Archive for the 'Speaking' Category

Slide after slide of bullet points went flying by. I sat with my co-workers in the audience trying to keep from falling asleep. The text on the screen became a blur after a while and I just prayed that the torture would soon end. Unfortunately the Vendor’s data dump continued for another hour. When it was finally over I came away with one thought… I never want to sit through that again.

With over 60 slides of data you would think I would walk away with some key concept or at least an idea of what was presented. Unfortunately Powerpoint slides with lots of text are not memorable. In their landmark book, Made To Stick, Chip and Dan Heath offer a simple exercise to illustrate this point.

Look at the text in the box below for 10-15 seconds.

Now look away, grab a sheet of paper and write down what you just saw.

If you are like most respondents you probably remembered seven to ten letters. That is not much information and it resembles what you might take away from the average text filled Powerpoint slide.

Now scroll down the page and repeat the exercise with the second text box below. Take the same 10-15 seconds and then write down what you remember on the same sheet of paper.

It is the same 20 letters from the first box but they are grouped differently this time. You were probably able to write down all 20 pretty easily since their grouping meant something to you. Each grouping of letters was instantly recognizable.

This is the power of simplicity. If you take your core message and break it down into small verbal ideas and segment these ideas on one powerpoint slide at a time, your viewers will be able to internalize the message much better than a screen full of text.

If you add the power of pictures along with your core text, you’ll have a message that will be memorable and that your audience will take away with them.

Consider the following two Powerpoint slides…

This first slide has the usual bullet points with lots of text. It will be hard to read from a distance and the concepts are difficult to grasp from just a quick reading. The average viewer will not remember much of this slide.

This second slide doesn’t mean much by itself, but when it is presented with a powerful message it will be very memorable to the viewer. The concept of speed and efficiency are instantly recognizable and the bold one word mantra will make this stick.

As you can see from this simple exercise when it comes to Powerpoint, Less is More. When you design your next presentation, find your core concepts and present them in a simple and clear manner. Remember… You are the presentation, not your slides. They should be there to reinforce your presentation, not take center stage.

Keep it simple… keep it memorable.

Technorati Tags: Powerpoint, Presentations

When we look at putting together a Powerpoint presentation we need to look at the structure of our slides and look at how they convey our message. We need to package this for the maximum impact for our audience. When we are through with our message our audience should take away our keys points and be motivated to do something with them.

In my experience with public speaking and developing interactive presentations I’ve found four main presentation goals that are paramount. If you cover these bases you’ll be on your way to a compelling performance. You can think of these as the Four H’s.

1. Head: Make your audience think.

2. Heart: Make your audience feel.
3. Hands: Compel your audience to do something.
4. Humor: Lighten things up with Laughter.

With our basic goals in mind we can get down to the specifics. We need to put together some building blocks that will make our presentation “Stick” in the minds of our audience. One of the best manuals on this subject is a book by Chip & Dan Heath entitled Made to Stick.

The Heath Brothers list six qualities that will help make our presentation memorable. They are..

1. Simplicity

2. Unexpectedness
3. Concreteness
4. Credibility
5. Emotional
6. Story

Over the next few days we’ll take these one at a time and see how they can be integrated into a Powerpoint presentation. We’ll develop a basic slide set that you can download and use, that will include all six qualities.

Up tomorrow… Simplicity.

Powerpoint Resources:

How To Do Everything With Powerpoint

Kingston Wireless Presenter

Portable Powerpoint

Other Powerpoint Posts:

Powerpoint Made Simple

Five Must Have Tools For Powerpoint

Do You Make These Mistakes With Powerpoint?

5 Quick Tips To a Better Powerpoint Presentation

Technorati Tags: Powerpoint, Presentations

Before we can create the ultimate Powerpoint presentation, we need to put together a useful toolkit. One that covers all the bases and will take our presentation to the next level. Over the years I have purchased many different tools in my quest for a better presentation. Some have worked wonders… and others have come up painfully short.

Here is my top-5 tool list for Powerpoint.

1. Instruction manual. Powerpoint is a very complex program and very powerful to boot. While the basics can be learned quickly, to really master the program you need to dig a little deeper. I have found the following two books to be invaluable for learning the ropes.

Powerpoint Step by Step is written by Microsoft and presents the user with a hands-on experience. Each chapter builds upon the next as you build a complete presentation. If you are a hands-on learner like myself, you’ll find this book easy to follow and the somewhat difficult concepts will come to life.

How to do everything with Microsoft Powerpoint by Ellen Finkelstein is the Powerpoint reference book you’ll want to purchase. She covers all the basics and even gives you an introduction into advanced programming concepts. Her writing style is clear and consise and she includes helpful advice on the fine points of graphic design and tips for delivering the presentation in front of an audience.

2. Professional Templates and Backgrounds. Why re-invent the wheel every time you have a new presentation to create. There are hundreds of different sources of great looking templates online. We’ll take a look at some of them in a future post, including price and functionality.

The basic idea here is to offer your audience something different from the limited choices bundled with Powerpoint. You can purchase individual slides all the way up to complete template solutions including fonts, backgrounds, and custom animation routines.

3. Creative Fonts. Your presentation is only as good as the typography that you use. Find a couple of fonts that match your message and include them in your presentation. There are many sources of free and low cost fonts online. The main thing to remember is that you’ll need to bring your fonts along when you save your presentation. Chances are they will not be available on the presentation computer and Powerpoint will default to the built in fonts (yuck!)

4. Memory Stick. You have created your ultimate presentation, with animations, video clips, and your custom template. You look at the file size and realize that this masterpiece will not fit on a standard CD. You’ll need some way to get this to your presentation computer. While you could save it to a DVD, it’s a good bet the presentation machine may not have a DVD player.

Your salvation will come in the form of a USB Flash Drive or portable micro drive. Now that memory is getting cheaper you can pick up a name brand unit at a reasonable price. I highly recommend buying a quality drive. I have had cheaper units scramble presentations and lose data. Some brands have problems with certain USB ports.

My current drive, a Sandisk Cruiser, has performed very well and since it is retractable you don’t have to worry about losing the end cap. With any memory stick, be sure to eject it from the tray icon in Windows when you are done to prevent data loss.

5. Wireless Presenter. The final thing we need that is becoming an absolute must for all presenters is a wireless device to allow you to advance your powerpoint slides. I have tried numerous units and some have failed miserably. This is one device where quality is paramount. Nothing will kill your presentation faster that a wireless presenter that doesn’t work.

After trying many different brands I can say the best by far are the units that use 2.4Ghz technology. I currently use a 2.4 Ghz unit from Kingston that works flawlessly across the room. There is nothing that instills confidence like one of these. There is absolutely no delay, and I know without looking at the screen that my slide has changed. The built in laser pointer is also very helpful.

In a following segment we’ll focus on the presentation itself. We’ll talk about removing the bullet points, adding pictures, and preparing a memorable presentation that inspires and motivates.

Powerpoint Resources:

How To Do Everything With Powerpoint

Kingston Wireless Presenter

Portable Powerpoint

Other Powerpoint Posts:

Powerpoint Made Simple

Powerpoint that Sticks

Do You Make These Mistakes With Powerpoint?

5 Quick Tips To a Better Powerpoint Presentation

Technorati Tags: Powerpoint, Presentations, Public Speaking

Powerpoint and other popular presentation software can be a powerful communication tool if used properly. Yet time after time and meeting after meeting people are committing presentation sins so bad they are sure to put even the best audience to sleep.

I have been in many meetings like this and a few popular sins rear their ugly head almost every time. Here is my top five list that I’ve had the pleasure of sitting through.

1. The Cram. People with a lot of information tend to cram this data on one slide for everyone to see. Instead of giving us the main points, every last bit of data is listed bullet point after bullet point. Since this data will not fit with the usual font size, they end up making the font very tiny. I’ve seen slides with 10 or 12 bullet points and line after line of text. Text this small can be overwhelming to read and it is very hard on the eyes.

Jerry Weissman, in his book Presenting to Win calls this the “Presentation as Document Syndrome.” When presenters fail to distinguish between a document and a presentation, they will take their most densely populated document right into Powerpoint. It may have highly detailed tables and charts along with very crowded text. While this may work well in a document, it fails miserably on the screen.

2. Speed Reader. When a presenter has a lot of detailed bullet points, they will invariably stand back and read each slide to you. For some reason they think that you couldn’t possibly read the text so they read it for you. Line after line, point after point.

If they have a lot of slides they will speed up and read faster. It’s like a chapter out of Evelyn Wood’s Reading Dynamics speed reading course. As author Cliff Atkinson points out in his book, Beyond Bullet Points, the most common audience response to this situation is…

“If you are just going to read me the slides, why do I need to be here? Just e-mail them to me!”

Showing and reading text filled bullet points undermines the purpose of presentations. People attend presentations to learn about a subject as it is explained by another person. When you read the bullet points, the slide is doing the talking… not you.

3. Cookie Cutter. Powerpoint comes with a limited set of backgrounds and text fonts. Most of the presentations that I sit through use one of these backgrounds and the accompanying stock text. If you have seen one, you’ve seen them all. The thin white Verdana font against a blue background is readable… but boring.

Some presenters try to get around this by using every available font in different sizes and colors. This hodge podge will certainly liven things up for one slide but will be agonizing to view slide after slide. Your mind likes a sense of uniformity and too many fonts can be agonizing.

The rule here is… if it is built in to Powerpoint, your audience has probably seen it before. Invest in some creative Powerpoint templates to overcome this template familiarity syndrome.

4. The Wow Factor. In an attempt to make hundreds of bullet points more interesting, many presenters try to liven things up with animation. They will have each bullet point fly in from the side or bounce in from the bottom. To wake you up from your slumber they will even add sound effects as the text ricochets off the side of the slide.

The effect of this is frustration on your part. You can’t read ahead and you have to wait for each line to tediously find its way to a stopping point so you can finally read it. This can really be a problem if the presenter gets behind. To move ahead they will blast through line after line of text. You couldn’t read it if you wanted too.

Subtle animations can be effective, but the rule here is… a little goes a long ways.

5. Using Powerpoint At All. I’ve been involved with public speaking through an organization called Toastmasters for over 10 years. I’ve seen numerous speeches and some incredibly compelling presentations. I have also seen some of these presentations ruined by the ineffective use of Powerpoint. Sitting through a presentation where the presenter is not comfortable with the software and doesn’t know how to control the slides can be agonizing to watch.

Powerpoint should enhance your presentation, not take center stage. You should be the center of attention. When used properly, a visual slideshow can give clarity and comprehension to your message. The rule of thumb here is simple, if Powerpoint will not enhance your message or if you are not comfortable with it… don’t use it.

These are some of the common mistakes I’ve seen over the years. I’ve made many of them myself and have learned the hard way that a professional presentation is not as easy as it looks. Toastmasters has been a great help in practicing the art of presentation. If you need help with your presentations, find a Toastmasters club nearby and visit sometime.

In a following segment we’ll focus on the presentation itself. We’ll talk about removing the bullet points, adding pictures, and preparing a memorable presentation that inspires and motivates.

Technorati Tags: powerpoint, presentations, toastmasters

Your boss just called and he wants you to have your presentation ready for the board meeting next week. You scramble to get all the data for your slides, and you start cranking out slide after slide of bullet points and charts. Your frustration level rises as you find you can’t cram that last piece of data on your most important slide. You lower the font size again and finally get it to fit. You click on the animation button so each bullet point flies in from the right.

The plain blue Powerpoint template looks OK and your Helvetica font looks best in white. You’ll have 30 minutes to present and you have over 60 slides. You practice reading aloud and find that you can get them all in if you talk a little faster than normal. You throw your company logo golf shirt in the washer so it will be clean for the presentation.

All things are starting to come together. You know that the board room has a computer and a projector so you’ll just have to bring your memory stick with your presentation on it. As a final perk to your creativeness you add an applause soundtrack on the last slide and you are ready to go.

The following week when the board meeting starts, you are ready to present. Your golf shirt and jeans are ironed and you are wearing your best Nike’s. You pop your memory stick into the computer and turn it on. People are starting to file into the room. As the computer starts up you notice a little message that updates are being applied. You open Powerpoint and it seems really slow.

You take a seat and almost immediately your boss calls you up to start your presentation. You click on your Powerpoint file and it finally opens after five minutes. The audience is starting to fidget. Not to worry, you think to yourself.  You stand behind the podium and start with slide number one. As you start reading, you find that you have to click on the keyboard to bring up each bullet point. This is causing you to lose your concentration and you have to wait for each line to come in before you can read it.

As you get to the bottom of your first slide you notice that the last line is cut off and the font on the screen looks different than the one on your computer. Oh well… you’ll have to wing it. You make up something to fill in the line and quickly advance to the next slide. You read slide after slide and start to speed up because the clock is ticking down.

You hardly notice the audience as you read, but you notice some movement out of the corner of your eye. Arrggh … it’s Shiela from accounting and she is waving madly. You continue on and pretend that you don’t notice her. After five minutes of this waving, your boss finally stands up and asks you to stop. Shiela asks for some clarification on slide number 5, so you have to go back.

Now you are in a big mess. You finally find the slide and realize you made a major gaff in the numbers. You apologize and then try to advance to slide 30 where you were. Since each bullet point flies in it takes you forever to get back to where you were. After almost 50 minutes of reading you finally finish up. Most of your audience members are nodding off, but your last slide applause track wakes them back up.

You take a seat, and your boss comes up and apologizes for the meeting running over. You got through the presentation, but you think to yourself… there must be a better way to do this!

Does this sound like any meetings that you have been to? Have you had any of these experiences yourself?

Here are 5 quick tips to help you on your next presentation.

Arrive Early:

Try to arrive at least a half hour early if the room is already set up or an hour early if you have to prepare equipment. There is always an unexpected thing that will come up at the last minute. Arriving early will give you a cushion to deal with equipment and environment problems. Click through all your slides to check for errors and make sure the fonts and graphics look right.

Be Prepared:

Go over your presentation a few times to check for any errors. Have someone else look through the slides and proofread them. Make sure to print out your slides on paper (either 3 or 6 slides per sheet) so you’ll have a visual reference in case of equipment failure. Always bring along power cords, sound and video cords, and make sure you have at least two copies of your presentation saved to a memory stick and also to CD.

Dress For Success:

Unless you are Steve Jobs, you should always dress well for your presentation. Leave the golf shirts and jeans at home and try to dress a notch above your intended audience. Audience members should be able to tell at a glance who the speaker is. Grooming is important too, so make sure to schedule that hair cut a few days before your presentation.

Smile And Greet People Warmly:

You presentation starts before you get up in front of the audience. Arrive early and greet people as they are coming in. A friendly smile and a firm handshake will add credibility and people will feel a greater connection to you if they have met you before you start speaking. Make a note of peoples names and refer to them during your presentation. This will give you a much better relationship with your audience.

The Focus Is You:

Remember that the focus is you and not your Powerpoint. Using the B button on the keyboard will Blank the screen and bring the audience’s focus back to you. Dressing well, smiling, and relating to your audience will give you credibility and help you get your point across better.

In our next segment we’ll focus on the presentation itself. We’ll talk about removing the bullet points, adding pictures, and preparing a memorable presentation that inspires and motivates.

Technorati Tags: powerpoint, presentation, speaking

Facts are everywhere. We have facts about almost every conceivable thing in existence. Facts may have names, numbers, and numerous bullet points. Facts fill volumes of dictionaries and encyclopedias. And there is one thing that all facts have in common…

Facts by themselves are boring!

Fill any Powerpoint presentation with bullet points of facts and you’ll likely put your audience asleep. Blog about facts and your readers may not make it to the end of your post. Strike up a fact filled conversation and watch the eyes glaze over.

In your next speech, just give them the facts and you’ll probably find that your only audience member that is left awake is Joe Friday. And you’ll also find one other important thing…

Facts are not memorable!

When you just present a list of data, most people cannot remember it. You’ll be lucky if your intended recipient can remember the first item on the list. That is because…

Facts are inherently slippery.

The bigger the numbers and the longer the names, the harder it will be to remember the items. Facts are like teflon to our minds… they just don’t stick.

In business, sales, and in most any conversation we all have facts that we would like to convey in a memorable way. We want to get our fact filled ideas across.

So how can we do this?

Here are three trios that I think may help to get your points across.

The Three C’s: Contrast, Context, and Comparison

Contrast: When you look at a square of yellow by itself it’s just that… a square of yellow. But if we surround our square of yellow with a black color, our eyes suddenly see the contrast and the yellow pops.

Context: When you take similar items and add something dissimilar you have taken something out of context. This item sticks out and is quickly recognizable.

Comparison: When you have data by itself it usually doesn’t mean much. But when you can compare your data with other data in a graph or other comparison format, your data really stands out.

The Three P’s: Picture, Presentation, & Performance

Picture: They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Frame your facts with pictures and people will be able to SEE what your facts are all about.

Presentation: Present your facts in an interesting way using graphics, icons, and pictures for added emphasis. Add emotional pictures to draw people into your story.

Performance: When you take your facts, weave them into a story, and present them in a live performance, you’ll bring your audience into the story and make the facts come alive. This performance can be a speech, a play, or even a business simulation.

The Three S’s: Stories, Surprise, & Strategy

Stories: Tell a story… make a point! Stories are inherently powerful tools for making your ideas stick. People remember stories, especially if you add word pictures and emotion. Powerful stories are like duct tape for your facts. They will stick!

Surprise: Add the element of surprise to your facts. Find things that don’t add up or are intriging. The element of surprise is a powerful way to keep your audience on the edge of their seats. Unfortunately, surprise only works once, so make sure to keep it a secret until your are ready to reveal it.

Strategy: Tie your facts together into a purposeful strategy. Paint the vision and the path for your audience and they will come along for the journey. A great strategy is inherently interesting.

Take these ideas and use them together to take your boring facts and make them memorable. Outline a strategy, add contrast and surprise and put your audience into a compelling drama. Tie this together with a compelling performance and your next presentation will surely be a memorable one.

For a compelling read on this subject, be sure to pick up a copy of Made to Stick, by Chip and Dan Heath.

Technorati Tags: presentations, powerpoint, speaking