Making the Perfect Presentation Dr. Michael E. Whitman KSU

Credit Where Credit is Due Visually Speaking The Mechanics of Presenting On the Big Screen Principles for Creating Effective Presentations From MediaNet (

Stand and Deliver What do you do when you’re in front of a group? How do you tell your story? What movements do you make? What gestures do you use? How do your words flow when you speak? It depends on the relationships you establish with: The Room The Audience Your Body Your Voice The Set

The Room Your relationship to the room begins with your body positioning. There are a few universal concepts that translate to every environment: There are three issues to consider: Stand to the left

Presenter’s Triangle Screen 1 3 2

The Room Your relationship to the room begins with your body positioning. There are a few universal concepts that translate to every environment: There are three issues to consider: Stand to the left, Be aware of angles, Avoid upstaging yourself

The Audience You must understand that the relationship between you and your audience is mutually beneficial. Establish Eye Contact Reach Out Phrase and Pause Talk to Individuals Get Agreement Smile

Your Body Finding the right moves and gestures for a given presentation takes time. What should you do with your hands? As you begin to make gestures, you will need to shift your weight to one foot to make the gesture look natural.

Your Voice Your ability to vocalize means more than just speaking up so the audience can hear you. Your voice is a powerful tool that allows you to use tone, inflection, and volume to communicate more than words. Breathe Between Phrases Project Your Voice When in Doubt, Pause

The Set As electronic presentations become more the rule than the exception, the environment or the “set” used for the presentation needs to be considered. Try to create an unequal distribution of light. Make sure the specifications of both the display device and the image source are compatible and that the projector is bright enough. Flat, non-glare, matte-white screens offer the best viewing angles. Avoid “Multimania”

Develop Your Own Style Don’t try to imitate other presenters, just be the best presenter you can be. Know your LINES. Language + Inflection + Natural Expression = Success By removing what is “natural” in your expression, the LINES would become LIES.

Remember… The audience knows if you’re less than prepared. The audience knows if you’re less than convinced. The audience always knows!

Designing the Perfect Presentation From On the Big Screen Principles for Creating Effective Presentations ny.com/download.htm

Designing the Perfect Presentation Your chances for an effective presentation dramatically increase by establishing a central theme, by paying close attention to layout and design elements, and by incorporating color. Holding the audience’s attention on every visual (purpose) Controlling the way the audience reads each image (eye movement) Affecting the audience’s emotional response (color)

Purpose Identify a single purpose for the event. The objective must always be stated actively, as in “to do something.” The key to enforcing your objective is to design your last visual first.

How Much is Enough? Most presenters tend to increase the amount of information on each visual in the hopes of clarifying major points. Many software programs have automated features to enhance the planning process. An outliner feature allows you to quickly arrange your thoughts hierarchically.

Can Everybody See? The ability for your audience to absorb information in a short period of time rests on their ability to see the screen. Use the “8 to 1 Rule” when considering the layout and design of electronic visuals.

Movement The more you can hold the audience’s attention during your presentation, the more information they will retain when it’s over. Graphic elements assist the eye and allow the visual to be understood more quickly and easily.

Geometric Shapes Guide the Eye When processing the information on a visual, geometric shapes are easiest and text is most difficult. The simplest graphic element to use to control eye movement is the arrow. In reading text, the eye moves along the contours of each letter and becomes more distracted if multiple contours or text shapes appear within the same visual. You can also control eye movement through capitalization.

Guiding the Eye with Headlines Perhaps the most obvious way to direct the eye to the important area of a visual is to write emphatic headlines. Emphatic headlines not only direct eye movement, but they offer insight into the presenter’s objective or feeling about the particular reference. Dynamic Headlines Guide the Eye!

Establishing Depth Consider using artwork in the background and overlapping pictures and words to create the dimension of depth.

Color The most significant element regarding electronic presentations is the ability to use color easily and cost-effectively. This does not mean that black & white overhead presentations are useless. Fewer words on each visual would let the audience scan the image faster and concentrate more on the presenter than on the screen.

Using Clip Art Incorporating clip art increases the attention span and reduces the time it takes the audience to interpret your data. If you intend to use photography or natural images as part of a visual, remember that photos usually contain hundreds of thousands of colors.

Color Perceptions While numerous studies have shown the benefits of using color in presentations, the human reaction to color is one of the more compelling reasons to harness its power. However, when incorporating color into presentations, be aware that certain color combinations may pose a problem for some people. The order in which you arrange the colors of related foreground elements should follow the darker-to-lighter viewing pattern.

Emotions and Background Color Large areas of color can help create an emotional response in the audience. Red backgrounds are helpful in presentations that seek to heighten the passion of the audience, such as sales or marketing events. Blue backgrounds indicate a conservative approach, while enhancing credibility. Black backgrounds are great for financial presentations mainly it represents what has already happened or what is in the past that cannot be changed. Green stimulates interaction from the audience.

Choose Simplicity The goal is to keep your presentation as simple and consistent as possible. When your begin to create electronic presentations it’s easy to become concerned with the technical aspects of the presentation and forget about the objective you originally intended to achieve. Can you say something vocally instead of displaying the words visually? Can you eliminate certain visuals by providing details in the handouts? Can you use reduce clutter and still explain details while keeping attention?

The Busy Screen You may lose your audience in the clutter

The Overly Animated Text that has so many animations added that the text is outdated by the time it is displayed. While playing with these new toys is interesting when creating the presentation, these animations become tedious and onerous. Avoid all animations for professional presentations.

Transitions Like animations, transitions can either enhance or interfere with the message you are trying to deliver.

Noise Another distracter from the message. The use of sound can enhance a presentation, the use of noise doesn’t. Know What I Mean?

The Bleedout Screen Text that is difficult to read or graphics that are difficult to interpret. You have three options: –Dark background with light text –Light background with dark text –Intermediate background with both light and dark background.

Credits NOTE: The information in this handout supports the MediaNet lecture “Visually Speaking.” Additional support for this and other topics can be found in several publications including: --- Special Edition Using Microsoft PowerPoint 2002 by Patrice-Ann Rutledge and Tom Mucciolo (Copyright 2002, QUE, Pearson Publishing, MediaNet, Inc.). --- Purpose, Movement, Color by Tom and Rich Mucciolo (Copyright 1994, 1999, MediaNet, Inc.) --- Mechanics-Basic Skills CD-ROM (Copyright 2002, MediaNet, Inc.) an interactive tutorial. For information contact MediaNet at or visit

Credits 2 NOTE: The information in this handout supports the MediaNet lecture “On the Big Screen.” Additional support for this and other topics can be found in several publications including: --- Special Edition Using Microsoft PowerPoint 2002 by Patrice-Ann Rutledge and Tom Mucciolo (Copyright 2002, QUE, Pearson Publishing, MediaNet, Inc.). --- Purpose, Movement, Color by Tom and Rich Mucciolo (Copyright 1994, 1999, MediaNet, Inc.) --- Mechanics-Basic Skills CD-ROM (Copyright 2002, MediaNet, Inc.) an interactive tutorial. For information contact MediaNet at or visit