How to Give a Knockout Presentation

Adopted from SOS Seminar By Willis Jensen

Outline
General Guidelines Slide Dos and Donts

Handouts Powerpoint Navigation

Delivery Dos and Donts

How to Handle Questions

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

Teach, Persuade, Prove, Review, Expository, Impress, Put to Sleep, Entertain?

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, then tell them what you told them

Hint: I am doing this for this presentation

Problem then solution

Not just data then solution or solution then problem

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 Always have a watch or clock in view

It is better to end early than to go over

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

Watch the audience for clues

Slide Dos and Donts

PowerPoint doesnt give presentations PowerPoint makes slides

From microsoft.com website

Your comments should be more compelling than the slides You shouldnt put everything on the slide

K.I.S.S. Principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid)

Slide Dos and Donts Do include 50% white space Do make it obvious which section of your outline youre in Do make each slide stand on its own

Generally 1 main point for each slide

Do use animation

Dont overuse it

Makes it difficult and annoying to navigate

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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

Dont do serif fonts (like Times New Roman)

Do use sans serif fonts (like Arial)

or Tahoma

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Slide Dos and Donts Do save your file using embedded fonts

File menu->Save As->Tools (in upper right hand corner)->Save Options->Embed True Type Fonts

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Slide Dos and Donts Dont just copy formulas and equations from your work (dissertation, paper, etc.)

Also known as equationitis Do use formulas and equations sparingly Do explain all notation used

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Slide Dos and Donts Do check your spelling for mistakes

Spelling errors instantly destroy credibility and convey lack of preparation

Do use a template if using PowerPoint Do put Thanks slide at the end

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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 Pictures Sound Animation Questions (Not just Yes/No)

Surveys Quizzes Videos Physical Objects Top Ten Lists Etc.

For example . . .
A pace breaker can do this for your audience
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Handouts
Use them if they help achieve your objective

Especially for technical presentations Greatly increases retention

Often best to pass out at the end

You want to keep the audience engaged

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Navigation in PowerPoint
Always go through your presentation in slide show mode before giving it

Multiple times

Use keyboard short cuts, not the mouse F1 (in slide show mode)

To bring up the list of all shortcut keys

(Escape to hide the list)

Use this while practicing to help you learn the navigation

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Navigation in PowerPoint
To start slide show mode

F5 (Automatically takes you to start of presentation)

To end slide show mode

Escape

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Navigation in PowerPoint
Home

To go to the beginning slide To go to last slide To jump to any particular slide Black screen White screen

End Type the slide #, then Enter B

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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

Do use pointers sparingly

They magnify nervousness 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 slouch Sitting implies informality

Do move around if possible

Dont pace Dont be hyperactive Center yourself, rearrange setup if needed

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Delivery Dos and Donts

Do face audience more than slides

Dont talk to the screen or wall

Do vary your voice

Dont speak in monotone 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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Thanks

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