How to Give a “Knockout” Presentation Lawrence Business Management and Finance High School

1. How to Give a “Knockout” PresentationLawrence Business Management and Finance High School Sybille Gray Cisco Master Presenter April 28, 2011

2. Agenda • Introductions • Importance of Presentation Skills • General Guidelines - POPTA • Presentation Design: Slide Do’s and Don’ts • Handouts • PowerPoint Navigation • Delivery Do’s and Don’ts • How to Handle Questions • Final Thoughts

3. Introductions One Minute Introductions - Name Grade Hobby / Talent Name

4. Introduction – Sybille Gray • Master Presenter • Presentation mastery through Toastmasters International and Mandell Communications • Held workshops as President of Power Imaging Consulting and also for subject matter experts at Cisco, Inc.

5. Importance of Mastering Presentation Skills

6. Why are presentation skills important? • Job Hunting - Speak better in Inteviews • Academia (Crucial to Tenure) • Conferences, Seminars, Teaching classes • Industry (Way of Life) • Training, Project Reports, Reports to Management • Other • Speaking in church, politics, fund raising, community service, etc.

7. General Guidelines A good presentation is a “POPTA” presentation What does POPTA stand for?

8. General Guidelines POPTA • Purpose • Organization • Preparation • Time • Audience

9. General Guidelines for “POPTA”

10. General Guidelines • Purpose • Define your purpose for your presentation • Teach, Persuade, Prove, Review, Impress, Put to Sleep, Entertain? • What do I want my audience to gain? • What might they already know about my topic? • Often your goal is a high level overview, even for a technical presentation • Don’t tell them everything you did, you’ll bore them

11. General Guidelines • Organization • Always have an outline • Introduction – Body – Conclusion • Tell them what you’re going to tell them, then tell them, then tell them what you told them • Hint: I am doing this for this presentation • Problem then solution

12. General Guidelines • Introductions should … • Speakers Name • Include agenda • Clarify the goals and objectives • Introductions can … • Include overview of a situation • Statement of current situation • Recap of history (Timeline) • Use strategies to get attention: quote, question, humor, creative image, anecdote

13. General Guidelines • Body • Chronological/Order • Narrative/Story • Problem/Solution • Cause/Effect • Topical/Subject: American Students - Business • Journalistic Question: Who? – Why? – What? – Where? - To Whom? – When? – How?

14. General Guidelines • Conclusion • Summarize the main points of your presentation • Provide closure and leave an impression • Recommendations, future directions, next steps

15. General Guidelines • Preparation • An unprepared presenter loses the audience before even starting • Practice makes perfect and builds confidence • Arrive early, make sure everything is set up • Dress appropriately – Business attire • Better to dress up than down • Slides should be done well in advance

16. General Guidelines • Time • Be sure you know how much time you have while preparing the presentation • Not 5 minutes before you start • It is better to end early than to go over • Always have a watch or clock in view • You’ll never have enough time to tell everything - stick to the most important points • Rule of thumb • At most 1 slide per minute of presentation • Better to plan 2 minutes for each slide

17. General Guidelines • Audience • Be sure you know your audience well • Tailor presentation to your audience • Failure to do this is probably the biggest mistake people make • You should never give the same presentation twice • Are there multiple audiences? • If so, direct different slides to different audiences • Watch the audience for clues

18. Presentation Design: Slide Do’s and Don’ts

19. Presentation Design: Slide Do’s and Don’ts • “PowerPoint doesn’t give presentations – PowerPoint makes slides” • From microsoft.com website • Comments should be more compelling than the slides • Don’t put everything on the slide • K.I.S.S. Principle • Make bullet points consistent in structure • Capitalize the first letter of the first word only

20. Slide Do’s and Don’ts • Do include 50% white space • Do make it obvious which section of your outline you’re in • Do make each slide stand on its own • Generally 1 main point for each slide • Do use animation • Don’t overuse it • Makes it difficult and annoying to navigate

21. Slide Do’s and Don’ts • Make slide pictorial – Graphs, flowcharts • Include written conclusion, meaningful labels, titles, captions, to graphs

22. Slide Do’s and Don’ts • Don’t use yellow text • Do use dark text and bold • Do use formatting and color to emphasize (e.g. POPTA) • Don’t include unrelated pictures

23. Slide Do’s and Don’ts • Don’t include periods at the end of a bullet. • Do include a journal name with a reference • Jensen, Jones-Farmer, Champ, and Woodall (2006, Journal of Quality Technology)

24. Slide Do’s and Don’ts • Two main classifications of fonts - Serif - small flourishes extending from main strokes of each letter - San serif – straight and clean • Do not use serif fonts - Times New Roman • Do use sans serif fonts – Arial • Minimum font size for most rooms – 20 pt

25. Slide Do’s and Don’ts • Don’t just copy formulas and equations from your work (dissertation, paper, etc.) • Also known as “equationitis” • Do use formulas and equations sparingly • Do explain all notation used

26. Slide Do’s and Don’ts • Do chek yor speling for mestakes • Typos instantly destroy credibility and convey lack of preparation • Do have someone else read through presentation • Do acknowledge previous work and help • Do use a template if using PowerPoint • Do put title slide at the end

27. Slide Do’s and Don’ts • Do use a light background like this

28. Slide Do’s and Don’ts • Or like this

29. Slide Do’s and Don’ts • Or like this

30. Slide Do’s and Don’ts • Don’t use a dark background like this • Even if using a lighter font color • Harder to read, especially from the back • More likely to put people asleep • Handouts often don’t look very good

31. Do use occasional “spice” or “pace breakers” Humor Pictures Sound Animation Questions (Not just Yes/No) Surveys Quizzes Videos Physical Objects Top Ten Lists Etc. Slide Do’s and Don’ts For example . . . A pace breaker can do this for your audience

33. Handouts • Use them if they help achieve your objective • Especially for technical presentations • Greatly increases retention • Often best to pass out at the end • You want to keep the audience engaged

34. Navigation in PowerPoint • Always go through your presentation in slide show mode before giving it • Multiple times • Use keyboard short cuts, not the mouse • F1 (in slide show mode) • To bring up the list of all shortcut keys (Escape to hide the list) • Use this while practicing to help you learn the navigation

35. Navigation in PowerPoint • To start slide show mode • F5 (Automatically takes you to start of presentation) • To end slide show mode • Escape

36. Navigation in PowerPoint • Home • To go to the beginning slide • End • To go to last slide • Type the slide #, then Enter • To jump to any particular slide • B • Black screen • W • White screen

37. Delivery Do’s and Don’ts

38. Delivery Do’s and Don’ts • Don’t read or “parrot” the slides • Otherwise, why give a presentation? • Do use the slides as a cue • Let audience read • Do use pointers sparingly • They magnify nervousness • Create slides and use animation that emphasize your points

39. Delivery Do’s and Don’ts • Do plan breaks for longer presentations • 10 minutes for every hour • Break – show slide # ? of Polar Bear • Do be passionate about the topic • Have fun, this is your opportunity • If your audience doesn’t know why your topic is important, you’ve lost them • Don’t forget to practice • Record yourself, tape yourself, or use a mirror • Reading through slides does not count as practice

40. Delivery Do’s and Don’ts • Do relax, use nerves to your advantage • Breathe deeply, pause as needed • Don’t go too fast • Do watch out for mannerisms • “Um . . um” • Pause instead of using “um” • Do empty your pockets and hands • Don’t point at computer, point at the screen

41. Delivery Do’s and Don’ts • Do use body language to help make a point • Purposeful movements • Do use appropriate posture • Don’t slouch • Sitting implies informality • Do move around if possible • Don’t pace • Don’t be hyperactive • Center yourself, rearrange setup if needed

42. Delivery Do’s and Don’ts • Do face audience more than slides • Don’t talk to the screen or wall • Do vary your voice • Don’t speak in monotone • Most people speak too soft, not too loud • Do memorize slide numbers for key slides • Or transition points • Do get honest feedback from someone you trust

43. Delivery Do’s and Don’ts • Don’t forget to smile

44. Just Before You Present 30 Second Detail Check in front of mirror: • Stains • Earrings • Teeth • Nylons • Buttons • Hair • Shoes

45. Dress Professionally

46. Handling Questions • Welcome them • Lots of questions are either a sign of: • Interest in what you are talking about • Audience internalizing • Failure to communicate an idea • Meaning that the person still wants to understand • Always repeat the question • For you to make sure you understood it • For audience to make sure they heard it

47. Handling Questions • Answer the question to the audience • Then check back to the individual for confirmation • Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know” • Better than mumbling or fumbling an answer

48. Agenda Review • Introductions • Importance of Presentation Skills • General Guidelines - POPTA • Presentation Design: Slide Do’s and Don’ts • Handouts • PowerPoint Navigation • Delivery Do’s and Don’ts • How to Handle Questions • Final Thoughts

49. Final thoughts • POPTA • Good slides go a long way • Practice, practice, practice • Remember that the audience wants you to succeed • Use other resources (Books, web, etc.) • Dress for success • Anyone can learn to be a better presenter! • MUCH SUCCESS!

50. How to Give a “Knockout” PresentationLawrence Business Management and Finance High School Sybille Gray Cisco Master Presenter April 28, 2011