Brief Thoughts on Preparing Presentations

© 2014 Barclay T. Blair

brief thoughts on presentations

Barclay T. Blair �[email protected] �

646 450 IGOV�barclaytblair.com�

@btblair �

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Post-Discussion Handout �January 6, 2014 ��


What are presenta,on slides?

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§  Presenta,on slides are a visual tool for increasing the intended effect of the words coming out of your mouth •  Examples of desired effects: comprehension, agreement, entertainment

§  Ergo, most slides should be visual not textual §  You are building a presenta(on, not a document, term

paper, book, or ar,cle •  Your presenta,on may be based on one of these, but it is not one of these

•  There are also ,mes when slides are used to create documents instead of presenta,ons (like this handout)

§  Unless you are reading from your slides there is no correla,on between presenta,on dura,on and # of slides


Types of presenta,ons

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§  There are 3 basic reasons to give a presenta,on, and the slides and style used must reflect the purpose •  To Inform •  To Convince •  To Entertain


When you are trying to Inform

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§  Inform •  Examples: project progress update, new developments, new product training

•  You are there to deliver informa,on in a way that adds something that audiences can’t get from reading the same informa,on

•  What value can you add? •  Summariza,on •  Your opinion of what is most important •  What is most relevant to them •  Color commentary and anecdotes •  Make the content more understandable, lively, etc.


When you are trying to Convince

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§  Convince •  You are making a case for or against something

•  E.g., budget, project, policy decision •  You are making an argument, even if it is disguised •  Use all the elements of structuring a logical argument •  Leaven with emo,on •  Be confident and authen,c


When you are trying to Entertain

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§  Entertain •  Besides clowns and magicians, most speakers are rarely asked to “entertain,” but in many contexts are expected to entertain

•  Entertainment comes in many forms, but in most business contexts must be rooted in mastery of a topic, experience, etc.

•  It is probably the most difficult and risky form of presenta,on as it is hard to predict what will entertain any audience on a par,cular day

•  Personality is equally or even more important than content


Presenta,on ,ps

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§  Never provide your presenta,on in advance (unless your presenta,on is not a presenta,on)

§  If you are doing your job right, your slides should be almost useless to people who did not a_end your presenta(on

§  The shorter the presenta,on, the more difficult it will be to prepare

§  In some instances, it may be worth wri,ng down everything you are going to say and memorize it •  Then forget the memoriza,on and try to be inspired by what is on your slides

•  You are trying to make it seem like you are the master of your ideas, but that you have never been more exited, compelled, sobered, humbled etc. about them


Tac,cs

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§  Webinars are a good way to start out §  Get out in front of the podium, even if you have to use a print out for reference

§  Try to avoid looking at your slides unless you are direc,ng the audience to something specific

§  For the love of God, no clip art and only two fonts


The Blessing and the Curse

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§  The more you show your personality, the more rewarding it will be •  (it is also more dangerous)

§  You will bomb at some point, no ma_er what •  (treat it as a inevitable) •  (some,mes you can learn something from it) •  (some,mes all you learn is that you will some,mes bomb, no ma_er what)

© 2014 Barclay T. Blair 10

MINIMALISM IN INFORMATION DESIGN: SAMPLES FROM PAST DECKS


© 2014 Barclay T. Blair 12 Copyright*2012,*ViaLumina*LLC.*

Defensibility*vs.*Difficulty*

defensibility+

dif,iculty+

1#2#

3#

4#

5#

6#


A Mandate For Ac,on

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Defensible Dele,on

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Documents discovered versus documents actually used in litigation [1044:1]

Source: Li(ga(on Costs Survey, Duke Law School, May 2010

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ONE WAY TO USE IMAGES: METAPHORICALLY



What I said while displaying the prior slide:

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“We s(ll think of informa(on like this: a modernist building. We think that informa(on is sacred, fixed, understandable, with clear, clean, predictable lines. That the meaning of the informa(on, or the building, is obvious, func(onal and universal. We think that informa(on is truth, that there is a single source of authen(city.”

This image is a photograph of Villa Savoye by Le Courbousier – a well-‐known building representa,ve of modernist architecture




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“The reality of informa(on, the truth about informa(on, that we ignore at our peril, is that informa(on is no longer modernist. It is postmodernist world. In this world, informa(on is dynamic, not fixed. It is complex, not clean and clear. It comes from mul(ple sources, some of which we control, and some of which we do not. The meaning of informa(on is not obvious, nor is it universal or even objec(ve.” This image is a photograph of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao by Frank Gehry, a famous example of deconstruc,vist, or post-‐postmodern architecture




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We need a different view of informa(on. A new analogy. The analogy I like is the river. A river is not fixed. It is always changing, always carving new channels. Some(mes it causes deadly floods. Some(mes it brings life giving water and food. In the informa(on river, informa(on starts with the smallest trickle of an idea high up in the mountains of our brain. As the idea flows across the organiza(on, it gains momentum and scale, and grows from a stream into a river that we can’t and don’t want to capture. We might temporarily damn it up so we can harness its power. We might even create new permanent lakes and ponds. We want to harness the power of that river to generate power, and nourish and enrich our organiza(ons.


PHOTOGRAPHIC: IMAGES TO DEMONSTRATE MASTERY & AUTHENTICITY

“The title CIO offends, delights, frightens, and irritates. Those who dislike the title consider it both presumptuous and an invasion of the turf of the CEO and CFO. [But], it is becoming increasingly clear that information is a corporate asset that has to be managed by a top-‐ranking executive. “ CIO Magazine, September 1987 (First Issue)


Notes on the prior slide

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§  This was part of a presenta,on where I was challenging the no,on of what a CIO does – specifically saying that the ,tle CIO is a lie – that CIOs are in fact not responsible for informa,on

§  In making the argument I referred to the very first issue of CIO magazine. Finding and using the image of this magazines cover helps to establish authority -‐ it shows that you have done your homework


brief thoughts on presentations

Barclay T. Blair �[email protected] �

646 450 IGOV�barclaytblair.com�

@btblair �

27

Post-Discussion Handout �January 6, 2014 ��

Business

Brief Thoughts on Preparing Presentations