Best Practices:

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Best Practices:

Great Presentations BY BENJAMIN SAWA

Here’s a question for you: How many times have you attended a presentation and afterward thought to yourself, “Wow, what a great presentation! Informative, well-structured, and convincing— I’m so glad I took that hour out of my busy schedule to attend”? Chances are, you can count on one hand how many times this has happened. A few months ago, I was on a flight headed from our Boston headquarters to our West Coast office in Sacramento, CA. After an uneventful takeoff, I noticed the gentleman sitting in front of me turn on his computer. My interest was piqued as PowerPoint launched. I’ve always had an interest in presentations—call it a sick hobby, if you will—and so I began to wonder, what crucial message was this business person preparing to deliver and how was he going to do it? As I peered over his shoulder, he began to cycle through his presentation. His slides immediately triggered flashbacks of every bad presentation I’ve ever attended. You know the ones: Presentations with endless bullet points that the presenter reads to you line by line. Custom animations where the text “flies” onto the screen, complete with accompanying sound effects. Cheesy clip art that was added as an afterthought just because that slide needed “a little something extra.” Sound familiar?

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Unfortunately, this is the current state of presentations in our world. Bad presentations have become so pervasive that a term has been coined for them: Death by PowerPoint. In countless boardrooms across the country, employees are subjected to this cruel form of torture day in and day out. Don’t get me wrong: When used effectively PowerPoint can be a powerful tool to share knowledge, drive change, and create solutions. But sadly, rarely do we see it being used to its full potential. So what does it take to make a truly great presentation? Here is a summary of what I’ve learned over years of witnessing countless presentations and, more importantly, reading the works of some truly groundbreaking thought leaders in the world of presentation (see the books by Garr Reynolds and Nancy Duarte referenced at the end of this article). I’m hopeful these tools can help you create a truly great presentation.

First Things First What is the first thing we do when we begin to create a presentation? More often than not, we turn the computer on, fire up PowerPoint, and off we go. Unfortunately, this “first step” should really be the last. Instead, when you sit down to create your next presentation (and before you open PowerPoint), ask yourself this one question: What is my message?

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It sounds simple, but the single most common mistake I’ve seen with presentations is an unclear message. The message might be clear to you, but without a clear thesis, your audience may have difficulty connecting the dots. So before you do anything, make sure you know what your message is from a big-picture standpoint, then plan supporting points to clearly deliver this message.

Brainstorm Remember that thing called brainstorming? Before beginning any presentation, I always do a brainstorming session, either alone or with others. The process is less painful than it sounds. I usually start with a fresh set of sticky notes and begin writing any and all words and ideas related to my message that come to mind. The point here is quantity: Get as many ideas as you can, as quickly as you can. The less thinking involved, the better. Each note gets posted on my office wall until the wall is covered. Then as I look for common threads and group them accordingly, I can see my presentation beginning to take shape.

Craft Your Story Stories have been the most effective way to communicate since man came into existence. In trying to teach his children how to hunt and gather food, do you think a caveman used an organized outline complete with hierarchal bullets? Probably not. I’m guessing he told stories.

“What is the single most important rule in presentation design? Apply restraint. Say ‘no’ to that extra bullet point.” Why stories? Recent research in neuroscience suggests that it is difficult for people to remember and comprehend information presented in hierarchal lists. Why is this? And what can a story do that a bullet list can’t? A story puts the pieces together and provides context to otherwise complicated or abstract ideas. Stories are real and concrete; they add meaning and understanding. Stories also appeal to our emotions, provoking empathy. As we all know, people care about people, so find a way to connect to your audience by tuning into the emotional side. You will find that your audience is more likely to pay attention and remember what you said.

Design Your Presentation Designing a presentation takes time, patience, and a little skill. But once you know what to look for, it’s actually quite easy. 1. Restraint. What is the single most important rule in presentation design? Apply restraint. Say “no” to that extra bullet point. “No” to the flashing company logo on every page. “No” to the animation, the busy backgrounds, and the glaring colors. Keep it simple.

Marketer/October 2009

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In your presentation, you may have many points to make, but they don’t all need to be spelled out word for word on each slide. If that’s your goal, why are you there anyway? Just create a handout, and your audience will thank you. We live in a world of ever-increasing information. Every single day we have to sort through clutter. From e-mails, to text and instant messages, to the seemingly ubiquitous ringing of cell phones, we are constantly connected. Many of us are at a point of information overload. So, please do your audience a favor: Make your presentation simple to understand, and cut out the unnecessary noise. You’ll be amazed at how this simple rule can increase your audience’s attention and comprehension. 2. Visuals. “A picture is worth a thousand words,” right? There’s a reason that saying has lasted through the years. Studies have shown that memory recall on average increases 55% when information is presented with a visual, rather than just orally.

“Do your audience a favor: Make your presentation simple to understand.”

Before

So, you ask, “How does this translate to presentations?” The next time you create a presentation, think about using just a picture. No text—just a picture. Use the image to reinforce your point. If you do this, your audience will be more likely to remember your point, and best of all, they won’t be reading six lines of bullets. They might actually be listening to you! 3. Slide Structure. What makes up a presentation? The basic building blocks of a presentation are background, color, text, and images. A complicated background detracts from your message, making it more difficult to read text. It can limit the “real estate” of space available to you. And most importantly, what does it add? Does anyone ever say, “That presentation was ok, but if only they had a prettier background…” Contrasting colors are the most effective way to make people read something. Our brains are wired to see differences. Create a slide with a white background and gray text and you are guaranteed that people won’t read it. Now, use the same background and text but with strong contrast emphasizing key words, and it will be read. Use a text font that is easy to read and large enough to be seen. The reason? That 14-point font might look great on your computer screen 15 inches away, but put that on a projector and unless your audience has 20/10 vision, they’re not seeing anything. Also, try to stay away from ornate fonts and stick to the simple, straightforward ones. I often use a sans-serif typeface that is similar to what you would see on headlines or billboards (examples include Arial or Calibri). As pointed out earlier, effective use of images will strengthen your message and focus the attention of the audience on what you’re saying, not what they’re reading. Use high-quality images whenever possible; blurry or pixilated images will only detract from your message.

After

The importance of presentations never should be underestimated. After all, how many times in a given week or month do you have a chance to inform, persuade, and inspire action from a large group of people? Treat each presentation as a precious opportunity.

Further Reading If you are interested in learning more about the concepts covered in this article, read the following books: Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds (my all-time favorite) Slideology by Nancy Duarte Presenting to Win by Jerry Weisman

About the Author

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Benjamin Sawa is a strategic business analyst with GEI Consultants, Inc., a multi-disciplined firm of engineers and scientists delivering geotechnical, environmental, water resource, and ecological solutions to diverse clientele nationwide. Located in Boston, Ben can be reached at 781.721.4047 or [email protected]. This is his first contribution to Marketer.