Imagine yourself in a seminar where you are being explained concepts, products, and campaigns with the help of tools that are visually captivating and depict the product’s functionality as well. This seminar will hold a special place in your mind as you are most likely to be intrigued by it and remember it for a very long period.
Thus, it has always been a fact that visual aids help convey messages efficiently and more effectively. They stimulate visual senses and allow gathering the message more swiftly.
Using such props is an art as well as a science. It demands you to be innovative, experimental, technical, and also scientific. Thus, we have gathered six such pointers that will help you use props in your presentation.
1. Right Number of Props
When it comes to presentations, there is no such ‘right’ number of props that must be used. Analyzing how many props will suffice your need is extremely crucial for a successful session. This depends on various factors such as the length of your seminar, the content that is being presented, whether or not the props are related to your topic, etc. Thus, using props is like watering plants – some of them need more water, while some survive well only on little water.
For instance, in his TED Talk about electrical experiments with plants, Greg Gage used a dozen of props in nine minutes and conveyed his theory.
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2. Ensure that the Audience Can See Your Prop
No matter how amazing your prop is, it would make no sense if your viewers cannot view it properly. Thus, it is extremely important to use a prop of appropriate size.
If you are on a bigger stage, make sure you have a camera focused on the prop that is being projected on a wide screen. Often in seminars, the props are too small to be seen clearly by the audience.
If you are delivering to a smaller number of people in a smaller space, such as a classroom or a compact conference room, a smaller prop would also work. For example, in the video below, the professor used a glass jar to impart life lessons to his students. Since the size of the class was small, the jar was visible to each one of them.
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3. Test Run Before the Big Day
When a prop is simple and has no technicalities, such as a glass jar, it is meant to work. But when it gets complicated, like a robot, there are higher chances of malfunctioning on the stage. Thus, it is extremely crucial to conduct multiple test runs before the big day.
4. Create Curiosity for the Prop
Igniting a sense of anticipation amongst the audience about your prop can help you climb the stairs faster. This technique works best for product launches if used creatively.
For instance, in 2008, when Steve Jobs released the MacBook Air for the first time, he created a sense of excitement and nervousness. He began by comparing his ‘prop’ with the Sony notebook, which made people look forward to what was coming in the next few minutes. With his one sentence, “There’s something in the Air,” Jobs created an atmosphere of immeasurable anticipation and hype in the audience.
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5. Be Creative
One of the most important things is to be creative with your props – allow yourself to think outside the box. This prop could be as simple as a matchbox, but how you use it makes all the difference.
Let us consider the famous example of Bill Gates. In his TED Talk in 2009, Gates pledged a passionate Malaria relief program during his speech, where he bent over a jar, unscrewed its lid, and released a cloud of mosquitoes in the room. With this, Gates created an extremely wonderful example of how even the simplest tools can create a deep impact on people’s minds.
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6. Put it Away After Use
To avoid getting distracted or losing your audience’s focus from you, keep the prop aside or remove it from the stage after using it. This will help you eradicate any unnecessary diversions from your presentation.
Things to Keep in Mind While Using Props
- Make sure you practice your presentation with the props multiple times before the actual day. It will help you coordinate between the prop and your speech.
- If you are using more than one prop, arrange them in the order of their needs.
- Be excited about the prop, and show a sense of enthusiasm towards it.
- Make sure to draw parallels between the prop and your presentation. Include relevant messages to make it more relatable.
- Include actionable props that can demonstrate your product.
- Have your team members around if your props need to be operated by multiple people.
- If you are using a product as a prop, include its details on your presentation screen as well.
- Ensure that you have a connection to an electric board if your prop needs one.
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Conclusion
Your audience might forget what you said, but they will always remember what they’ve seen. By integrating props in your presentation, you can provide your audience with not just a performance that they would see but with an experience that they will always remember.
We hope that these key points help you in your presentations. If you find the blog post insightful, do share it on your social media handles!