Tag Archives: slides

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Get Power Point Right

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All right,  we’re concluding the  “make the most of summer”  theme by taking a look at Power Point and how we can buff up our expertise.  As we all know,  a vital ongoing business goal for Freelancers is staying visible within our client and referral pool.  That means one of your objectives as we approach September and the fourth quarter is to nail down a speaking gig at a business or professional association that is frequented by potential clients and referral sources.  That could cause you to use Power Point.

The technology has been around for 20 years but most people,  including frequent users,  still get Power Point wrong.  We put too much stuff on our slides.  Someone tells us we should liven things up and recommends that we use Clip Art,  so we throw that in plus some cheesy slide transitions,  too,  to make sure that our audience stays awake.  We use too many slides because we depend on Power Point like a crutch to move our presentation along,  rather than using our words and insights to create the flow.

I understand that when teaching a course there will be perhaps many slides and more text than in a presentation for a meeting or conference.  Nevertheless,  instructors and presenters need to unchain themselves from Power Point tyranny and learn to use the technology to its full advantage.  Here are a few guidelines that will help you to finally get Power Point right:

  • Tell a compelling story that the audience will value and understand.  The story must have a beginning,  middle and end.
  • Frame the big issue that you must address at the beginning; then discuss the major challenges and opportunities that will impact that challenge; state the solution at the end.  Conclude with a summary of key points to wrap things up.
  • Distill the major points: give broad strokes and avoid complex details.
  • Sprinkle in a few relevant charts and graphs that support your story.  They also provide visual interest.
  • Use bullet points.  Communicate in short and powerful statements,  not paragraphs.
  • Do not clutter your slides with text.  Do not use  “busy”  charts or graphs.  Make the slides clear and easy to read.
  • Check your spelling and grammar.
  • Keep the fonts consistent and background colors and designs appropriate to your topic and audience.  Avoid Clip Art and distracting slide transitions.
  • Practice your presentation and ensure that your dialogue and slides work together smoothly.
  • Be enthusiastic,  be confident and engage your audience.  Have fun!

 

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Professional Development , , , , Leave a comment

Present With Pizzazz

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In this column I have often urged those who want to establish themselves as experts in their chosen field to find speaking and teaching opportunities.  Getting out in front of an audience is a time-tested way to identify and impress potential clients and referral sources,  a good way to drum up business.  So maybe it’s time to review a few useful presentation techniques that will make you feel more confident and therefore more likely to pursue this strategy.

Keep it simple and tell a story

The best speakers know that the more complex the topic,  the more important to make it easy for the audience to understand.  Distill a complicated message into fewer words.  Include a personal anecdote or story that illustrates a key point you’re trying to make.  A story makes your presentation more compelling by placing the message into a context that is relevant to the audience.  A story paints a picture and helps the audience make sense of the topic.

You are the star

You are the speaker and the stage belongs to you.  Do not allow slides to upstage your talk.  How do you do that?  By not using your slides as a crutch.  By not posting your entire talk onto slides.  Avoid presenting a boat load of text-heavy slides that you read from,  instead of speaking to and connecting with those who came out for you.  

On your slides include important charts and graphs,  key statistics,  major talking points and relevant visuals that support and advance your message.  Practice your presentation often and get to know your material,  so you won’t be overly dependent on slides.

Engage and involve your audience

Most of all,  give the right talk.  Know what the audience expects you to address.  The person who schedules your talk can help you choose a topic and give you the heads-up re: big questions that audience members may want answered.  To keep your audience engaged,  pose a question or two at some point in your presentation.  Also,  be willing to answer questions as you go along and make your presentation more of a conversation with the audience.

We deliver

While good content is essential,  that alone will not win over an audience.  Body language and delivery also matter.  Audiences size up and judge a speaker within the first three minutes of a presentation.  Be sure to project confidence,  expertise,  good humor and approachability.  Smile,  make eye contact and use a pleasant,  yet authoritative,  tone of voice.  Show appropriate enthusiasm and passion for your subject matter.  Let the audience know that you like being up there speaking.  

How to get to Carnegie Hall

Practice and practice some more.  It takes a lot of work to make a presentation look effortless.  Skilled presenters give the impression that their clever ad libs and convincing responses to questions are all ex tempore,  but nothing could be further from the truth.  The fact is,  successful presentations are built on lots of preparation and rehearsal time: wordsmithing what may sound too complex or unclear,  deciding what text and visuals to include on slides,  how to integrate the slides with the talk,  anticipating questions and formulating good answers.  Read your talk out loud and record your voice,  to make sure that you pace your delivery appropriately.

An effective presentation should inform, educate and entertain.  Make that happen when you simplify your message and de-clutter your slides,  interact with the audience by asking and answering questions throughout your talk and practice a lot.  Hit your mark and the audience will regard you as an expert.  Mission accomplished.

Thanks for reading,

Kim