May 2007

Put your audience in the examples [more]

Set yourself up for hope and success [more]

"Creatively and with due diligent efforts, we have solved the key problems with the system," instead of "I just want to tell you a bit about…" [more]

Try black-and-white slides for a change of pace [more]

Developing and Delivering Great On Line Presentations:
Click here to see a web seminar I recently gave for Brainshark customers. It's about 40 minutes long.

Monthly Challenge: Before your next presentation, set yourself up for success with a hopeful explanation.

PUT YOUR AUDIENCE IN THE EXAMPLES

How do you get your audience to emotionally connect to your presentation? This is very important when your objective is to persuade them. You may want them to use a particular process in the research lab, donate money for a cause, or increase funding for a certain project.

One way to influence your audience is to explain the situation through their eyes. Here are some ideas:

• I see that many of you are feeling pressured with all the work you have to do. I have seen how you have to constantly redo the project forms. You have called me with questions and I sense your aggravation. I wish I could wave a wand and have all those forms go away. Unfortunately, due to regulations, we have to fill them out. Today, I want to show you how much easier it will be when you use this computer system. But rather than explain it myself, let me ask Joe in our audience to help me. Joe, is that OK? So, Joe, I am going to take you through this process as if you were doing it right now. At any point, please stop me and tell me to slow down or ask questions. First Joe, you open this screen. You'll see with one click you are on the screen with the key form….

• Everyone, imagine you are sitting on this hill above this beautiful valley. The day is warm as you see here in this photo. The sun is shining down on you. You feel so peaceful. It is very quiet. You hear the birds singing and feel a slight breeze on your back. You say to yourself, "How lovely to be in a quiet gorgeous meadow overlooking this valley with luscious trees and flowers." This experience I am describing is one we want to preserve for many years. That's why I'm here to explain what's needed to preserve this hilltop and valley.
  

SET YOURSELF UP FOR HOPE AND SUCCESS

Let's say you gave a presentation, which was not received as well as you desired. Perhaps you misjudged the interests of the audience. Or your talk was at 4 p.m. and the audience had been sitting since 8 a.m. They were just too tired to engage with you. Perhaps you were given the wrong address and arrived just a bit too late to catch your breath and settle down to do your usual good job.

Now you have another talk. You want to deliver it with passion and engage your audience. How do you set yourself up for success and give the talk you know you have the ability to give? In his book Learned Optimism; the author Martin Seligman discusses the key importance of how we explain our failures or partial failures. You can explain a "not so great" presentation in a hopeless or a hopeful manner.

Hopeless explanation: When you use the hopeless explanation, you use universal permanent causes. Because all these phrases offer no hope for a future as a successful presenter, you are setting yourself up for yet more failure. You are not explaining to yourself how to improve. You might say:

• "I'm just not any good at presentations." (Universal cause by saying "not any.")
• "I'll never be able to sound passionate. That's just not me. I'm just a monotone, boring speaker." (Permanent cause by saying "never.")
• " My audiences just don't like to listen to what I have to say." (Universal cause by saying "my audiences.")

Hopeful explanation: How can you set yourself up for a future as a passionate and successful presenter? Tell yourself:

• "The audience was in a very tired, bored place by the time I started talking. The speaker before me really put them to sleep. Next time I will bring some candy to wake people up."
• "I just had an OK presentation. That's acceptable. Not all my talks have to be 100% over the top with enthusiasm."
• "Next time I give a talk, I'm going to check with two people on the room number. I never want to rush into a room sweaty and out of breath again!"

These types of phrases will lead you in a more hopeful direction.

Right now, think about what you are telling yourself about your presentation success. Don't let those hopeless explanations run around in your head. If they do, change them to hopeful explanations that set you up for future success.

Opening Phrase That Will Empower You and/or Your Audience
"CREATIVELY AND WITH DUE DILIGENT EFFORTS, WE HAVE SOLVED THE KEY PROBLEMS WITH THE SYSTEM"
INSTEAD OF "I JUST WANT TO TELL YOU A BIT ABOUT…"

The other day someone in my class started his talk like this: "Here is my agenda. First I just want to tell you a bit about the past performance of our system. Then I just want to tell you about how we are fixing some of the problems. Then I'd like to go into the cost and the time needed. Finally, I just want to share some of the next steps our department will take to remedy this situation for the future." All the words in italics are filler words that make your audience have to work hard to understand your points.

Here is another way he could have started: "Creatively and with due diligent efforts, we have solved the key problems with the system. Today you'll hear how these solutions will positively affect our business."

TRY BLACK-AND-WHITE SLIDES FOR A CHANGE OF PACE

Where should you change the look of your slides? It is important not to have them all looking the same, especially if you are talking for more than an hour. That's a long time to ask your audience to look at the same colors and design. Here is an example of how I use black and white in my presentation to totally change the mood in the room. Whenever I make a point with a funny cartoon, I put it on a black-and-white background. First you see it in color and then in black and white.

How can you use this idea?

Books: 2007 PowerPoint
Here are two great books that just came out. I am familiar with both the authors. You just may want to get both of them to make it easy to learn this new version.

How to Do Everything with Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 by Ellen Finkelstein
Ellen Finkelstein is the owner of www.EllenFinkelstein.com, a Web site that offers free PowerPoint tips each month. I recommend her free PowerPoint Tips Newsletter that you can sign up for on her site. When you do, you'll get a bonus e-booklet, "5 Easy, Sure-Fire PowerPoint Backgrounds," which describes 5 background techniques that you can customize for your own presentations. Ellen is the author of the recently published "How to Do Everything with Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007," a comprehensive guide to using the latest version of PowerPoint. (You can buy her earlier editions if you have PowerPoint 2002 or 2003.)
Create dynamic and professional-quality presentations using sage advice, handy tips, and clear descriptions from PowerPoint expert Ellen Finkelstein. This book, PowerPoint 2007, gives you that extra edge with best-practice design, layout, and organizational techniques that will make your presentations leap off the screen. In addition to in-depth coverage of new features, including the redesigned user interface, SmartArt diagrams, new special effects, and custom layouts, this must-have resource delivers everything you need to get started, organize your content, and add those finishing touches for a top-notch presentation.

• Make your point with well-crafted, clear content
• Design and save custom themes and layouts
• Create perfectly formatted tables and charts
• Include special effects like animation, 3-D, reflections, and soft edges
• Add music, video clips, and narration
• Convert bulleted text to diagrams using SmartArt graphics
• Protect presentation files with new security tools
• Deliver with confidence using the new Presenter View

Cutting Edge PowerPoint 2007 For Dummies by Geetesh Baja
http://www.cuttingedgeppt.com/
Get ready to add punch and pizzazz to your presentations and wow your audience using the latest PowerPoint techniques. This friendly book/CD-ROM combo covers all of the new features of Microsoft PowerPoint 2007, including interface changes, presentation themes, multimedia, the Slide Library, and more. The guide introduces you to the elements of PowerPoint: text; background, images, and info-graphics; shapes; fills, lines, and effects; sound and video; animations and transitions; and interactivity, flow, and navigation. Packed with numerous tips, shortcuts, workarounds, and timesaving techniques, it shows you step-by-step how to:

• Dress up your text by using fonts creatively and using WordArt to create artistic effects
• Work with masters and layouts, templates and themes, and fills, lines, and effects
• Maximize visual appeal by combining Photoshop with PowerPoint
• Add transitions, photos, motion, sound (narration and music), video, and animation
• Use SmartArt to create diagrams
• Create dynamic charts, equations, maps, and more
• Use PowerPoint's extensive clip art collection
• Test and set up your presentation
• Link to Flash, Acrobat, Word, and Excel
• Print presentation materials and create helpful handouts

The CD includes templates, textures, backgrounds, background music scores, images, alpha channel equipped graphics, maps, illustrations, and more, so this combo gives you the know-how and the tools. An 8-page color insert shows you how to use color effectively. With this friendly guide, you're ready to bring your presentation to life with PowerPoint 2007.

Presentation Survey
ARE YOU A PRESENTATION PROFESSIONAL?

Take a 15-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 annual 2007 Presentation Professional Survey.
To thank you for sharing your opinions and experiences in this survey, you will receive a free survey report by e-mail.

The survey is available until May 18th, 2007 at http://infocomm.qualtrics.com/SE?SID=SV_0U0yhRg0LijXsBC&SVID=Prod

Contact marketresearch@infocomm.org with questions.

Winning Presentations Public Seminar
June 12-13 & October 16-17, Boston, MA

This seminar is open to those who both create and deliver presentations.

• Increase your presence in front of a group.
• Use opening, closings, and transitions focused on your audience's "need to know."
• Redo a presentation, including, if necessary, a new background and many slide design ideas.
• Learn how to create PowerPoint slides that enhance your presentation's objective.
• Leave with a personalized action plan and a video of the six presentations you gave during the seminar.
  
  

Visual Makeovers
Do you want your slides to be more professional looking? Do you want your slides to convey the key messages of your talk? Learn how to create slides that enhance your ability to present with confidence and enthusiasm.

Corporate Consulting: Presentation Performance Process for Your Company or Division
Save days of time creating a presentation. Put my process in place and save at least one-third of the time you used to spend putting together a talk. Guaranteed!

My clients include: The Gillette Company, Genzyme Corporation, CVS, Harvard Medical International, State Street Global Advisors, 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.