Olivia, One of my regular readers  posted a comment on my last post regarding  the issue of slide design in relation to whether the slides are  meant to be a backdrop to a presenter or are meant as an online presentation to be read without any audio component,   here is my reply

“Thanks Olivia you make a very valid point.
Often one of the reasons (excuses!) people give for wordy PPT slides is that the power point presentations they write most of the time are  are internal information dumps designed to be read rather than presented.

They get so much in the habit of writing those type of wordy,  bullet point laden, information dense, slides that they cannot break out of the mould when they have to design for a “real” presentation.

My challenge to them is to create interesting and visually stimulating power point slides that can stand on their own without too much data.   Think about it!  The way a book or a text document designed for reading is laid out, including use of diagrams and pictures,  has a huge impact on its readability.   If the slides are dull and boring will anybody read them anyway and, if they do, will they remember what they read?  let’s not limit good design to  presentation slides?  Lets transform the way we use power point in all arenas

Why not tell me what you think –

I have been getting some great feedback recently regarding the quality of my slide sets.   Of course all are built using the principles I advocate in this blog and in my workshops i.e. no bullet points, minimal text, great pictures and logical story flow.

At one recent talk a delegate said that he didn’t know it was even possible to construct a presentation without bullet points!   He had never ever seen one like mine before!   Based on that kind of comment I just had to post an example to show that it is possible.    Take a look and use the arrows below the player to advance the slides

Why not upload your own examples to slideboom and I’ll be delighted to showcase the best ones.

I had a fascinating conversation today over lunch which I thought I’d share with you.   I was speaking to a colleague who does a lot of work as a professional master of ceremonies and facilitator at conference and events  Our conversation covered a range of interesting things including voice projection and accents but we happened to stray onto the topic of what makes a great presenter and from there onto the question of can anyone be taught to present well.

After batting the argument back and forth we agreed that, technically at least, almost anyone could be taught to be a reasonably competent and confident presenter .  However  the time and  effort required may well be, in some cases, disproportionately large and in many cases it may make better sense to let a more confident and natural speaker deliver your messages.  In other words we should play to our natural talents rather than trying to become great at everything.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this controversial topic.   Do you agree or disagree post your comments and lets open up a lively debate.

As part of a recent presentation skills coaching programme for a large client, I have been reviewing videos of some of their top directors presenting at a company conference. Some presenters got it right and got great evaluations and others clearly didn’t and,as an external observer the reasons for the latter were clear

• Lack of connection with the audience
• Lack of clear purpose (as perceived by the audience)
• No obvious audience benefit
• Presenting only lists impersonal statistics, facts and figures with no clear structure, point or flow
• Wooden, unexpressive “professional” performances. If the presenter doesn’t appear to care about the subject why on earth should the audience?
• Boring word dense, image scares bullet point slides. Written text is a poor excuse for a visual aid!
• Lack of audience involvement

So if you have a presentation to give in the next few weeks or months what can you do to ensure that you win the audience attention and motivation stakes?

Preparation:

• Have a clear purpose for your presentation. What are you trying to achieve as a result of this speech and what do you want the audience to do at the end of it?
• Establish the relevance of your content to the audience early on in the presentation. What is in it for them? Why should they listen? And don’t forget to tell them early on in your presentation?
• Design your presentation as a story which has a logical flow and emotional content to support it.
• Keep your visual aids clean and simple. Ban the bullet point and have only one idea per slide. Replace those words with an attention getting or emotive photograph. Read presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds if you need some inspiration.

Delivery:

• Avoid reading a script or auto cue. This will reduce eye contact and therefore connection with your audience. It will also make you sound dull, stilted and boring. Spoken English is different from written English. If you must have a script, record your speech first as you would like to say it and then have the recording transcribed.
• Don’t be afraid to show your emotion, Yes it is a business environment but human beings are hard wired to be driven by emotions. If you don’t evoke an emotional response in your audience they will not be motivated to follow your recommendations.
• Use your full vocal range to engage and enthral the audience – Everything from a roar to a sotto Voce whisper is at your disposal. Don’t be afraid of exaggeration in order to stretch your comfort zone and show your passion , enthusiasm or disappointment. Oh yes and don’t forget the power of a well placed silence too.
• Use your body language to reinforce your messages and project confide3nce and the appropriate degree of gravitas. An open upright posture, large open gestures, plenty of facial expression. Make sure that your body is sending out the same messages as your words and voice otherwise your audience won’t believe you.
• Be willing to experiment and accept that as a result you will make a few mistakes along the way. Perfection isn’t connection and your audience will empathise with you if you show that you too are human.
• Be present and in the moment during your presentation. If you are remembering the past or worrying about the future then your mind is not in the here and now and the audience will notice it.

Good luck!

Gavin Meikle
The Internet Presentation Coach

I have just finished reading Garr Reynolds fantastic book Presentation Zen and I just had to blog about it. Anyone who is serious about improving their presentations needs to read this book.

Why?

1. It is well written and full of great quotes about what it takes to communicate effectively in todays information overloaded world.
2. It is packed with many examples of effective visual aid design and so is a great source of inspiration for those of us who may struggle with the idea of having less text and more graphics in our slides
3. It will inspire you to approach developing presentations in a different and much more effective way

Even though I already espouse most of the principles outlined by Garr, I still came away with a pile of ideas for how to make by presentations and the visual aids that support them even better. I also felt that the book inspired me to think and act much more creatively in everything that I do not just in terms of presentations.

I wish I had written this book but unfortunately I didn’t. Thankfully Garr Reynolds did and I know that millions of people will benefit as a result by not having to sit through quite as many text rich, low signal to noise ration presentations than they would have had to have done otherwise. Treat yourself – Buy this book and even more importantly put it’s principles into operation.

Go should also check out Garr’s Presentation Zen Blog

Gavin
The Internet Presentation Coach