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Effectively Standing Out

• (or All presentations provide a great deal of
  happiness when they end.)
• By Leeland Artra
• President, Hero Network LLC
• E-Mail leeland_at_heronetwork.com
• Objective Develop effective techniques for
  making winning presentations.
• Topics Covered Differences between poor, good
  and great presentations, how to structure
  details, dealing with distractions, etc.

2
Why Are You Here?

• Recognize need to persuade an audience
• Feel existing presentation skills can improve
• Looking for ways to improve future presentations
• Objective
• Enhance or learn skills to create strong
  presentations that provide good information and
  are persuasive

Banging your head against a wall uses 150
calories an hour.
3
Why am I here?

• Computer researcher educator for 16 yrs
• Developed and implemented 3 professional training
  and certification series
• Given successful presentations courses to live
  audiences of up to 35,000
• Special training for writing questions, creating
  tutorials and giving persuasive presentations
• Need some consulting referrals and thought this
  would be good marketing
• No one else volunteered

Car sickness is the feeling you get whenthe
monthly car payment is due.
4
The Plan

1. Introduction
2. Planning
3. Style
4. Step-by-Step
5. Packaging
6. Visuals
7. Administering Your Talk
8. Evaluation Sheets

Chances of a white Christmas in New York 1 in 4.
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Why Develop Presentation Skills?

• Ability to create and give effective
  presentations was ranked one of the top five
  required skills in todays technical workforce
• 83 of jobs require technical skills, but 75 of
  all jobs also want at least a basic presentation
  competency
• Presentation skills will affect your professional
  future

Success is a choice.
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Interesting Presentation Facts

• Audiences
• Start with a very positive attitude and high
  expectations of value to be received
• Do not have expectations of absolute
  professionalism
• Speakers usually are best at telling their story
• People remember the stories that teach them
  lessons
• Every presentation is an opportunity to have a
  positive impact on people

"Decaf" is a four letter word in my world.
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The least important part of a presentation is?

• The audience
• Visual aids
• Current events
• Speakers clothing

"A conclusion is simply the place where you got
tired of thinking.Anonymous
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Presentation Principles

• Present only enough to persuade
• Avoid too much information
• Have one clear goal in mind
• Use tools
• Keep attention
• People do not remember a lot
• goals - memorable and keep people listening
• boredom breeds discontent
• Repeat main ideas often

It is incredibly difficult to build the
chickenand the egg at the same time.
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A Great Presentation Is

• Audience learns one to three important skills or
  tips that will help them succeed.
• Audience develops respect for the speaker.

"A witty saying proves nothing.Voltaire
(1694-1778)
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Common Speaking Fears

• Speaking in public causes death by embarrassment
• Youll be nervous forever
• Ill get nervous and forget what to say
• The audience knows more then I do
• Ill look completely dumb if I get asked a hard
  question I cant answer

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you
want to test a man'scharacter, give him power."
Abraham Lincoln
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The Plan

1. Introduction
2. Planning
3. Style
4. Step-by-Step
5. Packaging
6. Visuals
7. Administering Your Talk
8. Evaluation Sheets

"A pat on the back is only a few centimetersfrom
a kick in the butt." Dilbert's Law of Work
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Planning

• Checklists are an invaluable tool
• Organize your thoughts under stress
• Your Memory is fallible
• Only help people who use them

Androphobia - fear of men
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Starting Out

• Pick the main points
• Choose what to cover and what to leave out
• Design the visuals (with notes)
• Decide on extras
• Multiple speakers must plan how to present a
  coordinated picture and agree on question handling

Advanced BASIC 42 of 45 top oxymorons
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Preparations

• Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse
• Introductions
• Openings
• Closings
• Transitions
• Questions
• Hand-offs
• Presenting without practice just causes you to
  look less professional

Software documentation 25 of 45 top oxymorons
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On Site Preparations

• Get there early (60-90 minutes)
• Examine the room layout and decide the location
  for materials co-speakers
• Test your equipment, visuals, light controls,
  audio systems and find out if you can adjust the
  temperature
• Locate physically the bathrooms and phones
• Ask when and where any breaks will be (coffee,
  lunch, etc.)

Business ethics 29 of 45 top oxymorons
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The Plan

1. Introduction
2. Planning
3. Style
4. Step-by-Step
5. Packaging
6. Visuals
7. Administering Your Talk
8. Evaluation Sheets

Peace force 16 / 45 top oxymorons
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Style

• Style shapes the audiences perceptions of you
  and your message.
• There are three measures audiences use
• Audience perception of you matters
• bad perception make you ineffective
• rarely what matters more than who
• Common errors

"Words were given to man to enable him to conceal
histrue feelings." Voltaire
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Style Is Measured By

• Your Authority
• Attention getting
• Your Energy
• activating
• Your Awareness
• meaningful
• You will be memorable
• The question is in what way?

"Don't use a big word where a diminutiveone will
suffice." Anonymous
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Rules To Remember

• First impressions last a long time
• The audience is evaluating you continually
• They do remember
• Each encounter lets them adjust their perceptions
• Communication is an act of a listener
• You are talking to a group

Be Yourself is about the worst adviceyou can
give to people. Mark Twain
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Oh Those Pesky Butterflies

• Errors
• Starting too soon
• Pockets, at ease, crossed arms, sumo wrestler,
  praying, fig-leaf
• Fiddling with toys, jingling change
• You know, uh, like, any ways

• Corrections
• Interview a attendee
• Balanced stance, open smile, hands at your sides
• Nothing in your hands
• Stop, Think, Speak

There are more than 10 million bricks in
theEmpire State Building.
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Dealing With Verbal Habits

• Very difficult to stop saying like or you
  know or any hoo or .

• Solution
• Pick a charity
• Put jar on your desk
• Get LOTS of quarters
• Tell all your friends
• Every time they catch you SOME money goes in the
  jar (no quarters, a dollar or worse)

The Bible has been translated into Klingon.
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Hiding Behind A Podium

• Myth
• A commanding speaker uses the lectern
• Reality
• Podiums are a barrier blocking your gestures
• Step out and connect

Starfish don't have brains.
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Clothing

• Myth Your attire should match the occasion.
• Things that can cause you trouble
• Overdressing GQ or Mademoiselle
• Under-dressing Grunge
• The wrong clothes can send the entirely wrong
  message
• Technical audiences are especially sensitive to
  this

Sometimes I think I understand everything,then I
regain consciousness.
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Dress For Success

• Follow these simple guidelines
• One notch above audience
• Shoes Darker than your outfit
• Long sleeves are better
• Skirts appear shorter on-stage
• Non-distracting ties to the middle of belt
• Project a solid professional look and
  confidence will follow

Only one person in two billion will live to be
116 or older.
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Blending In

• Dont blend in

My Mother taught me TO THINK AHEAD. "If you
don't pass your spelling test, you'll never get a
good job!"
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Eye Contact

• Errors
• Staring at a Spot
• Scanning foreheads or ties
• Reading your slides
• Reading a script

• Corrections
• Speak to one person
• Eyes contact for a thought or clauseAcknowledgeM
  ove on to another audience member
• Practice, rehearse

More people are killed by donkeys annuallythan
are killed in plane crashes.
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Great Speakers have Conversations

• One on one familiar comfortable
• Comfort in answering questions
• Goal Make presentation a conversation in which
  you help each member meet their needs

Five Jell-O flavors that flopped celery,
coffee,cola, apple and chocolate.
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Body Language

• Walk in front of the projection
• Match your expression to what you are saying
• Too much motion distracts
• Move
• Forward emphasize, change, openness
• Backward end of point, end of questions
• Towards slides emphasize (dont look)
• Use hands highreinforce lownegative
• Dont forget to smile occasionally

By law, in France, no pig may be addressedas
Napoleon by its owner.
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Voice

• No one likes their voice
• Vary the pitch and inflection
• Vary the speed
• Vary volume
• Dont be afraid of silence

Butterflies taste with their feet.
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Style Summary

• Authority stance, movement, clothes, voice
• Energy movement, voice
• Awareness talking to people, respond to
  interruptions, get out from behind lectern

Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in
their hair.
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The Plan

1. Introduction
2. Planning
3. Style
4. Step-by-Step
5. Packaging
6. Visuals
7. Administering Your Talk
8. Evaluation Sheets

Over-constrained management is indistinguishablef
rom mis-management.
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Step By Step Teaching

• A major theme missing from most presentations

On a bar of Dial soap "Directions Use like
regular soap."
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Spare Time

• I dont have a lot of spare time
• Neither do most people today
• If the audience had spare time theyd probably
  figure it all out themselves
• Dont present the entire topic
• Present just how to solve a problem

On a cigarette lighter label Do not light the
flame near the face.
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Three Steps

• Dont skip the first
• Make sure they buy the problem
• Teach them a step by step solution
• Show them a little theory (optional)

On a fence "Salesmen welcome. Dog food is
expensive."
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The Plan

1. Introduction
2. Planning
3. Style
4. Step-by-Step
5. Packaging
6. Visuals
7. Administering Your Talk
8. Evaluation Sheets

Polar bears are left handed.
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Packaging

• Introductions
• Openings
• The most common error
• Signposts
• Stories
• Humor
• Keep things fresh

Pound for pound, hamburgers cost more than new
cars.
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Introductions

• Short
• Relevant content
• Related respect

Reno, Nevada is west of Los Angeles, California.
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Opening

• Dangerous opportunity
• But good
• I know who you are
• I will not waste your time
• Relate directly to the audience
• Start a conversation experience
• Relate a short story about topic

Some lions mate over 50 times a day.
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Light Switch

• Seven to ten seconds of attention is all you get
• So what?
• Mentally gone
• Coffee break is close

Lack of water, the 1 trigger of daytime fatigue.
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The Most Common Error

• Starting into the core of your talk before the
  audience agrees there is a reason for the talk

Just when I was getting used to yesterday, along
came today.
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Signposts

• Lists
• Transitions
• Summary of important points
• Maps
• In Conclusion

February 1865 is the only month in
recordedhistory not to have a full moon.
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Stories

• The most important tool you can use
• Nothing more powerful
• Demonstrate why a problem matters
• Counter objections
• Change decision criteria

A mere 2 drop in body water can trigger fuzzy
short-termmemory, trouble with basic math, and
difficultyfocusing on the computer screen or on
a printed page.
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Humor

• Only use relevant jokes
• Keep the humor believable
• Make sure the joke is acceptable in all audiences
• If embarrassing make it self directed

A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.
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Keep Things Fresh

• Pay attention to local and national news
• Include some up to the minute content
• When giving the same presentation over refresh
  the content
• Knowing current events will help you avoid topics
  that might be in poor tact
• A small bit of timely news or interesting item
  will build a rapport with audience and show
  preparedness

On most brands of Christmas lights"For indoor
or outdoor use only."
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Packaging Summary

• Stories work well
• Introductions someone else short
• Openings practice, plan
• The most common error make sure there is a
  problem before presenting a solution

On Maternity Room door "Push, Push, Push."
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The Plan

1. Introduction
2. Planning
3. Style
4. Step-by-Step
5. Packaging
6. Visuals
7. Administering Your Talk
8. Evaluation Sheets

On average, 100 people choke to deathon
ballpoint pens every year.
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Visuals

• Using Visuals
• What You Expected
• Why Do Visuals Work
• What You Didnt Expect
• Good Visuals
• Spare The Eye Candy

On a Japanese food processor"Not to be used for
the other use."
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Using Visuals

• Wharton Study, expanded at University of Minnesota

Who Did The Best?
In Favor
Against
With Visuals
No Visuals
With Visuals
No Visuals
Good Visuals
Bad Visuals
Good Visuals
Bad Visuals
Two-thirds of the world's eggplant is grown in
New Jersey.
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What You Expected

• Visuals made a difference
• Second place is better

"Few problems can resist an all out
attack.Edwin Bliss
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Why Do Visuals Work

• Two reasons
• They alter the audiences perception
• New perception alters decision
• Speakers with visuals appear
• More professional
• Better prepared
• More persuasive
• More Credible
• More Interesting
• More Authoritative

"There cannot be a crisis today my schedule is
already full.Anonymous
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What You Didnt Expect

• The impact of poor visual aids

Who Got Them To Spend More Money?
Visuals
None
Bad
Good
None
Bad
Good
Success
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99
99
100
90
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"If it wasn't for the last minute, nothing
wouldget done." Dilbert's Law of Work
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Good Visuals

• Fonts - one, thick, san-serif
• Sans Serif Font (Arial Helvetica)
• Serif Font (Times Times New Roman)
• Less then 7 lines, Few Words / Line
• Large - Big fonts 36 to 18 pt
• High Contrast Colors Use carefully

"When you don't know what to do, walk fastand
look worried." Dilbert's Law of Work
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First Show - Then Tell

• Titles
• Page / Slide Numbers
• Keep it simple
• Consistency
• Sign painters law if it doesnt fit then its
  too much
• Information / Ink ratio as large as possible

Did you know you share your birthday with at
least9 million other people in the world?
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Spare The Eye Candy

• Just say no to extensive use of animation
• Avoid sound effects
• Don't use standard templates
• Brief slides
• Graphics that support message
• Cautious of certain color combinations (red and
  green together)
• Colors to support your message

Did you know that there are coffee-flavored PEZ?
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Summary On Visuals

• Use them in every presentation
• Make them easy to read
• Make sure the graphics and charts make the point
  you want

Pez was invented in 1927 in Vienna, Austria by
Edward Haas III.
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The Plan

1. Introduction
2. Planning
3. Style
4. Step-by-Step
5. Packaging
6. Visuals
7. Administering Your Talk
8. Evaluation Sheets

The first fruit Pez flavors where cherry,lemon,
orange and strawberry.
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Administering Your Talk

• When to start
• Handling visuals
• Breaks
• Changing Speakers
• Handling interruptions and problems
• Evoking questions

The word "Pez" comes from the German word
forpeppermint, which is phefferminz.
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When to start

• On time
• Ask for delays
• Do as audience requests

The world's termites outweigh theworld's humans
10 to 1.
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Handling visuals

• Do not adjust unless falling
• Be sure the projection is on the screen
• Do not use a pointer
• Stand next to the screen
• Walk in front of the projection occasionally

There are more chickens thanpeople in the world.
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Breaks

• Have some
• At least one every 90 minutes

When Heinz ketchup leaves the bottle, it
travelsat a rate of 25 miles per year.
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Changing Speakers

• Practice, rehearse
• Make sure it makes sense

Women blink nearly twice as much as men.
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Handling Questions

• Moment to shine
• Questions belong to the whole audience
• Maintain your authority
• Show you care
• Repeat the question

"Ever stop to think and forget to start
again?Anonymous
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Really Tough Questions

• They cannot hurt you, but you can hurt yourself
• Stop, take a step back
• Look elsewhere
• Restate the question (positively)
• Answer the restated question
• Ask for the next question

"Television has raised writing to a new
low.Samuel Goldwyn
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Monopolizing Questioners

• Answer at least one question
• Ask if it is OK to take questions from others

"When dog food is new and improved tasting, who
tests it?Anonymous
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The Exception

• Your boss
• The owner of the company
• Well known wizards
• A major client
• You can think of others

"Why didn't Noah swat those two
mosquitoes?Anonymous
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A Speech Question

• Audience wants you to take control
• Interrupt
• Say I dont understand the question.
• Keep interrupting
• Dont attack

"Why do you need a driver's license to buy
liquorwhen you can't drink and drive?" Anonymous
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Irrelevant Questions

• Answer VERY briefly if possible
• Ask the person to come see you after the talk

"Why are there Interstates in Hawaii?Anonymous
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The Really Easy Questions

• Take your time
• Give them choices
• Give them the right answer

"How does the guy who drives the snowplow get to
work?Anonymous
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The Ones You Dont Know

• Do not say Ill get back to you
• Take out paper, ask for the persons name, number
  and email address
• Write down the question, repeating what you wrote
• Pass the paper around to let others sign up to
  the list to get the answer
• Before you let people leave ask where these
  papers are
• Find the answer and send it as soon as possible

"Every morning is the dawn of a new
error.Anonymous
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Question Handling Summary

• Audience wants you to succeed
• Dont cede power to a monopolizer
• Opportunity to show you care
• Opportunity to restate your main points

"A day without laughter is a day wasted.Charlie
Chaplin
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In the End

• Have Fun
• Be Nervous
• Use technology properly
• Low tech verses high tech
• Be kind to presenters - it could be you!

"Installing Exchange 2000 is just about as
hardas firing a rocket launcher into your data
center,just point and click." Chuck Yerkes
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Quotes

• All the quotes came from my personal collection
  gathered from lots of sources.
• Some places to find more quotes are
• Witty Wisdom Quotes
• http//www.iol.ie/taeger/wisdomqu/wisdomq1.html
• Online Quotes
• http//www.idynamics.com/quotes/
• Witty Quotes
• http//www.angelfire.com/ma/hubpoet/pquote.html
• Witty, Thought-Provoking, and Humorous
• http//www.tk421.net/essays/wit.shtml
• Funny Facts
• http//www.jokersweb.com/

"Power corrupts, absolute power is kind of
neat.John Lehman
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Bibliography

• What computer skills do employers expect from
  recent college graduates? P. Davis 1997,
  September T.H.E., Technological Horizons in
  Education.
• Workplace competencies Trends in advertised
  entry-level technology, interpersonal, and basic
  communication job skills, 1992-1995 A.B. North
  and W.E. Worth Spring 1997 Office Systems
  Research Journal, vol. 15.
• What work requires of schools, Washington,
  DC. U.S. Department of Labor 1992 Secretary's
  Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS).
• The Modern Presenters Handbook Jim Macnamara
  1999 http//www.masscom.com.au/archipelago/ebook/
  modern.html.
• How to give a talk Bruce Randall Donald
  Department of Computer Science Dartmouth College
  http//www.cs.dartmouth.edu/brd/Teaching/Giving-a
  -talk/giving-a-talk.html.
• Some Lecturing Heuristics Patrick H. Winston
  Department of Computer Science Dartmouth College
  http//www.cs.dartmouth.edu/brd/Teaching/Giving-a
  -talk/phw.html.

"A little inaccuracy sometimes saves a ton of
explanation.H. H. Munro (Saki) (1870-1916)
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In Conclusion

• It's impossible to sneeze withyour eyes open.