Boost Your Presentation Skills (2013)

All rights reserved ©2013 1
Marc Jadoul
Boost Your
Presentation Skills!
(and keep your audience coming back for more)

Disclaimer
This is a training course, not a public presentation.
Some of the techniques introduced are not
applicable to or are not used in the following slides.

“Death by PowerPoint”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbSPPFYxx3o

The Rise of the
Corporate Storyteller
Steve Rubel, October 2010
Even though millions of us are now content producers in some form
or another, the reality is there's still chasm when it comes to quality.
There's art and there's junk. Audiences want art.
To stand out today it's critical that businesses create content.
Activating your cadre of internal subject matter experts is the surest
path to visibility.
The reality is, however, that organizations need to do more than just
unleash their subject matter experts en masse. They need to activate
them in multiple channels at once and equip them in how to create a
compelling narrative—an emerging set of skills called Transmedia
Storytelling.
Transmedia storytelling is the future of marketing. And those who can
span across formats and share their expertise will stand out in an age
of Digital Relativity.

Why tell stories?
• Because we are all human beings
• Stories make your content personal and sparkle
curiosity
• Storytelling is cooperative learning
• An entertaining way to transmit a message
• It’s a means to stimulate higher level thinking
• We tend to forget lists and bullet points
• Stories give us permission to act
• They allow us to remember the things told
• Stories spread. Good stories spread faster…

When storytelling gets the message
across more effectively, its
incremental cost is (close to) zero,
but its ROI is massive.

About me…

YOU
message
audience delivery
YOUR
STORY
YOUR
SLIDES
YOUR
PRESEN-
TATION

YOU
YOUR
STORY
YOUR
SLIDES
YOUR
PRESEN-
TATION
message
audience delivery

Great stories succeed because they
are able to capture the imagination
of large or important audiences.
Seth Godin

The 7 C’s of a good story
C ompelling
C redible
C oncrete
C lear
C onsistent
C ustomized
C onversational

Nobody cares about your products
(except you).

People will forget your words,
people will forget your slides,
but they will never forget
how you made them feel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv98mKgWpZ0
Maya Angelou

The triune brain
‘Reptile’
(archipallium)
‘Mammal’
(paleopallium)
‘Rational’
(neopallium)
Survival,
fear
Emotion,
seek pleasure,
avoid pain
Logic and
thinking
http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Triune_brain
All rights reserved ©2013
2
1
3

The left and the right brain
Daniel Pink, “A Whole New Mind”
Design
Story
Symphony
Empathy
Play
Meaning
Function
Argument
Focus
Logic
Seriousness
Accumulation

Aristotle’s ancient
art of rhetoric
Ethos
Pathos Logos
Credibility
• Trustworthiness
or reputation
• Tone/style
Emotion
• Emotional or
imaginative
impact
• Stories
Logic
• Reasoning or
argumentation
• Facts, figures,
case studies
http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/ethos-pathos-logos/

Charles Mingus
Making the simple
complicated is a
common practice;
making the
complicated simple,
awesome simple,
that’s creativity.

The KISS principle
K eep
I t
S imple,
S tupid
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KISS_principle

Even for engineers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyluS4TZKhQ
http://natgeotv.com/uk/engineering-connections

A ttention
I nterest
Desire
E vidence )
A ction
What makes a good storyline?
(

Plan your story
• Think about the story you want to tell and the
messages you want to convey before you start
creating slides
• Clearly identify your objectives and expected
outcomes
• Inform yourself about the opportunity, context,
audience, other speakers, etc.
• Look for anecdotes, case studies, experience, …
• Always start with the end in mind

http://www.mindmapinspiration.com
Map your ideas

Satisfy your audience’s goals
What’s
I n
I t
F or
M e?

Know your target audience
to tailor your presentation
• Size and composition
• Key persons in the room
• Expectations and level of knowledge
• Objectives and level of interest/resistance
• Possible questions they may ask
• Level of understanding speaker’s language
• Overall agenda and time available

Build a message house
Core
message
perception
proposition
differentiation
relevance
Foundation
(trends, facts & figures, …)
Umbrella statement
(vision, mission, value, …)
Core
message
perception
proposition
differentiation
relevance
Core
message
perception
proposition
differentiation
relevance
Burson-Marsteller, 2006

Do the elevator test
• Can you “sell” your message in 30 seconds?
• Can you summarize it on the back of a napkin
or business card?
• Can you deliver your story in half of the
available time slot?
• Can it be understood by your mother in law?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elevator_pitch

YOU
YOUR
STORY
YOUR
SLIDES
YOUR
PRESEN-
TATION
message
audience delivery

If information is
presented orally,
people remember
about 10% of
the content 72
hours later.
That figure goes
up to 65% if
you add a picture.
John Medina (2008), “Brain Rules”

The average business presentation
has 25% less slides than 3 years ago.
Less time to
monologue
More time to
dialogue

You’ll probably
present less than
20% of all the
information you
have in mind

What annoys audiences
about PPT Presentations?
• The speaker read the slides to us 69.2%
• Text so small I couldn’t read it 48.2%
• Full sentences instead of
bullet points 48.0%
• Slides hard to see because of
color choice 33.0%
• Overly complex diagrams or charts 27.9%
http://www.thinkoutsidetheslide.com/articles/annoying_powerpoint_survey_2009.htm

Do not overload your presentation
with visuals - they should underline
something in your presentation, and
not overshadow you, the speaker.

Gary Vaynerchuk
Great speakers may use poor visuals …
… or even no slides at all …

The KILL principle
K eep
I t
L arge &
L egible

Your brain interprets every
letter as a picture so wordy
slides literally choke your brain.

Beware of creating
‘slidumentation’.
Create visuals
to present a
solution or to
make a statement,
not to solve
your problem
or to document
the details.

Your audience is only capable of holding
three or four points in short term
memory: respect the ‘rule of three’.

Only mention the essential figures.
Put the rest in a separate handout.

Plan your presentation
• Create a storyboard
• Look for appropriate visual materials
• Preparation time = 3x presentation time
• Background ‘material’ = 5x presentation content
• Count 2-3 minutes per slide
• Anticipate to possible questions
• Re-iterate your slides after each presentation

Create a storyboard
• Start from your mind map
• Spend time in the “slide sorter”

How many slides will you need?
Speaking slot
(in minutes)
x0.8
Speaking time
(in minutes)
÷3
÷2
Number of slides
<
<
(3 mins. per slide)
(2 mins. per slide)
(Q&A)

Keep consistent in style,
vocabulary, color palette, etc.

Use appropriate fonts
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/07/04/higgs-boson-discovery-comic-sans_n_1648494.html

Fonts and typefaces
• Must be readable from the back of the room
• Title 28–36 pts; body text 20-28 pts
• Don’t mix too many fonts; don’t use script
fonts
• Use Bold, italic and color instead of underline
• Don’t mix too many colors on one slide
• Colors should contrast with the background
• Avoid using red text on a white or black
background

Bullets and numbering
• Only 1 point or idea per slide
• Use statements instead of sentences
• Use key words to help audience focus
• Title contains 5 words or less
• Maximum 7 lines per slide, 7 words per line
• Each statement starts with a capital
• Avoid numbered bullet lists

Tables and charts
• Avoid large tables and spreadsheet objects
• Use appropriate chart types (bar, pie, line, …)
• Though charts have a higher visual impact,
tables may display information in a less
emotional way

48
COPYRIGHT © 2013 M. JADOUL. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
http://www.visual-literacy.org/periodic_table/periodic_table.html

Clip art and animation
• Use illustations wisely
• Images must enhance or clarify the content
• Scale down photo resolution
• Don’t use “fly in” bullets
• Limit object builds and slide animation

Don’t use standard
PowerPoint clipart

Scaling and cropping images
25 KB 2.5 KB250 KB

Embedding video
and multimedia
• Use video/audio clips for examples, use cases
and/or testimonials
• Make sure the video files are loaded on
the presentation PC and linked into the slides
• Alternatively, post the movies on YouTube
and provide a link to it
• Don’t use PowerPoint sound effects
• Arrange that A/V equipment is available and
tested (with your presentation) before you start

YOU
YOUR
STORY
YOUR
SLIDES
YOUR
PRESEN-
TATION
message
audience delivery

Be prepared
• Only present your OWN story and slides
• Get familiar with your presentation
• Add some time checks if necessary
• Anticipate to possible questions
• Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse
• Ask feedback from your colleagues
(including non-researchers)

Get in early
• To be on time for your presentation
• To socialize with the host(s)
• To network with the attendees
(beware of the first impression you create)
• To get familiar with the venue
• To listen to (and bridge with) previous
speakers
• To identify friends and foes in the audience

Before you start
• Get familiar with the room and the equipment
• Be aware of the organizer/audience’s
expectations
• Test your PC (fonts!) and the A/V equipment
• Know how to navigate (also backward…)
• Turn off your screensaver, email and IM
• Bring a backup copy of your slides
• Consider some last minute customization
• Be prepared for presenting naked
• Relax!!!

Most people decide within the first
8 seconds of a presentation whether
the speaker is worth listening to.
Good morning... I am so glad
that I got the opportunity to speak
here this morning... Thank you...
It’s really a pleasure to be here
today, blah, blah, ...

Opening
• Open with a short silence
• Launch a statement/quote or conduct a poll
that grabs the audience's attention
• Explain it by a ‘personal’ story
• Address a few individuals in the audience
• Speak in short sentences and pause frequently
• Concentrate on the message — not the medium

2/3 of respondents mention
“speaker reads the slides”
as the biggest annoyance.
A speaker may put his entire presentation on his slides. He
turns his back to the audience and reads the slides aloud.
Perhaps he feels this approach guarantees all the
information will get to the audience.
This may be the most annoying way to give a presentation.
Audience members feel insulted: they already know how to
read! They wonder why the lecturer doesn’t simply hand out
a copy of the slides.
The visual presentation dominates the presenter. The
presenter is not adding any value to what is on the slides.

The average attention
span of an adult is
18 minutes.
Keep your talk short
or make sure that the
first minutes include
any material that you
want your audience
to remember.
http://bodylanguagelady.blogspot.com/2009/12/
attention-span-grabbing-your-audiance.html

Only 7% of a message is conveyed
by actual words or content. 38%
is transmitted by tone of voice and
volume of speech. The other 55% is
delivered through non-verbal means.
Albert Mehrabian (1981), “Silent Messages”

P
+
R
ause
epeat

Using your voice
• Turn nervousness into positive energy
• Match your presentation style
• Speak clearly (do not shout or whisper)
• Vary pitch and speed
• Silence sometimes says more than words
• Pausing shortly at key points adds emphasis
• Be aware of your vocal tics and repetitive
word/phrase use
• Breath!

Penguins can be cute, but
they're not good presenters.

Your position, gesture
and body language
• Adopt a neutral and open stance
• Do not obscure the screen
• Don’t look at the screen behind you or turn
your back to the audience
• Be aware where you stand and how you move
• The bigger the audience, the bigger the
gestures
• Be conscious of what you do with your hands
• Body language should match your message

Getting audience feedback
• Make eye contact, one person at a time
• But don’t stare at specific individuals
• Monitor audience’s body language
› Positive: smiling, nodding, taking notes, …
› Negative: yawning, coughing, doodling, looking
out the window, playing with their BlackBerry, …
› Undecided: typing on a laptop (may be email or
taking notes)
• Be provocative and ask questions
• After your talk, don't ask “did you like my
presentation?” but be more specific

Interruptions and questions
• Have a Q&A session at the end, tell it to the
audience before you start presenting
• Stick to the main points of your speech
• Always be respectful of the questioner
• Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know”
• Repeat the question if too silent
• Address the answer to the whole audience

More dos and don’ts
• Show confidence in your content and skills
• Take benefit from the adrenaline in your body
• Show enthousiasm and excitement
• Radiate your passion
• Don’t appologize for
› Misspeaking (rather use “rather…”)
› Clicking onto the wrong slide
› Not covering a topic
› Not knowing an answer

Closing
• Summarize your main ideas and key points
• Call for application or for action
• Do not stop cold, use a bridging statement
• Do not lose energy, don’t change style
• Do not make the closing seem unimportant
• Leave a ‘final impression’ on the audience

Action
Memorable
S ummarize

Time management
• Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse
• Start on time
• Leave time for Questions & Answers
• Plan/check “milestones” in your presentation
• Adapt your story and/or your pace
• Don’t wait for the last 5 minutes to speed up
• Skip details and less meaningful slides
• Ask a timekeeper to show yellow (10 min. left)
and red (5 min. left) cards

Dealing with stress
• Arrive at the venue well in time
• Get familiar with the room
• Check A/V equipment before you start
• Don’t present with an empty stomach
• Believe in yourself
• Realize that people want you to succeed
• The audience is your friend, not an enemy
• Turn your adrenaline into positive energy

YOU
YOUR
STORY
YOUR
SLIDES
YOUR
PRESEN-
TATION
message
audience delivery

There are always three speeches
for every one you actually gave.
The one you practiced, the one you
gave, and the one you wish you gave.
Dale Carnegie

Recommended reading
(some of the sources I have tapped)

Follow my blog
B2Bstorytelling.wordpress.com

Thank You!
www.linkedin.com/in/mjadoul
B2Bstorytelling.wordpress.com
@mjadoul
www.slideshare.net/mjadoul

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