Delivering Great Presentations Master of Management Program AdaptNet Cambridge College Source: Adapted from the work of: New Venture Challenge 2002, Waverly Deutsch, Ph. D.

MMG 693 Professional Seminar2 No-one is a born speaker, therefore practice is critical Apparently, when we listen to other people speak  7% of our attention is on the words used  38% of attention is on the voice  And 55% is focussed on non-verbal body language Public Speaking

MMG 693 Professional Seminar3 First, get the content right by answering the following five questions  Why are you speaking?  define your objective(s)  What are you going to say?  write down your ideas  Who are you speaking to?  know your audience: refine your ideas / content and order with this in mind

MMG 693 Professional Seminar4  Where are you speaking?  know the venue (technology, acoustics etc) and its limitations  How are you going to deliver the material?  visuals, style First, get the content right by answering the following five questions

MMG 693 Professional Seminar5 Delivery – going back to basics You need to make your audience sit up and listen and capture their interest How do you start?  Capture the audiences ATTENTION Why listen to you?  Give them some tangible BENEFIT Who are you?  If necessary give them your CREDENTIALS – tell them why you are qualified to speak on the subject

MMG 693 Professional Seminar6 The Basics Which way? Give the audience the DIRECTION, in short:  Tell them what you’re going to tell them  Tell them  And then tell them what you’ve just said

MMG 693 Professional Seminar7 As always there should be a logic to the structure of your presentation Regardless of the type of presentation there should be a  beginning  middle  end

MMG 693 Professional Seminar8 From a delivery point of view the introduction should start small and build Beginning…

MMG 693 Professional Seminar9 Middle… The middle will contain the bulk of your presentation  Remember to use the spoken word  Gradually build momentum  Be aware of keeping sentences short and changing pace to hold your audience’s attention

MMG 693 Professional Seminar10 End… A great presentation can be lost by a poor finish  End by summarizing what you have said  Make sure your ending has impact

MMG 693 Professional Seminar11 Two Key Elements Semantics – What you want to say  Content Syntax – How you say it effectively  Structure  Slides  Delivery

MMG 693 Professional Seminar12 Content Everything you know about your subject Does not equal your presentation

MMG 693 Professional Seminar13 Elevator Pitch Purpose: Catch listener’s attention Tools: Two sentences Content: Clear statement of what you do Make a promise, be clear engaging, and then deliver.

MMG 693 Professional Seminar14 Selecting Content Audience  Make-up  Size  Interactivity Time available Theme Key take-aways Data

MMG 693 Professional Seminar15 Example of a 20 Minute Business Plan Pitch Theme: This is a good business investment  Elevator Pitch provides the content –purpose, tools, content Key Take-Aways: We solve an important problem Problem Solution We have momentum Patents/Prototypes Beta customers Management team We are a good investment Market size Revenue projections Barriers to entry/competitive advantage Then Ask: What do you need from this audience

MMG 693 Professional Seminar16 Preparation is vital, and ideally you should rehearse with an audience Don’t miss out on preparation and rehearsal even if you are short of time Practice with your visuals and with what you plan to say  If ever you are in doubt about an aspect of your material remember: “if in doubt – leave it out!”

MMG 693 Professional Seminar17 Prep Time Think carefully about timing during preparation  Don’t over-run  It is always better to under-run than over- run Ideally you should rehearse with an audience  Get critical and constructive feedback

MMG 693 Professional Seminar18 Notes on Slides Intro and Agenda slides are required  Personal preference dictates reuse of agenda slide for transitions between key points Less is more  1-2 minutes per slide minimum High information to ink ratio  Informative titles  Clean 1-2 line bullets  Graphics require time and explanation Speak to the slide, don’t skip over content

MMG 693 Professional Seminar19 Notes on Slides Less is more. Don’t make your audience work too hard. Bullets are useful... But don’t write out your whole bullet. Always have more to say than is written on your slide. Make sure you use large fonts. A rule of thumb is 18pt minimum for a small room, 28pt minimum for a large room. Use sans serif fonts (fonts which do not have little tails on the letters – exp. Arial not Times New Roman). Simple style Clear text Meaningful graphics Great slides

MMG 693 Professional Seminar20 Notes on Slides Less is more. Don’t make your audience work too hard. Style is important… But don’t choose complex backgrounds that make it hard to find your content. Always use either light text on a dark background or dark text on a light background. Red and Green are bad colors for text. Always, always, always double check all spelling – nothing makes you look less professional than spelling and grammatical errors. Simple style Clear text Meaningful graphics Great slides

MMG 693 Professional Seminar21 Notes on Slides Less is more. Don’t make your audience work too hard. Graphics add variety... And can make many points better than text. Keep graphics simple and always build them as you make the point of the graphic. Animation, while fun, is distracting to the audience. They stop listening to you and start trying to figure out what is going on. Avoid clipart that doesn’t help you make your point. Decorations are pure distraction Simple style Clear text Meaningful graphics Great slides

MMG 693 Professional Seminar22 Delivery Styles EducatorTeaching Academic settings Business conferences Introducing complex new material EvangelistPersuading Consultant to client Change maker to management team Legal settings/Some political settings MotivatorInciting Action Key note speeches Motivational workshops Political campaign speeches SalespersonClosing the Deal Sales calls, Trade show Fundraising meeting Business plan presentation Presenter’s Role Goal Situations/Material

MMG 693 Professional Seminar23 The Issues of the Unwritten Code Don’t make judgments based on unstated behavior or prejudice First impressions are important and endure Get practice at presenting to become comfortable Be yourself Leave behind printed information related to the key issues Establish a follow-up schedule

MMG 693 Professional Seminar24 Delivery Tools Voice  Clarity  Volume  Pace Body Language  Eye contact  Movement  Gestures

MMG 693 Professional Seminar25 Remember the value of silence When in doubt say nothing The power of silence  Pause at the beginning of the presentation  Pause when moving on from one point to the next  A dramatic pause mid-sentence is extremely powerful  If for any reason you lose your audience’s attention during the presentation a dramatic pause is very good way of getting them back

MMG 693 Professional Seminar26 Useful Practice Techniques Divide up the presentation and practice sections Practice in front of the mirror Recruit at least two test audiences Use tools  PowerPoint’s timer  Tape recorder  Video

MMG 693 Professional Seminar27 Summary Example: Selling a business plan Content – sell the business  Versus describing technology Structure  Solution to a problem  Momentum evidence  Return on investment Slides  for a 20 minute presentation  Graphics to illustrate product and milestones, present financials and market size Delivery  Salesperson, closing style – make the ask!  Work the transitions, especially the handoffs between team members

MMG 693 Professional Seminar28 Conclusions Being able to deliver a good presentation is important but requires thought, practice and preparation Being able to deliver good presentations is vital managers and leaders

MMG 693 Professional Seminar29 Conclusions First get your content right and always remember to  Tell them what you are going to tell them  Tell them, and then  Tell them what you have told them Think carefully about timing and impact

MMG 693 Professional Seminar30 Conclusions Preparation is compulsory – find a friendly but critical audience Practice, practice, practice at every opportunity