Use statistical findings to optimize your presentation. Part I

This is the first part of the text, where we discuss optimizing your presentations by shortening length, using visuals and embedded video to boost conversion. In the second part, we talk about why to add such grabbing attention tricks as personalization, interactivity and clear instructions to a listener on what to do after the end of the event.

Why do some presentations and similar online content bring in customers, while others (and there are far more of them) only cause boredom?

The fact is that some have mastered the magic of presentation, and others still need to. However, to master it does not need to attend schools of witchcraft and sorcery. In this case, it’s more of the magician’s powers when the impression is produced by mastery of techniques that have been perfected and repeatedly tested, the essence of which is unknown to the public. Master them, and your online content, as if by the wave of a magic wand, will begin to bring leads.

Precious 15 seconds

When scripting any online content to bring in leads, focus on “hooking” the viewer from the first words and images. Ideally, the title slide and greeting should work as the bait hook. Why? About a third of viewers who abandon further viewing do so in the first 15 seconds of the presentation. Those who watched this critical period will likely see your material through. The same works for slides. 80% of viewers who have watched the first three slides will study your material to the end.

Obviously, viewers who refuse to watch as the presentation progresses are unlikely to become your customers. So try to start your presentation to the best of your ability. Do you think that 15 seconds and 3 slides is too fast? Then consider that it only takes the average person 3 seconds to get an impression of what they see!

It follows that from the first seconds, you should explain what the presentation is about and, at the same time, create intrigue that will make the audience wait for the “plot development”.

5 minutes is good, but 3 minutes is even better

They say time flies when you’re having fun, but in the online world, time flies faster than Superman. The average time of presentation viewing from a desktop is about four and a half minutes. When viewing from a smartphone, it takes a minute less than that. So, classic twenty-minute presentations might as well be a “Once upon a time” fairy tale. Save those for events with comfy chairs and a two-drink minimum. 

To keep your audience glued to their screens, aim for a snappy 3-minute presentation: it’s the real superhero of modern online content.

Pictures are more important than text

Devere’s High Rollers Burlesque Co. poster

Our brains are like Olympic sprinters in processing images: it takes only ¼ of a second to understand the meaning and content of a picture. At the same time, to convey the same information in the form of text, it takes 15–25 words, which the viewer has to spend 4–6 seconds reading. Pictures in our brain are processed 60000 times faster than text. 

Interestingly, the text accompanying a picture is memorized better than without it. But only if it is a short text, occupying no more than a quarter of the total volume of the slide. Pictures are like little memory magnets that stick in the audience’s minds. 

More than half of the information (55%) that viewers of online content memorize is what we see. In second place (38%) is what we hear – primarily the intonation, timbre and emotion the voice conveys. As for the actual content of the presentation, it only accounts for about 7%.

As much as we love our witty words and golden voice, the hard truth is that people remember what they see more than what they hear. Make those pictures pop and let them do the memory magic while we deliver a pitch. Who needs a full script when a picture is worth a thousand words?

The problem is that most presenters don’t realize this. When creating online content, they spend most of their time working on what they will say rather than how they will say and show it. According to various reports, 55-60% of presenters do this.

Presenters spend hours perfecting the words and rehearsing their lines to sound like a Shakespearean actor. But it’s not a theater performance; it’s a presentation! Change your priorities. Think first and foremost about how to convey your message to your potential client through imagery. This way, you can share more information in less time, and the audience will remember it better.

Level up by using video

When you use a video as your captivating opening act instead of a dull title slide, voilà – you’ve got a 32% increase in views! But there’s more! When you weave videos into your presentation, the average viewing duration shoots up by 37%. 

Here’s the real jackpot – video content in your presentation amp up your Call-to-Action (CTA) clicks by 17%. Furthermore, when your audience watches a video in your presentation, their chances of falling head over heels for your product skyrocket by 85%. That’s like having a magic potion that makes your viewers shout, “Take my money, please!”

Yet, here’s the plot twist – only 10% of online content creators are making the most of this goldmine. In a world where anyone can shoot videos on their phone and sprinkle some computer animation fairy dust, there’s no excuse not to embrace this. 

The end of the first part