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Your
Presentation Success Is Our Passion
Present It Right...The First Time!
Happy Holidays!
It's December, and time to wrap up our year-long review of:
- 12 habits
of successful presenters
- 12 keys
to compelling presentations
- 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
Presenters: Practice
stating out loud the overall context for your recommendations.
Designers: Try
out Instant Effects and see what you think.
ANSWER
THE QUESTION ASKED
What
happens to presenters who are nervous when it's time for questions?
Often the presenter is simply too nervous to listen to the query,
and just starts talking without providing a specific response.
Or the presenter may not address the question at all, instead
speaking about something else that is a "hot topic"
and defending a particular position. Now the presenter is really
in trouble: the questioner did not get an answer and a topic has
been brought up that many people were hoping would not have to
be discussed.
How
do you stop this behavior? First, you must learn to ignore the
chatter in your head that is saying, "What if I don't know
the answer?" "That's not a very good question."
"The person asking me that question is out to put me down."
"How dare she ask me that? I know what I'm doing!" This
self-defeating internal dialogue prevents you from answering a
question concisely and to the point. Instead, you should be saying
to yourself:
- "Calm
down. You know the subject."
- "People
are curious and it's their job to ask questions. Relax."
- "Answer
the question and stop talking. Then ask, 'Do you need more information
about this now?'"
Here
are some other techniques that work, depending on the situation:
- Sometimes
you can rephrase the question a bit and inquire, "Is this
what you are asking?" You can also say, "I'm not exactly
sure what you are asking. Can you rephrase your question?"
- Use a lead-in
phrase to relax yourself. Try: "Yes, I know that has been
a concern of yours." Or "Yes, we are considering how
to handle this particular problem if it occurs. Here
is one idea." Or "Your question deserves two different
responses. The first response has to do with how we are working
given the state of the project now. The second response has
to do with how we will work when we get three new people."
Finally,
to be concise, to-the-point, and brief, you need to practice being
asked questions and answering them, out loud.
SET
THE OVERALL CONTEXT FOR YOUR RECOMMENDATION
Recently
I was very fortunate to hear Anna Quindlen speak. She was amazing!
By the end of 20 minutes she had the audience of 750 people in
her hand. We, at the tables, had already donated for this fundraiser.
But if someone had stood up then and there and asked us to give
more, I imagine many of us would have doubled our donation.
Anna
Quindlen had one key point: "If women have made it higher
up in the echelons of companies, it is not for having their name
on stationery or buying a bigger home. If that's all they think
about, what a waste. Women are now at the point to help other
women who still have no or low paying jobs with children to feed
and bills to pay. That's our job. Help them develop and grow."
But she didn't make her point for a while. First she gave the
history, in broad and personal terms, of how women have increased
their ability to earn a living. She was funny; she was serious.
And by the end of her talk, she had taken all of us, no matter
what our age, on our journey to using our power and skills in
the world.
Next
time you want your audience to accept your recommendation, set
a context that is broad enough for your message to really fit
into the future that your audience wants.
USE
EASY-ON-THE-EYES ANIMATIONS - BUT NOT TOO MANY
Many
presentations include too many animations. Besides disruptive
slide transitions, there is text shooting in from all directions.
First of all, your colleagues at work are probably wondering how
you can afford to spend all that time doing animations - don't
you have something better to do? Second, too many animations are
really not fun to look at.
Just
because you can animate almost anything on your screen doesn't
mean you should. Don't overdo it! Animate less than one quarter
of your slides, and then only to make a point. Use
the animations to tell a story and to make it easier for your
audience to understand your information.
How
to animate: Under Slide Show>Custom Animation, select the text
or image to animate. Try these effects:
- Text: PowerPoint
2002: wipe right. 2003: wipe from left, fade.
- Images:
2002: box out. 2003: circle, diamond. Emphasis: grow/shrink
and spin.
SMALL REMOTE MOUSE FOR YOUR LAPTOP
In
my classes I ask people to bring a separate remote mouse - much
faster and easier to use with a laptop. Those who don't use a
remote usually take longer to work in PowerPoint. When I point
this out and suggest they need a remote mouse, they say, "Oh
no, I do this all the time." Once in a while I lend someone
my own remote mouse, and I can see how much more quickly and easily
they follow along. Do yourself, your arm, and your shoulders a
favor! Carry a remote mouse with you.
ELIMINATE
ANSWERING IN ENCLYCLOPEDIA MODE
As
we discussed above, some people don't answer the question at all.
Others, like John, the subject of our case study, give too much
information.
Situation:
John, the expert on his company's product, was constantly involved
in presentations to customers and potential customers.
Problem:
John felt he needed to share most of his knowledge when answering
questions. The salesperson saw customers go blank after a couple
of minutes listening to John. Even the technical customers seemed
bored.
Step
1: Give shorter answers: John was told he had to cut back
on the amount of information he shared. The company needed him
in the meetings, but he should try to answer every question in
two short sentences.
Step
2: Ask if it's enough information: John trained himself to
look at the questioner's face to figure out if the person was
satisfied with the answer. If he wasn't sure, he would ask, "Do
you want any more details about this now?" Or he would say,
"What other details would you like me to discuss now?"
Step
3: Discuss answers: John had debriefing sessions after each
presentation. He sat down with his manager or someone else in
the meeting and asked, "What do I need to continue, start,
or stop doing when I am answering the questions?"
Result:
John's colleagues no longer dread his part of the presentation.
They see that he can help them generate customer excitement for
the product.
Fixing
PowerPoint Annoyances by Echo Swinford. I mentioned this book
several months ago, but I am telling you again. If you work in
PowerPoint, you want to have this book by your side. If every
day or even once a week you looked through it, you would save
yourself hours of frustration. Here are some of the topics covered
in the book: making toolbar icons stay in the one place, keeping
he sound when emailing a presentation and setting a new default
master slide.
Winning
Presentations Seminar. Public offering: February 6 and 7, 2007
Bring a presentation, redo it during class, learn to deliver it
with confidence, and convince your audience that you know the
subject inside out.
Creating
PowerPoint Presentations That Get Your Point Across
One-day seminar in companies.
This seminar is open to those who both create and deliver presentations,
or just to those who create. There is no delivery practice in
this class. After one day you will:
- Leave with
a redone presentation, backgrounds, formats, company template,
and company color scheme.
- Learn how
to create PowerPoint slides that enhance your presentation's
objective.
- Redo the
structure of a presentation using a format.
- Use the
"Total" Visual Checklist and the "Single"
Visual Checklist to improve presentation slides and content.
- Analyze
slide examples and understand the rationale for using and not
using certain PowerPoint features, such as animations and builds.
- Change
the pace of the presentation using images, graphical shapes,
and appropriate animations.
- Learn specific
PowerPoint features that create powerful visuals.
- Redo three
slides following the suggested conventions and standards.
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 1/3 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.
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