Preparing Presentations 2009

[email protected]

What you put on the pageaffects how well it’s

delivered

Andy Morffew

2 Ref:[email protected]

When some people speak, every word is heard- for the rest of us…….

www.barackobama.com/photos


we have to work harder.


This presentation aims to help improvepresentation structure

u Introductionu Deciding upon the content and sectionsu The modern style

– Horizontal Logic– Vertical Logic

u The horror of bulleted lists and other thingsu Introductions and Summaries


Introduction


The best speakers use their slides as theframework for their talk not the content

TotalTotalInformationInformation

about Subjectabout Subject

Information toInformation tobe deliveredbe delivered

InformationInformationon slideson slides


If you try to give a badly structuredpresentation it becomes a battle

Runningout of time

Missingmajorpoints

Confusing theaudience

Not getting themessage across

Losing confidence


But if you use some simple rules you will findyour presentation is much easier to deliver

u Understand your audienceu Have the right amount of materialu Don’t confuse all the information about the

subject with what you can deliver in a talku Make sure the slides tell the storyu Make the slides attractive to help hold the

audience’s attentionu Start and end well


Deciding upon content and sections


The first step is to strike the balance betweenwhat you want to say and the time available

TIMETIMESubjectSubject

&&MessageMessage


Filling the time is rarely the problem

u Given an hour prepare for 45 minutesu I have given hundreds of major presentations in

the last 20 years but have finished too early onless than ten occasions

u Be realistic about the number of overheads youneed - 1 slide per 3 minutes is a good guide (notcounting separators)

u Decide upon the 6 to 8 major points and makethem your sections


The modern style


The top part of the slide is where you tell thestory

Back up or amplification

of the Headline


If all the Headlines are linked, the whole storyshould be told

This is the Horizontal LogicThis is the Horizontal Logic


Each Headline should be complete - not dependon the material below to be understood


The material below the Headline drives themessage home

This is the Vertical LogicThis is the Vertical Logic


Structuring your presentation in this way hassome major advantages

u The path through the presentation is clear andonce written requires less preparation

u The presentation can be repeated in the futurewith very little work

u Someone else could give the presentationu The presentation handouts are more easily

understood


Use a picture to help people through a complexpresentation structure

Define new SMS Systems

Define new SMS Systems

Deliver new SMS

Systems

Deliver new SMS

Systems

Identifyexistingsystems

Understandissues andpriorities

Understanduser

requirements

DocumentCustomer

Requirements


Highlighting the section you are currentlyaddressing can be very helpful

This approach is particularly good forexplaining complex methodologies


There are other ways of helping the audiencekeep their place in the presentation structure

You can have a text area on the left ofeach slide

Und

erst

and

Issu

es a

nd P

rior

itie

sU

nder

stan

d Is

sues

and

Pri

orit

ies


Watch out for clip art that is widely used as it cantake attention away from your message

Microsoft PowerPointMicrosoft PowerPointclip art is particularlyclip art is particularlypopular. At one timepopular. At one timeyou couldn’t escapeyou couldn’t escapethe Screen Beansthe Screen Beans


The horror of bulleted lists


With bulleted lists the audience has toconcentrate too hard to absorb the material

u The lack of variation becomes tedious veryquickly

u The listener has to read everything in case thepresenter refers to it rather than repeats it

u Presenters may read the bullets making it a verydull presentation

u As the subject gets more complex the bulletpoints can become paragraphs

u Each slide that comes up starts to become achallenge to the listener


Many people think in pictures

VisualizationVisualization

Internal SoundsInternal Sounds

FeelingsFeelingsInternalInternalDialogDialog

35%35%

10%10%

20%20%

45%45%


The worst way of presenting a bulleted list isthe slow reveal

u The frustration that builds upu during this kind of presentationu is unbelievable.u The lack of confidence of the speakeru means that they try to stop the audienceu from moving ahead at a different speedu with disastrous results.


Morffew’s law - there should never be more thantwo consecutive slides with bulleted lists

Give us a break…..

u First line, take this

uNow take this

uNow this, we haven’t finished

uYet more, keep awake


There are some things to say in defence ofbulleted lists

u They are quick to writeu A lot of factual material can be put on a page

for later referenceu They break text into the important “bites”


Bulleted lists can be disguised with a littlethought

Runningout of time

Missingmajorpoints

Confusing theaudience

Not getting themessage across

Losing confidence

Did you spot this one?Did you spot this one?


Sometimes you can change a list into a milliondollar chart

50’s 90’s60’s 70’s 80’s 2000’s

EnvironmentEnvironmentStable Turbulent

NothingNew

ChangingSlowly

ModerateChange

DiscontinuousShifts

RapidContinualChange

GrowthGrowth ConsolidationConsolidationGenerationGeneration

The Development of an IndustryThe Development of an Industry


Putting a clip art at the bottom of the listdoesn’t let you off

u This is still a bulleted listu It has bullets and textu This picture doesn’t change anythingu Morffew’s Law still applies


And, while I’m on my soap box - laser pointerslaser pointers

u Are you looking at this?u Why are you looking here????u My pointer is still on the first line .u Did you note this word in particular?u Is this getting boring or what?u This is how they teach 4 -year olds to readu I’m getting too old for thisu I need to lie down!!


Getting pictures is easy now we have theinternet and they can add value

http://www.pictures-of-african-animals


Quotes can be a great benefit to your message

"Seventy percent of all re-engineering initiatives fail because not enough account of the people has been taken"

Source Hammer & Champy


Humorous quotes are even better but theymust be relevant

""We don't like their sound. Groups of We don't like their sound. Groups of guitars are on their way out."guitars are on their way out." Decca Records spokesman in 1962


International audiences are a great challengeto a speaker and require a modified approach

u Often people from other countries are better atspoken English rather than written English - sowrite less.

u Translators cannot translate your slides unlessyou read what is on them.

u The talk has to be slower - this will only work ifthere is less material.

u The best English speakers from other countriestell me they only understand 80% of what is said.


Introductions and Summaries


The beginning of the talk is very important -you need to grab the audience’s attention

Try to use something unexpected andpopular. If it is an interest of yours,your enthusiasm will come across.


The end of the talk is also critical so you canleave on a high

The most elegant ending links back to theattention grabber……….


Follow these rules and this can be your victoryspeech

http//news.bbc.co.uk

[email protected]

What you put on the pageWhat you put on the pageaffects how well it’saffects how well it’s

delivereddelivered

Andy Morffew

Last tip - end up with your title slide

Preparing Presentations 2009

Education

Transcript of Preparing Presentations 2009