Delivering Presentations Fabio Carrera October 20, 2003

Outline  Introduction/Demo  Content  Authority  Material  Form  Organization  Design  Mechanics  The Art…

What is a presentation?  Transfer of information  A “transaction” (bidirectional)  Requires “handshaking” You are the vehicle!

The Challenges  Your Fear (more than death)  The Audience’s attention (ASC)  The Venue  The Tools and Techniques

Content and Form  Good stuff and well presented  Interesting and attractive  Useful and entertaining  Inspiring and fun Don’t bore us!

Content Three rules: 1. Know your stuff 2. Know it well 3. Know it like the back of your hand Know it!

Authority Assert yourself!  Why should I listen to YOU?  I know all this stuff already  What can you tell me that I don’t already know?  Who are you anyway?

Material Control it!  Be selective  Save the best for last  Skip the details  Surprise us !

Form Shape it!  Preparation  Organization  Design  Mechanics  Artistry

Preparation Prepare it!  Topic(s)  Format  Venue  Apparatus  Rehearsal

Organization Organize it!  Standards  Requirements  Logic  Storyline

IQP Presentations Title Slide Context Problem/Issue/Gap Major Project Goal (Mission Statement) Methodology Objectives Methods Expected Results Expected Analyses Deliverables Acknowledgments Questions or Comments? Standard Proposal Presentation Structure

Design Design it!  Backgrounds  Fonts  Colors  Visuals  Animations

Backgrounds  Make your own  Be creative  Keep them subtle  Be consistent

Fonts  Keep them simple  Keep them consistent  Make sure they are readable  Make them large  Make them stand out

Colors  Use only a couple  Differentiate Titles from Body  Make sure body text is readable against background  Use accents only rarely for truly important stuff

Visuals  Use them profusely  Make believe audience is foreign  Enhance without distracting  Pace them appropriately

Animation  Use it wisely  Avoid weird effects  Use “appear”, “fade” and a couple other effects ONLY  Enhance without distracting

Mechanics  Slides  Props  Delivery

Slide Mechanics  Grammar and Usage  Consistency  Information content  Use “real estate” wisely

Prop Mechanics  Avoid distracting props  Add non-powerpoint props  Avoid handouts/distractions  Make props useful!

Delivery Mechanics  Introduction  Tone and Volume  Gestures and Presence  Poise and Control  Transitions  Finale

The Art of Presentation  Emphasize the key message  Have a take-home and a take-away  Adjust and rephrase as needed  Make eye contact and get feedback  Assert and Impress  Draw and retain attention

The Art of Presentation  Amaze without overwhelming  Joke appropriately  Mislead and surprise!  Create a crescendo  Insert a false finale  Produce a powerful climax

Do’s PLAN it FOCUS it ORGANIZE and STREAMLINE it REHEARSE and TIME it MASTER it DELIVER it ADJUST it Overall Presentation

Do’s BIG text MEANINGFUL titles CONSISTENT fonts CONGRUOUS bullets Keep it professional dude PROFESSIONAL TRANSITIONS Slide Mechanics

Do’s RELAX GET FEEDBACK (make eye contact) BE CONFIDENT SURPRISE and AMAZE MOVE and COMPEL PREPARE for THE WORST MAINTAIN COMPOSURE DON’T PANIC … Delivery Mechanics Be natural!

Don’t’s NO CROWDING with way too much text that nobody can read even if they wanted to and it really doesn’t add anything to the slide, but merely distracts the audience NOT TOO MUCH nor TOO LITTLE INFORMATION on slide OTHER DON’Ts Slide Mechanics

Don’t’s NO READING NO DISTRACTIONS NO MUMBLING NO FACING the SCREEN Delivery Mechanics

Don’t’s NO TANGENTS NO DETAILS (please!) Content

REMEMBER that  The audience is on your side  You are the vehicle  Your success is measured by how much they understood They must get it!

POSTERS  Be really Selective!!  Don’t crowd them  Entice and Connect Whet their appetite!