powerpoint presentation tips

PowerPoint Presentation Nightmares

2011-08-13T22:57:00.000-07:00

Six PowerPoint Nightmares (and How to Fix Them)
By Lincoln Spector, PCWorld

You're giving a speech in front of an audience, and suddenly you realize that you're naked.

Even if you've never experienced that particular nightmare, you've probably heard of it. Luckily, it will probably never happen to you in real life (and if it does, you work in a very interesting industry). But if your PowerPoint presentation goes wrong in front of a gathering of your peers--or worse, a gathering of your bosses--you have a real, waking nightmare on your hands.

Here are solutions to six PowerPoint nightmares. The first two deal with problems that may arise when you're designing a presentation. The remaining four focus on avoiding disasters that you might otherwise not see until your audience saw them, too.

These tips will help you save face when using either PowerPoint 2007 or PowerPoint 2010.
1. I Can't Format Text Around an Image

Why doesn't PowerPoint handle pictures and text as well as Microsoft Word does?

Whatever the reason, it doesn't. So if you want to place an image in the middle of a paragraph, you have to work around PowerPoint's limitations. Here are two ways to do that:

If you want to put the image in the middle of an otherwise normal paragraph, you have to create a space for it manually: Place the text box and image on the same slide. Then move the picture into the middle of the text block and resize it to your liking. Right-click the picture and select Send to Back. Now, starting with the first line of text that overlaps the picture, insert spaces or tabs until the text surrounds but doesn’t block the picture.

You've probably already guessed the problem with this solution: Any changes you make after adding all of the spaces will throw things off and require you to redo much of the work.

If instead you want text to curve around an image, you can use WordArt. Select the text box, and click the ribbon's Drawing Tools/Format tab. Click Text Effects (if you don't see the words 'Text Effects', look for the softly glowing blue letter A). In the resulting pull-down menu, select Transform, and then choose the most promising shape. Move, resize, and reshape the circle by dragging it.

2. I Hate That Font

Don't like the font that you (or a coworker) used throughout a lengthy presentation? Want to change it to something else?

In the Home tab's Editing group, pull down the Replace menu and select Replace Fonts. Select the appropriate fonts and click Replace.

3. PowerPoint Won't Open My Presentation

You bring your presentation on a flash drive, plug it into your host's computer (connected to a projector), double-click the file--and get the fateful error message.

You may have checked ahead to confirm that the host computer had PowerPoint loaded on it, but did you ask which version? The file format changed with PowerPoint 2007.

The easiest way to avoid compatibility issues is to use the old file format. Your files will be significantly bigger, but you probably won't run into other problems.

You can make the old format your default in the PowerPoint Options dialog box. To get there in PowerPoint 2007, click the Office orb in the upper-left corner, and then click the PowerPoint Options button. In version 2010, click the Ribbon's File tab, and in the left pane click Options.

Once you're in the dialog box, click Save in the left pane. For the 'Save files in this format' option, select PowerPoint Presentation 97-2003.

The owner of the computer can fix the problem by installing either the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 file formats or the PowerPoint Viewer 2007. Both are free. But that's their decision to make, not yours.

4. The Audience Can't Read the Text

Your slides can be completely legible in the office, but projected on the big screen they may be difficult for your audience to read.

You can't assume that the projector you'll be using during the presentation will exactly replicate the colors on your monitor. Subtle--or not so subtle--differences in shade, brightness, and contrast are common.

The solution is to avoid subtle color differences when choosing your font and background colors. Think in terms of color opposites:

Black and white
Red and cyan
Green and magenta
Blue and yellow

Of these four pairs, yellow text on a blue background is probably the most pleasing to the eye. White text on any truly dark color will also be readable.

If you want to experiment but ensure that your results will be readable, try Dave Paradi's Color Contrast Calculator. For a design tool, this Web page is surprisingly text-heavy and unfriendly, but it can tell you whether your two colors will produce legible results.

The calculator requires you to enter the three numbers that define each color. To obtain these numbers for the background color, right-click a blank spot on the slide and select Format Background. In the Fill section of the resulting dialog box, pull down the Color menu and select More Colors. You'll see Red, Green, and Blue values below the colorful graphic. (If you don't, change the Color model to RGB.)

For the text color, select some text and then click the Ribbon's Home tab. In the Font section, click the pull-down arrow by the color icon (an A with a thick, red underline) and select More Colors. You'll get the same dialog box.

5. That's Not the Font I Picked!

So you replaced an ugly-looking font with an attractive one (see problem #2 above), and then you got the colors right (see problem #4). But when you launched your presentation, the font onscreen wasn't the one you picked.

Unless you're sure that you'll be running your presentation from your own laptop, you should embed your fonts to avoid font overrides from the host machine. You can do the embedding from the PowerPoint Options dialog box.

To get to that box in PowerPoint 2007, click first the Office orb and then the PowerPoint Options button. In 2010, click the Ribbon's File tab and then click Options in the left pane.

Once you're in the dialog box, click Save the in left pane. Then check Embed fonts in the file.

6. Audio Plays Only on My PC

Fonts aren't the only components of your slideshow that may fail to follow your PowerPoint file to another PC. If you've added music or other audio to your presentation, it may play flawlessly on your computer, but elsewhere leave you with the sound of silence.

First question: Does the presentation PC have speakers attached to it, and are they powerful enough to fill the room? If you have sound with your presentation, you need to answer this question in advance.

But what if the setup is capable of blasting Beethoven's Fifth through the audience, and yet the song in your presentation doesn't make a peep? Unless you're sure that you'll never have to run the presentation off anything except your own laptop, you need to set up your slideshow in a way that avoids this particular embarrassment.

There are two ways to add sound to a PowerPoint presentation: You can link the audio, which tells PowerPoint to play a particular audio file, or you can embed the audio information inside the PowerPoint file itself.

You might expect, in view of the advice I gave earlier about fonts, that the better approach is to embed the audio into your PowerPoint file. But that's not the case here because PowerPoint will let you embed audio that it may not be able to play. For instance, if you embed an MP3 file in PowerPoint 2010, you may not be able to play it in PowerPoint 2007.

A better approach is to link to the audio file in a way that eliminates all path issues. Before inserting any sounds into your slideshow, create a separate folder for your presentation. Put the PowerPoint file there, along with any audio files that you'll be using. (If you're playing songs from your audio library, be sure to copy--rather than move--the files. Otherwise, you'll have trouble enjoying them later.)

When it's time to insert audio, be sure to link rather than embed:

In PowerPoint 2007, click first the Office orb in the upper-left corner and then the PowerPoint Options button. Click Advanced in the left pane. Scroll down to the Save section. Make sure that the value of the 'Link sounds with file size greater than' option is smaller than the size of the smallest audio file you'll be using.

There's no such setting in PowerPoint 2010. In the Insert Audio dialog box, select but don't double-click the file; then pull down the Insert menu near lower-right corner, and select Link to File.

Take the folder, rather than the file, with you to your presentation.

After you're done with your technically flawless presentation, you can go home and have a good night's sleep--assuming, of course, that everyone in the audience stayed awake during the presentation.

Articles of Related Interest: For a review of non-PowerPoint presentation-software options available online, see "PowerPoint Alternatives: Presentation-Tool Showdown." For a Mac-centric discussion of how to improve a PowerPoint presentation, see "Five Favorite PowerPoint Tips." And for examples of what not to do under any circumstances, see our slideshow, "The World's Worst PowerPoint Presentations."

Contributing Editor Lincoln Spector writes PC World's Answer Line column and blog, as well as the movie blog Bayflicks.net. Follow Lincoln on Twitter.

MY THOUGHTS

Great tips. I still need to check the color contrast thing but the rest of the tips seem easy to work on.

How to Answer the Question: "WHAT DO YOU DO?"

2011-07-21T18:44:00.000-07:00

How to Answer the Question: “What Do You Do?”
By Penelope Trunk | July 21, 2011

So what do you do?

It’s the question that people are often asked. Some instinctively know how to answer it well. But most don’t. The fact is, the question is so open-ended that it’s almost like a trick question. Any answer is right, technically, but most answers are boring and so therefore, probably detrimental to your career.

The problem for most of us is that our lives are long and complicated, and it’s hard to know what’s most important.

Here are some tips:

1.Talk fast.

When someone says to you, “What do you do?” it’s an invitation to you to give your elevator pitch about you. And elevator pitch, it should be noted, is called that because you should be able to start and finish the answer to the question in the time it takes to ride in an elevator.

Entrepreneurs have to be ready at all times to catch someone in an elevator who can fund their company, and then pitch that person, on the spot, to convince them to hear more about the company later.

So the answer to the question should be only a few sentences. If they are good sentences, the person will ask for more info. If you can’t give a good answer in less than a minute, then you have no idea how to talk about yourself when someone wants to talk longer.

2. Convey self-respect.

It’s hard to cover up self-doubt when you feel it. But talking about yourself in a framework of self-doubt does not make you honest - it makes you boring. Because we all have self-doubt. It’s natural to have self-doubt. It’s an accomplishment to figure out how to work around it and still get things done. What it interesting about each of us is how to get around the self-doubt. Talk about that.

When I was married to my ex-husband, and people would ask me what he does, I’d say, “I don’t know.” I think my answer revealed the inevitable demise of our marriage. Because having an answer to the question is a sign of self-respect - for ones spouse or for oneself.

3. Know your audience.

There is no one, single, right way to describe “what you do.” The key is to tailor your answer to your audience. And the way to know which answer is best for which audience is knowing your list of possibilities. Then, you can choose your one-sentence summary from the list you have in your head. For example, if you paint at home and you are a sales person, your summary of your life includes painting AND sales if you’re interviewing for a sales position at an art company. But if you’re interviewing at a software company? Your summary does not include painting.

4. Leave out boring stuff.

When people ask you what do you do, they are really asking, “what is interesting about you?” So you don’t need to confess that you stay in bed until noon and then watch movies for five hours. Retail may be a great way to support yourself when you are trying to figure out what’s next. And moving back into your parents house is a smart, conservative step in a wacky economy. But you don’t need to tell people this stuff. It’s not going to reveal interesting things about you.

Talk about that one hour, toward the end of the day, when you finally motivate yourself to do something. What if your most interesting work occurs outside of your day job? That’s okay. You should talk about what excites you and what you’re passionate about, even if this is something you don’t get paid for. People are not asking about money when they “what do you do?” they are asking about passion.

5. Show off your expertise.

Trying lots of jobs on for size is a great way to figure out what you want to do next. In fact, dilletantism might be the best career change tool around. But it should be a path to specializing. Because ultimately, specialists are the people who are most successful in the work world.

So you might be tempted to tell people how you do a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Don’t. But instead, force yourself to talk about your career like you’re a specialist.

6. Hire a career coach to help you tell stories.

I think everyone needs a career counselor at some point in their life, and the reason is that they need help shaping their story. We should each make choices that feel right at a given time and not worry about our story, but then we should be great at crafting our story to make sense of our lives after the fact.

Most people have coherent stories, but they don’t see it. Their resumes are a mess and their elevator pitch is a bore. Hire a professional to help you make a story that makes sense for where you want to go.

And, in the end, the only way we get where we want to be is to tell ourselves stories of what we look like on that path. So if you want to chase your dreams, first chase that elusively enchanting elevator pitch.

MY THOUGHTS

That's something that's worth learning-the elevator pitch. What can be more concise than that? Brief. To the point. Hitting the right spot. At the right time. With nothing else but the most crucial of details.

PowerPoint Presentation Tips for New Grads

2011-06-07T21:50:00.000-07:00

Is PowerPoint the Rocket Fuel for a New MBA Grad's Career?
PRWeb
Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Kirkland, WA (PRWEB) June 07, 2011

150,000 business school graduates in the U.S. alone will start their new careers this summer. But how does a freshly-minted MBA stand out among peers with 5 or 10 years experience?

The answer may be learning how to wield PowerPoint more effectively.

Despite the criticism aimed at PowerPoint, it might actually be the easiest way for new grads to shine. That's the advice of Bruce Gabrielle, author of Speaking PowerPoint: The New Language of Business and a corporate trainer on presenting to executives.

Most business managers admit the bar is very low on PowerPoint, says Gabrielle. "But it's actually an opportunity! If your PowerPoint slides are clearer and more professional-looking than others', you can stand out even among peers with 5 or 10 years experience."

He may be onto something. Gabrielle recalls one MBA intern who showed Microsoft executives they may be ignoring an important customer segment. His PowerPoint slides included a slick-looking bubble chart, identifying and naming each customer segment. After that presentation, there was heated discussion about which segments Microsoft should target and executives re-used his slides and terminology. "Of course, that intern was offered a full-time job at Microsoft when he graduated."

Gabrielle suggests new grads adopt these five principles for developing PowerPoint slides, which even experienced managers fail to do.

1. Start your presentation by answering the exec's question. Many presenters, even experienced managers, re-enact their analysis for executives and leave their conclusions until the end. Instead, new grads should anticipate the most important question the executive has and answer that question in the first five minutes.

2. Don't lead with anything controversial. Even in the hard-headed show-me-the-numbers business world, brain science proves decisions are primarily emotional, not logical. So don't begin your presentation with something controversial, which invites debate and disagreement. Instead, lead with the most emotionally positive and relevant information, like customer quotes or examples of your competitor's advertising.

3. Write your slide title out as a full sentence. Research by Penn State University found audiences understood and remembered, on average, 15% more of a speaker's talk when the slide title was a full sentence rather than just a 2-4 word phrase. Notes Gabrielle, "How many slides do you see every day that could be improved with that one simple change?"

4. Limit your slide to 3-4 bullet points. Some presentation experts discourage using text on slides, but Gabrielle says that advice is wrong. "That may work in a keynote address or motivational speech. But in business, the audience wants to see your text, not stock photography." Studies by Blokzijl & Andeweg in 2004, and repeated in 2006, prove business audiences learn more from text slides than from picture slides or no slides at all.

5. Use the alignment tools for more professional-looking slides. Says Gabrielle, "alignment is the easiest thing you can do to make your slides look more polished and professional." He includes a how-to video on his website, demonstrating how to use the alignment tools.

Speaking PowerPoint: The New Language of Business is intended for new and experienced business managers who want to use PowerPoint more effectively at work, and especially in executive presentations.

Gabrielle now leads corporate training programs, teaching business managers and consultants the research-based principles he discusses in his book.

"We're still in the dark ages when it comes to PowerPoint," says Gabrielle, "But there is a growing body of research which shows us how to use PowerPoint effectively in business, in sales and in education. It's an important area that business schools need to teach."

Speaking PowerPoint: The New Language of Business (ISBN: 978-0984236046). Author: Bruce R. Gabrielle. Publisher: Insights Publishing. Available from Amazon.com or in bulk from Insights Publishing.

###

For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2011/6/prweb8532062.htm

MY THOUGHTS

I like these powerpoint presentation tips. Simple, workable and logical.

HOW MUCH OF YOUR PRESENTATION SHOULD BE ABOUT YOUR COMPANY

2011-04-23T03:46:00.000-07:00

HOW MUCH OF YOUR PRESENTATION SHOULD BE ABOUT YOUR COMPANY

Death by Corporate Overview
by Peter Cohan
Published on April 19, 2005
Tags: Marketing Smarter, PowerPoint, Sales

We are often asked, "How much of our company's corporate overview presentation should we include in a demo meeting?" Good question. The answer: as little as possible!

Many salespeople and technical staff feel comfortable opening a demonstration meeting with a "brief" overview of their company. Most customers refer to this as "Death by PowerPoint."

Why? Because at the beginning of such meetings, customers are not interested in vendor history—they only want to whether a vendor can help address their critical business issues (CBIs) or enable them to achieve their objectives.

Making the customer wait through and watch and listen to three, six or ten or more slides from a standard corporate overview presentation about the vendor is just cruel!

Instead, start the meeting with a "situation slide."

In the case of a technical proof demonstration, this slide simply recalls the information gathered previously from during qualification/discovery discussions. You should list the following:

The customer's name and job title for each major player or department

The CBIs, reasons, and specific capabilities needed for each player or department

The desired change/result ("delta") for each situation (you may want to create a situation slide for each major player or department involved)

A CBI is a problem that the customer sees as important enough to invest resources to address. It is best to use the customer's words, such as "I'm concerned about our ability to achieve our forecasted revenues this year," which might come from a VP of Sales. In your situation slide, you would rephrase this:

VP of Sales, Acme Software
CBI: Concerned about achieving forecast revenues

Read the Full Article

Read more: http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2005/1465/death-by-corporate-overview#ixzz1KJKipRBI

MY THOUGHTS

It'll be good to remind yourself that your presentation is not a company orientation.

TELL A STORY WHEN GIVING A PRESENTATION

2011-03-28T06:24:00.001-07:00

TELL A STORY WHEN GIVING A PRESENTATION

from the article 'Every Presentation Should Tell a Story'
By Geoffrey James | February 8, 2011

"According to the latest neuroscience, the normal, non-autistic, human brain organizes EVERYTHING into stories, because that’s how we understand the meaning and context of everything around us. Because of this, the best sales presentations ALWAYS tell a story.

But how do you do that? One way is to borrow some story telling from Hollywood and start each story with something interesting, introduce characters with whom the audience can relate, and then make sure you have a satisfying ending.

For sales presentations, that means following these three rules:

1. RULE #1: Starts with an “heart-stopper.” Every movie, TV show, or novel starts with something that captures your attention (i.e. captures your emotions) and holds your interest while you “get into” the story. Without a “heart stopper,” the audience’s mind will wander. Trust me.

2. RULE #2: Talk about the audience… not about you. The story connects emotions to the audience’s current situation so that that a decision becomes inevitable. You (or your firm) can play a “best supporting actor” role, but the main role is always the audience and what happens (or might happen) to them.

3. RULE #3: Ends with a “risk-remover” and a “close.” The risk-remover eliminates any remaining reluctance to make a decision. The “close” pushes the audience over the edge and essentially forces them to make the decision, right now."

"Needless to say, you’ll need to have plenty of data and reality behind the various points in the story. And, for this to work in a sales situation, you’d have to meet one-on-one with many of the participants to get your ducks in a row, as they say.

Even so, this is the kind of presentation that’s going to create emotion and persuade the audience to make a decision. And it’s certainly going to work better than the dull stuff that most people throw up on the screen."

MY THOUGHTS

If you've listened to a really excellent sales presentation then you know what this article is talking about. However, I don't think these presentation tips is for sales alone. It would do us good to follow these presentation tips no matter what kind of presentation we're giving. After all, every presentation is supposed to be selling something. If not an item, then the principles or the ideas and points you want your audience to buy into.

GIVE LIFE TO PRESENTATIONS WITH POWERPOINT 2010

2011-03-20T03:05:00.000-07:00

10 Tips to give life to your ideas with Power Point 2010
Published: Thu, 2011-02-17 18:44

Power Point 2010 is the tool of choice for students, teachers, professionals and even children, when creating presentations and the new 2010 version offers more ways than ever to create and share dynamic presentations. New and striking visual and audio capabilities will help you tell a story with almost cinematic quality, so easy to create as attractive to observe. In addition, now PowerPoint 2010 lets you work simultaneously with others or publish the presentation online and access it from virtually anywhere, either through the Web or a smartphone.

1. Increased impact and visual power to your presentations.

Save time and money by applying sophisticated photographic effects without using additional photo editing programs. Transform images by using the new and improved features of image editing. You can adjust the color, brightness, contrast and saturation. There is also an advanced cutting tool. Power Point 2010 also boasts artistic touches such as blur, brush and watercolor filters. Edit your images and make them exactly what you want.

2. Work with other users without having to wait your turn.

PowerPoint 2010 redefines the way you collaborate. Through co-authoring, people in different locations can simultaneously edit the same presentation. In addition, with Office Communicator (now Lync) you can view the availability of other team members who are working on the presentation and easily start a conversation without ever leaving PowerPoint. Ideal for working in a team atmosphere.

3. Add a personalized video experience.

Embed and edit video files directly in PowerPoint 2010. Cut easily to show only the relevant sections or add markers at key points in the video to have quick access to them. You can also trigger an animation that starts automatically the reach these markers, as well as specify when the video appears and disappears, in addition to implementing a variety of styles and video effects (for example, reflections, bevels, 3D rotation). With these new features, you can quickly capture your audience's attention.

4. Imagine a presentation at the right time.

Share your PowerPoint 2010 presentations by sending a URL so that people can see your presentation on the Web. Recipients can view slides in high fidelity, even if they do not have PowerPoint. You can also convert the presentation high quality video with narration.

5. Get access to your presentations from more locations and on more devices.

Publish your presentations online for later view and edit them by web or Windows Phone:
• Microsoft PowerPoint Web App: extends the experience to the Web and enjoy views of high-quality on-screen full, store and edit your work when you're away from your PC.
• Microsoft PowerPoint Mobile 2010: stay updated and performs immediate issues through improved PowerPoint Mobile version specifically adapted for Windows Phones.

6. Create high quality with wonderful graphic presentations.

You don’t need to be an expert in design to create professional-looking graphics. Use dozens of additional SmartArt® designs to create flow charts, lists, diagrams of infinite possibilities and images to illustrate your ideas in the best possible way. Transform words into attractive images that best illustrate your ideas. Create diagrams as easy as writing a bulleted list or text and images becomes a diagram with just a few clicks.

7. Captivate audiences with new transitions and improved animations.

The new slide show transitions are now more dynamic, with new animation effects and transitions that look similar to graphics seen on TV. Get access to preview animations and then apply, customize or replace with ease. You can also use the new features to easily copy an animation from one object to another.

8. Organize and print your slides in a more effective way.

Easily organize slides by sections: divide a presentation into logical groups of slides, rename sections to facilitate the administration of the content (for example: assign slides to a certain author) or print a single section of the presentation easily.

9. More quickly perform tasks.

The new Microsoft Office Backstage ™ view replaces the traditional file menu to allow you to save, share, print and publish presentations with just a few clicks. With the improved Ribbon, you can gain access to your favorite commands faster. Create your own tabs or adapt existing ones to customize them to your working style.

10. Works on several presentations and multiple monitors.

PowerPoint 2010 offers a completely separate window for each presentation that opens. In addition, you can view and edit several presentations independently, in parallel or even independent monitors. So if you are creating the largest presentation of your career, working on a team or against a deadline PowerPoint 2010 gives you the ability to work with more ease and flexibility to meet your goals. Convert dull work into unique presentations to give life to your ideas with the full range of tools of the new Office 2010!

MY THOUGHTS

i tried using this last year. i wasn't that impressed. maybe because i never really explored the new features. maybe i should try it again.

ENCHANTING PRESENTATIONS

2011-03-17T06:23:00.000-07:00

Keys to an Enchanting Presentation
Mar. 8 2011 - 3:14 pm | 886 views | 0 recommendations | 0 comments
By CARMINE GALLO

Former Apple evangelist, entrepreneur and venture capitalist, Guy Kawasaki, has published a new book on the art of changing hearts, minds and actions. As I was reading Enchantment I realized that many of Kawasaki’s techniques apply to all manner of public speaking and business communications, especially in the area of presentation skills. Here are several of Kawasaki’s tips that you can use to improve your very next presentation and to change a few more minds.

Kawasaki defines enchantment as the process of delighting people with a product, service, organization, or idea. In order to accomplish that feat, you must be likable. According to Kawasaki, there are four factors that create a likable first impression: your smile, your dress, your handshake, and your vocabulary. On the topic of vocabulary, Kawasaki says “Words are the facial expression of your mind: they communicate your attitude, personality, and perspective.” Kawasaki offers several tips for a persuasive vocabulary:

Use simple words. When you use words people have to look up in a dictionary or search for in Wikipedia, you’ve failed.

1. Use the active voice. Consider the impact of two phrases: “Use the right words” versus “the right words should be used by you.” The passive voice is “wimpy,” says Kawasaki. Enchanters use the active voice.

2. Keep it short. “In ten years of listening to entrepreneurs’ pitches, I’ve never heard one that was too short,” says Kawasaki.

On the topic of PowerPoint slides, Kawasaki has a technique that I think is very effective if only because I see it used so rarely and yet it is very personal and makes an immediate connection with an audience. Kawasaki’s advice: Customize the introduction with pictures. For example, when Kawasaki spoke to HP’s printer division, he showed a picture of HP printers and faxes in his home office. When he speaks in a foreign city, he gets there early and tours the city to expand his horizons, finds out what enchants him about the city, takes photos, and incorporates the pictures into his presentation. Nice touch.

Kawasaki and I both agree that shorter, simpler, and more visual slides are far more enchanting – or delightful—than slides full of text. “Use evocative pictures to make your presentation exciting,” says Kawasaki. “The goal is to provide inspiring information that moves people to action.” Slides full of words and text seldom enchant. The fewer words, the better.

I’ve known Kawasaki for several years and I’m always pleasantly surprised to see that he and I agree on every area of communications. I come from journalism and Kawasaki comes from marketing but we agree on presentation techniques because the same concepts apply to both journalism and business – the person who tells the best story wins.

Carmine Gallo is the communications coach for the world’s most admired brands. He is a popular keynote speaker and author of several books including the bestsellers, The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs and The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs. Follow him on Twitter: carminegallo

MY THOUGHTS

well said! go and use these tips. they are very good tips. especially the use of more visuals on your slides. bullets are becoming obsolete.

ENCHANTING PRESENTATIONS

2011-03-14T20:49:00.001-07:00

PAINLESS PUBLIC SPEAKING?

2011-03-07T17:45:00.001-08:00

Painless Public Speaking: Low Stress Ways to Improve
By Jessica Stillman | January 28, 2011

Failure, as author Bob Sutton put it, “sucks but instructs,” and this is as true of public speaking as it is for any other area. But while we can all acknowledge that the school of hard knocks is one of the best, if least pleasant, teachers, we can also agree that minimizing failing in front of others makes life a lot less stressful. So how can you improve your public speaking skills without making a fool of yourself in front of actual members of the public?

Gen Y blogger Jenny Blake tackles this question in a recent post offering those relatively new to delivering presentations and speeches some tips on how you can tune up your public speaking skills. While you’ll never improve without actually practicing under pressure, her methods can minimize your embarrassment as you learn:

* Download a free recording app on your phone. Practice saying something at your normal pace, then practice slower, then EVEN slower. Playback so you can hear for yourself what the three sound like, and even ask a friend which is most clear.

* Take three ujayii breaths before starting. For non-yogis: this means taking a slow, steady, even inhale through the nose, then exhaling slowly and evenly through the nose. (More on how to do this here). These breaths are always incredibly calming for me and help clear any nervousness in my system.

* Make it a challenge for yourself to bring more awareness to your speech in every day interactions. Sometimes even when I’m talking with friends I will practice not saying “um” and other speech quirks that come across as unprofessional. Even though these are low-stakes situations, it helps me change my default speech to something that works in any setting.

* Give yourself a rating on scale of 1-5 after every class you teach (or training, or meeting you present at). How’d you do? This will bring awareness to the area/s you are hoping to improve and help you track progress over time.

* Pretend you are speaking to a non-native English speaker or a five year old. Does your pacing change? Another trick I use: pretend you are on The Today show, or speaking for the president. How would you talk? How do you want to sound or come across?

* Channel/observe a speaker or teacher you really respect. What do they do well? Ask if you can observe them at future events/meetings (if they live locally) –- or look for more examples and videos on YouTube or TED.

* ASK FOR FEEDBACK – often! Make sure you have people who are willing to be honest with you. Ask them one thing you did well, and one area you can improve (if you just say, “what’s your feedback?” they’ll be hesitant to share development areas). You might also have people track when you speed up (certain segments?) and when you slow down, so you get more granular data about where to focus.

* Clench and release a muscle several times before going up to speak. Try making your fists into tight balls (or any other muscle — ahem, butt cheeks work too), then release and repeat. This will give your adrenaline something to do, and often helps stop shaking (which makes you appear more nervous than you really are).

* BONUS: Join Toastmasters. Toastmasters is a great way to get practice and feedback in a safe environment, and learn from watching others.

MY THOUGHTS

Painless? I doubt it. Not in my book. Speaking in public will always give me the jitters. Without fail. Especially when you're speaking to a hostile audience. Nevertheless, one can always do better. And the tips outlined in this article are perfect.

I remember being invited to speak about leadership. Fow a whole week, I listened (almost non-stop) to leaderhip dvds. Not to get the content as my material has been prepared. But more to get the speaking style. Have you ever noticed how, if you keep on watching a tv show you end up talking like the characters in that show? That's exactly my point.

DECIDE HOW YOUR AUDIENCE WILL DECIDE

2011-03-05T17:48:00.000-08:00

DECIDE HOW YOUR AUDIENCE WILL DECIDE

from the article 'Create a Dynamite Presentation in 6 Easy Steps'
By Geoffrey James | April 19, 2010

Understand How an Audience Decides

A decision is always the result of change in the decision-maker’s emotional state.

Prior to making the decision, the audience does not feel that a decision is necessary. Not yet. Then something happens, in the audience’s emotional state, that brings the matter to a head. The audience now feels that a decision MUST be made.

At that point the audience (i.e. the decision-makers in the audience) decides.

A persuasive presentation therefore changes the emotional state of the audience so that they believe and feel that a decision must be made… right now.

In business there are six emotional keys that unlock that all-important decision-making process. They are:

* Key #1: Greed. “If we make a decision now, we’ll get a big reward.”
* Key #2: Fear. “If we don’t make a decision now, we’re basically toast.”
* Key #3: Altruism. “If we make a decision now, we’re good people.”
* Key #4: Envy. “If we don’t make a decision now, the other guys will win.”
* Key #5: Pride. “If we make a decision now, they’ll know we’re smart.”
* Key #6: Shame: “If we don’t make a decision now, they’ll know we’re dumb.”

Truly persuasive presentations contain all six of those emotional keys, because it is only under the pressure of these emotion that any decision will be made.

The underlying drivers behind these emotions are, of course, pain and pleasure. Truly persuasive presentations play upon the six key emotions to:

* RAISE the likelihood of pain and LOWER the likelihood of pleasure if a decision IS NOT made.

* RAISE the likelihood of pleasure and LOWER the likelihood of pain if a decision IS made.

When these expectations are set, a decision is INEVITABLE.

I realize that this all seems a bit theoretical. But if you don’t understand this basic stuff, the rest of this post won’t make sense. So bear with me because we’re about to get to the meaty parts…

MY THOUGHTS

Nice! It's like emotional blackmail but it's not. You are not just making a presentation. You are making a presentation for transformation. And since you are presenting to people- who have emotions - then that is certainly a good point of attack.

THINK IMPACT WHEN GIVING A PRESENTATION

2011-03-04T17:58:00.000-08:00

THINK IMPACT WHEN GIVING A PRESENTATION

from the article 'Create a Dynamite Presentation in 6 Easy Steps'
By Geoffrey James | April 19, 2010

Decide on the Impact

When most people start out to create a presentation, they start with the question: “what do I want to say to these people?”

That’s the exact wrong question to ask because it’s all about you and not about the audience.

The correct question to ask is: “what decision does these people really need to make?”

The greatest enemy facing EVERY business — bar none — is inertia. People avoid making key decisions out of fear, stupidity, lethargy, tradition, etc.

So start from the point of wanting to be of service, and that means creating an presentation that persuades your audience to make a decision.

If you don’t know what decision you want the audience to make, don’t bother giving a presentation, because you’re just wasting everyone’s time.

Now, before going any further. Ask yourself, in all honesty:

* Do I know EXACTLY what decision I want my audience to make?

If you DON’T then please don’t bother to craft a presentation, because you’ll just be wasting everyone’s time.

However, if you DO know what impact you want to have — i.e. what decision you want your audience to make — read on…

MY THOUGHTS

of course! the best way for people to appreciate what you're telling them is to get something out of your presentation. there must be some need that your presentation can meet. your audience should want to do something different - or new- after listening to you.

i think you've made impact when your audience becomes uncomfortable. by uncomfortable, i mean not being happy with the way things are. suddenly, they question the status quo. presentations are too short to really make people change. but to get them to think (seriously) of altering some things - that, to me, is impact.

EASY STEPS TO DYNAMITE PRESENTATIONS

2011-03-03T18:42:00.000-08:00

EASY STEPS TO DYNAMITE PRESENTATIONS

from the article Create a Dynamite Presentation in 6 Easy Steps
By Geoffrey James | April 19, 2010

This post describes a foolproof and easy way to craft a presentation that causes an audience to ACTUALLY AND TRULY MAKE A DECISION.

I’m not talking about those stupid bullet point lectures that put people to sleep.

I’m talking the real deal here. The kind of show-stopper presentation that makes things happen. Like closing a big sale.

Interested? If so, let’s get started…

Note: Except where otherwise noted, this post is loosely based on an interview with G. Richard Shell and Mario Moussa, authors of “The Art of Woo.”

STEP #1: Decide on the Impact

STEP #2: Understand How an Audience Decides

STEP #3: Research the Audience

STEP #4: Craft The Story

STEP #5: Compose Your Slides

STEP #6: Rehearse, then Go For It

MY THOUGHTS

looks easy? it will be if you read the coming posts on each step

DO AWAY WITH THE PODIUM

2011-02-21T22:16:00.000-08:00

Break Away From the Podium to Connect with Your Audience
By Sean Silverthorne | March 25, 2010

Like many top teaching institutions, Harvard Business School invests heavily in training faculty to become dynamic classroom presenters. Observing the best of them at work is like watching a master actor take command of the theater.

HBS professors rarely stand still, often sprinting from student to student to tease out insights on a case study. Their hands fly over a half-dozen blackboards that raise and lower for emphasis. There may be a podium in the room, but the teacher is not behind it for long.

Leaving the podium lectern behind, getting physically nearer your audience, is one key to making sure you’re being listened to. In particular, you want to get within 12 feet of at least some of your audience, and the closer, the better.

Why 12 feet? It’s biology. If someone is a dozen or more feet away from us, our automatic personal security system regards them as non threatening — another way of saying they’re far enough away not to be of interest, reports speechmeister Nick Morgan:

“Standing behind a podium means that you’re almost guaranteed to be more than twelve feet from everyone. That means that no one is very interested in you, at the unconscious level,” Morgan writes on HBR.org. “So one of the easiest ways to up the ante on your performance is to warm up the connections between you and your audience by leaving the podium and entering into carefully chosen audience member’s personal space.” Personal space is defined as between four and 12 feet.

One simple technique: When making an important point, move toward your audience or particular audience members. Move away to signal a change in subject.

“This choreography is a simple, easy way to enormously improve the connection you make with your audience, without even raising your voice.”

MY THOUGHTS

i hate podiums. and microphones. unless they are wireless and will allow me to move around. podiums seem to create a wall between the speaker and the audience. i don't want that. i want my audience to feel like we are in an informal environment having informal conversations.

BEGIN YOUR SPEECH IN THE MIDDLE

2011-02-21T03:15:00.000-08:00

Begin Your Speech in the Middle
By Sean Silverthorne | February 8, 2011

How many times have you sat down anxiously to hear a talk, only to be stultified with blah-blah-blah. “Thanks for coming. I’m honored to be here today. Thanks specifically to Dennis and his team for bringing me to Acme Anvil to talk about developing marketing strategies in a global world. First, let me tell you a little bit about myself.”

The audience is already reaching for its collective Blackberries.

That’s why speech expert Nick Morgan advises executives to begin their speech in the middle. Here’s a great opener.

“Many people watching tonight can probably remember a time when finding a good job meant showing up at a nearby factory or a business downtown … That world has changed … The rules have changed. In a single generation, revolutions in technology have transformed the way we live, work and do business. Steel mills that once needed 1,000 workers can now do the same work with 100. Today, just about any company can set up shop, hire workers, and sell their products wherever there’s an Internet connection.”

Unfortunately for President Obama, who delivered those words at the State of the Union last month, they didn’t open the speech. They came after minutes of greetings to people in the audience and platitudes about democracy and jobs. He should have started his speech in the middle.

How can you tell what needs to be cut? Morgan advises:

“You can tell when rhetoric is empty — and therefore should be cut — because it would never be possible to say the alternative. Could a president begin by insulting the Speaker, ‘dissing’ a tragically ailing representative, trashing the democratic process, or coming out against jobs? Of course not. Therefore, nothing is being said. Speeches are much more interesting for the audience when they dispense with the polite nothings and get right to the meat.”

For more valuable advice, read his HBR.org blog post, How CEOs Can Improve Speeches.

I agree completely with Nick. If you want to capture the audience from the starting line, don’t begin with the obvious, the expected, the empty words. My BNET colleague Geoffrey James, who writes the terrific Sales Machine blog, takes up this theme as well. He says sales presentations should start with a “heart stopper,” such as telling a company they’ve just lost $100 million, and here is what can be done about it.

How do you begin your speeches? Do you futz around or get down to business?

MY THOUGHTS

the message is clear - if you're going to deliver a presentation or a speech, strive to be unique. start with a bang that makes your audience sitting on the edge of their seats. and wanting to hear more. tall order but possible. do away with the welcome remarks. jump right in to what people came for.

HOW TO FIX LONG PRESENTATIONS

2011-02-11T03:41:00.000-08:00

HOW TO FIX TOO LONG PRESENTATIONS
from the articleTop 20 Reasons Presentations Suck and How To Fix Them
By Geoffrey James
www.bnet.com

Most business presentations suck. They're boring. They're confusing. They're out of touch. This gallery explains exactly why most presentations are so dreadful, and what to do make your own presentations better.

Too Freakin' Long

* Diagnosis: It presents way more than anybody wants to know.
* Why It Happens: The speaker is “spraying and praying” in hope that something works.
* What Results: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…
* How to Fix It: Always make your presentation less than half as long as you think it should be.

MY THOUGHTS

in other words, don't get carried away.know how much time you have for the presentation. if the presentation is short simply tell the audience the "must-know". if you have more time, include the "should-know". if there are no other speakers and you have all the time, then you can share the "nice-to-know". whatever you've prepared,long or short, be very sensitive to your audience. when you see them getting restless or already snoring,it's time to change gears or put a break.

CONQUER YOUR FEAR OF PUBLIC SPEAKING

2011-02-01T02:18:00.000-08:00

Conquering Your Fear of Public Speaking
By Steve Tobak | January 26, 2009

http://www.bnet.com/blog/ceo/conquering-your-fear-of-public-speaking/1690

People fear public speaking more than anything else. You probably knew that, but did you know that a significant percentage of accomplished professionals, managers, and executives suffer from this debilitating fear? That’s right, people just like you.

Apparently, career-minded, achievement-oriented people are more likely to worry about performance and appearances - the source of most speaking fear - than others are.

To make matters worse, sufferers are typically embarrassed and reluctant to admit they have a problem. They hide a deep concern about the phobia’s affect on their careers in an industry that values presentation skills so highly.

One particular experience at an executive conference sticks with me. While a senior Microsoft executive and I sat in the audience, sharing techniques for calming our own nerves, we watched the president of a large Japanese company present. His hands were trembling and his voice was shaky. He had a rough time, but he got through it.

My heart went out to him, not just because I was scheduled to present the following day and shared his fear, but because he had the courage to confront it.

What’s the cause?

In short, it’s part of the fight or flight response that generates adrenaline, an ancient survival mechanism that lives within each of us. That’s what accounts for the nerves, anxiety, and panic. The underlying cause may be a single unpleasant event or something deeper. In any case, it’s a learned response, and as such, it can be unlearned.

How do you conquer it?

The worst thing you can do is ignore it or avoid public speaking. This is no different from any other challenge you’ve addressed in the past. Deal with it logically and methodically and improvement will follow.

Here are five steps to Conquer Your Fear of Public Speaking:

1. Face your fear. Admit that you have a problem, seek to understand it, and have faith that you will eventually conquer it. You’re far from alone and in very good company. Isolation is a big part of this fear. Talk about it with friends and family. Get it out. Then be brave and determined. You can conquer this and you will.

2. Know your material cold. When you do present, put your best foot forward by knowing your material backwards and forwards. Don’t memorize, just be clear on the key points you want to get across and be prepared to converse intelligently on the subject. Ability to think on your feet is really about confidence, knowledge, and preparation.

3. It’s not all about you. You worry that all eyes are on you and everyone can see how nervous you are. Well, guess what? They may be looking at you, but they’re either thinking about themselves or the content. And if you consider that half your audience has the same fear you have, they’re likely to be empathetic.

4. Interact with the audience. Relieve the feeling of isolation by interacting with the audience. Draw them into your presentation by asking leading questions and encouraging interaction. You’ll instantly feel more comfortable, and so will your audience. Side benefit: you’ll be a more dynamic and engaging speaker.

5. What’s the worst that can happen? That question can diffuse most life problems and it certainly applies here. What if your hands shake, you screw up, or you panic? First, that’s not likely to happen; it’s all in your head. Second, so what if it does? You pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and try again. Failing is part of life and business; this is no different.

Also, check out How to Give a Killer Presentation; it’ll help build your confidence and reduce your fear.

If you have a fear of public speaking, have addressed your fear in the past, or have coached others, please share your feelings and experiences. It’s anonymous, a good way to start, and will help thousands of others.

MY THOUGHTS

i avoided speaking in public for years. then i ended up in training. i used to think numbers cause my nerves to get all tangled up. not so. it's who. not how many. i can get away with 500 employees in the audience. but 10 board members make me want to call in sick.

i don't think i've really conquered my fear. i just learned how to live with it. yes, preparation is the key. prayer can get you through it. and so what if i foul up? that won't make me a lesser person.

HOW TO BE A GREAT STORYTELLER - PART 4

2011-01-29T08:06:00.000-08:00

How to Be a Great Storyteller and Win Over Any Audience - Part 4
By Steve Tobak | January 12, 2011

Part IV: The Close

The close is the easiest part to get right and the easiest part to screw up. I know that sounds contradictory, but it’s not. Here’s why. It’s the easiest to screw up because, all-too-often, folks forget to do it. They get so wound up in telling the story that they simply blow it.

It’s also the easiest to get right because the close is either telling them what you told them, as succinctly as possible, and/or driving home the one key point, the single message you want them to take away from your story or pitch. Simple. Just don’t forget to do it.

And yes, I have forgotten to close. I gave a speech at Beijing University where the audience was so engaged and the response was so overwhelming that I got caught up in the moment and forgot. I had a speech coach at the time. When she and I watched the tape together, at the end, she looked at me and said, “What the hell was that? You go all the way to China, give an incredible speech, and forget to close?!” I never forgot again.

Finally, remember this. Some people are more naturally adept at this than others are. You weren’t born with the ability to stand up in front of an audience and tell a story. It takes practice.

Videotape yourself presenting to an empty conference room or get someone with experience to watch you and provide feedback. If your company hires a speech coach for executives and up-and-comers, get in on it.

Most importantly, be patient with yourself. Finding your own style where you feel comfortable comes with experience. It may take a few years, but it’s worth it. Nothing can boost your career - or be more fulfilling - than being adept at telling a story and truly connecting with your audience. Nothing.

MY THOUGHTS

maybe i should get a speech coach. how many times have i forgotten to drive that one most important point in my closing. talk of getting carried away!

PART 3 - HOW TO BE A GREAT STORYTELLER

2011-01-29T04:41:00.000-08:00

How to Be a Great Storyteller and Win Over Any Audience - Part 3
By Steve Tobak | January 12, 2011

Part III: The Delivery

While research and content are key, so is delivery. If you really want to engage your audience in an experience they’ll remember - which means they’ll remember your story - here are eight tips to follow:

1. Don’t read what’s on the slide. If you’re pitching from a slide presentation, don’t read words off a slide. Instead, know the pitch cold (without having to look except for a brief cue) and speak in your own words.

2. Don’t block the audience’s view. Don’t step in front of the screen or block it from view, except for the occasional walk-across. Gesture with your hand, but don’t touch the screen. Don’t use a pointer unless you must.

3. Engage the audience by asking questions. If they don’t respond, try offering an answer and asking for a show of hands or ask easier questions. Make the audience part of the experience.

4. Be accessible. Don’t stand behind a podium. Use a wireless mic if needed. Get close to the audience and move from place to place while maintaining eye contact, but only from time to time. Do not bounce around like a ping-pong ball.

5. Pause for effect and emphasis. Practice being comfortable with silence for two or three seconds. It’s the most dramatic way to make a point. Avoid ahs, uhs, and other fillers of uncomfortable silence; they’re annoying and detract from your presence.

6. Make eye contact. But only for a few seconds per person. Too short and you’ll fail to engage; too long and it becomes uncomfortable. Don’t bounce your eyes around constantly.

7. Use hand gestures. They’re engaging and interesting. But when you’re not, keep your hands at your sides. Don’t fidget, hold onto things, or put your hands in front of you, behind you, or in your pockets. Avoid nervous habits.

8. Don’t overuse props. Frankly, the most important thing for engaging an audience and telling a memorable story is you, the story-teller. So don’t do too much to distract the audience from you. I know it’s a little scary at first, but you’ll improve with practice and experience.

Part IV: The Close (wait for the last blogon this topic)

MY THOUGHTS

deliver it from the heart. that's all i can say. preparation is key. but presenting what you have prepared from the heart have been known to touch and impact even an unfriendly audience.

PART 2 - HOW TO BE A GREAT STORYTELLER

2011-01-28T09:41:00.000-08:00

How to Be a Great Storyteller and Win Over Any Audience PART 2
By Steve Tobak | January 12, 2011

Here is Part 2 of How to be a great Storyteller

Part II: The Story

All effective, memorable stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Make sure yours does too. Depending on the situation, you can relate that to the old axiom: First tell the audience what you’re going to tell them, then tell them, then tell them what you told them. Sometimes that’s included in the story. Either way is fine.

As an option, you can start with an icebreaker to break the tension (yours and theirs). It can be as simple as a welcome gesture or as involved as a brief and engaging or humorous anecdote. Above all, keep it brief, relevant and appropriate. Don’t tell a joke.

After your optional icebreaker, tell your audience why they’re there and what they can expect. This will relieve any tension or anxiety on their part because they’re not sure what to expect. That, in turn, will allow them to focus completely on your story. If you’re absolutely sure they already know why they’re there, i.e. somebody else provided a solid introduction, then it’s okay to dive right into the story.

Now it’s story time. For the story to be memorable, to resonate with your audience, you have to make sure it delivers on what they came for, as we already discussed at length. That’s critical so it’s worth repeating. Given that, it needs to be dramatic in some way that evokes an emotional response. It helps a lot if the speaker feels it because it comes from his or her direct experience, from the heart, so to speak.

Here are some examples:

* If you’re an entrepreneur pitching investors, your story could relate to the genesis of the idea - if it’s an interesting or amusing story - and how it will change the world, so to speak. If you can somehow relate it directly to investors as individuals, i.e. involving family, technology they might use, etc., that’s good but not necessary. Just make sure that, somewhere along the line, you answer all the requisite questions investors want answered before they’ll, at some point, write a check.

* If you’re pitching potential customers, you can tell the story of how your product or service did something amazing for another customer and how that customer benefitted in terms of gaining market share, for example. Again, something dramatic that will resonate with the audience and answer the questions we discussed in the setup.

* If it’s an elevator pitch about your company, don’t do the usual boring … we’re based in Toronto, Canada, we have 6,000 employees, and our revenue last year was $1.4B. Instead, give a quick one paragraph explanation of what your company does better than any other company and then launch right into your biggest success story that you know will resonate with your audience. Something like that.

* If it’s an interview and you’re asked to tell them about yourself, don’t just rattle off the companies you’ve worked for and your accomplishments. If you truly know your audience, you can tell them a story from your experience that encapsulates the skills and traits they’re mostly looking for.

And so on. Get the idea?

Part III: The Delivery (watch out for next post)

MY THOUGHTS

it's hard to get started. how do you start with a bang so that people would say "this sounds interesting, i'd better find a comfortable seat"? harder still is keeping them interested. you start with a bang, you'll have to find ways to not lose your audience's desire to want more. if you were successful at keeping them at the edge of their seat during the intro and the body of your talk, your ending should make them want to do something. you start with a bang, you should end up with a bang with spurts of spurts of fireworks in between.

HOW TO BE A GREAT STORYTELLER

2011-01-27T04:51:00.000-08:00

How to Be a Great Storyteller and Win Over Any Audience
By Steve Tobak | January 12, 2011

It’s hard to imagine your career going anywhere if you can’t tell a story. Whether it’s an investor pitch to a VC, an “about us” to a potential customer, justifying your group’s existence to management, or an “about me” in an interview, your success in business is all about effective storytelling.

If you don’t think some of that stuff is storytelling, then you’re really in for a shock. Because if it isn’t, then you probably won’t get your funding, win the business, or get the job. Why is that? Simple. Media overload, communications overload, gadget overload.

These days, we’re all overdosed with rhetoric.

A thousand TV channels and movie choices, countless blogs and commentators, countless email blasts, and millions of websites - each one jockeying for a position in our lives, a share of our minds, just 30 seconds of our eyeballs.

Now, more than ever, if you can’t tell a story in a way that grabs people’s attention, gets across your position, and sticks with them, you may as well just hang it up. It’s as simple as that. Of course, a more positive way to look at it is that nothing can boost your career more - or be more fulfilling - than being adept at telling a story and truly connecting with your audience. Nothing.

The good news is that long ago, I was professionally trained as a speaker, I’ve given thousands of speeches and presentations, and I’ve been helping executives and companies position themselves, market their ideas, and tell stories for decades. I’ve also had the privilege of working for more than a decade with one of the great high-tech PR experts in Silicon Valley, Lou Hoffman of The Hoffman Agency. Lou writes a great blog called Ishmael’s Corner: Storytelling Through a Business Prism.

Here’s Lou’s take on one storytelling exec:

Look at Reed Hastings over at Netflix. I worked with him way back at Pure Atria. He was fantastic to work with: conversational, knew how to turn a phrase, knew how to tell a story. Fast-forward to today. Netflix is a well-known, publicly traded company and Hastings is still conversational, can still turn a phrase, tell a story.

That’s why you won’t read about this stuff in a book, learn it in Harvard Business School, or hear it from some self-proclaimed guru or expert. Because these are lessons I learned from real experts in the real world:

How to Tell a Story and Win Over Any Audience

Part I: The Setup

You were probably taught to use your own point of view (POV) as a starting point. Wrong! Dead wrong! Do you think companies are successful making products they want to make, or making products their customers want to buy? Do you think entrepreneurs get investment capital because they have a great idea or because it meets the criteria of the VCs? Do you think this blog is successful because the content is what I want to write about or what resonates with you, the audience?

Here’s how to do it right:

1. First, determine who your audience is. And don’t even think of saying, “it’s for everyone.” That simply won’t fly. If you can’t specifically define your audience, you’re sunk. If it’s for multiple audiences, it’s different for each one. I know it’s a lot of work but that’s the way it works. If you dilute the message for multiple audiences, it won’t hit any of them hard and you’ll fail to resonate across the board.

2. Second, put yourself in your audience’s shoes and ask three questions: 1) What’s in it for them, 2) why should they care, and 3) what criteria do they use to determine if whatever it is you’re pitching is a good idea or not. If you’re selling something, for example, customers have very specific criteria they’re looking to meet. Likewise, VCs have specific criteria to determine if they should invest or not. This may take some research but trust me; it’s worth it.

3. Third, develop your story by satisfying those three questions. Of course the story’s all about whatever it is you’re pitching, but if you don’t put it in perspective for your audience and answer the questions in their minds, you’ll never resonate with them. Also, make sure to consider the mechanics of the situation, i.e. how much time you’re expecting to have, what’s the venue, etc.

MY THOUGHTS

one weekend i went home and found everyone crocheting - my mom, my sister-in-law, her ten-year old and their maid. all of a sudden, a big question popped from me. "what am i gonna do when i'm really old and there's nothing else to do?". i can't crochet. i can't knit. i can't cross stitch. i can't even go fishing. my friend said i'm too noisy for the fish.

my sister-in-law looked up from her half-done doily and said "you're going to tell stories". i like that. i like that very much. i cannot picture myself sitting in a rocking chair. but i can picture myself weaving words and phrases together, watching my listeners, listening to their reactions, making changes along the way.

i think a good storyteller is one who's a good listener,too. otherwise, what stories can you tell?

SLIDE PRESENTATION AND DELIVERY TIPS

2011-01-22T21:00:00.000-08:00

Top Ten Slide Preparation and Tips Delivery Tips

PowerPoint uses slides with a horizontal or "Landscape" orientation. The software was designed as a convenient way to display graphical information that would support the speaker and supplement the presentation. The slides themselves were never meant to be the "star of the show" (the star, of course, is your audience). People came to hear you and be moved or informed (or both) by you and your message. Don't let your message and your ability to tell a story get derailed by slides that are unnecessarily complicated, busy, or full of what Edward Tufte calls "chart junk." Nothing in your slide should be superfluous, ever.

Your slides should have plenty of "white space" or "negative space." Do not feel compelled to fill empty areas on your slide with your logo or other unnecessary graphics or text boxes that do not contribute to better understanding. The less clutter you have on your slide, the more powerful your visual message will become.

Your presentation is for the benefit of the audience. But boring an audience with bullet point after bullet point is of little benefit to them. Which brings us to the issue of text. The best slides may have no text at all. This may sound insane given the dependency of text slides today, but the best PowerPoint slides will be virtually meaningless with out the narration (that is you). Remember, the slides are meant to support the narration of the speaker, not make the speaker superfluous.

Many people often say something like this: "Sorry I missed your presentation. I hear it was great. Can you just send me your PowerPoint slides?" But if they are good slides, they will be of little use without you. Instead of a copy of your PowerPoint slides, it is far better to prepare a written document which highlights your content from the presentation and expands on that content. Audiences are much better served receiving a detailed, written handout as a takeaway from the presentation, rather than a mere copy of your PowerPoint slides. If you have a detailed handout or publication for the audience to be passed out after your talk, you need not feel compelled to fill your PowerPoint slides with a great deal of text.

We’ll talk more about this in the delivery section below, but as long as we are talking about text, please remember to never, ever turn your back on the audience and read text from the slide word for word.

Top Ten Slide Tips Preparation Tips Delivery Tips

PowerPoint uses slides with a horizontal or "Landscape" orientation. The software was designed as a convenient way to display graphical information that would support the speaker and supplement the presentation. The slides themselves were never meant to be the "star of the show" (the star, of course, is your audience). People came to hear you and be moved or informed (or both) by you and your message. Don't let your message and your ability to tell a story get derailed by slides that are unnecessarily complicated, busy, or full of what Edward Tufte calls "chart junk." Nothing in your slide should be superfluous, ever.

Your slides should have plenty of "white space" or "negative space." Do not feel compelled to fill empty areas on your slide with your logo or other unnecessary graphics or text boxes that do not contribute to better understanding. The less clutter you have on your slide, the more powerful your visual message will become.

Your presentation is for the benefit of the audience. But boring an audience with bullet point after bullet point is of little benefit to them. Which brings us to the issue of text. The best slides may have no text at all. This may sound insane given the dependency of text slides today, but the best PowerPoint slides will be virtually meaningless with out the narration (that is you). Remember, the slides are meant to support the narration of the speaker, not make the speaker superfluous.

Many people often say something like this: "Sorry I missed your presentation. I hear it was great. Can you just send me your PowerPoint slides?" But if they are good slides, they will be of little use without you. Instead of a copy of your PowerPoint slides, it is far better to prepare a written document which highlights your content from the presentation and expands on that content. Audiences are much better served receiving a detailed, written handout as a takeaway from the presentation, rather than a mere copy of your PowerPoint slides. If you have a detailed handout or publication for the audience to be passed out after your talk, you need not feel compelled to fill your PowerPoint slides with a great deal of text.

We’ll talk more about this in the delivery section below, but as long as we are talking about text, please remember to never, ever turn your back on the audience and read text from the slide word for word.

Use object builds and slide transitions judiciously. Object builds (also called animations), such as bullet points, should not be animated on every slide. Some animation is a good thing, but stick to the most subtle and professional (similar to what you might see on the evening TV news broadcast). A simple "Wipe Left-to-Right" (from the "Animations" menu) is good for a bullet point, but a "Move" or "Fly" for example is too tedious and slow (and yet, is used in many presentations today). Listeners will get bored very quickly if they are asked to endure slide after slide of animation. For transitions between slides, use no more than two-three different types of transition effects and do not place transition effects between all slides.

Use high-quality graphics including photographs. You can take your own high-quality photographs with your digital camera, purchase professional stock photography, or use the plethora of high-quality images available on line (be cautious of copyright issues, however). Never simply stretch a small, low-resolution photo to make it fit your layout - doing so will degrade the resolution even further.

Avoid using PowerPoint Clip Art or other cartoonish line art. Again, if it is included in the software, your audience has seen it a million times before. It may have been interesting in 1993, but today the inclusion of such clip art often undermines the professionalism of the presenter. There are exceptions, of course, and not all PowerPoint art is dreadful, but use carefully and judiciously.

MY THOUGHTS

speakers use bullet points because they use the powerpoint presentation as a crutch. if you're a good presenter, you'll use your slides as an aid. i love pictures. and a story line. my own story. so, my slides won't be any use for others. unless they're interested in the photos. i love cartoonish images though. but not when the presentation are for board members.

Presentation Remote for Keynote, PowerPoint

2011-01-20T22:11:00.000-08:00

Kensington Debuts Presentation Remote for Keynote, PowerPoint

* By Dan Thompson
* 01/10/11

Kensington has unveiled a new wireless presentation remote that controls both PowerPoint and Keynote presentations from distances up to 150 feet. In addition to the remote, Kensington has also rolled out multiple iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch accessories, including a 20-hour battery pack.

The presentation remote, dubbed the Presenter Pro Remote, controls presentations via a wireless link to a USB drive. With the USB drive plugged into a laptop, the remote has the ability TO move the presentation slides forward and backward or turn the screen blank.

The USB plug includes a 2 GB Micro SD card and supports a maximum memory capacity of 32 GB. When not plugged into a laptop, the USB drive can be stored in the handle of the remote.

Other features include a green laser pointer that is up to 10 times brighter than a traditional red laser pointer and an ergonomic design.

The iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch accessories include the PowerLift back-up battery and dock, the BlackBelt protection band, the Virtuoso touch screen stylus and pen, and a dual USB wall charger.

The dual USB wall charger can charge up to two devices. It features detachable USB cables that offer the ability to connect an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to a computer.

With the help of a 12 mAh battery, the Power Lift back-up battery and dock charges the iPhone in hand or hands-free. The device adds power for up to 20 hours of music or five hours of video and offers an LED that indicates battery strength.

The BlackBelt protection band is a rubberized band the raps around the iPod and leaves access to all ports, while the Virtuoso touch screen stylus and pen is a combination stylus and pen that was designed to be used with applications similar to iAnnotate and SketchBook. The Virtuoso ships in black or gunmetal.

Expected to ship March 1, The Presenter Pro Remote will be available for $99.99. Kensington will cover the device with a limited five-year warranty.

The BlackBelt, PowerLift, Virtuoso, and dual USB wall charger are currently available for pre-order from Kensington. They will ship for $39.99, $49.99, $24.99, and $34.99, respectively.

MY THOUGHTS

this is good news to anyone who delivers presentation. i, for one, prefer to have the freedom to move around during a session. instead of getting fixed somewhere near the laptop to navigate the slides. i've seen some people having assistants to do that for them. but i'm more comfortable controlling the slides myself. timing is important. and no matter how you practice for a presentation, you decide on timing during the presentation itself. i love fluid presentations. and being able to control my slides from anywhere up to 150 feet is certainly a welcome improvement.

How to Give a Killer Presentation

2010-12-13T20:59:00.000-08:00

How to Give a Killer Presentation
By Steve Tobak | December 22, 2008

It’s hard to imagine your career going anywhere unless you can deliver an effective presentation. Unfortunately, most of us are born without the presentation gene. I have no idea why, but for most professionals, presenting is a real struggle.

They stand there, like they’re glued to the floor, with their 90-slide presentation with a dozen bullets and sub-bullets and a book of text on each slide. Then they complain that executives and salespeople make all the money.

I’ve sat through presentations that were so bad I wanted to strangle the guy just to put him and the audience out of their misery. I’ve also seen presentations that were so inspiring they changed my life.

Connecting with an audience, communicating your vision and passion for a subject, can be a beautiful experience. It’s also a rare opportunity to make an impression that might impact your future. It can either be a gateway or a roadblock to professional growth. Which one is entirely up to you.

As for me, I’ve been professionally trained, plus I’ve had a few decades of practice. Here’s what I’ve learned.

Ten Rules For Delivering a Great Presentation

Developing the pitch. Start with your main point of view and a handful of take-aways. Then build a storyboard around that, one slide per thought. Keep the number of slides down and allow a few minutes per slide.

The icebreaker. Start with something to break the tension (yours and theirs): a welcome gesture, engaging or humorous anecdote, graphic or video, or some combination. Keep it relevant and appropriate. Don’t tell a joke.

The old axiom. Old advice, but it works: First tell the audience what you’re going to tell them, then tell them, then tell them what you told them.

Don’t read what’s on the slide. Know the pitch cold (without having to look except for a brief cue) and speak in your own words. If you (rarely) want the audience to read what’s on a slide, look at it and read silently along with them.

Engage the audience. Ask questions. If they don’t respond, try offering an answer and asking for a show of hands or ask easier questions. Make the audience part of the experience.

Be accessible. Don’t stand behind a podium. Use a wireless mic if needed. Get close to the audience and move from place to place while maintaining eye contact, but only from time to time. Do not bounce around like a ping-pong ball.

Pause for effect and emphasis. Practice being comfortable with silence for two or three seconds. It’s the most dramatic way to make a point. Avoid ahs, uhs, and other fillers of uncomfortable silence; they’re annoying and detract from your presence.

Make eye contact. But only for a few seconds per person. Too short and you’ll fail to engage; too long and it becomes uncomfortable. Don’t bounce your eyes around constantly.

Use hand gestures. They’re engaging and interesting. But when you’re not, keep your hands at your sides. Don’t fidget, hold onto things, or put your hands in front of you, behind you, or in your pockets. Avoid nervous habits.

Don’t block the audience’s view. Don’t step in front of the screen or block it from view, except for the occasional walk-across. Gesture with your hand, but don’t touch the screen. Don’t use a pointer unless you must.

Remember, you weren’t born with this ability; it takes practice. Videotape yourself presenting to an empty conference room or get someone with experience to watch you and provide feedback. If your company hires a speech coach for executives and up-and-comers, get in on it.

Most importantly, be patient with yourself. Finding your own style where you feel comfortable comes with experience. It may take a few years, but it’s worth it. Nothing can boost your career like being able to give a killer pitch.

MY THOUGHTS

Killer presentations! Presentations that could kill - either the presenter or the audience. If it's part of your job, learn the art of presenting. yes, it can be learned. i know. i'm not the best in the field. but i'm a far cry from the tongue-tied college somphomore who cannot utter a single word during an extemporaneous exercise. i knew speaking in front of an audience is my weakness. but for some reason, God brought me into it. I got trained, taught myself, practiced and prepared like I'm the worst there is. God took care of the rest.

PowerPoint Presentation Tips – Avoid Last Minute Surprises

2010-11-04T19:20:00.000-07:00

PowerPoint Presentation Tips – Avoid Last Minute Surprises
Ads by Google 1000 training ideas www.koganpage.com
Best-selling training tips & much more for trainers and coaches

The PowerPoint tips featured here are not about creating better or more effective presentations, instead they help you avoid any last minute surprises that may crop up when an eager audience is waiting to see your slide show.

*They are all based on my personal experiences at a recent BarCamp.

Tip 1: Put the PPT files on a USB Drive

Yes, there’s box.net, slideshare.net and tons of other PowerPoint hosting services where you can upload your PPT files but I still recommend carrying files on a USB drive because there are chances that Internet may be very slow (or unavailable) in the presentation room. With files on the USB stick, you are always in control.

Related: How to Reduce Size of PowerPoint Files

Tip 2: Use Arial or Times New Roman Font

The default fonts in Office 2007 programs are Calibri, Corbel, Cambria, etc but unfortunately these fonts are not available on computers running older version of Microsoft Office. If you want the presentations to look the same in the conference room as on your laptop, use fonts like Arial or Times New Roman which are universally available.

Related: Best Fonts for PowerPoint Presentations

Tip 3: Always Carry the Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer

You have designed a great presentation using the latest PowerPoint 2007 but it possible that the computer, where you will run the presentation, is running an ancient copy of PowerPoint 2000. In that case, your presentation will fail to run. not run at all.

Download the free Powerpoint 2007 Viewer, transfer it your USB drive and be rest assured that your slide show will be play just perfect on any Windows computer.

Tip 4: Print a PDF of your PowerPoint Presentation

You can use Acrobat or the Save as PDF plugin of Microsoft Office 2007 to convert your PPT into a read only PDF file. Some members in the audience will always ask you for a copy of the Presentation slides and if you are not too happy in giving away the source file, PDF is a great alternative – it also maintains the layout, transitions and even the fonts.

Tip 5: Take Care of Margins

If the display properties of your computer do not match that of the projector, chances are that the presentation slides will be cut off at the edges – to avoid this, designate a margin safe area when designing presentations and limit your text or graphics to that area.

Tip 6: Some Presentation Rooms Can Be Very Big

Do not use small fonts as that will make your slides unreadable especially for back-benchers when the room size is large. The minimum recommended font size in PPT slides is around 24-points (more for headings).

Tip 7: Screensavers, IMs, New Email Notifications

Turn Off all these distractions before running the slideshow – they can sometimes be very embarrassing.

Tip 8: Power Management

Some computers (especially laptops) turn off the screen after 5-10 minutes of inactivity. Always turn off this feature using the Power management console.

MY THOUGHTS

i've learned it pays to test the slides - are the font's large enough, can peoplefrom the back read the text, are the pics and graphics clear, are colors okay. whenever possible and convenient, i bring the LCD myself.

PowerPoint Presentation Tips: 10 Tips on Becoming a Better Presenter

2010-11-04T08:29:00.000-07:00

10 Tips on Becoming a Better Presenter
Improve Your Presentation Skills and Be a Better Presenter
By Wendy Russell, About.com Guide

Make this year the one that defines you as a wonderful presenter. These ten tips will help you to make a lasting impression as a skilled presenter using PowerPoint or other presentation software.

1. Know Your Stuff
Your comfort level with presenting will be high if you know everything about your topic. After all, the audience is looking to you to be the expert. However, don't overload the audience with your complete toolkit of knowledge about your topic. Three key points is just about right to keep them interested, allowing them to ask questions if they want more.

2. Make it Clear What You are There to Share With Them
Use the tried and true method that skilled presenters have used for eons.
- Tell them what you are going to tell them. Outline briefly the key points you will talk about.
- Tell them. Cover the topic in depth.
- Tell them what you told them. Summarize your presentation in a few short sentences.

3. A Picture Tells the Story
Keep the audience's attention with pictures rather than endless bulleted slides. Often one effective picture says it all. There is a reason for that old cliché - "a picture is worth a thousand words".

4. You Can't Have Too Many Rehearsals
If you were an actor, you would not be performing without first rehearsing your part. Your presentation should be no different. It is a show too, so take time to rehearse -- and preferably in front of people -- so that you can see what works and what doesn't. An added bonus of rehearsing is that you will become more comfortable with your material and the live show will not come off as a recitation of facts.

5. Practice in the Room
What works while rehearsing at home or the office, may not come off the same in the actual room where you will present. If at all possible, arrive early enough so that you can become familiar with the room setup. Sit in the seats as if you were an audience member. This will make it easier for you to judge where to walk about and stand during your time in the spotlight. And -- don't forget to test out your equipment in this room long before it's show time. Electrical outlets may be scarce, so you may need to bring extra extension cords. And -- you brought an extra projector light bulb, right?

6. Podiums are Not for Professionals
Podiums are "crutches" for novice presenters. To be engaging with your audience you have to be free to walk among them if you can, or at least vary your position on stage, so that you will appear to be approachable to everyone in the room. Use a remote device so that you can change slides easily on the screen without having to be stuck behind a computer.

7. Speak to the Audience
How many presentations have you witnessed where the presenter either read from his notes or worse -- read the slides to you? The audience doesn't need you to read to them. They came to see and hear you speak to them. Your slide show is just a visual aid.

8. Pace the Presentation
A good presenter will know how to pace his presentation, so that it flows smoothly, while at the same time he is prepared for questions at any time -- and -- going back to Item 1, of course, he knows all the answers. Make sure to allow for audience participation at the end. If no one asks a questions, have a few quick questions of your own ready to ask them. This is another way to engage the audience.

9. Learn to Navigate
If you are using PowerPoint as a visual aid to your presentation, get to know the many keyboard shortcuts that allow you to quickly navigate to different slides in your presentation if the audience asks for clarity. For example, you may wish to revisit slide 6, which contains a wonderful picture illustrating your point.

10. Always Have a Plan B
Unexpected things happen. Be prepared for any disaster. What if your projector blew a light bulb (and you forgot to bring a spare) or your briefcase was lost at the airport? Your Plan B should be that the show must go on, no matter what. Going back to Item 1 once again -- you should know your topic so well that you can make your presentation "off the cuff" if need be, and the audience will leave feeling that they got what they came for.

MY THOUGHTS

No. 1 tip is the best. Know what you're talking about. No matter what happens, you'll know how to adjust. Your presentation will be free flowing,each slide presented to tell an interesting story.

8 Secrets to a Knockout Business Presentation

2010-11-03T07:29:00.000-07:00

8 Secrets to a Knockout Business Presentation
From Darrell Zahorsky, former About.com Guide

The presentation is starting. Dim the lights. Time for a nap. These are the thoughts of many audiences subject to yet another boring business presentation. How can you awaken the cognitive powers of your audience? Start by learning the 8 secrets of a knockout business presentation.

Dig Deep: Having an effective business presentation that will have the audience on their feet requires more than the usual factoid dropped into your PowerPoint. Find a relevant fact beyond your topic norm. Give them the unexpected. The one obscure and contradictory piece of information that will raise heads and stimulate discussion. Where do you find such information? Go past the typical quick search engine scan. Check out educational websites for new research, interview industry mavericks, or scour the business press.

Avoid Info Overload: PowerPoint expert Cliff Atkinson, author of Beyond Bullet Points says, "When you overload your audience, you shut down the dialogue that's an important part of decision-making." He points to some important research by educational psychologists. "When you remove interesting but irrelevant words and pictures from a screen, you can increase the audience's ability to remember the information by 189% and the ability to apply the information by 109%," recommends Atkinson.

Practice Delivery: A knockout business presentation is so captivating it makes you forget about the speaker and become absorbed in the talk. Practice your delivery over and over until you remove the distractions including nervous tics and uncomfortable pauses. Pay particular attention to your body language. Is it non-existent or overly excessive? Good presenters work the stage in a natural manner.

Forget Comedy: Business presenters will flirt with the temptation to deliver the stand up humor of Chris Rock. Remember your audience didn't come to laugh; this is a business presentation. Leave your jokes at home. It's ok to throw in a few natural off the cuff laughs but don't overdo it.

Pick Powerful Props: You don't need a box full of props like the watermelon-smashing comic, Gallagher. A few simple props to demonstrate a point can be memorable in the minds of your target audience. Management guru, Tom Peters, uses a cooking timer to show how quickly factory expansion is occurring in China.

Minimize You: "Frankly, your audience doesn't care as much about your company history, as they do about whether you can help them solve the specific problems they face. Write a script for your presentation that makes the audience the protagonist, or the main character, who faces a problem that you will help them to solve," says Atkinson.

Speak the Language: A knockout business presentation doesn't leave people wondering what you said. It might be tempting to throw in a few big words but are you alienating your audience? Always explain terms and acronyms. The number of smart executives who aren't up on the latest terminology would surprise you.

Simple Slides: Beware of the PowerPoint presentation. Many corporate brains will turn off at the sight of yet another PowerPoint presentation. Over 400 million desktops currently have the PowerPoint application. If you want your business to stand out, don't be like everyone else. Use slides in your knockout presentation to highlight and emphasize key points. Don't rely on your slide projector to run the show.

It all comes down to what your audience walks away with in the end. Did you deliver another boring business presentation? Or did you persuade or motivate everyone to action? Apply the 8 secrets to a knockout presentation and watch your ratings soar.

MY THOUGHTS

useful. very useful. i'm interested in what the audience say during the presentation. but it's what they say afterwards that i'm more interested in - "what they take away".

Powerpoint presentation tip: make sure you are the center of attention

2010-11-03T00:34:00.000-07:00

Make sure you are the centre of attention when presenting
Wednesday, 20th October 2010
Don’t let PowerPoint seduce you with its bulletpoints
Jeremy Hazlehurst

HERE’S a statistic for you: according to Microsoft, 30m PowerPoint presentations are made every day. You are probably thinking one of two things now. Either that this is a wonderful thing, and it means that clear, concise information is being conveyed all over the planet as we speak. Or you imagine a horrible hell of confusing and meaningless slides flashing before your eyes, signifying absolutely nothing.

PowerPoint divides people. A Yale professor and expert in the visual presentation of data called Edward Tufte says that it “routinely disrupts, dominates, and trivializes content”, making us less efficient. Nasa uses PowerPoint for its communication and Tufte claims that this contributed to the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003, which led to the deaths of seven astronauts. But then again, if Nasa uses it, can it really be so useless?

“PowerPoint is a technology, just like the wheel is. We wouldn’t say that the wheel was good or bad, we’d ask how humans use it,” says Clive Holtham, professor of information management at Cass Business School. “The problem is much less to do with PowerPoint than humans.”

The use of bulletpoints is one of the major flaws of computerised presentations. In the old days before audio-visual presentation, people wrote out reports – risks were spelled out in full sentences and people saw, read and digested the report before the meeting, whose main purpose was discussion. Bulletpoints make it far easier to hide problems – whether deliberately or not, says Holtham.

Technology is seductive, but if it is used badly it can make presentations less clear and more complicated. Don’t underestimate the power of the human voice to persuade, says Holtham. “It worked well for many millennia. Even in the modern era, Churchill or Kennedy or Martin Luther King could inform and persuade in a few minutes purely by voice. Of course they had trained and honed their skills.” Remember that you are the persuader, and the computer is just a tool.

The key to a good presentation is to have a narrative, and use technology to clarify or stress points in that narrative. To aid this, Holtham says that he has started experimenting with a system called Pecha Kucha, which uses 20 slides timed to change every 20 seconds. This limits presentations to six minutes 40 seconds, and also means you need to think of a presentation as a story. “It requires vastly more preparation and planning, indeed choreography, so that it becomes virtually a performance rather than a boring lecture. There is very little need for words on the screen. There needs to be a very strong storyline,” says Holtham.

Dave Paradi, author of 102 Tips to Communicate More Effectively Using PowerPoint, agrees that it is all about the story. “By first deciding how you will move the audience from where they are now to where you want them to be at the end of the presentation, you dramatically cut the time spent creating slides,” he says. “A good structure to your message makes it clear what supporting visuals you need.”

He says that you should never read out your slides: “Make your presentation a conversation instead of a reading a report.” Using a black slide focuses attention away from the screen and on to you. “There is no rule that says you must always have a slide showing when you are speaking. When you want to focus the audience on a key point or example you are sharing, use a black slide so there is nothing to distract the audience. They will listen more intently to what you are saying,” he says.

The unloved bulletpoint should also be avoided, and replaced by visuals such as graphs that have more visual impact. A good slide has three things: 1) a headline that summarises the key message of the slide; 2) a visual that summarizes the key message of the slide; and 3) a visual that illustrates the point.

You should select colours that have enough contrast. Paradi suggests using www.ColourContrastCalculator.com to test them. Also use a sans-serif font that is seen easily, such as Arial or Calibri in 24 point or larger. Most importantly, though, remember two things. Firstly, that you are telling a story. And secondly, that what you have to say is more important than your slides, no matter how pretty.

MY THOUGHTS

i love telling stories. that's why i love designing my presentations from scratch. even my reports would have some sortof a story line. depends,of course,on the audience. i've encountered 1 or 2 groups who still prefers the bullets. i need to improve on my visuals though. i'm not much of a techy so i guess i need to brush up on this.

2010-11-02T09:17:00.000-07:00

SmartDraw Reinvents PowerPoint at The Presentation Summit
Posted by marin2008
Saturday, 23 October 2010
SmartDraw has debuted key enhancements that make it possible for anyone to create more effective and engaging presentations to over 150 presentation industry experts, speakers and consultants during The Presentation Summit 2010 in San Diego, CA.

During a special participant reception, SmartDraw demonstrated how SmartDraw VP, the world's first visual processor™, enables the 95% of PC users who currently create only text-filled presentations to reap the benefits of communicating visually. The visual processor empowers them in three ways: 1) by making it possible to create and manage presentations visually, 2) by making it easy to replace bullets with powerful visuals, and 3) by ensuring visuals are presented in the most impactful way possible in presentations.

"Creating a truly visual presentation means more than taking an existing text-based presentation and replacing some of the bullets with visuals," said Paul Stannard, CEO of SmartDraw. "You need to think visually, plan and compose your presentation visually, and present it in a manner that engages your audience. Only SmartDraw makes this possible."

Numerous studies have shown that visual communication is up to six times more effective than words alone, but until now, less than 3% of business communication has included visuals like flowcharts, mind maps and other diagrams. This is because using traditional graphics software to create them is just too difficult and time consuming for the typical business person. The visual processor solves this problem by automating the creation of visuals to such a degree that anyone can do it. With today's announcement, SmartDraw showed how the program not only makes easy visuals possible, but also makes the creation of entirely visual presentations a reality for the everyday user.

"Since its introduction in 1987, PowerPoint has been optimized to make creating a slide of bullets the easiest thing to do," explained Stannard. "Even after two decades, creating a list of bullets is still the default action. That's why so many presentations consist of slide after slide of bullets. With SmartDraw's PowerPoint builder feature, you compose your presentation visually in a storyboard format. You can easily add visuals of all kinds to any slide. Once your presentation is ready, SmartDraw builds your PowerPoint deck with a single click. You never even have to open PowerPoint."

SmartDraw also ensures that the visuals in your presentation are displayed in the most effective way possible by revealing the information sequentially.

"Showing a visual, like a data chart, to your audience all at once can be overwhelming," said Rick Altman, speaker and organizer of The Presentation Summit 2010, and author of the book, Why Most PowerPoint® Presentations Suck and How to Make them Better. "They will be too busy trying to absorb all the information to focus on the specific point you are trying to make. A much more effective way is to reveal the visual step-by-step with sequencing. SmartDraw does this for you automatically."

SmartDraw's PowerPoint builder also makes presentations easier to manage because, no matter how many visuals are added, the entire presentation is always contained in a single SmartDraw file. This eliminates the problem of trying to find the original source files for charts, for example, when last minute changes need to be made.

By enabling everyone in the organization to create visual presentations quickly and easily, SmartDraw VP allows an enterprise to cut through today's information overload and communicate more effectively by distilling complex information into an easy-to-digest visual form.

SmartDraw VP automates the creation of 70 different types of business visuals including flowcharts, data charts and graphs, mind maps, Gantt charts, timelines, floor plans, and more. Built-in integration with Microsoft Office® and Adobe PDF allows users to create and then share SmartDraw visuals with a single click.

For an overview video and white paper by Stannard and Altman describing in detail how SmartDraw reinvents PowerPoint, and to download a free trial, visit www.SmartDraw.com/ppt.

About SmartDraw

SmartDraw helps businesses increase their bottom line by improving communication, refining operations, completing projects on time, and successfully implementing their plans through the everyday use of visual communication. Creators of SmartDraw VP, the world's first visual processor™, SmartDraw enables business professionals to easily and automatically create more than 70 types of common business visuals, including flowcharts, project charts, mind maps, org charts, timelines and more. SmartDraw lets anyone achieve professional-quality results in just minutes. SmartDraw is used by more than half of the Fortune 500, as well as thousands of law firms, police departments, health systems, government entities, educational institutions and private enterprises of all sizes. Founded in 1994, SmartDraw is privately-held, with headquarters in San Diego, California. For more information or to download a free trial of SmartDraw, please visit www.SmartDraw.com.

About The Presentation Summit

The Presentation Summit is organized and hosted by Rick Altman, prominent presentations consultant and author. Altman services an international client base and has authored 15 books on presentations and graphics, including his current one with the inflammatory title, "Why Most PowerPoint Presentations Suck." www.BetterPresenting.com
.
MY THOUGHTS

heaven! need to check this out

100 more Animated (PPT) PowerPoint Templates on Slideworld.com

2010-10-29T22:24:00.000-07:00

100 more Animated (PPT) PowerPoint Templates on Slideworld.com

Slideworld.com has added 100 more animated (PPT) powerpoint templates to its existing collection of powerpoint templates. Getting these animated (PPT) powerpoint templates is very simple and convenient. Download animated (PPT) PowerPoint templates at one click on slideworld.com.

Online PR News – 19-October-2010 – Animation is the growing demand of the powerpoint users. Slideworld.com fulfills the need for animated PowerPoint templates for the powerpoint users. Slideworld’s animated (PPT) powerpoint templates are fabulously designed keeping in mind the requirement od the powerpoint users. Our animated powerpoint templates are especially designed for the powerpoint presentations. It gives a different looks to a powerpoint presentation. Using our animated (PPT) powerpoint templates would help in so many ways. It attracts the audience at large as well as helps the presenter to explain its concepts in a very good manner.

Our animated (PPT) powerpoint templates are unique and matchless and are also available at the competitive prices. The animated (PPT) powerpoint templates are compatible on MAC and windows XP, Vista and 7. Just make the fuller use of animated powerpoint templates for the powerpoint presentations in an effective way.Each animated powerpoint slide is editable and text can be added according to the user, the most advantageous feature of our powerpoint templates are they can be customized.

Also our animated templates contain animated powerpoint background and theme sue to which it looks awesome. Just visit slideworld.com and download variety of animated ppt templates.
http://www.slideworld.com/ppt_templates/powerpoint-templates.aspx/Animated

MY THOUGHTS

looks really good. but very expensive. will just prepare my own.

Protect Your Flash Drive from Viruses

2010-10-24T18:17:00.000-07:00

Flash Drive 101: Protecting Your Drive from Viruses
Rick Broida
PC World
Sunday, October 24, 2010; 12:19 AM

Flash drives are virus magnets. This is a generally accepted truth, but today I learned it firsthand.

As you may recall from my previous post on copying files to flash drives, my wife needed to take a PowerPoint presentation with her to school. The drive was malware-free when it left here--but it came home with a virus!

I found this out when I popped the drive into my PC--and Microsoft Security Essentials immediately detected (and removed, thankfully) an extremely dangerous worm. No doubt it had landed there when the missus plugged the drive into one of the school machines.

This was a catastrophe barely averted. This particular worm propagates over network connections, so it could have spread very quickly to every system in my house. That's why it's crucial to have reliable anti-virus software installed on all your PCs.

Okay, but how do you protect your flash drive when it's "out and about"? How can you keep it from getting infected in the first place--or at least remove any sneakyware before it comes home with you?

My tool of choice: SUPERAntiSpyware Portable Scanner. The program requires no installation; you just copy it to your flash drive (see the aforementioned post if you don't know how to do that), then run it whenever you want to check for and remove infections.

You should also consider running Panda USB Vaccine, which disables a flash drive's Autorun.inf file--a common carrier for malware (including the one that hit me today). Doing so will prevent the drive's Autorun box from appearing when you plug it into your PC, but that's no biggie--you just have to open the drive manually.

MY THOUGHTS

i try to do away with flash drives as much as i can. i go for sending thru email even if i need to send a file to someone who's right beside me. these suggested downloads are worth a try though.

Every Great Presentation Needs These 3 Elements

2010-10-24T07:21:00.000-07:00

Every Great Presentation Needs These 3 Elements

Bill Rosenthal

Looking for the perfect words to use in your presentation? Put the words aside for a minute and let's create an avatar of a really persuasive presenter. It has three main characteristics:

The audience likes the presenter. “I'd like to know him,” they're thinking. “I trust her; she shares my values.” “He knows what he's talking about.” It all starts with the speaker being liked. Once the speaker establishes an emotional bond with the audience, they'll give him the benefit of the doubt on being trustworthy and knowledgeable about the subject.

The speaker is generating a high level of energy and it’s energizing the audience. He's holding their attention all the way to the end of the presentation.

The audience buys what the speaker’s saying because they understand its payoff for them. An audience won't do anything or believe anything unless there’s a what's-in-it-for-me there.
The words the speaker uses are important, of course. You have to be clear, concise and use persuasive language. Too bad that it's the aspect of the presentation that speakers spend most of their time planning. What you need is more attention to the characteristics that really count: like the avatar, you have to be liked, generate energy and provide a payoff. That will get you a standing ovation.

MY THOUGHTS

we all know how it is - the message gets lost because of the messenger.

Modify Microsoft Clip Art Pictures In Powerpoint Secrets

2010-08-31T00:26:00.000-07:00

Modify Microsoft Clip Art Pictures In Powerpoint Secrets

Busying looking for pictures for your Powerpoint presentation slides? It is not ethical to use unauthorized pictures from other people’s website without owner’s consent. Common alternative is that you can purchase pictures from online picture distributer. You are require to pay some amount of money in order to get free-royalty pictures.

If you are in a tight budget, you can opt for pictures in the Microsoft Clip Art. Most of the Clip Art pictures are extremely lame. So now, you can start producing new and refreshing pictures by using simple picture modifying technique in Powerpoint presentation. These modified pictures are free for non-commercial use only.

To start modifying one Clip Art picture, let’s us begin with step 1.

Step 1: Do a Clip Art search for pictures with suitable keywords.
In this case, I want to show audiences about “The Fate of A Successful Person”. I did a Clip Art picture search with the keyword “Questions” earlier. Look at what I chose.

Step 2: Enlarge the chosen picture.
I’ve chosen a picture of a guy who’s wearing a tie with a dark brown suit. The picture is indeed small and then, I enlarge it to make it look clear enough for audiences to see.

Step 3: Picture modification.
Now, the picture is quite dull and it need some modification. You need to “Ungroup” the picture as shown in the picture above.
Just right-click the picture, then choose ‘Grouping” following by “Ungroup”.

Right after you have clicked “Ungroup”, a menu suddenly appears as shown in the picture above and click “Yes”.

I feel that the guy’s face is quite unclear that makes it quite unappealing. Then I carefully click the face area. Please refer the picture below. A small selection box appeared at the guy’s face. After that, just right-click the small selection box and choose “Format AutoShape”.

Then a “Format AutoShape” menu box appear. Choose any colors from “Fill” row. Finally just press “OK” to confirm changes that you’ve made.

Repeat the selection on your desirable areas including (eyebrows, eyes or the brown colored suit) and change the colors according to your preferences.

Voila! You have successfully learn how to produce your own brand new Clip Art picture! You can enhance your newly modified picture by flanking them with related Clip Art pictures.

From now on, your audiences will be mesmerized by your Powerpoint presentations with your brand new modified pictures.

MY THOUGHTS

very helpful. love this article. will try this soon.

How To Create Worst Powerpoint Slides

2010-08-30T06:06:00.000-07:00

How To Create Worst Powerpoint Slides

Look at these common mistakes that actually turn off audiences attention when presenters use powerpoint slides in their presentation:

1. Too much text-content in one single slide

You couldn’t put too much texts in one single page. Audiences will not read every single word from it. If presenters opt to follow this presentation method, they might as well distribute handouts to audiences to read rather than giving any presentations at all. Delivering information should be made simple and clear – not to make it hard to transcend to the audiences.

2. Unrelated themes and backgrounds

When you first saw this powerpoint slide, it’s very hard for you to relate with “chocolate” when the themes and backgrounds are not related to the main topic. First, there’s no chocolate in background thus the audiences couldn’t even feel the impact of delicious and alluring taste of chocolate.

3. Unmatched text and background colors

Obviously, text-contents are not totally visible to audiences. If they cannot see things clearly, how could they pay extra attention to your speech delivery? The picture used as slide background is excellent but it is such a waste when you couldn’t get the content clearly from the slide.

4. Over-shadowed Text-contents

Not all fonts require shadows. Over-shadowed text contents will only cause difficulties for audiences to read it. Audiences are more reluctant to read the distorted text-contents even though the slide has a well-organized list.

5. Unmatched fonts

This powerpoint slide can be enhanced with suitable fonts. In this jovial theme, the fonts used are indeed formal and dull. Fonts have played a vital role in slide enhancement. In other words, you need to choose suitable fonts according to the slide layouts or the topic of the presentation.

6. Dull graphical presentation

Using the wrong graphical presentation such as graphs, tables and charts will only make things even complicated. These graphical presentation need to be standalone in every powerpoint slides. It means you couldn’t put to much words along with the graph as shown in the picture above.

MY THOUGHTS

guilty! will take note of this tips for my next presentations

19 things you should never do in a powerpoint presentation

2010-03-05T01:01:00.000-08:00

And Now, a Powerpoint Presentation, Redux
Category: Academia
Posted on: August 17, 2009 1:05 AM, by Scicurious

Sci was at a conference last week. It was a REALLY good time. As Sci advances in grad school, I feel I am beginning to come into my own, and it's a good feeling, esp when you can walk around feeling like you have a posse of fellow grad students and post-docs who all want to collaborate.

It's an exciting time, learning the latest stuff, seeing the newest methods, and meeting famous people. It's the craziest thing running into some of these professors. I've read all of their papers, I desperately try to meet all their grad students and postdocs, and my only goal is to see the famous person and say something GENIUS, something that will make them remember me and think that I've got promise. And then I meet them, and I say...I say...oh CRAP. Once in a while, though, the genius does come out, and then I feel that verily, Sci has BLINDED YOU WITH SCIENCE this day.

Last year at a similar conference, I ended up compiling a list of things that one should REALLY try to avoid if at all possible when giving a conference talk. There are more to add, every single time. Behold, the bad, the ugly, and the presentations guaranteed to give your eager listeners a headache:

The 19 things (and counting) you should NEVER do in a powerpoint presentation.

1) Do NOT spend your entire presentation with your back to the audience (I cannot tell you how many times Sci see this, presenters spending the entire time staring up at their powerpoints, gesturing vaguely with their arms).

2) Never use pale green on a white background to emphasize a point, unless you want to emphasize our eyestrain. Similar for neon yellow with pink. YIKES.

3) There is no reason to give a "I will talk about intro, methods, data, and conclusions" outline when you talk will be 20 minutes or less.

4) Make sure you can pronounce brain areas better than our recent president. It is not pronounced "nuke-ulus accumbens" (AUGH, REPEAT OFFENDERS!!!)

5) You have a WHOLE SCREEN! All to yourself, you lucky guy! Use it! Do not make your graph a tiny square in the middle that no one can see from the third row back.

6) If you don't know what to do with your hands, do NOT use then to wave your laser pointer at the screen all the time. You end up with the dreadful, circling laser pointer, like a buzzard over your data. It's one thing to circle the data your talking about, and that's good. It's quite another to have it circling your entire slide, slowly, over and over and over. Use when you need to, and the rest of the time, PUT IT DOWN. BACK AWAY SLOWLY.

7) There is NEVER an excuse for a semicolon in a powerpoint; Ever.

8) If you must use a screen capture, have the grace to crop the image so that we don't have to see the remnants of your Google toolbar.

9) Check your powerpoint for misspellings before you talk in front of several hundred people. If you screwed up it might be "extreem".

10) Try not to leave your mouse arrow hanging out in the middle of the screen for 3/4 of your talk.

11) Avoid the happy trigger finger for your slide advancer. Damn! You just gave away that really cool graphic on the next slide! For the fourth time.

12) DO NOT write it down, read it aloud, and follow it with your pointer. Honestly, at this point you might as well not be there at all.

13) If your hand is shaking, don't try to hold the pointer still over your slide, we're all going to see it and realize how incredibly freaked out you are. Or, being neuroscientists, we will try to diagnose you will Parkinson's.

14) I realize that you might have a monotone voice in your normal daily life, but TRY to vary it up when you give a presentation. We're exhausted, and all the caffeine in the world is not going to make us alert when you sound like the teacher from 'Peanuts.'

15) There are things called 'crutch-words'. You should...um...know what your...um...crutch...um...words are...um...they can be really...um...distracting.

16) There is such a thing as too much animation. Just because *flash* your powerpoint *fly in* can do it *underline* doesn't mean *wave like a flag* that it SHOULD *spin*. Also, if you have animations, know where they are so they don't catch you by surprise and make it obvious to everyone that you're giving a talk that was actually written by your post-doc.

17) I realize that big bad famous profs give a lot of presentations, but please have the courtesy to prep a little. I'm saying, if the presentation is 20 minutes, give a 20 minute talk, not a 40 minute talk that you won't make it through and have to skip through the last 20 slides worth of data. We will either assume that, despite your experience, you can't manage your time, or (more likely) that this is your "stock" talk, that you give all the time, and you (or your post-doc) couldn't be bothered to put something new together. It's not THAT hard. And here's a hint: you know it's going to be too long when you start giving your outline and you're already 10 minutes in.

18) Even if you did it at the last minute, KNOW your SLIDES. I actually heard a "hey, how did THAT get in here..."

19) And never, never, please never, begin or end your talk with a variation on "it's my first talk, and I'm totally nervous". *eyeroll*. In the best case scenario, we should not be able to TELL it was your first talk. We should assume you've got lots of experience. Being told that you don't know what you're doing doesn't inspire a lot of confidence. Statements like that don't earn you sympathy.

MY THOUGHTS!

Guilty! Guilty!Guilty! These are really valuable tips. As we gain experience in presentations and public speaking, we become confident and sometimes fail to take note of the little details that are actually not "little" to some audiences. So, pay attention. What have we got to lose?

powerpoint mistakes

2009-11-22T09:12:00.000-08:00

PowerPoint Training Mistakes
From the Impact Factory

The following article was contributed by Gareth Butler

Ten Mistakes Not To Make In Your Next PowerPoint Presentation

PowerPoint Skills
Love it or hate it, PowerPoint is used all over the world, every day, to create presentations.

If you're getting ready to design a deck of slides for your next presentation, here are ten mistakes you need to avoid to create an interesting speech your audience will love.

Mistake #1: Don't Cram Too Much On One Slide!

Your audience has to listen to your speech, and read your slides at the same time. When they're doing one, they're not likely to be doing the other. It's essential to keep the slides simple.

Don't have a twenty bullet points on one slide. Or a couple of hundred words. Or four or five pie charts. Or a bar chart full of specific detail.

The best presentations make one clear point on each slide. Less is more!

If you say something during your speech that is clearly backed up by a fact on your slide, it adds authority to the point you're making.

For your next presentation, try limiting yourself to a maximum of five words per slide, including the title. Or can you ditch the words all together and illustrate your point with a photo? Try dropping all the numbers from a chart and just showing the trend.

Mistake #2: Don't Use Bullet Points On Every Slide!

I'm sure you've had to sit though one. You know, a presentation with endless slide after slide of bullet points. I've sat through many. The only good thing about them is they offer a chance to grab 40 winks.

There's nothing interesting about bullet points. They just encourage you to read from the slide, which insults an audience, and they take the audience's attention away from what you're saying.

There are much better ways to illustrate a point rather than bullets. Why not find a good photo that works as well (try BigStockPhoto.com or iStockPhoto.com). Or an interesting quote. Find a chart that shows the trend you're talking about. Show a simple table with raw data. Show logos of companies using the products you're selling (try BrandsOfTheWorld.com). Show newspaper clippings. Or don't show anything – sometimes, you need your audience to focus clearly on what you're saying.

Mistake #3: Don't Make Your Font Size Too Small!

When you're designing slides at your computer, it's easy to forget how your slides are actually going to be used. While 14pt text may look large enough sat in front of your computer, will it be visible from the back of a room when you present?

Just because you're projecting on to a 12' x 9' screen doesn't mean it's going to appear huge to everyone in the room. In fact, it's the opposite. Sat close to a PC, the screen almost fills your vision. From the back of a conference room, however, even a huge projected screen seems tiny.

My tip: when you've designed your slides on your PC, stand up, take five steps back and view your presentation. (You'll find a remote mouse useful for this.)

Can't read your slides now? Neither will your audience. Go into your master template, and double the text size. Now try again.

Mistake #4: Don't Use PowerPoint's Clip art!

I can only think of unprintable comments to make about the clip art supplied with PowerPoint. It's amateurish. It's badly designed. And there's such little choice, you see people shoehorning images into their slides which really don't fit the message or theme of their presentation.

My solution: use professional stock photography.

My favourite suppliers are www.BigStockPhoto.com and www.iStockPhoto.com. Both have almost a huge variety of photos ranging from animals to landscapes, landmarks to technology. Go to both sites and have a look around.

Is it expensive? Not at all. You pay between a couple of dollars per picture, which is nothing.

Tip: find a photo on a white background. In PowerPoint, click the transparency tool on the white area of the photo to cut the object out so it merges seamlessly with your presentation's background.

Mistake #5: Don't Use Sound Effects In Your PowerPoint Presentation!

Yes, PowerPoint does include exciting sound effects like (wait-for-it) a race car! A typewriter! A pane of glass being smashed! Gravy!

OK, I made that last one up.

Just resist all temptation and don't use any of them in your presentation.

They'll make you sound like an amateur who has just discovered some new features in PowerPoint and want to do everything possible to make them fit into your presentation whether they help or hinder.

And, believe me, they hinder.

There's not a lot more I can really say about sound effects. Just please, if you get nothing else from this article, understand this: never, never, use sound effects in PowerPoint.

Mistake #6: Don't Hack Together A PowerPoint Presentation At Random! Structure Gives Meaning

A presentation with no structure is like listening to someone ramble on about nothing in particular. It has no meaning, no message, and five minutes after the ramble has finished, you've forgotten everything about it anyway.

Which is why a good presentation should have a clearly defined structure. And by structure, I simply mean a beginning, a middle and an end.

Beginning: introduce yourself, your topic, why it matters and why you're the right person to talk about it.

Middle: the meaty substance. Talk pros and cons. Talk benefits. Talk features. Show them over and over why the message you're selling is essential. Repetition is good.

End: wrap it all up by referencing back to the beginning of your presentation. Give your audience a call to action – tell them what to do next.

Remember the saying "tell 'em what you're gonna tell 'em, tell 'em, tell 'em you just told 'em."

Mistake #7: Don't Read Your PowerPoint Slides Aloud!

Occasionally, I see presenters who bring a slide on-screen, then read it, word-for-word aloud to their audience.

It's such a bad thing to do. Your audience will be insulted, and you're missing the chance to use your slides to back-up and give authority to what you're saying.

If you think you have a habit of doing this, the secret is all in the preparation. If you use a script to speak from, write the script first, then create your slides second, without copying chunks of your script into PowerPoint. If you prefer to speak from notes, then create a list of notes using different wording than what's on your slides.

Then practice in front of a live audience. Maybe a partner, or a colleague. Get them to stop you every time you start reading from your slides. You'll soon loose the habit.

Mistake #8: Don't Loose Your Audience With Ambiguous PowerPoint Slides!

All slides need a clear, simple path for the audience's eye to follow. When slides are filled with content that looks the same (for example, a long list of bullet points in the same type, colour and size) they get lost in the detail.

By making the importance of different parts of your slide clear, you'll instantly improve your audience's understanding of the message you're communicating.

Here's three of my favourite ways of improving the clarity of your slides.

Contrast: make more important items stand out. Make the font size bigger or brighter. Allow lots of space around the most important items.

Highlights: highlight important items with a different colour. For example, highlight rows in a table as you talk about them.

Simplify: reduce the number of words or bullets or pictures in a slide. Split one complex slide into several simpler ones.

Brainstorm your own ideas for more!

Mistake #9: Don't Irritate Your Audience With Annoying PowerPoint Animations!

Yes, PowerPoint does include lots of flashy effects in its custom animations palette.

Yes, you can buy add-ons if you want even more.

No, you shouldn't use them!

Like sounds and clip-art, over used animations in your presentation look amateurish.

They distract the audiences attention away from what you're saying as they focus on the screen. And do lots of random effects impress your audience? No, never.

Stick with one or two that you like. I tend to use Wipe Right and Box Out. That's it.

It's the same with slide transitions. Find one you like and use it throughout your presentation.

Concentrate your efforts on giving a great presentation, not experimenting with all out PowerPoint's animation styles!

Mistake #10: Don't Use The Amateurishly Designed Templates Supplied With PowerPoint!

Like most of the artwork supplied with PowerPoint, it's awful. Why didn't Microsoft hire someone to create some decent templates to bundle in with the software. Hey, Microsoft, I'm for hire if you want me!

The second-worst habit is finding free ones on the web. I can't remember ever seeing some nicely designed PowerPoint templates that someone is giving away for free. The quality is usually around about Microsoft's level!

The solution? Do it yourself, or hire a pro.

Try creating something simple. A graduated background, maybe, with your company's logo in the bottom corner. Or a good royalty-free stock photo with a semi-transparent tinted box laid over the top. Both solutions could look good.

Avoid these ten mistakes and you'll give a much better presentation the next time you speak.

MY THOUGHTS

Ugh! Ouch. It does pay to update yourself from time to time. You've prepared thousands of slides for probably a hundred presentations and you find out (by reading this article) that you're over using this and that or not using this and that. Whew! The biggest mistake I ever made was not having an lcd! Ha!ha! Well, I didn't know the talk was to be at an open space in one of the biggest malls. When my friend said 'hall', I assumed a hall with four walls! Well, the talk turned out pretty well without the slide presentation. So I guess, the best tip should be to know what you're talking about - with or without your slides.

2009-09-06T06:10:00.000-07:00

The Key to Creating an Effective Presentation

Planning is the First Step to a Successful Presentation
By Wendy Russell, About.com

What does it take to create an effective presentation? Is it the beautiful colors and pictures? Is it the animations and transitions?

"No", you say. "It is the content".

Well, you are partially right.

Planning is probably the most important step in creating a successful presentation of any kind. Planning helps you decide on the content and the order in which the information will be presented. Whether you are using PowerPoint, OpenOffice Impress or any other presentation software, use the following steps as a guide in planning the presentation.

1.Determine the Purpose of the Presentation

•Is this presentation about a product for a client?

•Is it a business presentation about the latest sales figures?

•Is it about a new idea you are introducing?

2.Determine the Presentation’s Audience

•your staff

•a new prospective client

•a group of small children

•a convention for people in the same line of work -- for example; a group of dentists

3.Gather Your Information

•Remember the KISS principle (Keep It Silly Simple) when designing your presentation.

•Focus on three or four main points only

•Know everything about the topic so you are ready for questions after the presentation.

4.Sketch Out the Slides on Paper

•Make sure the slides emphasize the main points to be made in the presentation.

•Try to have only one main idea on each slide.

•List no more than four points per slide.

5.Determine the Order Of Your Slides

•Although this can be changed later, having a rough idea of the order of your topic points, will help you plan the order of your slides.

6.Create the Presentation

•When creating the slides, be consistent in your choice of background colors, fonts, transitions, and animations.

MY OWN THOUGHTS

Having valuable content, content that the audience will want to know because they need to know about them, is the first step to having a great presenation. You can have all the photos you can flash on the screen, all the animations and attractive fonts and colors but if you do not present the right topic for the right audience, your presentation won't have any lasting impact. If you want to wow your audience, then you should take note of these key powerpoint presentation tips.

Powerpoint Presentation Tips

2009-09-06T05:31:00.000-07:00

The 5 Cardinal Rules of Terrific PowerPoint Presentations

By Darrell Zahorsky, About.com

The world of business meetings would probably be a better place with a wide-sweeping ban on bad PowerPoint presentations. A business presentation is meant to inform, motivate and create a call to action. Yet, time after time, the abuse and misuse of PowerPoint technology detracts from the original intent of the meeting.

Minds drift and wander in and out of consciousness while the presentation drones on. You can create and deliver a powerful PowerPoint presentation if you understand the five cardinal rules of terrific PowerPoint presentations.

It’s a Tool: The first broken cardinal rule of effective PowerPoint presentations is forgetting what the software is. PowerPoint isn’t a word document program or a means to dump data. Cutting and pasting text from a written document into the PowerPoint is a sure-fire method to losing your audience. Forget the role of writer. Keeping the mindset of a presenter is the first step in wowing your audience.

Simple Is What Simple Does: Simplicity is at the heart of good business. The unfettered look of the Google home page or the clean and simple design of the iPod creates a passionate fan base.

To move people with your business presentation, you’re PowerPoint needs to evoke emotion with simple, yet powerful messages and images. Less is really more when delivering a top-notch business presentation.

Pictures Over Words: The old saying “a picture is worth a thousand words,” is the essence of effective PowerPoint presentations. Winners of Slideshare.net (a PowerPoint presentation website), World’s Best Presentation Contest used heavy graphics and big fonts. Each winning presentation used compelling photos not clipart. We see presentations not read them.

Build the Unexpected: To create a memorable business presentation, you need to go beyond the expected. Stirring up controversy or challenging the beliefs of your audience is a method to wake them up.

“If we want to motivate people to pay attention we should seize the power of big surprises,” say Chip and Dan Heath, authors of the bestseller, Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Die and Others Survive. The brother’s principle of unexpected stickiness is to break patterns, create mystery, build unique stories, and find knowledge gaps. The unexpected equals attention.

Readers Beware: A good friend of mine did his college presentation from typed notes, never once looking up while reading the entire speech. Talk about boring. It’s a common practice to see PowerPoint presentations load with text and bullet points prompting the presenter to read. To wow your audience, don’t use the PowerPoint as a note toll. Spend the time to know your stuff so you don’t have to rely on crammed bullet point text.

PowerPoint doesn’t replace you. It’s merely a tool in your presentation. Remembering this simple yet profound statement will help you craft and deliver the perfect PowerPoint presentation.

MY OWN THOUGHTS

That's right! Keep them guessing. That's a sure fire way of keeping them awake. These are great powerpoint tips. Photos are indeed great. And without the texts, the presenter avoids using the powerpoint presentations as a crutch. I guess, the more photos you use the more it shows mastery of your subject matter. Powerpoint presentations are supposed to make your presentations more interesting. But you should be able to do your presentations without the slides. You've heard of power outages, damaged slides, computers not working. You never know what can happen.

powerpoint presentation tips

PowerPoint Presentation Nightmares

How to Answer the Question: "WHAT DO YOU DO?"

PowerPoint Presentation Tips for New Grads

HOW MUCH OF YOUR PRESENTATION SHOULD BE ABOUT YOUR COMPANY

TELL A STORY WHEN GIVING A PRESENTATION

GIVE LIFE TO PRESENTATIONS WITH POWERPOINT 2010

ENCHANTING PRESENTATIONS

ENCHANTING PRESENTATIONS

PAINLESS PUBLIC SPEAKING?

DECIDE HOW YOUR AUDIENCE WILL DECIDE

THINK IMPACT WHEN GIVING A PRESENTATION

EASY STEPS TO DYNAMITE PRESENTATIONS

DO AWAY WITH THE PODIUM

BEGIN YOUR SPEECH IN THE MIDDLE

HOW TO FIX LONG PRESENTATIONS

CONQUER YOUR FEAR OF PUBLIC SPEAKING

HOW TO BE A GREAT STORYTELLER - PART 4

PART 3 - HOW TO BE A GREAT STORYTELLER

PART 2 - HOW TO BE A GREAT STORYTELLER

HOW TO BE A GREAT STORYTELLER

SLIDE PRESENTATION AND DELIVERY TIPS

Presentation Remote for Keynote, PowerPoint

How to Give a Killer Presentation

PowerPoint Presentation Tips – Avoid Last Minute Surprises

PowerPoint Presentation Tips: 10 Tips on Becoming a Better Presenter

8 Secrets to a Knockout Business Presentation

Powerpoint presentation tip: make sure you are the center of attention

100 more Animated (PPT) PowerPoint Templates on Slideworld.com

Protect Your Flash Drive from Viruses

Every Great Presentation Needs These 3 Elements

Modify Microsoft Clip Art Pictures In Powerpoint Secrets

How To Create Worst Powerpoint Slides

Top Seven Presentation Bloopers to Avoid

19 things you should never do in a powerpoint presentation

powerpoint mistakes

Powerpoint Presentation Tips