Last week I posted part 1 of bouncing back from a presentation mishap, where I threw up what I thought was a softball question and heard only crickets. Well, as I mentioned in that post, there was more...
The organizer wanted me to fill a time block about a half hour longer than this particular presentation normally takes, so I added in some new content and was confident I'd hit my timing no problem. I was even pretty excited about the new content because it revolved around a personal story about a friend of mine, and stories are powerful presentation tools.
However, the story didn't work. At least, it was falling on mostly deaf ears to this audience. It was a story that had a web 2.0 theme to it and the audience just wasn't technically savvy enough to really follow the point I was trying to make. Many audience members couldn't see the forest for the trees and missed the point. My fault, completely.
I could have used a simpler method to tell my story and make my point, but unfortunately I didn't, and the audience let me know...immediately. I always tell my audience that I accept questions at ANY time during my presentation. There's no such thing as interrupting me with a question (unless you actually interrupt me). I love opend and honest conversation during a presentation, since presentations themselves are conversations. So as soon as a few of the audience members got lost, they started raising their hands. I was able to reel the discussion back on track, however once we were all on the same page I was already at least 10 minutes behind where I wanted to be.
I still finished in time without skipping through slides or not giving them their due diligence, but I had much less time for open Q&A than I would have liked. I felt as though I had let them down, but while it technically was in my hands, it really wasn't. Just like I couldn't beat myself up for my mishap from part 1, I couldn't beat myself up for this mishap either. I took all the feedback to heart and altered my presentation accordingly. All I can do is try my best to make sure it never happens again.
Honesty is crucial. Not just in presenting, or business. It's crucial in life, period. You probably won't see a lot of presentation designers and trainers talk so openly about their mishaps, but that's only because they're hiding them. It happens to all of us. I write posts like these because I know they can help you, and that's all that matters to me.
I fell into presentation design because I love marketing. Scott Stratten is one of my favorite marketers, or should I say "UnMarketers", and he devotes a good portion of his recent book outlining all the mistakes he made in social media. I was so thankful he did because I made some of those mistakes too. It made me feel better that I not only wasn't the only one, but someone who I highly respect in the social media space made the same mistakes.
That's what you're audience is asking. That's (for the most part) all they care about. It doesn't matter what you're presenting. Could be a presentation about your company. Could be a new product release to your sales team. Could be a new initiative you're starting. It doesn't matter. Your audience only cares about one thing - what's in it for them?
Does that sound selfish? Yes. Is it true? Yes. Is it selfish? No.
Quite often when we sit down and start sketching out our presentation, we rarely think of it in terms of what we're offering the audience. We think about what product features to mention, or which client logos to show, or how worthwhile our cause is. But you're presenting to reach a certain goal, and if you want to reach that goal, your audience is going to have to take you there.
I just finished a presentation for a great client who is launching a revolutionary type of software. It has awesome features. It blows away the competition. It looks slick. Really, it's the cat's meow.
My client is presenting this to his national sales team - that's his audience. So when we started the design process, one of my first questions was, "What's in it for them?" How is this product going to change their lives? The goal of his presentation wasn't to unveil this new software, though at first glance you may think it was.There's nothing in that for them.
What we needed to do was craft the message in a way that gets the sales team excited about selling the software. How will this software ignite their sales figures? How will this software help them solve the problems of their customers and make them look good? How is this going to change their lives? We had to connect the software with the things that matter to the sales team in order to empower them.
Think about your presentation and your audience. Is your presentaiton about you or is it about them? Is it about features or is it about how those features will help a business make more money? Is it about your charity or how helping your charity will enrich your audience's lives?
I'd love to hear your approach to WIIFM in the comments. How do you make sure it's all about your audience?
I'm so excited to bring this to you. I came across this video just the other day when Olivia Mitchell tweeted a video of Tim Washer avoiding a presentation disaster through the use of improv humor. That's a great video as well.
I'll set the scene and give my thoughts after the jump. This video features John Coleman, an MBA/MPA student at the Harvard Business School who is tasked with delivering a 7-minute venture capitalist presentation as part of the school's first annual "B.S. Contest" (Yes, that stands for bull shitake) sponsored by the Harvard Business School's Public Speaking club. The trick, though, is that he's NEVER seen the PowerPoint. He doesn't even know the "product" he is pitching until AFTER his introduction (which is unfortuantely cut off). In his case, his product is Robot Vending Machines - whatever that means. I like it better than the 2nd place presenter's product - Removable Mustaches. The class presentations are part of the Harvard Business School's Public Speaking club. The lessons are plentiful.
Recently I had the priviledge of sitting in on a talk by Mr. UnMarketing himself, Scott Stratten, hosted by the Connecticut chapter of the American Marketing Association. If you don't know him, you should - he's kind of a big deal on Twitter. I drove through rain and crazy amounts of traffic for two hours (each way) just for the opportunity to hear him talk about his new book, aptly titled UnMarketing(seriously...I didn't do it just for the iPad raffle and free drink ticket, I swear). I'll have a review of the book up very soon, along with a free UnMarketing book to give away so keep an eye out.
Kids say the darnedest things, right? I'm sure if you sit an think for just a minute, you can remember something quite funny or interesting a child has said to you recently. Kids are quite unique, especially around the 5-7 year old range where they start to get really curious and outspoken. Not to say that 15 year olds aren't outspoken - I pretty much knew everything there was to know at age 15 - but 6 year olds have a cute way of saying it.
But as we grow old, we lose some of that childishness. We also lose our fearlessness, and our creativity (to a point). Sir Ken Robinson has a wonderful presentation on the TED site where he talks about how schools kill creativity. It's one of my all-time favorite presentations, and he brings up some valid points.
I know this video has spread like wildfire (over 1.1 million hits as of today), but it's too good not to post on my blog in the slim chance that some of my readers haven't seen it.
Feast your eyes on Phil Davison, GOP Candidate for Stark County Treasurer. This is one of the most incredible speeches you have ever seen. This video is a six minute commercial for presentation coaching. This is what happens when you don't have anyone to coach you - or even give one iota of honest feedback. Needless to say, Phil unfortunately did not win the nomination. More after the video:
Being chosen as a groom’s Best Man or a bride’s Maid of Honor is truly an honor (as the name implies). It’s a title that one receives when they’ve meant the most as a friend to the bride or groom.
Of course, once the emotion subsides it gives way to the fact that being a Best Man or Maid of Honor comes with great responsibility – not the least of which is the Wedding Toast.
Aside from presenting and presentation design, one of my passions is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I've written about it before in a post relating the fear of fighting to the fear of presenting, which in fact are both solved (or at least managed) by practice, practice, practice!
Well I'm at it again, relating BJJ to presenting and public speaking.
I was recently reading about how important confidence is in jiu-jitsu. The author, Jason Scully from The Grapplers Guide, wrote:
When you're in practice you should never have to worry about if something is going to work, or if your opponent is going to counter your attack. You should just go for it with 100% confidence that you are going to make something happen. That no matter what, even if your opponent counters your movements you should have 100% confidence in yourself that you can counter right back.
It made me think about presenting and how important confidence is in order to effectively present. There's no question that presenting is extremely difficult, particularly because of the inherent fear that comes with it. When you present you're (for lack of a better term) "putting yourself out there" in front of audiences, peers, and others. It's a place where we feel vulnerable, scared, fallible, and judged. There are plenty of resources, including this blog, to help you become a better presenter and presentation designer, but it's not like riding a bike. Every presentation is different and poses certain challenges and possible disasters.
Don't get me wrong, you can DEFINITELY succeed as a presenter. But in order to do that, you must have confidence in yourself and what you're presenting. I add the latter part because I truly feel that you have to believe in your presentation topic to present effectively. If you're selling a product or service, you have to believe in what you're selling. True, you can fake it till you make it, but if you don't believe then you're performance will suffer. This is the real world though, and I realize we don't always have a choice, so I digress. With confidence, you will be able to manage your fears better and maintain your focus. Without confidence in yourself as a presenter, you will be opening the door for doubt and nerves - often allowing them to get the best of you.
Mistakes can (and will) happen, but as Jason said, even if your attack is countered (or you run into a presentation speed bump), you have to be confident that you can counter right back - you have to be confidence that you will move on from the mistake and crush the rest of your presentation.
All of the hard work you’ve put into developing your presentation has finally come down to this. It’s presentation day, and you know you’re ready. You’ve followed simple design principles and you’ve practiced for hours on end. Here are a few tips to help you nail that live performance.
Do Not Read Your Slides
Your PowerPoint is not a script. It’s not even your notes. Your PowerPoint presentation is a visual backdrop to present your themes and main points. PLEASE don’t treat it as script.
If you read your slides, your audience will immediately know that you don’t know what you’re talking about and that you didn’t care enough to prepare for them. Not to mention, turning your back and reading your slides creates an impersonal wall between you and your audience. You’re speaking at them, instead of with them. It’s crucial that you design a presentation with slides that support your message, not repeat it. If you do this correctly, you won’t have any words to read!
Use Black Slides I know this seems like it applies more to design than delivery, but the advantage of using black slides is that those slides will bring the attention of the audience back to you, the presenter. Keep in mind that your visuals are a backdrop to your presentation. Since you are the star, you want to make sure the attention will be on you as often as possible. This means that all the eyes will turn to you, so your delivery skills are important. It also gives you no chance to look back at your slides, and certainly no chance to read them. You will be able to reconnect, both literally (eyes, emotion) and figuratively. This is also a great way to help your audience recognize that you’re moving to a new topic.
Connect with the Audience
A presentation is a two-way communication. Although you’re doing most of the speaking, it’s a conversation with the audience. You want to speak with them, not at them. You’re connecting with them on a certain level, bringing them through any number of emotions. I’ve seen presentations that have the audience laughing themselves off their seats and others that bring them to tears.
There are numerous ways to achieve this connection. It starts with body language, and more importantly, eye contact. When you have a conversation with a friend, you look at their eyes as you speak. Too many times the presenter’s eyes are directed at the screen, their laptop, or down at their notes. This creates a huge disconnect and gives the audience an uneasy feeling. They wonder, “Does the presenter even want to be here? Does he/she care that I’m here?” Along with visual contact, interaction with the audience is key. Ask them questions. Get their immediate input/feedback. Get them involved in the conversation you’re having.
One final way is to share a personal story. Talking in a personal way makes the audience feel that you’re comfortable enough to let them in your own world. Stories like this may not always be applicable to what you’re talking about (so don’t try to crowbar one in), but if the opportunity presents itself, seize it.
What do you find troubling about delivering a presentation? What methods have you used to deliver more effectively?
On June 7, 2010, Steve Jobs took the stage at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference for another one of his trademark keynote presentations. The room was packed (the conference sold out in 8 days), millions tuned into the live feed, and sites like GDGT and Engadget (yes, they're different sites...I think?) extensively live blogged the event.
It's no secret that Steve Jobs' presentation style is considered to be one of the best. Of course, that "style" has been developed by years of experience and a lifetime of preparation and practice. His keynote presentations are multimedia extravaganzas more akin to a concert than a corporate presentation.
I decided to take a close look at Mr. Jobs' presentation to try and break it down for you all of you, highlighting his approach to the WWDC 2010 keynote presentation and what elements create the masterpieces we are used to seeing.
*Pay close attention to the "Glitch" section to see how Steve handled what could have been a huge disaster.
STRUCTURE One of the most overlooked elements of presentation design is a focus on the structure of the story. The audience will have enough trouble following your presentation as it is - without a solid structure you'll lose them completely. Jobs' presentations always have a solid structure that can easily be followed, and he enhances it with slides that help define sections. As I followed Steve's WWDC keynote, I made it a point to create an outline of his presentation. It was incredibly easy. I've included the outline below.
iPad Update
Statistics
Press
Apps
iBook
App Store
HTML 5 Support
Application approval process
Ebay Application Results
Three New Entertainment Apps
Netflix – CEO Reed Hastings
Zynga – CEO Mark Pincus
Activision – SVP Karthik Bala
5 Billion downloads; $1 billion to developers
iPhone Update
US Smartphone Market Share
Year by year
iPhone 4
8 New Features
All new design
Retina display
Powerd by the A4 Chip
Gyroscope (Jenga demo)
Camera System/iMovie for iPhone
iOS 4 – “Most advanced operating system in the world”
iBooks
Facetime
New Prices
Accessories
Make sure even before you start designing your presentation that you have a clear outline of what the presentation will include. If you don't have an outline, your audience certainly won't be able to create one either. This will be a HUGE help when it comes to designing the slides and editing content as well.
DELIVERY Jobs is a master at his delivery. It sounds so conversational, with such a great "flow" that it seems he didn't even rehearse it. I've heard (first hand) people claim that they DIDN'T want to rehearse their presentation because they didn't want it to sound like it's "rehearsed." On the contrary, the only reason Steve Jobs can deliver his presentation in such a conversational way is that he rehearses...incessantly. He is notorious for spending not hours, not days, but weeks practicing, revising, and practicing some more. He knows the presentations inside and out. He knows every bit of data that's about to show up on that screen. He knows exactly what he's going to say and what words he's going to emphasize. The ONLY way to improve your odds of a smooth delivery (and to manage your fears of presenting) is to practice.
Secondarily, Steve Jobs doesn't use gobbledy-gook when he presents, especially describing the technology. Instead, he uses words we can ALL understand, with adjectives that are rarely used in "business speak". Because of this, the audience can follow his presentation, understand what he's talking about, and see the passion he has for these products. He gets you excited, believing that the new iPhone 4 isn't just "enterprise-class" or "cost effective", it's "extraordinary", "vibrant", and "hot"!
I decided to write down every adjective (and a few other forms of speech) he used during his presentation that I don't believe we hear much during business presentations. You'd be surprised how many variations he used.
Great
· Incredible
· Magical
· Cool
· Wonderful
· Fantastic
· Terrific
· Big
· Gorgeous
· Vibrant
· Thrilled
· Hot
· Superior
· Awesome
· Strong
· Exciting
· Extraordinary
This is one of the reasons his presentations stand out AND his audience is so excited to run out and buy these products. They're not just "industry leading messaging devices", they're "incredibly fast, magical phones!" Not all of us are Steve Jobs, and not all of our products can truly be described with adjectives like this. If you try to crowbar these in, you may come off cheesy. Just keep your mind open to different ways of explaining your products - ensuring it's a way that the audience understands.
DESIGN To round out the trifecta, Steve knows how to harness the power of effective presentation visuals (slides) to enhance the important information that he's presenting. He and his team of designers are amazing at creating simple, beautiful slides that (for the most part) convey only the most important information while Steve explains the details.
Slides created for Apple Keynotes are often seen as the guide for effective presentation design. He's been a savior to the presentation designers out there who have been preaching this style for years because he has proven that you can be incredibly effective simply by using beautiful imagery and large text in small amounts. He doesn't put the Apple logo on every slide, nor the URL or the phone number. He doesn't use an agenda slide (although he does say how many topics he will talk about) and he uses very little animation. But to his credit, the animation he does use is pretty cool.
I took a number of screen shots while watching the keynote and I wanted to share some of my favorite and least favorite slides with a short description as to why.
One of my favorites - instead of bullet-pointing the results of the iPad sales, he gives each stat its own slide and makes sure the text is BIG, with the most important text being the largest
A simple, beautiful graph with clear colors and an easy-to-read legend. Perfect in its simplicity. Do you like that he uses the texture?
Get right to the point - The text reads "Thinnest Smartphone" which is all you need to know. Then show how thin it is. No extraneous information.
Mr. Jobs did have a few slides that were bulletpointesque. Just add circles next to these lines and you've got bullet points. He only used slides like this to wrap up though, not to introduce the features.
The image shows the intersection between Liberal Arts and Technology, and Mr. Jobs adds the necessary information to connect the dots in the audience's minds.
THE "GLITCH" No matter how much you prepare, you should always expect the unexpected, especially if you're doing a live product demonstration. As Murphy's Law states, "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong." Even Steve Jobs couldn't escape this law.
After Mr. Jobs had introduced the new iPhone 4, he wanted to show off the speed and new resolution of the phone. In order to do that, he decided to call up the New York Times web page on both the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3G. Unbeknownst to him, there were 570 WiFi base stations operating in the room, slowing the network to nearly a standstill. See the video from IDG.
An event like this could make even the most poised presenter panic. This isn't the first time Steve has faced technical glitches in his presentation, and he wasn't going to let this one bring his keynote down. Steve handled it with honesty, humor, and composure, quickly moving onto a new topic when he faced the glitch and simply asking the audience to turn off their WiFi to see the "wonderful" demonstrations he had for them. Once they did, the page loaded with blazing speed and he was able to proceed as usual.
Glitches are inevitable. It's not how you avoid them, it's how you embrace them and move on. The audience doesn't expect you to be perfect, and everyone understands that machines are imperfect too. Nobody wants to face any sort of hiccup, but don't try to run and hide from them. Be honest with the audience, make an attempt to fix it if you're confident it can be fixed, or simply move on.
EXTRAS These were notes I wrote down but couldn't find the perfect spot to put them in the post, so they go here!
Customer Quotes - Jobs used customer quotes that were humorous and validated the Apple products. This is a great way to show peer approval.
Numbered Slides - Jobs promised he'd give 8 special iPhone features, and put a numbered slide before each of the features. This helps the audience keep track. I love this and use it often in my presentations.
Introducing and Concluding - When sections of his presentation were starting or finishing, he always used clear sentences like, "Now I’d like to talk about the iPhone" or "So that's it for the iPad" to emphasize the change, again helping the audience keep their mental map in check.
Multimedia - Jobs wasn't simply a talking head. He switched up the input (which is VERY important for audience attention) by introducing guest speakers, showing videos, and giving demonstrations.
CONCLUSION Overall I thought it was, naturally, a great presentation. There were some slides that I thought could have been better, and you know about the "Glitch", but I'd be hard pressed to find an audience member (both in person and online) who didn't leave excited about what's to come for Apple. I'm glad I chose this particular presentation to break down because it wasn't flawless, thus we could all learn a lot from it. I hope you did.
Recent Comments