Workshop Topics

Together we will design a customized workshop with some of the following topics

Presentation Preparation

• What Annoys Audiences – avoid the problems identified by over 540 audience members so people don’t tune out when you present
• The most important filter – what one question should you ask when considering every aspect of your presentation
• Presentation Structure & Sequence – the seven steps that will ensure your presentation delivers a clear and organized message and how sequence impacts the effectiveness of our message
• Slide Design – How to select colors for backgrounds, text, diagrams and graphs that can be easily seen even in poor lighting; selecting fonts that research shows are easier to read and what size of font will be easily read by the people in the back of the room; how to select the correct layout for your slides that will make then easy to re-use in the future
• Principles of Persuasion – Applying the research on persuasion to the development of presentations to we can create presentations that inspire action

Slide Content

• Text Slides – how to create crisp, concise text slides so we avoid the overloaded text slides that annoy audiences and how to format text on slides so it is easy to understand
• The KWICK Method of creating persuasive visuals – five steps that will transform the usual text only slides into visuals that more effectively make your point:
• Key Point – how to determine the headline for each slide so the slide message is clear from the top
• Words that suggest a visual – recognize the words or phrases to look for that suggest which powerful visual you should choose for the slide
• In Context – best practices for creating different types of visuals (like graphs, diagrams and photos) so that each visual is clean, uncluttered and connects with the audience
• Crystal Clear – how to make the point of the visual stand out clearly so that there is no doubt what your point is
• Keep Focus – use animation and other techniques to focus the audience on your message when you present
• Creating effective graphs – how to move from the default graphs to graphs that are clear, uncluttered, and are easily understood
• Finding and using photos – where to find photos that you can legally use in your presentation and how to make the photos look their best on slides
• Incorporating video clips – how to tap in to the hottest presentation trend without having to learn technical tools; includes capturing videos on your smartphone and using them in a presentation
• Presenting financial data effectively – instead of pasting a spreadsheet on a slide, use three strategies to create visual that are more effective
• Slide Makeovers – see the ideas applied to slides that the participants have submitted in advance, demonstrating how the ideas will work in their situation

Delivering the Presentation

• Handouts – how to prepare notes for the speaker and how to create an audience handout that keeps them paying attention during the presentation and serves as a handy reference after the presentation
• Slide Delivery – tips from the pros on setting up and delivering an excellent presentation, including keystroke shortcuts to use during the presentation
• Web-based presentations – how web presentations differ from live presentations; design changes required for the web service; delivery tips for web presentations
• E-mailing presentations – techniques for creating slide files that contain persuasive visuals and detailed text that work with both the live audience and those who will only see the slides after the meeting; advanced techniques to create self-running slide shows that work like videos or web sites with interactivity
• Creating a video from your presentation – ways that you can take your visuals and an audio recording of your presentation and create a video using low or no cost tools that allow you to post the video on YouTube or other video sharing sites (including your corporate intranet)

Emerging Topics

• Delivering corporate PowerPoint presentations on an iPad – iPads are being integrated into many organizations, and you can have executives and sales professionals use the corporate PowerPoint slides in one-on-one presentation to key contacts without having to purchase expensive apps or add on equipment
• Greening your presentations – learn how you can eliminate paper handouts and paper evaluations and still allow audience members to take notes on a handout and give you feedback, all from their smartphones, tablets, or laptops, all without custom app programming