1. Case Presentations Some Hints for Improvement

2. Agenda Lay the Foundation Make the Argument Provide Evidence Retain Critical Stance Engage Your Audience Use of Power Point

3. Lay the Foundation The purpose of the presentation is to interpret the case to your audience. This means telling them about the case, but only the important points It also means critiquing what has already happened in terms of what we know about business and IT Finally, it means arguing for a prescription or recommendation for what this company should do (usually should have done) to achieve success or to avoid the failure it has experienced. Description Diagnosis Debate

4. Lay the Foundation Just enough facts Not too few Not too many Economic Models General Principles IT ideas and models Supply Chain E-Commerce

5. Make The Argument There is a Choice We Recom- mend We do not recommend Alternatives (1) Do nothing (2) At least one other alternative What indicates that these are not good recommendations What bad results should occur and why Your Recommendation Describe it What indicates that this is a good recommendation (should follow from analysis) What results should occur and why (cite theory from course) Unintended consequences

6. Evidence Data from the Case IT Principles New Economy IT Principles New Economy Business Models Financial Models Business Models Financial Models Expert Opinion Logic Textbook Expert Opinion Logic Textbook

7. Retain Critical Stance For each fact: “So What?” Does this enhance my argument? For each conclusion: “How is this true?” For each statement: “Is this true? How do I know? Who says?” Am I being skeptical? Questioning? Efficient?

8. Engage Your Audience Ask the AUDIENCE questions? Challenge their prejudices Summarize occasionally Vary the tone from conveying information to preaching to beseeching to asking Remember primary aim is to convince your audience of your major thesis: We recommend doing X for this firm and here’s why. It doesn’t hurt to use PowerPoint’s ability to impress or awe or even embarrass…

9. Power-Points (1)Keep text and reading to a minimum (2)Use animation to emphasize or seal your points. (3)Diagrams and images are great, but make them readable and not too dense (4)Don’t just read the slides. The slides summarize or emphasize or demonstrate but they are not a textbook emphasize

10. Examples Do Don’t Use a small number of words (1)List (2)Points (3)In some useful (4)Order Vary typeface to make points Use color to draw attention Jam lots of text into your slides in tiny tiny fonts so that your audience spends all their time reading and not understanding, precluding any kind of interaction whatsoever and reducing the value of what you have to say. Present totally order in audience that information is random your so confused Use lots of fonts without any apparent purpose Use color so much it becomes a distraction.

11. More Examples Do Don’t Introduce with an agenda Have a recognizable structure Summarize after each section (not necessarily with slide) Summarize at the end Make contact with your audience Have dim type on dark background Make everyone in the group present; choose your best presenters Assume everyone’s read the case Ignore your audience