Archive for Powerpoint
Have a Spare Tire in Case Murphy Shows Up!
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Murphy, of Murphy’s Law,
always seems to be lurking around the corner, waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting victim. That casualty could be you!
Always be prepared for anything and everything you can control.
If the computer crashes, projector dies, or sound system goes silent, you must still present your material! There are people in the audience who came to learn something. It’s your presentation and your responsibility they don’t leave disappointed.
Be sure your “trunk” is well equipped for all contingencies.
If I’m using slides, I backup my presentation on a USB flash drive. Because I use a mac, my slideshows are made with iWork Keynote software. I export copies to PowerPoint and convert, also, to PDFs. The PDF conversion is done because they work when versions of PowerPoint and Keynote are not the versions on a backup computer.
I also print a copy of my slideshow in Light Table view, which allows Read More→
“No One Here Gives Presentations.”
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Really?
I’ve sometimes heard this from executives, business owners, and other professionals.
It’s all about how you define the word “Presentations,” isn’t it?
Here are some questions for them:
- Does anyone ever talk to a prospect?
- Does anyone ever talk to a client?
- Do you have salespeople?
- Does anyone work in customer service?
- Do co-workers ever discuss the opportunities and challenges of their job?
- Do co-workers ever discuss the opportunities and challenges of the company?
- Does anyone ever attend networking events?
- Does everyone have an elevator speech in case someone asks them what they do and where they work?
- Are there ever company meetings?
- Does anyone ever attend trade shows or conventions?
- Do you ever have a booth at one?
Here are some more questions:
- Do you believe Speaking Opportunities are Business Opportunities? Read More→
Speakers: Don’t do these 11 Things!
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Read them – Study them – Don’t do them!
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If you’re a speaker there are certain things you should do, and should not do. Here are 11 Definite Don’ts!
- Don’t ”Wing it.”
- Your non-effort will show.
- You’ll embarrass yourself and waste the time of your audience. They came to learn something from your talk.
- It is your responsibility they leave the room knowing more about your subject than they did when they entered.
- Prepare and practice your presentation as if it were very important – because it is!
- It is, and always should be, about the Audience!
- Being Audience Centered is one of the
Laws of Presentation.
Need a Speaker? Talk to Me!
Posted by: | CommentsDoes your Association, Company or Group need a Great speaker?
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We should have a conversation!
The Fear of Public Speaking holds many back from reaching their potential. 75% of the population, to one degree or another, has this fear.
One of my Presentations addresses:
• Why we have this fear and
• Gives specific nuggets for lessening it.
Another Talk adds:
• The Components, Parts and Elements of a Presentation.
• I Name them, Explain them, and Give Examples.
Bonus Tips:
• Subtle little differences that make all the difference can be added to either presentation.
PowerPoint/Keynote Presentations are widely used today.
• They are usually not done very well.
• Many detract, rather than add, to helping convey the presenter’s message.
• I show how to reverse this!
The Research Shows:
• Speaking Opportunities are Business Opportunities.
• Speaking Opportunities are Career Opportunities.
• Speaking Opportunities are Leadership Opportunities.
That’s why my message is important to many people!
My presentations can be customized to meet your specific needs. Programs can be expanded to include Workshops and/or Individual Executive Coaching.
Fees are individually negotiated.
It all starts with a conversation.
Call 314-517-8772 or Email and let me know what you want to accomplish.
Attention, Audience! Be SPEAKER CENTERED – Please!
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Being Audience Centered is a mandate for speakers. Great presenters know: It’s all about the audience, and not about them. When a speaker takes their focus off the audience the presentation suffers and the odds of them GETTING IT! lessen.
In most cases, the audience came to learn something, not to see or hear the speaker.
We speakers are the messengers. It’s incumbent upon us to deliver information in a manner that educates, entertains and simply explains it.
However, it’s a Two-Way Street. We speakers need things from the audience to do our job to the best of our ability. We need the Audience to be Speaker Centered. They should be focusing on the Speaker!
Here are some of those things that will help us Deliver Better to You:
- Give us your undivided attention – Please! Read More→
Have a ‘Plan B’ Because When the Screen Goes. . .
Posted by: | CommentsBLANK - You’re Going to Need It! - Glad I Had Mine!
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Have you ever changed a tire? (I don’t mean calling the Auto Club and waiting for the service truck to arrive!) I know many of you haven’t. So if you had the misfortune of getting a flat in the middle of nowhere and had a properly inflated tire in your trunk, and all the tools to make that change, you might have to grab your manual and figure how to change that tire – correct?
Having a ‘Plan B’ doesn’t mean implementing it is going to be easy!
Murphy’s Law, if something can go wrong it will go wrong, applies to the world of Public Speaking and Presentations, also.
I always have a ‘Plan B’, and often a ‘Plan C’. But, like having that spare tire, I never really expect to need it.
Slideshows Help Them SEE Your Message!
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PowerPoint / Keynote Slide Presentations
Help the Audience GET IT!
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. There are three styles of learning.
- Auditory – Learn by hearing.
- Visual – Learn by seeing.
- Kinesthetic - Learn by doing.
For speakers, if more than one of these styles can be addressed to convey your message, the odds they’ll GET IT are dramatically increased. Combining high quality, universally understood images on a screen with you, the speaker providing the “text” is an excellent way to do this.
Unfortunately, the majority of slide shows are designed with lots of text, bullet points, corporate templates and logos. If they include any images, they are often cheap clip art or graphics that have the audience scratching their heads wondering what they are.
Sometimes you wonder why the presenter even showed up! They are standing at the lectern, with their back to the audience, and are reading each and every bit of text to the attendees. Yech! They could just have well emailed their powerpoint presentation to everyone!
So your audience GETS IT! here are better ways to use slides in your presentation:
Use very little text and as few bullet points as possible.
Here’s why: Read More→
Your Master Slide Deck: “Know when to
Show Them and when to Fold Them!
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Every Audience Doesn’t Need to See All your Slides.
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Fred's Master Deck: 9 of 138 Slides
Audiences have different wants and needs. Most presentations have time restraints. Not recognizing either of these can result in a less than stellar performance.
A properly customized presentation connects better with audiences than a one-size-fits-all one. Connecting with an audience increases the odds they’ll GET IT!
A large Master Deck of slides makes this customization easy. Read More→
Slides: USE TEXT – as little as possible! PLEASE!
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Text and Bullet Points
Do Not reinforce the message!
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Have you ever sat through a presentation where the speaker read, word for word, the bullet pointed text that was on the screen? Terrible, wasn’t it?
Why do speakers do this?
If they want to use notes for their presentation, those details should be placed in the ‘Notes Section’ of the slides, visible only to the presenter using Keynote or PowerPoint in ‘Presenter Mode.’
Placing Text on the screen does not reinforce the presenter’s message with the audience and help them GET IT!
On the contrary, Text and Bullet Points: Read More→
Corporate Templates
Can Undermine a Slide Presentation
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Guest Post: John Zimmer, Manner of Speaking
Many companies unwittingly hinder the effectiveness of their employees’ presentations because of policies that mandate the use of corporate templates on every PowerPoint
or Keynote slide.
Without question, a well-designed template can make a slide presentation look
professional and polished. And, it is understandable that companies want to display
their brand name and logo as often as they can. However, the focus on brand promotion can have unintended negative consequences.
Consider the slide below.
