The Art and Psychology of Effective Presentations

1. The Art and Psychology of Effective Presentations Daina Paupe Henry College of William and Mary VAMAP 2007

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4. Effective Presentations • “Effective” – having the power to produce an effect or effects; • “Presentations” – that which is presented – could be a reading of a poem, a video clip on tv, a recipe, a PowerPoint, a written document, a speech. VAMAP 2007

5. Goal for this session: • To provide 7 key ideas for effectively communicating information – whether it is written, oral or visual (in other words an Executive Summary, a verbal presentation to a Board, or a PowerPoint presentation for class or a conference.) VAMAP 2007

6. 7 key concepts • KISS • The Magic Number 7 and its corollaries of Primacy and Recency • The Power of 3 (or the hamburger method of presentation) • Synchronicity and left/right brain • Humor (LOL) • Timing • Urgent Does Not Equal Important VAMAP 2007

7. KISS VAMAP 2007

8. KISS • Keep it Simple Sam • Einstein could explain relativity to his grandmother. • Hawking can explain the theory of everything and 16 dimensional space in a book of less than 200 pages. • “Stay on target” – Star Wars A New Hope VAMAP 2007

9. KISS • In writing, keep it to one page – front and back if you have to. Never give a 40 page document to anyone without a summary or abstract. It could be earth shattering, but no one will read it. VAMAP 2007

10. KISS • Oral presentations and meetings should last no more than an hour. • The average attention span of children is 5 minutes; teens is 25 minutes; adults 50 minutes. • And this may be decreasing with new technology that encourages sound bytes, 15 second commercials, text messaging etc. VAMAP 2007

11. KISS PowerPoint • Less is better. • Not too many colors. • Not too much animation. • Don’t distract from the main point. • Don’t introduce anything that can distract the audience from your message – if they can get distracted, they will get distracted. VAMAP 2007

12. Bad graph VAMAP 2007

13. Good graph VAMAP 2007

14. Don’t make your audience search for the answer VAMAP 2007

15. The Magic Number Seven (7) VAMAP 2007

16. The Magic Number 7 • Psychological research has shown that our brains max out with more than 7 bits of information in a short period of time. • Organize your presentation to only 7 points. Or better yet, fewer. KISS. VAMAP 2007

17. The following facts are vital: • Mary had a little lamb. • Joe only wore socks on Tuesday. • Hannah ate only American cheese. • Harry’s soccer team practices at 5. • Molly had braces. • Jill went up the hill. • Happy was grumpy. • Dale’s shoes don’t fit. • Too many cooks spoil the broth. • Wednesday’s child is full of woe. VAMAP 2007

18. What do you remember? VAMAP 2007

19. The Magic Number 7 • When writing or speaking, organize your points so that there are only 7 or less. • If there are two points that are similar, group them. For example, “There was an increase in headcount in Art, History and Philosophy.” Parallel construction of grammar helps organize points. VAMAP 2007

20. The Magic Number 7 • Primacy and recency are psychological terms. • In a long list of items, a person tends to remember the items in the beginning of the list (primacy) and the end of the list (recency) and are less likely to remember the middle items. VAMAP 2007

21. Primacy and Recency • Therefore, put the most important things in a list either FIRST or LAST. • This goes for written, oral or PowerPoint. • Start or finish a meeting with the important things. VAMAP 2007

22. The Power of 3 VAMAP 2007

23. Say it 3(three) times • Tell them what your going to tell them. • Tell them. • Tell them what you just told them. VAMAP 2007

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25. Hamburger method of communication • Writing and speaking is like a hamburger. • Introductory bottom bun prepares the audience for what comes next. • The main points – the meat of the hamburger are placed on top one at a time. • The conclusion or summary top bun finishes off the hamburger. VAMAP 2007

26. Hamburger Method • This applies to dissertations, Executive Summaries, newspaper articles, PowerPoints, class lectures and meetings. • All good meetings have an agenda, cover a select few points, and the minutes are written up. VAMAP 2007

27. The power of 3(three) • Don’t repeat yourself. • An introduction sets the stage and focuses the audience. • The main points provide more detail. • The conclusion or summary needs to put the details in perspective – “and this is important because….” VAMAP 2007

28. Synchronizing messages VAMAP 2007

29. Synchronicity • Be consistent in your message. • When talking about headcount, don’t have a write up about FTE. • Everything that is in your graph should also be in your write up or in your speech. • Don’t introduce loose ends. VAMAP 2007

30. Multi Medium • Go after all the senses – visual graph, oral presentation and written words. • Let your audience hear the choir, feel the brick of the new sidewalk, taste the soggy French Fries, smell the locker room. VAMAP 2007

31. Left versus Right Brain • Left brain deals with words. • Right brain deals with art, music, colors, pictures etc. • “A picture is worth a thousand words.” VAMAP 2007

32. 1 picture = 1000 words VAMAP 2007

33. Left and Right • People are more likely to remember and react to information that is presented to both halves of the brain. • Words (left) and pictures/graphs (right) together are more effective than either separately. VAMAP 2007

34. Humor (LOL) VAMAP 2007

35. Humor • Avoid it, if the presentation is just in writing, because as everyone knows…”timing is everything”. What could be funny out loud, can be misread by a reader. • However, every good speech or oral presentation starts with humor or a story…. VAMAP 2007

36. Do you want his job? VAMAP 2007

37. Humor • Humor is a right brain kind of thing. It jump starts that part of the brain. • The very best speakers have not only a really good message, but are also entertaining… • Learning and life does not have to be boring. VAMAP 2007

38. Timing is Everything VAMAP 2007

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40. Timing – Know Your Audience • Timing requires perspective – knowing your audience and what is happening. • Don’t make a call for a new program in Tiddlywinks, when department budgets have been cut. • Friday 4pm is not a good time for anything, except cleaning the desk. VAMAP 2007

41. Timing • Summer is a bad time to propose anything. • Be first or last on the agenda (primacy and recency). VAMAP 2007

42. Timing and Importance VAMAP 2007

43. Timing • Consider not only calendar year, but day of the month, day of the week, and time of day. • This is true for meetings, oral presentations, emails, and memos. VAMAP 2007

44. Urgent Does Not Equal Important • NOW+NOW+NOW < important VAMAP 2007

45. The Little Boy Who Cried Wolf VAMAP 2007

46. Urgent vs Important • This requires perspective. • Important issues, even ones with bad timing, will re-emerge. • Pareto’s Principle of 80 to 20 is true. Of 100 items, 20 will be important. Don’t write 100 emails about the 100 items. VAMAP 2007

47. A pile of beans…. VAMAP 2007

48. In summary… • NOW !!! < IMPORTANT VAMAP 2007

49. 7 key concepts • KISS • The Magic Number 7 and its corollaries of Primacy and Recency • The Power of 3 (or the hamburger method of presentation) • Synchronicity and left/right brain • Humor (LOL) • Timing • Urgent Does Not Equal Important VAMAP 2007

50. And this is important because… • IR folk have lots of data, that they spend an enormous amount of time converting into information. • Effective presentations allow us to share our information and make change. VAMAP 2007