Contents Page Re-thinking presentations and the use of PowerPoint 3. Presentations and PowerPoint 4. Content and structure – The Step System 4 Corner-stones 5. Your Point of View (POV) 8. Message transmitted and message received 9. The dangers of not being face-to-face with the audience 10. Choose the best tool 11. Readjust the time balance Getting more from PowerPoint and getting the right ‘look’ 13. Where PowerPoint really adds value 15. Design and review of slides 25. Ensure professional credibility 27. Choose the best layout 28. Improve data slides 29. Get to the point 30. Pick the right format for the job 31. Highlight key points 32. Pie charts and bar charts 35. Vertical bar charts Thinking about structure and ‘tuning in’ 37. Take account of culture – Norms, Modality, Spectrum & Media 39. What structure to follow 45. Hit the right rhythm – story telling 46. Create STAR stories 47. Share stories and provide contrast 49. Build in some magic 49. Break the mould 50. Use rhetoric and create a sound bite 52. Executive summary 53. Points to ponder Top Tips 54. Appendix I – Creating an agenda 55. Appendix II – Using bullets to amplify key points 57. Appendix III – Use a PowerPoint slide to amplify a key point 58. Appendix IV – Break down a complex idea 61. Appendix V – Using Slide Master 63. Appendix VI – Navigating around the deck 64. Appendix VII – Using Presenter View 65. Appendix VIII – Saving your Presentation the foolproof way! 66. Appendix IX – Blanking slides 67. Appendix X – Using Hyperlinks 71. Appendix XI – PowerPoint Questionnaire Further reading 72. Booklist
Content and structure – The Step System 4 Corner-stones Great communication is based on four corner-stones, which collectively provide the solid foundations for the effective transmission of your message. Corner-stone 1: Be clear about THE PURPOSE – Why are you bothering to make this presentation? Corner-stone 2: Understand THE AUDIENCE – Who are they? What do they need? What do they expect? How can you best connect with them? Corner-stone 3: Think through THE CONTENT – Given the time that you have available, what must you communicate? What are your imperatives versus your ‘nice to haves’? Corner-stone 4: Once you know why, to whom and what you want to communicate, explore THE BEST MEDIUM. How can you best get your message across? What is the most appropriate vehicle that will enable you to deliver with the credibility, impact and gravitas that you need? Be clear about your Point of View (POV) …
Do you want the presentation of your content to be seen as being relevant and focused? If so, think more about the audience and less about yourself. Mark I presentations are all about me, the presenter: What will I do? What will I say? How will I come across? Will they give me a hard time? Will I get through it? Mark II presentations are all about them, the audience: What will they need? What will they expect? What will help them to understand and internalise the key messages, so that as a result of this presentation, something is different? Get focused on the audience before the event: What are they like? Why are they attending this meeting? What are their concerns and pain points? How can what you have to say help them solve their problems? How can you help them to tune in? What do you want them to think, believe or do? How might they resist? How can you best reach out to them and get them to listen and engage? Who are your allies? Who else do you need on your side? Think about their: fears and needs opportunities and challenges state of mind potential benefits Think through your ‘call to arms’ from their perspective: What is the precise follow-through that you require from them? Tactically, how can you rouse them to action? How can you channel their energy to move forward? What is the first step they need to take? The second step? And so on… Where is the bias for action? Tell them something they don’t already know Make connections – join the dots for them Offer insight and opportunity of foresight Message transmitted and message received
Timings Components Pipeline Stage 1: Prospecting +/- 5 mins (Provide) Credibility Personal Company Product Use ‘power language’ – “I want to…” not “I’ve been asked to…” Focus on the words, music and dance. Think through your: Tactics Tools Great questions +/- 10 mins (Show) Understanding of the Market Themes and trends Growth / decline Opportunities / threats Change – driven by you / them, or that are happening to you / them Dynamic tensions Recognition (not flattery) +/- 10 mins (Offer) Insights into the audience Common ground Evidence of research Understanding of their Pain points Use their words, their language: Case studies Questions and straw polls Be interested +/- 10 mins (Outline) Your offering 4 or 5 components that are relevant to them (driven by Section 3 above) +/- 10 mins 5a. Wrap up What’s in it for them? Next steps 5b. Q&A’s Note how the time is allocated in this example. Just 5 minutes has been given to Section 1. This is to keep the emphasis on the customer. The presentation is not about you… it’s about them! What structure to follow – Value Proposition For a 60 minute presentation, components and timings may be as follows:
Timings Components Pipeline Stage 4: Value Proposition +/- 5 mins (Recap) Credibility Thanks and recognition Build relationships with sponsors by reference Elaborate and extend +/- 20 mins (Outline) The process of what we’ve done Objectives and outcomes, as we understand them (look for nodding heads) Check is that right? Look for validation and ensure that the foundations are firmly in place before getting to the value proposition +/- 20 mins (State) Your proposition Deliver with confidence (be energised, not smug) Use case studies and ‘best fit’ examples Explore the current situation and its implications Make Recommendations: Features Benefits Explicit value +/- 5 mins (Summarise) Highlights Proposition Implementation and support Time scales Costs (You can call this ‘Investment if you want to – but until they see the benefit it will feel like a cost to them) +/- 10 mins 5a. (Focus on) Decision makers Seek confirmation with them: “Have we earned the right to proceed?” Identify the next steps (be explicit) 5b. Q&A’s Keep thinking ‘Risk’ and ‘Objection’. Don’t be afraid to address ‘the elephant in the room’. Heading off objections and mitigating them before question time will help the audience to stay with you – and prevent their objections from festering. What structure to follow – Close Won / Lost For a 90 minute presentation, components and timings may be as follows:
business? +/- 25 mins 5a. Q&A’s 5b. Ask for the business Be assumptive (without arrogance) Respectful and realistic 5c. Next step planning Create a sense of urgency and an expectation of getting started. Be ready to start Make sure that all players understand their part in the presentation, as there is a lot of scope for over-running once ‘team tagging’ begins. Make sure they practice the moment of ‘handing over the baton’ and check that they are all clear about the specifics of what is required of them. Clarify the MC role and be ready to manage question time and ensure that you channel the right question to the right team member. Have a main deck of slides and supplementary slides, which can be accessed by navigation (see Appendix VI) or other presentations that can be accessed by toggling or by using hyperlinks (see Appendix X). Leverage benefit from the breadth and depth of people you have assembled into your team. Do they all add value? If not, why are they there? Will they all be on the project delivery team? Or have you bought your best player (the Sorcerer) to speak, but actually intend to deploy a subordinate (the Sorcerer’s Apprentice)? The customer is likely to value intimacy over capability – they want to know what you will do for them – not what you could do. Be clear in what you present and think through the best way to position your offering, your team and your company. Hit the right rhythm – story telling A presentation should be rounded and have a rhythm and flow that will stimulate the audience. That is why the story telling format championed by expert communicators such as Gustav Freytag is becoming increasingly popular.
“Life is like a jigsaw puzzle, but you don’t have the picture on the front of the box to know what it’s supposed to look like. Sometimes, you’re not even sure if you have all the pieces.” “Life is like a room full of doors – as one door closes, another one opens.” Imitate a famous phrase: “Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. Imitation: Never give a presentation you wouldn’t want to sit through yourself. Ask a rhetorical question: “You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory! Victory at all costs! Victory in spite of all terrors! Victory, however long and hard the road may be for without victory there is no survival”. Winston Churchill Repeat words … at the beginning of a series: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness...” Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities Repeat words … in the middle of a series: “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed...” Apostle Paul to the Corinthians Repeat words … at the end of a series: “...and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.” Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address Provide a (post presentation) Executive summary To avoid the traps of using PowerPoint either as a script or as a post-presentation briefing document and to escape the tyranny of using decks that are overfull with detail and explanation, it might be useful to get into the habit of providing a bespoke document, in the form of an executive summary. This should: outline what the presentation was intended to achieve provide a record of the conversation and debate that resulted from it outline and address the next steps that are to follow on from the presentation The Executive Summary should be one or two pages long, broken into precise paragraphs with clear headings and contain only those PowerPoint slides that add value, By making sure it contains your key facts, figures and sound bites, all aimed at delivering and amplifying the purpose behind giving your presentation in the first place, it will enable