Conducting Conferences is not an easy job. A lot goes into its organization, presentation including feedback and necessary impact. Some amount of guidance always goes along way in helping to conduct an effective conference. The guidelines that shall be given below can easily be applied to face-to-face meetings or web presentations or even desktop video meetings.

Let us begin by understanding how to design a conference presentation. First and foremost, it is essential to prioritize the top three aims or goals that one wants to achieve with regard to the audience that will be present in the conference. It is imperative that one is totally clear of these aims and objectives that he or she wants accomplished and communicated to the audience present, otherwise more often than not, those that are present fail to get the point of the presentation and then the purpose of the conference at large.

Next, it is necessary to know and understand who the audience comprises of and why they are attending the particular conference. It is natural for the members in the audience to know right away why they were included in the presentation process and this fact must be made very clear to them right at the beginning. This will also aid in clarifying the invitation list and then design the presentation accordingly keeping in mind the pulse of the audience.

Major points of information must be communicated to the audience and also one should see to it that the members are attentive enough and that those points are successfully communicated. Also, it is important to set the tone of the presentation, that is, will it be a tone of hopefulness or celebration or warning or even of that of teamwork. A conscious identification of the tone to one self can help in setting the mood of the audience as well.

Now, it is essential to design a very brief opening for the presentation of the conference which shall lay down the goals of the presentation; it should also clarify the benefits of the presentation to the members of the audience along with the explanation of the overall layout of the presentation. The body of the main presentation of the conference should take up about 70-80% of the total presentation time. The closing must be designed in a manner that it enumerates the major aspects of the presentation. It is advisable to allow for a minimum time for valuable feedback and questions from the members of the audience present in the conference.

The presentation materials also must be given special attention. In the case of a Power Point presentation certain aspects need to be kept in mind. The presentation sequence must be carefully reviewed prior to main conference meeting. The object of carefully syncing the audio with the slide presentation should be successfully met. It is advisable to use a consistent layout or organization of colors and images to make an attractive visual. One should allocate not more than one image to 3 to 5 minutes of the presentation and each image must have a couple of lines of bulleted phrases that clearly define the goal and objective of the presentation in the conference meeting. The audience is very likely to read the supplemented information that is provided than listening to the talks at all times so it is always better to allow for a short break in between the talks to let the members read these bulleted points. Moreover, providing hand-outs of the presentation before or after the presentation is also helpful in establishing the communication of the gals and objectives of the presentation.

There are certain basic guidelines that one should follow during the delivery of the presentation because even though the other aspects of the presentation are impeccable in terms of audio and visual and including the content, the heart and soul of the presentation lies in the delivery and the manner in which it is made by the presenter and his or her convincing abilities.

It is important to maintain eye contact with those present in the audience. It immediately establishes a personal connect that enhances the impact. Looking up from the materials every 5 to 10 seconds is advisable. The trick to effective coherence is speaking slowly and loudly so that each and every word is clear; emphasis must be given on the appropriate and important words and essential points must be repeated to communicate to the audience. The volume, one and modulation of the voice must be looked into. It should be pleasing and not too lecturing as that tends to bring in monotony and thus results in the attention being diverted. Many speakers have the habit of gesticulating a lot that is, moving and waving the hands. This habit must be immediately taken care of as it is very distractive to the viewer. Being calm and composed is top priority.

For video, audio or even web conferences, it is highly essential to use the best quality equipment and services as a poor quality could affect the overall quality of the conference on the whole. Even if the expenses are higher it’s worth the expense for an excellent presentation to a global audience. One must be careful not to be attracted by the fancy features that some of the equipments boast of having. Only those services and equipments should be used that are conducive to the presentation at hand and will be useful for such conferences in the future. Also, one must make sure that it is user friendly and that the equipments are easy to use and technologically sound. This will effectively prevent any kind of technical glitch that could take place during the conference. However, it always best to check the devices and the connections well in advance so that no untoward error takes place that might just ruin the entire presentation especially if the conferencing takes place at a global level. Also, in the case of audio teleconferencing, the participants must be informed well in advance, so that those situated in different parts of the world could come together at the same time and get adequate time to prepare and get their essential materials ready.