QUIT DOING SHITTY POWERPOINTS

Howtodeliverbetter,morepersuasive,moreboredom-preventingpresentations.

Todownloadthecompletepresentation,visittinyurl.com/svc-sic-ppt SchoolofVisualConcepts-October18,2017

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Why give better presentations?

Ifyourpresentationsdon’tcapturetheattentionandunderstandingofyouraudience,thenthereisnowayyoucanpersuadethemtoacceptyourideasorrecommendations.Andpersuasion(oreducation),afterall,iswhywe’representinginthefirstplace.

Theadvantageyouhaveasaninformedpresenteristhateveryoneelseisdoingtheirdecksthesameoldway—withwaytoomuchcopy;dense,indecipherablegraphics;andatotalabsenceofstoryorhumaninterest.Whenyoudecidetoadoptadifferentapproachitwillseemstrangeatfirst,butkeepgoing.You’llbesurprisedandencouragedbythepositivefeedbackyou’llsurelyget.

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Fixing problems with the presenter

1. Tellastory:Humansarehard-wiredtolovestories,soyouraudiencewillpaygreaterattention.Ifyoucancreateapersonalbondthroughapersonalstory,that’sevenbetter.

2. Knowyourstuff:Thebestwaytoovercomenervousnessandthefeelingthatyouneedtoreadtheslidesisbyknowingthecontentinsideandout.

3. Makeitemotional:Noonemakesdecisions;especiallypurchasedecisions,forpurelyrationalreasons.Infact,theemotionaldriversareusuallystronger.

4. Keepitbrief:Attentionspansareshrinkinginthemulti-screen,always-on,highlydistractedage.Asksomeonetohelpyouedityourpresentationdown.

5. Standintherightplace:Thefocusshouldbeonyou,thepresenter,nottheslides.Sostandinaplacewhereyouraudiencecaneasilyseeboth.

6. Practice,practice,practice:Again,thebetteryouknowthematerial,themoreconfidentandrelaxedyou’llsound.Practicealsohelpsyousyncyourspokenmaterialwithyourslides.

7. Exudeconfidence:Thisrelatesdirectlytoknowingyourstuffandpracticing,butyoucanalsouseyourbodyandposturetocomeacrossasahighlyconfidentspeaker.

8. Involvetheaudience:Audienceparticipationkeepspeopleengaged,extendstheirattentionspan,andhelpsthembuyintoyourrecommendation.

Theproblemswithpresentationstendtofallintotwocamps:Problemsbroughtonbyyou,thepresenter.Andproblemswiththedeckitself.We’llexaminesomecommonpitfallsofbothsidesofthisequation,startingwithhowpresenterscandoabetterjob.

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Do you suffer from stage fright?

Therearetwothingsthatwillgiveyoumoreconfidencewhenyou’redeliveringapresentation:1.Knowingyourstuffdowncold(thebyproductofknowledgeandrehearsal),and2.Practice.Themoretimesyou’vegivenpresentationswithouttheworldcomingtoanend,themoreconfidentandrelaxedyou’llfeel.

Inthemeantime,whileyou’rewaitingforthatconfidencetosinkin,followtheadviceofAmyCuddy:Fakeittillyoubecomeit.WatchherinspiringTEDtalkathttp://bit.ly/1MXcLne.

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Fixing problems with the deck

1. Noteleprompterslides:Readingfromslidesnotonlydemonstratesalackoffamiliarityandconvictionaboutthematerial,ittakesyouraudienceoutoftheequationandputsthemtosleep.

2. Keepeachslideto10wordsmax.:Treatyourslideslikebillboardsbesideafreewaythatyouhavetocomprehendat60mph.Inorderforthattobepossible,limitthewordsto10orfewerperslide.

3. Avoidbullets:Theydon’tencouragecomprehension,andcreateconflictingverbalmessages.ShouldIlistentothepresenterorreadtheslides?

4. Usesimplergraphics:ThetrendinPPTstousegraphicswitharrows,concentriccircles,flowcharts,etc.isnotconducivetoquickandclearunderstanding.Ifyouusegraphics,makejustonepointandmoveon.

5. Makeaseparatehandout:Yourdeckshouldneverbeusedasahandout.Ifitfunctionsasahandout,thenitwasalousyspeakersupportdeck.Putdetailsonpaperwherethey’reeasiertostudy,digest,andnotate.Tomakethateasier,considercreatingaSlideDoclikethisonewithfreetemplatesfromwww.duarte.com/slidedocs

Ifyou’renotadesigner,alwayserronthesideofsimplicity.Keepthetypelarge,thebackgroundsplain,andgraphicsandimagesaslargeaspossible.

Thisistoomuchdetailforaslide,butitworksjustfineinahandout.

PresentationChecklist

Identifythegoalyouwanttoachieve

Consideryouraudienceandhowyouwillmakeyourpresentationultra-relevant

Createanoutlineofyourinitialideas

Comeupwithaconsistentthemeorconcepttousefortheentirepresentation

Visitthepresentationroomanddouble-checkallAVequipment

Bringextracopiesofthedeckonpaper,inthecloud,onathumbdrive,andonyourcomputer

Rehearsethoroughlybeforeyoupresent

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Some pro tips for your next presentation

1. MakeanoutlineandusepresenterviewPowerPoint: http://bit.ly/1OH2qfKeynote: http://apple.co/1XIgXtJ

2. GoseetheroomaheadoftimeandtestAV

3. AlwaysbringextraeverythingThesemightincludeyourpresentationonathumbdrive,aswellasstoredinthecloud.Alsobringahardcopyprintout.Packinganextraprojectorandeveryconceivablecable,adapter,andextensioncordyoucanimagineisn’ttooextreme

4. Rehearse Wecan’tsayitenough.

5. Usebuildsifyoumustusebullets PowerPoint: http://bit.ly/1NImXTXKeynote: http://apple.co/1PxkP1A

Thesetipsarethingstokeepinmindwhenyou’representing,butalsointhedaysandweeksleadinguptothemeetingwhereyou’llbepresenting.

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Imagesareessentialtotheeffectivenessofyourpresentation,andyoucanfindgreatonesonlineforfreeorataverylowcost.Whenimagebrowsingontheweb,alwaysuseimagesthatareatleast1,000pixelswidetoavoidpixellationwhenprojected.

1.Clickon“Tools”

How to find free or inexpensive images.

1. Uselarge,high-qualityimagesfromGoogle http://www.google.com/imagesAfterconductingasearchusethedropdownunderthe“SearchTools”labeltospecifysize(alwaysuse“Large”)andusagerights(recommendusing“Labeledforreuse”)

2. Uselarge,high-qualityimagesfromFlickrhttp://www.flickr.com

Afterconductingasearch,usethedropdownonthefarleft“Anylicense”andselect“CommercialUseAllowed”

3. Uselarge,high-qualityimagesfromstockphotocompanies123RF.comistockphoto.com shutterstock.com+others

4. Getfreeopensourceicons thenounproject.com/

2.Choose“Large”

3.UnderUsagerights,choose“labeledforreuse”

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Could your entire team use this training?

Witharound350decksbeingcrankedouteverysecondofeveryday,it’ssafetosaythatPowerPointpresentationsareheretostay.Sotheonlyquestionishowgoodaretheonesinyourorganization?

Betterpresentationsanddecksleaddirectlytobettercommunicationandpersuasion.Andthatleadstomoreefficientandsuccessfulwork.

Ifyourteamcouldbenefitfromtakingitspresentationsupanotch,SVCwouldbehappytotalkwithyouaboutputtingtogetheracustomworkshopforyou.

Formoreinformation,pleaseemailinfo@svcseattle.comorcall206-623-1560.

SVChasbeenproducingcustomworkshopsforcreativeandmarketinggroupsforyears.CompanieslikeREI,Amazon, T-Mobile,andMicrosofthaveallbroughtusintohelptheirteamsgetanaddededge.

Thesecustomworkshopsaretailoredtoyourorganizationsothecontentis100%relevantandcompletelygearedaroundyourissues,workflowandculture.