How to Give a “Knockout” Presentation

1. How to Give a “Knockout” Presentation Willis Jensen SOS Seminar February 28, 2006

2. Outline • General Guidelines • Slide Do’s and Don’ts • Handouts • Powerpoint Navigation • Delivery Do’s and Don’ts • How to Handle Questions • Final Thoughts

3. Disclaimer I don’t claim to be an expert, I’ve just had to do a lot of presentations and have seen a lot of presentations (both good and bad) Acknowledgements While at 3M, I learned presentation skills and subsequently taught sessions on this as part of Six Sigma training

4. Why are presentation skills important? • Job Hunting • Academia (Crucial to Tenure) • Conferences, Seminars, Teaching classes • Industry (Way of Life) • Training, Project Reports, Reports to Management • Other • Speaking in church, politics, fund raising, community service, etc.

5. General Guidelines A good presentation is a “POPTA” presentation What does POPTA stand for?

6. 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 • Don’t tell them everything you did, you’ll bore them

7. General Guidelines • Organization • Always have an outline • Tell them what you’re 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”

8. 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 • Better to dress up than down • Slides should be done well in advance

9. 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 • You’ll 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

10. 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 • You should never give the same presentation twice • Are there multiple audiences? • If so, direct different slides to different audiences • Watch the audience for clues

11. Slide Do’s and Don’ts • “PowerPoint doesn’t give presentations – PowerPoint makes slides” • From microsoft.com website • Your comments should be more compelling than the slides • You shouldn’t put everything on the slide • K.I.S.S. Principle

12. Slide Do’s and Don’ts • Do include 50% white space • Do make it obvious which section of your outline you’re in • Do make each slide stand on its own • Generally 1 main point for each slide • Do use animation • Don’t overuse it • Makes it difficult and annoying to navigate

13. Slide Do’s and Don’ts • Do include written conclusion for every graph • Don’t forget to add meaningful labels, titles, captions, etc. to graphs

14. Slide Do’s and Don’ts • Don’t use yellow text • Do use dark text and bold • Do use formatting and color to emphasize (e.g. POPTA) • Don’t include unrelated pictures

15. Slide Do’s and Don’ts • Don’t include periods at the end of a bullet. • Don’t do proofs • Do include a journal name with a reference • Jensen, Jones-Farmer, Champ, and Woodall (2006, Journal of Quality Technology)

16. Slide Do’s and Don’ts • Don’t do serif fonts (like Times New Roman) • Do use sans serif fonts (like Arial) • or Tahoma

17. Slide Do’s and Don’ts • Do save your file using “embedded fonts” • File menu->Save As->Tools (in upper right hand corner)->Save Options->Embed True Type Fonts

18. Slide Do’s and Don’ts • Don’t 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

19. Slide Do’s and Don’ts • 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 • Do put title slide at the end

20. Slide Do’s and Don’ts • Do use a light background like this

21. Slide Do’s and Don’ts • Or like this

22. Slide Do’s and Don’ts • Or like this

23. Slide Do’s and Don’ts • Don’t 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 don’t look very good

24. 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. Slide Do’s and Don’ts For example . . . A pace breaker can do this for your audience

26. 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

27. 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

28. Navigation in PowerPoint • To start slide show mode • F5 (Automatically takes you to start of presentation) • To end slide show mode • Escape

29. Navigation in PowerPoint • Home • To go to the beginning slide • End • To go to last slide • Type the slide #, then Enter • To jump to any particular slide • B • Black screen • W • White screen

30. Delivery Do’s and Don’ts • Don’t 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

31. Delivery Do’s and Don’ts • 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 doesn’t know why your topic is important, you’ve lost them • Don’t forget to practice • Record yourself, tape yourself, or use a mirror • Reading through slides does not count as practice

32. Delivery Do’s and Don’ts • Do relax, use nerves to your advantage • Breathe deeply, pause as needed • Don’t go too fast • Do watch out for mannerisms • “Um . . um” • Do empty your pockets and hands • Don’t point at computer, point at the screen

33. Delivery Do’s and Don’ts • Do use body language to help make a point • Purposeful movements • Do use appropriate posture • Don’t slouch • Sitting implies informality • Do move around if possible • Don’t pace • Don’t be hyperactive • Center yourself, rearrange setup if needed

34. Delivery Do’s and Don’ts • Do face audience more than slides • Don’t talk to the screen or wall • Do vary your voice • Don’t 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

35. Delivery Do’s and Don’ts • Don’t forget to smile

36. 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 • For you to make sure you understood it • For audience to make sure they heard it

37. Handling Questions • Answer the question to the audience • Then check back to the individual for confirmation • Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know” • Better than mumbling or fumbling an answer

38. 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!

39. How to Give a “Knockout” Presentation Willis Jensen SOS Seminar February 28, 2006