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Your
Presentation Success Is Our Passion
Present It Right...The First Time!
POWERPOINT
LIVE 2004: SPECIAL OFFER
If you haven’t yet heard about the PowerPoint Live User Conference,
you’re missing out on what will surely be one of the premier
events for all earnest users of the product. Scheduled for October
10-13 in San Diego, CA, PowerPoint Live brings together all of
the elements that users need: expert instruction; professional-grade
workshops; personalized technical support on the issues that trouble
you the most; access to the program managers from Microsoft; and
an opportunity to meet colleagues, make friends, and join a community
of users.
And in an
exclusive arrangement with Wilder Presentations, I am pleased
to be able to offer you a $75 discount off of the registration
fee. For complete information about the event, visit http://www.powerpointlive.com.
To secure the “Wilder Discount,” click Register, and
in the Comments field of the registration form, enter the authorization
code of WLD75.
Then make
your plans to travel to sunny San Diego...and do make sure to
pack your swimsuit! If you go, let me know. I plan to be there!
CONNECT WITH YOUR AUDIENCE
Some of you participated in my on-line survey on
your experiences developing, designing, and delivering PowerPoint
presentations. In September I will post the results, but here’s
a preview.
One of the
most disturbing statistics included this: While 77% of the presenters
believe that if they practiced out loud it would definitely
make a difference in their presentations, only 38% presenters
always practice. What kind of difference does practicing
make? First, you will sound more confident. Second, you will be
on top of your information. Third, you will redo any slides that,
once you speak from them, no longer make as much sense as they
did when you were sitting down in front of the screen. And fourth
and most important, you will start to discover ways to connect
to your audience.
During the
rehearsal you can plan your transition sentences, hear how well—or
poorly—you explain a difficult technical detail, discover
whether you spend too much time on one particular subject and,
if you are smart, watch the video of your practice.
Just as important:
usually, during the practice, you will remember an example to
tell this specific group. You will also be more likely to think
about engaging questions to ask your audience. This practice time
lets you “get into” the subject matter, which encourages
your creativity. Whenever possible, you want someone at your practice
session to give you other ideas about how to engage your audience.
Practicing
out loud is important for your delivery and your content. It is
equally important as a way to discover key phrases and questions
to ask your audience. Make it a habit to set aside practice time
for every presentation that you do.
MAKE
IT FUN
Some presentations are serious, and games
or exercises are just not appropriate. A presentation on company
downsizing or an update to senior management on a technical issue
affecting product sales probably should not be done with humor.
Other presentations, however, benefit from a lighter touch. Training
talks often fall in this category.
What is one
way to make training more fun for you and your audience? Let them
do as much of training themselves as possible. What does this
mean? For example, many of you have to train on rules and regulations
in all different areas from human resources to FDA rules.
Idea:
Give your class a list and ask them to decide, in groups of two
or three, which of the rules on the list are true or false. First
they do it without resources. Then give them the materials for
the class and let them see if they can find the answers. Why do
this rather than just read off the rules to them for an hour?
They will remember much better what they discuss rather than just
listen to.
SHOWCASE THE QUOTES
Quotes can be powerful tools that help establish your credibility.
Here are two rules of thumb for using quotes:
- Make it
short! Use only the most important words and phrases in the
quote. Leave out the rest.
- Make sure
it stands out. When you use a picture with a quote, the picture
should stand out. Look at the before and after examples below.
The “red light” slide doesn’t showcase either
the picture or the quote. There are just too many places to
look—the audience doesn’t know where to focus. Be
careful not to take away from your quote by having too many
elements on your slide with no central focus.
These slides
are from the CD Slides That Win: Your Roadmap to Success. http://www.wilderpresentations.com/products/cd.html
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Quotes
- Make Them Short |
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Long
Quote vs. Short Quote |
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Make
Quote and Image Center Stage |
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