How to Give a Knockout Presentation

Meenu Walia

Outline

General Guidelines
Slide Dos and Donts

Handouts

Delivery Dos and Donts

How to Handle Questions Handouts

Final Thoughts

General Guidelines

A good presentation is a POPTA presentation What does POPTA stand for?

General Guidelines

Purpose

You need to define your purpose for giving the presentation

Often your goal is a high level overview, even for a technical presentation Dont tell them everything you did, youll bore them

General Guidelines

Organization

Always have an outline

Tell them what youre going to tell them, then tell them, what you told them

Hint: I am doing this for this presentation

Not just data then solution or solution then problem

Problem then solution

General Guidelines

Preparation

An unprepared presenter loses the audience before even starting

Practice makes perfect and builds confidence Arrive early, make sure everything is set up Dress appropriately Slides should be done well in advance

General Guidelines

Time

Be sure you know how much time you have while preparing the presentation

Not 5 minutes before you start

It is better to end early than to go over

Always have a watch or clock in view

Youll never have enough time to tell everything so stick to the most important Rule of thumb

At most 1 slide per minute of presentation

Better to plan 2 minutes for each slide

General Guidelines

Audience

Be sure you know your audience well

Tailor presentation to your audience

Failure to do this is probably the biggest mistake people make

Are there multiple audiences?

If so, direct different slides to different audiences

Watch the audience for clues

Slide Dos and Donts You shouldnt put everything on the slide

Do include 50% white space

Your comments should be more compelling than the slides - Generally 1 main point for each slide Do use animation

Dont overuse it

Makes it difficult and annoying to navigate

Slide Dos and Donts Do include written conclusion for every graph

Dont forget to add meaningful labels, titles, captions, etc. to graphs

Percentage of People Needing Presentation Skills
100

80

Percentage

60

40

20

Yes No Academia

Yes Industry

No

Conclusion - It is important to learn presentation skills!

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Slide Dos and Donts Dont use yellow text

Do use dark text and bold

Do use formatting and color to emphasize (e.g. POPTA)

Dont include unrelated pictures

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Slide Dos and Donts Do chek yor speling for mestakes

Typos instantly destroy credibility and convey lack of preparation Do have someone else read through presentation

Do acknowledge previous work and help

Do use a template if using PowerPoint

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Slide Dos and Donts Do use a light background like this

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Slide Dos and Donts Or like this

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Slide Dos and Donts Or like this

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Slide Dos and Donts Dont use a dark background like this

Even if using a lighter font color Harder to read, especially from the back More likely to put people asleep

Handouts often dont look very good

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Slide Dos and Donts

Do use occasional spice or pace breakers

Humor

Surveys Quizzes Videos Physical Objects

Pictures
Sound Animation

Questions (Not just Yes/No)

Top Ten Lists

Etc.

For example . . .
A pace breaker can do this for your audience
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Lateral Thinking ! ! !

Stand 1. -----------i
2. /r/e/a/d/i/n/g/ 3. cycle /cycle/cycle 4. ababaabbbbaabbbbababaabbaaabbbb.. 5.

ground --------------feet feet feet feet feet feet

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Delivery Dos and Donts Dont read or parrot the slides

Otherwise, why give a presentation?

Do use the slides as a cue

Let audience read

Create slides and use animation that emphasize your points

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Delivery Dos and Donts

Do plan breaks for longer presentations

10 minutes for every hour

Do be passionate about the topic

Have fun, this is your opportunity

If your audience doesnt know why your topic is important, youve lost them

Dont forget to practice

Record yourself, tape yourself, or use a mirror Reading through slides does not count as practice

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Delivery Dos and Donts Do relax, use nerves to your advantage

Breathe deeply, pause as needed Dont go too fast

Do watch out for mannerisms

Um . . um

Do empty your pockets and hands

Dont point at computer, point at the screen

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Delivery Dos and Donts

Do use body language to help make a point Purposeful movements Do use appropriate posture Dont play with keys or coins in your pocket Dont use a pointer, pen, pencil or chalk to point at an individual may be perceived as offensive Dont look at your feet or at the ceiling (indication of nervousness or timidity) Dont stare Dont just look only at the training aids or chalk board (this can be perceived as impolite)

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Delivery Dos and Donts

Do face audience more than slides

Dont talk to the screen or wall

Dont speak in monotone

Do vary your voice

Most people speak too soft, not too loud

Do memorize slide numbers for key slides

Or transition points

Do get honest feedback from someone you trust

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Delivery Dos and Donts Dont forget to smile

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Handling Questions Welcome them

Lots of questions are either a sign of:

Interest in what you are talking about

Audience internalizing

Failure to communicate an idea

Meaning that the person still wants to understand

Always repeat the question

1. 2.

For you to make sure you understood it For audience to make sure they heard it
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Handling Questions Answer the question to the audience

Then check back to the individual for confirmation

Dont be afraid to say I dont know

Better than mumbling or fumbling an answer

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Final thoughts
POPTA Good slides go a long way Practice, practice, practice Remember that the audience wants you to succeed

Use other resources (Books, web, etc.)

Anyone can learn to be a better presenter!

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Thank You ! ! !

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