thoughts on . . . presentations

PRESENTATIONS

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Beliefs based on personal values, experience and readings. This reading is continually under review & will never be finished Comments/feedback always welcome. Twitter: https://twitter.com/2010Robh

Blog: http://2010robh.blogspot.com.au/

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FRAME YOUR STORY

22/10/2014 AU.LINKEDIN.COM/PUB/ROBERT-HUGGAN/24/9B9/793 2

• Structure: present the problem, describes the search for a solution, provide an “aha” moment.

• Explain why the audience should care.

• Think of the story as the allegory for your overall thesis.

• Play to emotion – use vignettes, metaphors, images and quotes to give meaning .

• Use slides to complement your presentation; not as a crutch .

• Make it clear you’re dealing in hypotheses, NOT Certainties

• There must be “surprise” - sell novelty yet “fit” with “core values”

• Use simple language, free of jargons.

• Summarize from time to time as the story emerges.

• Prepare a single page with nitty-gritty tips based off your presentation

• Ask for the sale!

•





PLAN YOUR DELIVERY


• Get personal. Be genuine. Tell them a story about yourself - one they can relate to.

• Memorize your talk. Rehearse until the flow of words become second nature.

• 1 hour presentation 30 hrs crafting the story 30 hrs building slides 30 hrs rehearsing

• If you can’t memorise, don’t try. Go with bullet points on note cards.

• Rehearse in front of other people – preferably with more experienced presenters

• The goal is to appear persuasive, not smart. Find examples from other people and companies to help illustrate your points.

• Focus on three things, and in this order:

• Inspiring your audience

• High-level takeaways

• Nitty gritty tactics for implementation

• Add humour. This is really more of a bonus than necessity

• There is no shortcut to excellence





DEVELOP STAGE PRESENCE


• The most important physical act onstage is making eye contact.

Find five or six friendly looking people in different parts of the audience and look them in

the eye as you speak

• Be conversational. Don’t force it. Don’t orate. Just be you.

• Slow down. To an almost comically slow pace.

• If you can’t walk around naturally, stand still and use hand gestures for emphasis.

• Keeping lower body motionless can dramatically improve stage presence.

• It’s about quality of the idea, the narrative, and the passion of the speaker - not speaking

style or multimedia pyrotechnics.





READINGS Readings contain my take home messages and do not necessarily reflect the author ’s complete work.


TOM PETERS’ PRESENTATION EXCELLENCE

1/2

• An effective speech to 1,000 people is 1,000 intimate, 1-on-1 conversations!

• Great data are imperative, but primarily you must play to emotion – use vignettes.

• There must be “surprise” - sell novelty yet “fit” with “core values”

• The goal is to appear persuasive — not “the smartest guy in the room.” You are just the medium.

• Make it clear you’re dealing in hypotheses, NOT Certainties

• Know the data from memory and adjust as necessary

• Really really really rehearse your ass off! (One hour per minute of speech)

• Use PPT slides as notecards - (very!) limited stuff in big, boldface type.

• Slides with quotes provide 98% of my credibility

• Summarize from time to time as the story emerges.

• Conclude NOTHING (the audience reaches the conclusion) but ask for the sale!






TOM PETERS’ PRESENTATION EXCELLENCE TECHNICAL STUFF 2/2

• Eye Contact !

• A Presentation is an Act. You are an actor.

• Energy! Enthusiasm!

• Every slide must be exquisitely readable from the very back of the room!

• Tone of voice! “Research indicates the pitch, volume and pace of your voice affect what people think you said about five times as much as the actual words you used.”

• Keep the room lights (way) up! You cannot have one thousand 1-on-1 “conversations” with the audience with the lights low. You have to see the whites of their eyes. It’s a conversation.

“In classical times when Cicero had finished speaking, the people said, ‘How well he spoke’, but when Demosthenes had finished speaking, they said, ‘Let us march.’” Adlai Stevenson






WHAT WOULD STEVE JOBS DO ? 10 LESSONS FROM THE WORLD’S MOST CAPTIVATING PRESENTERS


1. Craft a story that captures both heart & mind .

Emotions make stories stick. Logic doesn’t flood the brain with dopamine, which is why logic alone doesn’t

move mountains

2. Create slides that lead your audience to say “YES.”

3. Start by telling us why we should care

4. Show us how your product will make our lives better

5. Use simple language, free of jargons.

6. Use metaphors to give meaning

7. Ditch the bullet points. Permanently.

8. Don’t just tell us. Show us with images

9. It’s not a presentation. It’s a performance.

1 hour presentation 30 hours crafting the story 30 hours building the slides 30 hours rehearsing

10. There is no shortcut to excellence





HOW TO DELIVER PRESENTATIONS THAT ARE AWE-

INSPIRING, NOT YAWN-INDUCING BY COREY ERIDON


• Let your guard down. Get personal. Be genuine. Tell them a story about yourself - one they can relate to.

• Use slides to complement your presentation; not as a crutch. Your audience are here to hear you speak about something, not read about it.

• Tell a story. Simply think of the story as the allegory for your overall thesis.

• Don’t keep tootin’ your own horn. Find examples from other people and companies to help illustrate your points.

• Focus on inspiration over tactics. Focus on three things, and in this order:

1. Inspiring your audience

2. High-level takeaways

3. Nitty gritty tactics for implementation

• Tip: Prepare a one-sheeter with nitty-gritty tips based off your presentation

• Slow down. To an almost comically slow pace.

• Make ‘em laugh. This is really more of a bonus trick.





HOW TO GIVE A KILLER PRESENTATION BY CHRIS ANDERSON (HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW)


• Frame Your Story

• Many of the best talks have a narrative structure that loosely follows a detective story. The speaker starts out

by presenting a problem and then describes the search for a solution. There’s an “aha” moment, and the

audience’s perspective shifts in a meaningful way.

• Plan Your delivery

• Memorize your talk. Rehearse until the flow of words become second nature.

• If you cant memorise, don’t try. Go with bullet points on note cards.

• Be conversational. Don’t force it. Don’t orate. Just be you .

• Rehearse in front of other people – preferably with more experienced presenters .

• Develop Stage Presence

• The most important physical act onstage is making eye contact. Find five or six friendly looking people in

different parts of the audience and look them in the eye as you speak.

• Keeping lower body motionless can dramatically improve stage presence .

• If you can’t walk around naturally, stand still and use hand gestures for emphasis.

• Putting It Together

• It’s about quality of the idea, the narrative, and the passion of the speakere - not speaking style or multimedia

pyrotechnics.





THE ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING

BY DALE CARNEGIE






thoughts on . . . presentations

Leadership & Management