Dynamic Presentations

Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-15004-0 - Dynamic Presentations Mark Powell Table of Contents More information

Contents

Preparing to present 1 Opening and closing

4 6

2 Smooth structure

10

3 Voice power

14

4 Visual aids

18

5 Facts and ďŹ gures

22

6 Body language

26

7 Rapport building

30

8 Impact techniques

34

9 Storytelling

42

10 Q&A sessions

46

Bringing it all together

50

Audio scripts

52

Key and commentary

62

Additional materials

78

Online feedback forms

94

Acknowledgements

96

3

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4A Visual aids

I hate to tell you, but, chances are, your PowerPoint slides are lousy. But don’t take my word for it, let’s do a little test. Show your slides to someone who doesn’t speak your language.

Now, you’re saying ‘What’s he talking about? Of course, they can’t read them.’ Ahah! If you’re expecting your audience to read your PowerPoint, you’re already in big trouble.

PowerPoint is a visual medium. Whether it’s a chart, a graph, a picture or a cartoon, your audience should be able to understand your message just by looking at the images.

T.J. Walker, CEO of Media Training Worldwide

1 Read the advice of leading media trainer, T.J. Walker. Then compare the two presentation slides below. Which do you think he’d prefer? Which looks more like your own slides?

200 million

2 Discuss your own preferences with a partner. Think about these features: data load legibility

3

visual impact font size

colour contrast

scale

aesthetics

1.14 Listen to business people from different cultures sharing their views. Write notes on the points you agree with.

Italian

3D EYEWEAR • • • • •

iSpex

3D movies traditionally, restricted to theme parks and iMax cinemas shift to 3D versions of blockbusters like Kung Fu Panda in mainstream cinemas 2009 movie sensation Avatar redefines market new-style linear 3D polarised glasses global market for 3D eyewear est. $200 million

Dutch

Swedish

Japanese

4 You’ve been asked to give a short team presentation on family business in India. In groups, try to decide which slide opposite would be the most effective as your main visual aid.

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Percentage of businesses in India which are family-owned (FOBs)

70%

FOBs 70% LOW RES IMAGE

70% of Indian businesses are family businesses

70% Family Business

Don’t commit career suislide!

Nancy Duarte, Duarte Design

5 Nancy Duarte is one of the world’s leading presentation designers. Her company helped former US vice-president Al Gore develop his celebrated environmental talk ‘An Inconvenient Truth’. What do you think she means by ‘career suislide’?

6

1.15 Sometimes using real objects or ‘props’ in a presentation can be highly effective.

Listen to business people talking about some of the best uses of props they’ve seen presenters make and answer the questions below. a How did Apple CEO Steve Jobs demonstrate the thinness of the MacBook Air? b What’s the weirdest use of a prop the second speaker’s ever seen? c How did Cisco CEO John Chambers demonstrate the TelePresence system? d What’s the connection between a jeans pocket and the iPod Nano?

7 Even if your job does not involve presenting actual products, how could you use props in your own presentations? Discuss your ideas with a partner.

8 Turn to page 83 to see a selection of presentation slides before and after a designer worked on them. How far do you think they’ve been improved? Why?

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