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June 2002

In this month's free e-news from Wilder Presentations, I'd like to discuss three ideas for presenters and one for designers. As always, there's a monthly challenge at the end. And find out about my tele-seminar in July.

FOR PRESENTERS:

STEP 7: CONCLUDE WITH CONVICTION

ARE YOU AN INTROVERT OR AN EXTROVERT?

Introverts and extroverts have different presentation styles, and these differences are especially important to consider when ending a presentation. This is a crucial time for you to obtain final agreement on your ideas. Here are some ideas to help you conclude.

If you're an introvert…

¨ Practice concluding with flair and conviction. Even if you're not the demonstrative type, display a little emotion during your closing statement through gestures or a stronger, more enthusiastic tone of voice.

¨ Your tendency will be to want to leave as soon as you're done, but stay around after your talk to speak with people from the audience. Don't bolt out the door as soon as you finish your last sentence.

Extroverts

¨ Stop talking! Conclude sooner rather than later. Your summary should not be the same length as your talk. More is not always better.

¨ Answer questions briefly. This is especially true when people approach you after your talk. You've had your say; now let them talk. Listen to their comments.

The most important point about a conclusion is that you give it. Don't just fade out at the end of your talk. Wrap up and summarize your points and end with a confident open posture and with conviction in your voice. Then, have three seconds of silence after your last sentence before you move.

FOR PRESENTERS:

BE DARING! ASK THE AUDIENCE WHAT THEY WANT TO HEAR

Jessie Orlich, a Costa Rican who is a microbiologist turned human resource consultant, sent me this wonderful example of a recent talk. Here's what she reported:

"I had carefully prepared a 2-hour presentation and after introductions and the usual initial stuff, started out by telling my audience (about 26 people) what we would be covering. Then I got this crazy idea and asked them if that was what they wanted to hear. It turned that wasn't what they wanted to hear! I ended up using only 2 slides (out of 17), both of which were models, and the rest was a lively conversation. After two hours, the audience was still sitting and waiting for more.

You are very right - it was crazy and daring, but I ended up covering the main points in a very unstructured but interesting way. Much harder work, but a much nicer experience."

It is so important to experiment and ask the audience what they want. You'll end up having a more enlivening experience, and that will make you a better presenter.

FOR PRESENTERS AND DESIGNERS:

SCREEN TIME FOR POWERPOINT

I've been experimenting with a program called Screen Time for PowerPoint. Their web site is www.ScreenTime.com. Go to Screen Time for PowerPoint. Essentially you can save a PowerPoint file as a screen saver. So rather than a single screen saver image, the slides change. Give it to your customers - it's a fun way to remind people who you are. I'm creating a screen saver of my Ten Steps to Presenting. If you'd like a copy,

e-mail me and I'll be happy to send it to you in a couple of weeks.

FOR DESIGNERS:

POWERPOINT TEMPLATE IDEAS

Some of you may already be familiar with these hints and some of you may not. Here are the features to set up when you are creating a new template.

Text Box: First create a text box on the slide. Then go to Format>Text Box to change your text box features. You can then set your changes to be the default. To change the font, go to Slide Master>Format>Font. That is the default for your text box.

Title Size: Select Arial Narrow 36 if you have long titles. You can squeeze more text into one line.

Title Location: Make sure the title is in the upper one-eighth of the screen so there's lots of room on the slide for photos and charts.

Bulleted Text: Make the first-level bullets 28, the second level 24, and the third level 22.

Animations: Do not set up your animations to automatically animate on every slide. People really don't like all that movement. You also don't need transitions between every slide - that gets old and boring very fast. For animations use Wipe Right for text. That is how English is read. If your slides are in a language that reads in a different direction, set up the animations accordingly.

Slide Background: Sometimes it helps if the background elements in the Slide Master are separate so they can be moved around. Try not to have a background that is either all there or all gone with no ability to change any of it. For example, you can put the logo separately or certain product photos separately so they can be switched for different products.

MONTHLY CHALLENGES:

PRESENTERS

After speaking your last sentence, look at your audience, count to three, then move.

DESIGNERS

Look over your templates and be sure they are easy to use.

COMMENTS OUR READERS

Getting the participants involved: David Crossley in the United Kingdom has this advice about encouraging audience members to listen: "I try to prevent audiences from not really listening in 3 ways. Firstly, I co-ordinate with the learners and their managers. Secondly, just before the course I ask, by mail or e-mail, all the learners to make a list of everything they would be doing if they were not at the course that day. Then I ask them to cross off anything that can be deferred until later and to delegate those things that have to be done to trusted colleagues. That way they can attend with a quiet mind. On the day I begin with an activity to either challenge the learners or relax and direct their minds to the course. I encourage questions and having the learners share their experiences and knowledge where possible. I find it makes people feel good to share their experiences."

Do a real rehearsal: "Do a real rehearsal in the clothes you are going to wear. One time I was in a play in which I had to die on stage. I wore a skirt the night of the performance. As I was dying I kept trying to die in a way that kept my skirt from going up to my waist. I reminded myself later, 'If only I'd practiced in the same clothes I wore the night of the performance. Whoever saw someone dying while holding their skirt down?'"

Someone else's animations drove me crazy: "I borrowed someone else's slides for my talk. I looked through them the day before my talk. The slides made sense to me. The day of the talk was the first time I put them in slide show mode. Every slide was animated. I couldn't believe it. Every phrase, every chart, and every photo moved in some way. I ended up just clicking until the phrases were on the screen. It was just too many different kinds of animations for me. Next time I'll see the slides in exactly the way the audience will see them."

THREE WEEK ON-LINE TELE-COURSE:

DEVELOP AND DESIGN EFFECTIVE PRESENTATIONS

I'm doing a tele-course from 7:30 to 8:30 AM Eastern Standard Time on July 1, 8, and 15. I know this limits who can sign up, but in the future I'll be doing more courses for people in different time zones. If you want a course outline, please e-mail me.

REVIEW OF POINT, CLICK & WOW!

Go to this link if you want to read a review of my latest book Point, Click & Wow!

http://www.llrx.com/columns/guide63.htm

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Copyright 2001, Claudyne Wilder. All rights reserved.