Little Red Schoolhouse Supporting Presentations with Written Slides Greg Colomb

1. Little Red Schoolhouse Supporting Presentations with Written Slides Greg Colomb The University of Virginia

2. AGENDA • The Role of Slides in a Presentation • The Structure of Effective Presentations • The Structure of Effective Slides • The Language of Effective Slides

3. AGENDA • The Role of Slides in a Presentation • The Structure of Effective Presentations • The Structure of Effective Slides • The Language of Effective Slides

5. AGENDA • The Role of Slides in a Presentation • The Structure of Effective Presentations • The Structure of Effective Slides • The Language of Effective Slides

6. Listeners Need a Framework Even More than Readers • Focuses them on the “So What?” • What’s my role here? • Why should I care? • What will I get from this? • Structures listening • Keeps audience focused on the story line • Identifies priorities, organizing principles • Helps them ask informed questions • Defines deliverables • What do you want me to do or think? • What’s worth remembering here?

7. Tell Listeners What to Expect • • Effective Presentations Tell a Story • So . . . Effective Introductions Announce Main Characters • • Effective Presentations Make an Argument • So . . . Effective Introductions Announce Key Concepts • • Effective Presentations Lead to an Outcome • So . . . Effective Introductions Announce What’s At Stake

8. Most of All, Listeners Need to Know What’s at Stake • •Listeners understand better and remember more when they have a • specific motivation for following you. Moreover, what they understand • and remember depends on what motivates them to listen. • •You can use several methods to ensure that your audience is motivated • to read in a way that serves your purposes, but the easiest and most • effective is to frame your deck as a solution to a problem that your • audience has and needs to solve.

10. AGENDA • The Role of Slides in a Presentation • The Structure of Effective Presentations • The Structure of Effective Slides • The Language of Effective Slides

11. MANUFACTURING CONFIGURATION • Differences in plant capability & capacity between Zorax and Abco • Lower portion of plant production than Zorax • Scale and technology leadership advantage to Zorax plants, which are typically located in low-cost sourcing regions • Current distributed manufacturing network hampered by specialized functions that require extensive shipping of product and raw materials, at a raw product cost disadvantage in West and East • Significant problems with proposed strategic plan • Lack of best demonstrated practice/technology in plants means lower productivity levels than benchmark competitors • Result is significant manufacturing cost disadvantage vs. Zorax

12. ABCO MANUFACTURING DISADVANTAGESLow Capacity, Overspecialized Functions, Flawed Plan Abco has less production capability and capacity than Zorax • Commits less to own plant production • Locates plants in higher-cost sourcing regions • Yields scale and technology leadership to Zorax Its plant network is hampered by specialized functions • Requires extensive shipping of product and raw materials • Results in higher costs for raw products in West and East Its proposed strategic plan has significant shortcomings • Fails to establish best demonstrated practice/technology • Sets lower productivity levels than benchmark competitors

13. Take-away Box:Draws a concluding inference or sets up next slide Slides Have A Rhetorical GeographyEach Part Has a Distinct Function Title: Makes the Point Sub-title: Tells Readers What to Look for Main Body Point • body sub-point • supporting detail • body sub-point Main Body Point • body sub-point Main Body Point • body sub-point • body sub-point • supporting detail

14. The Title Makes The Point Of The Slide • Do use it to • make the point of the slide, your value-added • anticipate the body of the slide • - words predict concepts in each main sub-point • - words at end of the title most emphatic • connect that slide to the previous one • - begin it with words that connect it to the previous slide • Don’t use it to • name a general topic

15. THE SUB-TITLE INTERPRETS THE BODY • Do use it to: • Tell readers what to look for in the body of the slide, particularly complex visual or quantitative data • predict key concepts in the body of the slide • Don't use it to • make the point of the slide • draw an inference to be developed in next slide

16. THE TAKE-AWAY BOX ANSWERS “SO WHAT?” AND “WHAT NEXT?” • Do use it to • draw an inference or conclusion • make a transition to the next slide • Don't use it to • fit in what doesn't fit elsewhere • add an afterthought

17. AGENDA • The Role of Slides in a Presentation • The Structure of Effective Presentations • The Structure of Effective Slides • The Language of Effective Slides

18. Apply LRS Principles to Slides • 1. The fewer the abstract nouns the better • 2. The more characters down the left hand side of the slide, the better • 3. When the character is the same, the more verbs down the left hand side of the slide, the better • 4. Be sure to make the RIGHT character the subjects of verbs • 5. Familiar units of information to the left — usually characters or their actions, unfamiliar information to the right