Your Presentation Success Is Our Passion
Present It Right...The First Time!

By the end of 2006 you will have learned:

• 12 habits of successful presenters
• 12 keys to compelling presentation content
• 12 ways to save hours creating PowerPoint presentations
• 12 products you need
• 12 case studies of companies or individuals and how they improved their presentations
• 12 design aids of the month

Smile and relax [more]

Consider your persuasion path [more]

Plan your hyperlinks ahead of time [more]

If you do screen captures, you need SNAGIT by Tech Smith [more]

Understand the importance of silence [more]

Look at PowerFinish backgrounds [more]

An opportunity to fill out a presentation professional survey.
See the link at the end of this bulletin.
Plus a tip from a reader on dealing with large PowerPoint files.

SMILE AND RELAX

What type of talks do you give? Are they about diseases? Are they about laying people off? Are they about problems in people's lives? If so, then you should not smile during your presentation. Smiling when discussing serious or life-threatening situations is obviously inappropriate.

But most of us do not give those types of talks - yet many people never, ever, crack a smile. But it's important! You say to me, "Right, Claudyne, I'll just break into a grin when I get to the third point I'm discussing." Not exactly. As you look at your talk you will see topics and points that lend themselves to a flicker of a smile and sometimes an actual grin, to show how excited, happy, or pleased you are to share this point.
When?

1. You have been presenting some problems with the environment and calling your audience to action. Now you are sharing what has been done to reverse the damage. That's the time to smile.
2. You are giving a project update. Some of it is just statistics on what's been accomplished. But there is a bit of information about how someone on your team figured out a way around a particularly difficult obstacle. Present the success that's occurred since this breakthrough with a smile.
3. You are describing your goals for the future. They include higher sales margins, store reorganization, and other issues that you illustrate with charts and graphs. Look through those charts and see what numbers are going in the right direction. That's when to smile.

When you smile, you relax and appear more at ease. And when you are more at ease, your audience is too, and is generally more responsive to you and your content. That leads to more sales, more agreement to your department's plans, and a higher opinion of your capabilities.

CONSIDER YOUR PERSUASION PATH

There is a wonderful book called The 5 Paths to Persuasion by Robert B. Miller and Gary A. Williams. I highly recommend this book for any of you who have to persuade others. The authors surveyed1,700 executives and describe five decision-making styles:

1. Charismatics
2. Thinkers
3. Skeptics
4. Followers
5. Controllers

When thinking about these styles, I realized that many people are good at setting an objective for their talk, planning the three or four key messages, and using a format to organize content logically and systematically. (See my CD Presentations in a Hurry for an explanation of a format.)

But one thing is missing. How should the information be presented to persuade the decision maker? The authors provide wonderful insights into this area. This month I will share some of their insights, and next month I will show you how to create an executive summary for each style.

Charismatics: They seem very excited about what you are discussing. They like new, out-of-the-box ideas. They don't want is to listen to a whole PowerPoint talk - they just want to hear the bottom-line results, not all the details leading up to it. You must engage charismatics immediately, before they lose interest. But don't be lulled into thinking that you don't really have to follow up or present detailed information. You do need to present the risks and how to minimize them. From the way charismatics talk, you think the decision is imminent, but they will give all the details to others to examine. Then they'll decide. Although charismatics might not seem interested in the analysis, others will. In Miller and Williams' survey, 25% were charismatics.

Thinkers: They are open to new ideas, but are careful and methodical. They like hard facts and research information - that's what convinces them. Guarded and cautious, they explore every advantage and disadvantage. Thinkers are open to new ideas when you have the facts backing up the idea. They are very rational and use numbers to make their decisions. This is why they might not have the best social skills, quizzing you about the information. While they are proactive and do want to win, thinkers use logic and exhaustive analysis to make decisions. In the survey, 11% were thinkers.

Skeptics: They have a certain worldview and are distrustful of information that does not fit. To a skeptic, everyone is suspect. When you start presenting, they will question you right away. You have to be credible in their eyes before they listen to you. Skeptics say what they think without regard to your reaction. While thinkers take in the data to make a decision; skeptics look through the data to find what supports their vision. Don't get defensive, and don't rush a skeptic. Because they're unafraid of being wrong, they make bold, risky decisions. Fully 20% of the survey respondents were skeptics.

Followers: Sometimes followers come across as open and enthused. But notice that unless you talk about how the process you are describing was successfully implemented elsewhere, they lose interest. They want proof. A follower keeps asking, "where has this been done before?" That's why they buy well-known brands. Hardly innovators, followers want to protect what the company already has. They are excellent with people, always aware of how their behavior affects others. One last thing: followers like bargains and enjoy a bit of haggling over prices. Although 36% in the survey were followers, only 6% of sales presentations are targeted to them.

Controllers: They are driven by fear and proactively handle that emotion. Highly independent, they like to be in control of the total decision-making process. Controllers don't like to be pushed - you have to get them to believe they made the decisions. Because controllers see information through their perspective, it can be difficult to get them to truly take in a piece of data that runs contrary to their view. They are also perfectionists who are not very interested in getting along with people and making them feel comfortable. Controllers run to their own tune, so be careful not to present contrary information. They have a tendency to shoot the messenger. In the survey, 10% of the respondents were controllers.

Why is this information useful when you have a group of people? In reality you are "selling" your idea, project successfulness to one or two key people. You will certainly do a more effective talk if you have an understanding of how those key people make decisions.

PLAN YOUR HYPERLINKS AHEAD OF TIME

If you want to have more control over how you skip around in your talk, set up hyperlinks. Here's an example.

1. The first slide is a list of all the steps in this particular presentation. Every step has a hyperlink to that part of the talk. I can start by asking the audience what they want to hear about first, click on that link, and go to those slides.

• To set up a link, click on an object or select text, then go to Slide Show>Action Settings>Hyperlink to (pick a slide in that presentation or another presentation). Click OK. If you've used words for your hyperlink, the words will become underlined and change color. They change color based on the accent and hyperlink in the slide color scheme. Now run the slide show. To use the hyperlink when in Slide Show, run your arrow over the link and your arrow will turn into a hand. Click, and the slide you want will appear.

2. The second slide shows you how to return to your opening slide with all your links. It has an action button in the bottom left corner. I usually make this button a color the audience cannot see, but wanted you to be able to see it here. To set up an action button:

• Go to your Slide Master. On your Slide Master, draw an action button using AutoShape>Action Buttons.
• Select the action button, then go to Slide Show>Action Settings. Set this button to go back to your slide with all your links.
• Now no matter what slide you are on, you can click the action button and go right back to your opening slide.

You can set hyperlinks in your talk for slides that you may not be planning to use, but want available just in case.

IF YOU DO SCREEN CAPTURES, YOU NEED SNAGIT BY TECH SMITH

SnagIt allows you to select and capture anything on your screen, easily add text, arrows, or effects, and save the capture to a file or share it immediately by e-mail. Because SnagIt includes vector editing, the callouts, arrows, shapes, and text that you place on your capture remain editable. When you capture a Web page with SnagIt, all of the links remain clickable.

You can reselect any object you've previously placed on the capture to delete or edit anytime. With SnagIt, you'll save time making your images look exactly the way you want them to, the first time.

Capture an image, and then use SnagIt's hotspot feature to specify parts of the image that, when moused over, will display text or images, or when clicked, will open a Web page. Go to TechSmith to read more and download a free trial:
http://www.techsmith.com/snagit/whatsnew.asp

UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF SILENCE

• Problem: Sue came to one of my seminars and told me that everyone on her pre-work questionnaires commented, "you talk too fast." She said in class, "I have to start talking slower."
• Result of her problem: Sue's audience would give up trying to follow her. Audiences believe that because she talks so fast, she must be nervous. They get the sense that all Sue wants to do is get the talk over with as soon as possible.
• Delivery task: Maybe Sue does has a problem with talking too fast, but her first problem is different. Her first problem is that she never pauses at the end of her sentences and has a moment of silence. She needs to learn the art of silence, relaxing her body and breathing easily.
• Presenter practice:
  1. Sue says a sentence and ends it strongly. She pauses and counts to 2 or 3. She starts another sentence.
  2. Although Sue thinks she sounds stilted and choppy, other participants in the class say she sounds more confident, and they feel more at ease listening to her.
• Major learning:
  Sue had no idea that she really never paused between sentences. She always thought that she just needed to talk slower. After she saw herself on tape, she realized that she sounds like a machine on high. Then, after she saw a video of herself with pauses, she realized how much easier it was for an audience to listen to her. Sue had to see the video - she simply did not believe, even from myself and the participants in the class, that she was more effective in this new style.

LOOK AT POWERFINISH BACKGROUNDS

Many people google "free backgrounds" and try to find something appropriate. That's one way to go, but remember - you get what you pay for. Another way is to spend some money to get truly professional designs.
PowerFinish, in business since 1993, has over 14,000 templates and backgrounds. Many of their templates have matching alternative backgrounds that allow you to easily customize your presentation. I have used some of their backgrounds with clients and found them colorful and interesting without overwhelming content. PowerFinish offers:

• Agency-quality templates.
• Slides that look great on large or small screens. They have high resolution and minimal compression, and every background is tested with text for legibility.
• Universal design. Not limited by industry-specific photos or themes, so you can use them with any presentation topic.
• Templates that are easy to use and reliable, with no complicated plug-ins, animations, or software that could freeze up during your presentation.

Below are some examples of their backgrounds. To see the real products of their templates and backgrounds, go to:
www.powerfinish.com

Reader Tip
SENDING LARGE POWERPOINT FILES

1. I have the only speakers bureau in the U.S. for white-collar criminals. And I do 100+ full-day fraud presentations a year. My PowerPoint files usually have 100-150 slides with lots of graphics, so many are 5 to 10 megs. I use the free www.yousendit.com. Simply go to the site. Fill in the e-mail addresses to receive the file, browse to it on your drive, click send. YouSendIt notifies folks they've got a file to download. Works great.
2. When compressing images to reduce file size, you can reduce just the selected image, or you can reduce all images at once. Saves a lot of time.
   Gary Zeune, CPA and Founder
   World's Only Speakers Bureau for White-Collar Criminals
   www.TheProsAndTheCons.com

Two Seminars You Need:

1. The Winning Presentations Seminar. Two days, offered publicly. There is also a version for salespeople. Bring a presentation, redo it during class, learn to deliver it with confidence, and convince your audience that you know the subject inside out.
• Public Seminar dates for 2006: June 6-7, November 7-8
2. Creating PowerPoint Presentations That Get Your Point Across Seminar. One day.

Individual Coaching: I help executives and managers present with confidence and persuade their audience.

Visuals Makeovers

1. One-hour analysis of your slides with ideas for changes.
2. Total redo of your slides.

Corporate Consulting: Presentation Performance Process for Your Company or Division. Save days of time putting together a talk. Guarantee: put my process in place and save at least 1/3 of the time you used to spend putting together a talk.

My clients include: The Gillette Company, Genzyme Corporation, Mercury Computer Systems, Harvard Medical School, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Avid Technology.

Presentation Points may be forwarded via e-mail, printed for circulation, and quoted free of charge. No permission is required, but please mention where you got this information.  Also, it's perfectly acceptable to post Presentation Points on your company's intranet. To subscribe to Presentation Points or visit my website, go to www.wilderpresentations.com.

ARE YOU A PRESENTATION PROFESSIONAL?
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Take a 10-minute survey and learn how you compare with your peers, from the work you do and the expertise you have, to the challenges you face. Are you similar to others, or charting your own course? Find out for yourself in InfoComm International's Presentation Professional Survey.

All participants will receive the survey results by e-mail and their choice of a collection of PowerPoint templates, or a Corel Presentations master or an Apple Keynote theme. And you may win one of five $50 Amazon gift certificates.

The survey is available at http://www.surveypro.com/TakeSurvey?id=18853 until April 28, 2006. Contact marketresearch@infocomm.org with questions.