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

	PRESENTERS: WHAT DO YOU ADD TO THE TALK?
	PRESENTERS: WOMEN-BACK TO THE CLOTHES ISSUE AGAIN
	DESIGNERS:  HOW DO YOU SET UP YOUR SLIDES TO LOOK PROFESSIONAL?
	MONTHLY CHALLENGE

WHAT DO YOU ADD TO THE TALK?

It is the day of your talk. You're ready. You stand up and reel off all the statistics on the slides you so carefully created. As you point out the numbers, you begin to feel uneasy. You don't know what's wrong, but your audience seems a bit detached. What's the problem? You're telling them the information on the slides-what more could they want?

What they want is something that is not on the slide. Because they see the information faster than you can read it, they need some extras. Otherwise, why listen to you? Remember, do not read every word and number on each slide. Highlight and discuss the key points using the PowerPoint features at your disposal (AutoShapes Callouts, colors behind the numbers, animations).

What else should you tell your audience?

1. Add your insights to the information on the slide. That's why you're there.
2. How do you do this? Begin with a one-sentence overview of the information on the slide. Then lead off with phrases like:
   • What this means for our profession....
   • How this affects our work...
   • Based on this information, we plan to do x....
   • What's interesting to note on this slide is...
   • This information contradicts what we thought, which was...
3. Use transitional phrases from slide to slide so your audience understands how the information fits together.
4. You can ask a question and then answer it yourself. "Now what would be the next steps based on these findings?"

As always, talk in shorter sentences, pause between sentences, and use a conservational tone. These behaviors will help you eliminate "um's."

WOMEN-BACK TO THE CLOTHES ISSUE AGAIN

An interesting article appeared in abcnews.go.com on December 2, 2005. The article, titled "Can Sexy Women Climb the Corporate Ladder?" reported on a study that says, "Bold, revealing clothing may keep you from getting a promotion." The original study was in the December issue of Psychology of Women Quarterly.

Here are some highlights from the article:

1. Secretaries and assistants can get away with low-cut dresses and short skirts. If you're a businesswoman in power, however, you cannot. People feel negative towards you and think you're not so bright. First, redo your wardrobe as you move up the corporate ladder. Second, pick the places you shop. Third, don't listen to the sales person, but make you own assessment of what really looks "business-like."
2. You don't have to dress like a man, in pinstripe suites with ties. But you do have to dress in a manner that gives you authority rather than encouraging people to look at your body.
3. Ginger Burr, an image consultant in Boston, says, "It all started with 'Ally McBeal,' and it's not getting any better." But she points out that you will dress differently when you work in a more casual setting than when you work at the corporate headquarters with an office in the managerial section of the building.
4. Double standards exist. Men often get away with looking sloppy; women rarely can.

So what do you do?
Find clothes that project your professionalism. Choose suits in colors you look good in. Avoid pastel-colored suits if you want to look in control. Here are some sites that will give you more ideas:

www.totalimageconsultants.com
www.organizationbydesign.com
www.wardrobeimage.com/index.htm

MEN-SOMETHING FOR YOU

http://www.gloriastarr.com/mens-ebook.htm-a 30-page e-book for men about dressing well.

HOW DO YOU SET UP YOUR SLIDES TO LOOK PROFESSIONAL?

You look at your slides and they just don't look like they belong together. How do you go about making sure your slides all look the same? And more importantly, how do you make sure the information flows? Here are some guidelines I give my clients. See these examples in the slides below.

1. Objective slide: Fill this out before creating your presentation. This will force you to think about what is important to put in your presentation.
2. Slides with master colors: This slide helps you pick colors for your presentation. These represent the best colors to use during the presentation. Now all you have to do is use the color box and your colors on your slides will look like they belong together.
3. Line spacing: Decide on line spacing and check it on all your master slides. If you have more than one slide master, you need to be sure all the masters have the same line spacing.
4. Slide guides: You need guides in the following places. To see these on your slide go to View>Grids and Guides> and check boxes Snap objects to grid and Display drawing guides on screens. Now you will see what guides you have.
   • Horizontal: a) under the title, b) the placeholder, c) below the placeholder, d) in the middle, and e) at the bottom. The guide below the placeholder is useful when you put a key point right under the title. Then you will know where to put the text below that key point.
   • Vertical: 2) both slides of the slide and b) in the middle.

    

Fill this out before starting a presentation.

These are the colors to use in the talk. Having these done saves you hours of time. Just use this small color box and you will cut your time to choose colors by two-thirds.

Use consistent line spacing throughout the presentation to keep your slides looking professional.

Use these to place text and pictures in the same spot on each slide. I made the guides gray so you can see them, but in reality, they don't show up on your slides when you show them or print them.