Your audience will forget most of what you said an hour after your presentation and will recall even less a day later.  So what’s the purpose of making a presentation?  How can you make an impression?  Is there any way to make a lasting impact?

You can convey information in an impactful way through emotion.  Think about it, most presentations are boring because it is unclear how the presenter really feels about the subject, or worse, is boring himself.  Memorable presenters, whether you agree with them or not, are crystal clear about how they feel about their topics.

If you are sharing bad news or financial data, it is up to you to make it palatable, if not interesting.  Bad news can always be put in perspective. Numbers sum up stories and when you share the stories the numbers represent, they become easier to understand and remember.  This is not to suggest you should shed tears when presenting your quarterly results. However, emotional integrity is key to communicating clearly.

Communicating emotionally is critical to making a lasting impact.  Even if your audience forgets all of what you said they will always remember how they felt about what you shared.
Now here is the rub:  every presentation is emotional.  You convey your message within the context of your emotional perspective.  It is in your tone and timbre of voice, it is in
your body language and gestures.  How you feel about what you are saying affects your meaning and your audience’s memory.

So the purpose of a presentation is to create and clarify the emotional essence of your perspective and infuse your audience with it.