******************************************************************* Dave Paradi's PowerPoint Tip Issue #132 April 17, 2007 Published & Copyright by Dave Paradi of ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com Circulation 8,613 *******************************************************************
Please forward this newsletter to anyone you know who wants to strategically use PowerPoint visuals to enhance their presentations. If this newsletter has been sent to you by a friend, sign up to get your own copy at http://www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com/newsletter.htm .
******************************************************************* In this issue: Speaking to Business Communication Professors Public workshops - Seattle and possibly Washington DC PowerPoint Tip - Finish Strong, Not Long Best of the Blog - Reports of the "Death of PowerPoint" greatly exaggerated Dave's Travel Schedule *******************************************************************
Speaking to Business Communication Professors
Last week the chair of the largest North American conference for business communication professors accepted three of my proposals to speak at their conference in Washington DC October 10-12. This is quite an honour for me as I am told that having three submissions accepted for a top academic conference is quite rare. Thanks to all of you for continuing to ask questions that push me to further develop ideas on how to strategically use PowerPoint visuals.
------------------------------------------------------------------- Public workshops - Seattle and possibly Washington DC
Thanks to those in Seattle, Portland and Vancouver who encouraged me to go ahead with my public seminar in Seattle. It is on for Friday, September 29 (details and pricing will be in the next newsletter). Now it's a question for those in the DC, Virginia, Maryland, East Coast area to have their say. As you can see from the previous item I will be in the area Oct 10-12. Is there enough interest in me doing a public 1-day workshop in the DC area? Reply to this e-mail to let me know.
------------------------------------------------------------------- PowerPoint Tip - Finish Strong, Not Long
You have heard it said many times that the most important parts of your presentation are the start and the end. Presenters spend time thinking about how to introduce their topic and engage the audience. Certainly important to do. But too many times presenters end their presentation weakly, leaving a poor impression that sinks their presentation despite what they had said earlier.
The most common ways to end a presentation are also the worst possible ways to do so. I see way too many presentations finish with a slide that says "Questions?" or "Thank You!" in big bold type in the center of the slide. This is the worst way to end your presentation, especially if you are doing a persuasive or sales presentation. Why? By saying "Thank You", all you have done is thank them for sitting through your presentation, where do you go from there? If you end with "Questions?", you have just invited the audience to question what you have told them. It suggests that they should have questions about your message and maybe you have questions about it too because you are not sure it is a solid argument.
So how should you end a presentation? Not the way one of my clients suggested a few months ago. They wanted to introduce a new analogy on the last slide with maybe some music. All this would have taken a few minutes to do and have been very risky. Never introduce new information on the last slide. The end of your presentation is for summarizing, not potentially confusing the audience with new stuff.
The strongest close to a presentation is with a recap of the points you have made and an invitation to discuss the next steps. Assume they understood and followed your logical arguments (you did prepare a proper structure first, right?). Assume they are ready to take the next steps. So lay out what those steps are and be ready to discuss them. The title of the last slide should be "Discussion of Next Steps". This way, you are moving the discussion forward and making the most of the time the audience has invested with you.
A strong close is even more important when presenting to executives. They don't have time to waste and you better not be the one wasting it. Data based presentations are the toughest for executives, so if you have one coming up, check out my e-book "Presenting Data to Executives". It covers the keys to success when you are in front of the top folks in your organization. Go to http://www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com/presentdata.htm to get your copy.
------------------------------------------------------------------- Best of the Blog - Reports of the "Death of PowerPoint" greatly exaggerated
The article I cited in my previous post from the Sydney Morning Herald has gained steam and has now been published across the world. Unfortunately, the paper they cite just doesn't support the conclusions that the media wants to draw. No matter, they will report on it anyways. If you want a balanced view that includes actual information from the paper, check out an article I just finished that examines what the paper really says and what the Professor has been quoted as saying. One fact that may shock the reporters who continue to report this story is that the paper does not include the words "PowerPoint", "presentation" or "slide" in it at all. But just because the facts don't support the conclusion never seemed to matter to some of these journalists. Go read the article at http://www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com/articles/deathofppt.htm .
Other recent blog posts at http://pptideas.blogspot.com : Sydney research article - revolutionary or not? Creating "movies" in PowerPoint
------------------------------------------------------------------- Dave's Travel Schedule
If you have been sitting through too many presentations that did not relay the key information needed to make critical decisions, you should schedule an in-house or web based seminar or workshop. You can save money by booking me to speak to your organization or conference when I am close to your area for other clients. Here's where I will be in the next few months:
April 20 Toronto, ON (1 day Think Outside The Slide(tm) workshop that you can register for at http://www.iapa.ca/conference ) April 25 Toronto, ON May 10 Mississauga, ON May 23 Bala, ON May 26 London, ON June 13-15 Indianapolis, IN (tentative) July 6-14 San Diego, CA July 15-17 Los Angeles, CA July 24-25 Detroit, MI August 3 Huntsville, ON September 7-9 Winnipeg, MB September 27-30 Seattle, WA October 10-12 Washington, DC October 25-26 Huntsville, ON E-mail me at Dave@ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com to discuss how my Think Outside The Slide(tm) sessions can help your organization be more productive and improve communication throughout the organization.
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