War and Peace in a Sound Bite: Standards for Effective Board Presentations

1. War and Peace in a Sound Bite: Standards for Effective Board Presentations Kim Cranston, Rockwood School District Chris Tennill, School District of Clayton MSBA – Fall, 2006

2. We’ve All Been There

3. Board Meetings AsCommunication Tools • A school board is the “face” of the school district. • Board meetings are: • A reflection of the culture and climate of the school district. • An opportunity to present a positive image of the school district. • A tool for communicating with large groups.

4. The Research Doesn’t Connect • 51% of BOE members “rely a lot” on BOE meetings for community input. • 83% of BOE members believe meetings are “somewhat or very effective” in communicating with large groups • 75% of BOE meetings are not highly-attended.

5. Where’s the “Disconnect”? • There is one audience at BOE meetings. • There are actually multiple “audiences” at BOE meetings: • Board of Education • District administrators and staff • Parents • Patrons • Media

6. Keep Your Audiences in Mind • Effective Presentations: • Increase attention and retention • Improve persuasiveness • Impact understanding

7. Keys to Effective Presentations • Simple • Succinct • Short Simple + Modest = Credible

8. Keys – Keep it Simple • Avoid educational jargon • Limit use of complicated charts and graphs

9. Keys – Keep it Succinct • Tell ‘em what you’re going to tell ‘em • Tell ‘em • Tell ‘em what you told ‘em

10. Keep It Short A good presentation technique is the “Rule of Three.” • People tend to remember three things. • Put your message into a list of three. • What are the three most important points my audience needs to know?  

11. Use Visual Aids • Emphasize/reinforce verbal message • Clarify complex concepts • Increase retention • Focus attention • Stimulate interest • Organize your ideas

12. Power Point Presentations • Slide content • Fonts, colors, backgrounds • Images and transitions • Delivery techniques

13. Content - Information on Slides The biggest mistake a presenter makes is overloading slides with information. Too much information will redirect the audience’s focus from you to your presentation. Audiences will also spend more time reading your slides than listening to your presentation.

14. Content – Information on Slides • Use text and images carefully. • Use adequate “white space” (60% - 70%). • Use the “6 x 6” rule: • Six words per line • Six lines per slide • Provide additional detail in handouts.

15. Fonts, Colors, and Backgrounds • Serif vs Sans Serif • Bold titles • Avoid italic, decorative, & condensed fonts • Spread out your bullets Never use red on green Never use green on red

16. Images and Transitions • Use images that are: • Clear • Relevant to the slide • Not cliché clip art • Use transitions: • To divide presentation • In a systematic pattern

17. Delivery Techniques • Speaker/slide interaction is the key. • Slides ≠ Notes • Don’t read slides. • Pointer tips: • Don’t cross over your body. • Avoid the firefly. People came to hear you speak, not to hear you read your slides.

18. Delivery Techniques – Final Prep • Rehearse presentation out loud. • Practice with the equipment. • Practice in the room where you’ll present. • Have a backup plan. • Check for spelling and grammar errors.

19. Some Other Tools • Paperless Board meetings • Board meeting summaries

20. Three Points to Remember • Keep your audiences in mind. • Keep presentations simple, succinct and short. • Use visual aids effectively.

21. Contact Information Kim Cranston Rockwood School District cranstonkim@rockwood.k12.mo.us (636) 458-7337 Chris Tennill School District of Clayton chris_tennill@clayton.k12.mo.us (314) 854-6015