is important to determine the main purpose by considering the target audience and to create a presentation design that will serve this purpose.
It is necessary to define the audience group with strategic questions in order to know the target audience who will listen to the speech.
- Does the audience know about the subject or is the subject they are interested in?
- What might be in line with the speaker’s expectations, interests or knowledge?
- What could be the common interest of this audience?
By diversifying the questions, you can create closer connections with the audience who will follow the presentation. That step really matters because a presentation for customers requires a completely different presentation planning, strategy and design from a presentation you make to your boss that will reveal many different requirements.
Let’s look at the presentation design techniques for the most common audiences.
Customer: Build emotional bonds
If the target audience of your presentation is your customers and potential customers, focus on building an emotional bond. If you need presentation design techniques to increase sales or increase loyalty, first of all, the criteria of the customer group such as age, gender, socio-economic status should be correctly understood and determined. The basics you will gain will help you find the tone of visual and written language.
On the other hand, regardless of the specific characteristics of the target audience, there are certain parts that should be considered in common in presentations for the customer. The most important feature that should be in the presentation design prepared for the customer is to evoke an answer to the question of “Why us?” However, instead of explaining how wonderful the product or service is, it is useful to talk about what kind of benefits the product or service will bring to the person and how the life of the customer will change.
You can include satisfaction stories about products or services in the presentation and support them with visual and audio elements.
Boss: The effects on the future of the company
There are some topics that you must include in a presentation addressing your boss. According to the flow, you can explain these topics directly or indirectly during the presentation to reach the desired result. In cases where the audience is the boss or the manager, check your presentation whether you have answered at least one of the following questions:
- How and in what direction will the future of the company be affected by the presentation’s subject?
- Does this work contribute to the growth of the business?
- How will it contribute to the increase in revenue and number of customers?
- Is it a presentation that is well-thought for the long term?
- Is there a proposition that involves risks or poses a problem, and if so, are solutions offered?
For such a presentation, of course, it would be a good idea to support the data by using the power of charts and tables. It is useful to be clear instead of giving assumptions. Your boss or manager will largely take a long-term benefit-oriented approach, so no matter how simple the topic of the presentation is, show what impact it will have in the long term. Also, do not include any problem you put forward in your presentation without offering a solution.
Team: ‘We did it together’
In the speech to be made about a project that is conducted by group work, it is useful to use expressions that will strengthen the team’s unity and provide motivation for the future. You can highlight how it was achieved together by giving references to the work that has been accomplished together before.
If you are giving a presentation to your team, it is very important to end with a message that will strengthen motivation, even if the subject is a story of failure. Let them know that you all can learn from past successes or failures and also show them that you are aware that you are all a team together, whatever the issue. People want to be seen, regardless of position, age, or gender. Make them feel seen and valued.
Again, using visuals and references to success with team spirit will create a very impressive presentation. Using real team photos as well as symbolic images creates a personal and emotional touch and ensures that your presentation is permanent in the audience.
Investor: Why is this business promising?
If you are going to make a presentation to an investor, it is useful to think about their expectations before designing a presentation. What matters most to an investor is the future of the business on offer. Therefore, explain the future advantages and disadvantages in a realistic language, as strategically as possible and with reference to statistics.
For example, do not forget to include the issues that are really important for the investor, such as the estimated user increase for a mobile application design, the marketing budget required for this increase, competitor comparison. Although it varies depending on the sector in terms of design, you can prepare the investor presentation in a formal and interactive manner.
Media: Share the message of ‘I am unique’
The most important issue for media presentations will be to talk about why you are newsworthy. It is useful to think about qualities worth mentioning and to be interested in, and to reveal interesting aspects by emphasizing them. In order for your business to be newsworthy, try to highlight your unique parts.
The goal of the media is not much different from you: they want to make interesting news to reach more readers. When you provide them with the ingredients they need, they will add their skills and bring you to the media in the most glamorous way.
Items Supporting Presentation
Presentation design programs such as PowerPoint or Keynote are indispensable elements of presentations today. In order to prepare magnificent presentations using these programs, certain presentation preparation techniques guide you. The short guide we prepared above provides a basic insight into what you should focus on for different target audiences.
In the age of technology, we are in, you can strengthen the message you give by using such tools to strengthen your speech and use it in a way that helps you prepare different presentations for different target audiences.
Supporting speech with audio or visual elements undoubtedly makes the delivered data/information more permanent. The point that should be taken into consideration is that these items are used in a way that does not disturb the audience and in a way that will accompany the subjects properly and in a timely manner. Supporting verbal information with photos, graphs, charts, audio files or videos helps it to be more memorable.