PPT - Powerful Presentation Techniques

Presentation Guideline Attacked

In a recent Sales & Marketing Management column, Communications Consultant John Windsor attacks the "sandwich model" of presentation advice, (i.e. tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them and tell them what you told them) as being among the worst guidelines to follow.  His critique is an interesting one and one well worth evaluating as you think about the structure of your presentations.  Here's what he has to say:

• your signals about what your going to tell them, could lead them to immediately shut you out
• your presentation should be a dialogue not a monologue
• it can lead to "talking down" to your audience rather than engaging them

Photo Resources - SnapVillage, PictureNation and PhotoShelter

I haven't posted on low cost online photography sources for awhile.  One of the newer ones is SnapVillage, a microstock photography company owned by privately held Corbis.  They allow the "amateur" photographer to upload images, select their selling price from $1 - $50 and go to town.  The site allows you to search by price, recency, snappyness and relevance.  Here's a fact sheet on the site.

Another photo resource that I've come across is PhotoShelter.  They also offer a marketplace, although their pricing is significantly higher than SnapVillage.  On a less costly note you can buy web quality photos at UK-based PictureNation on a subscription or per image basis.

I'll be adding SnapVillage to version 8 of my resource listing for presenters.  If you have other photography or presentation related resources that you feel should be part of this resource listing send them to me.

Note: this is one of my photographs taken at the Bean in Chicago last summer.

PowerPoint Karaoke

The Boston Globe reports on the growing interest in PowerPoint Karaoke, a spoof that originated in Germany a couple of years ago.  The karaoke program works by having a person give a "presentation" from a slide deck that they have never seen before.  In the article, it is suggested that to have your own PowerPoint Karaoke event, all you need to do is the following:

1. find PowerPoint slide decks online (.ppt)
2. download them,
3. serve beer
4. distribute the slide decks to karaoke presenters
5. use a LCD projector to display the slide
6. have the presenter generate a story with the slide deck

I'm game and ready to try it out.

For more tips on PowerPoint Karaoke, see Heathervescent's posting following last year's Barcamp LA.   

Slideshare has created a tool to help you pull together slides from the Slideshare repository.

PPT - Powerful Presentation Techniques Service Offerings

ConnectingDots, Principal Consultant Paul Gibler offers your organization a range of services to improve presentation development, delivery or overall management.  Among the services that are offered are the following:

• Professional Development - presentation and/or PowerPoint skills coaching or training
• Presentation Strategy Assessment & Development - evaluation of presentation templates, slide databases, slide preparation tools, photo libraries and other slide assets.
• Presentation Delivery Assessment - evaluation of individual presenter delivery
• Presentation Guideline Development - creation or enhancement of guidelines for internal and external presenters
• Presentation Skills Keynotes - online or live presentations on best practices in presentation skills or the effective use of PowerPoint.

These services can be customized to meet your organization's needs.  Please review the service offerings description (Download PPT-PowerfulPresentationTechniquesDescriptionRev2.pdf) and contact Paul Gibler for further information.

PowerPoint Nibblets - tools & techniques

Periodically I like to scan the news to see what is new in PowerPoint add-ons, presentation accessories or tools to enhance your presentations.  Here are some that I've discovered recently.

• SlipperyBrick reports on a laser pointer with a built-in advantage - slide advance and backward buttons for use with PowerPoint.  The tool sounds like it could be a useful multi-function presentation tool.
• PlanetPDF reports that DocGuruz has released a PowerPoint to PDF conversion package that allows you to convert your PowerPoint presentations without having Adobe Acrobat installed.  The product is available for $19.95 at the company website.
• The Mobile Gadgeteer reports the availability of Softmaker Office 2008 beta for use with Pocket PC Devices.  According to their report the tool gives you "Softmaker Presentations 2008 that gives you full editing and creation capability for PowerPoint presentations."
• Cognitive Scientist Stephen Kosslyn, author of Clear and to the Point presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science on the best way to present PowerPoint information according to iO9.  He presented his "four rules of PowerPoint: the Goldilocks Rule, the Rudolph Rule, the Rule of Four and the Birds of a Feather Rule".  He has some good ideas although I found his book to be less than sophisticated in its use of PowerPoint as compared to others like Presentationzen.

NJ Governor needs some PPT help

The New York Times reported earlier this week:

"...Governor Jon S. Corzine, relying on a PowerPoint slide show several fonts too small..." "Al Gore he was not.  Sometimes it was hard to see the charts because the words and figures were too small.  Sometimes he blocked the view." 

Given the picture they showed of the Governor pointing to one of his busy slides, it is clear he needs some help. 

If you or your organization would like to avoid the governors problems, give me a call (608) 255 4092 or drop me a line for help with improving your presentation strategy through PowerPoint and Presentation skills assessments and training or through help in developing your presentation assets strategy.   

Paul Gibler

UPDATED - PowerPoint & Presentation Resource Listing (REV 7)

I've updated the PPT - Powerful Presentation Techniques Resource Listing to include several new books, web sites and article links that I've come across or have been submitted to me.  The Resource Listing is now in its seventh revision. 
Download PPT-PowerfulPresentationTechniquesResourceGuideRev7.pdf

If you have additions or changes that should be made to the listing, please send me an e-mail. 

If I can be of any help in assessing your team's current level of presentation or PowerPoint skills or assist you with your training needs, please let me know.

Paul Gibler
(608) 255 4092

78 Public Speaking related Blogs

Andrew Dlugan at Six Minutes has put together a list with brief descriptions and general categorization of 78 speaking related blogs including this one.  For content die hards, you can conveniently subscibe to all 78 of them at once.

Book Reviews - presentationzen

Elegant.

That's the word that I'd use for an overall descriptor of Garr Reynolds' new book "presentationzen - Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery".  The book is beautiful with a "zen sensibility", great graphics and lots of good examples of before and after or just plain good presentations.  The book is well organized into 5 major modules:

1. Introduction
2. Preparation
3. Design
4. Delivery
5. the Next Step

From its foreword by Guy Kawasaki, cleverly "written" using PowerPoint slide to its sharing of the top Slideshare show for 2007, he's got a winner in this book for those looking for a clean overview of what makes for creating and delivering good presentations.  If you're looking for a book on techniques to use PowerPoint 2003, 2007 or Keynote you'll need to look elsewhere.  This book is not software specific, a benefit if you're reading it while on the road as a passenger en route to Minneapolis which I did earlier this month. 

I like how he reminds the reader that presentations involve 3 tools - the slides, the speaker notes and the handouts.  While many people think of these as all of the same, he effectively deconstructs the role of each of them in making a presentation effective.

Another comment, I'd make is that while Garr is very big on the use of striking and memorable photography, something I generally agree with, the reality of corporate budgets, presentation topics and the nature of internal presentations often intrudes and makes these visually rich presentations difficult to pull off.   Plus, not every presenter has the technical knowledge or software to manipulate images in the way that the presenters showecased are able to do. 

Garr does direct the reader to iStockphoto, and includes a special offer for readers. 

All in all, I'd rate this book and his blog an A for your reading list and as an addition to your presentation skills library. 

Leader. Manager. Worker - 3 Candidates 3 Voices

Group News Blog has a very interesting analysis of the appeals that Obama, Edwards and Clinton are evoking in their presentation of their qualifications to the American people.  Through their presentations and word choices they promise three different futures.  Blogger Jesse Wendel claims that through their actions and through their words they've positioned themselves in three distinct ways.

• Leader - declarative and visionary as exemplified by Obama's painting of a visionary future
• Manager - making requests as exemplified by Edwards and his call to let him be president to deliver for America
• Worker - promising to complete tasks as exemplified by Clinton and her promise to produce as President

I found this a fascinating analysis of how their presentations and word choices might be positioning them in the political market to drive their respective and fluctuating standings in the polls.

As a student and teacher of presentations skills there is a something for all of us to learn from this campaign.