ENGL 100

The Basics of Business Presentation

If you attend the various speaker training sessions and business presentation seminars, you will
frequently encounter pearls of wisdom that seem to have become the gospel. The one that
immediately comes to mind is the repetition rule: tell the audience what you are going to say, then
say it, and then tell them what you told them.

Although the intention is good, the repetition rule if not executed with skill and sensitivity to the
audience will bludgeon them in a stupor, which can't be good for your message.

A better rule is this: practice good salesmanship in the best sense of the word. Almost every business
presentation is a sales pitch, usually more informative than hard sell but a sales pitch nonetheless
promoting an idea, proposition, position, organization, or product. As a result, I try to build
presentations around a handful of key elements adopted from best salesmanship practices. These
include:

Focus—clearly define the problem or issue that is at the heart of the presentation so everyone
understands what this presentation is about
Audience—keep the audience's needs, interests, concerns, and attention foremost Importance—
establish the importance or urgency of the issue so the audience knows why they should care
Authority—establish your credibility on the topic
Validation—cite third-party studies, research, data, and references that reinforce your message
Experience—cite real life examples, case studies, and testimonials that illustrate your message
Interaction—find opportunities to directly engage the audience in the presentation
Graphics—include charts, images, diagrams, media to amplify and clarify your message points
Response—direct the audience members on what they can or should do next in regard to the
subject of the presentation

Any given presentation will include some if not all of these elements. You arrange them in a
compelling narrative that engages the audience and communicates your message.

EYES GLAZED OVER: AVOIDING AUDIENCE BOREDOM

The use of business presentations is so pervasive and the number of poorly conceived and executed
presentations is so great that audience fatigue—eyes glazed over—is a real concern. This fatigue
factor must be one of the issues driving the use of increasingly spiffy graphics and animation, but
even that solution has its limitations. It doesn't take long for the graphical pyrotechnics to overwhelm
the business message and undermine any hope for effective communication.

The fatigue factor results in part from rigid, unimaginative adherence to the repetition rule. However,
this needn't be the case. Here are some of the tricks I prefer to spice up a presentation:

Engage the audience right away—ask provocative questions, take a poll, play a game, anything
to actively involve the audience. (One manager starts his technology presentations by
leading the audience in a brief yoga exercise.)

Invite questions throughout the presentation—don't wait for questions at the end. Insert a
demonstration—where the topic allows, try some hands-on activity.

Use anecdotes and humor—there is no rule that presentations, no matter how serious, have to be
utterly dry. Personal anecdotes and natural humor keep the audience engaged.
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 Dramatize the issue—rather than talk about the issue use role-playing to actually dramatize it. You
can even draft audience members to play some of the roles.

Look beyond a talking head—take the time allotted to the presentation to run a panel discussion
or stage a skit. (One executive of a major telecommunications company based his keynote
address on the late-night TV talk show format with himself in the Jay Leno/Dave Letterman
role, all cleverly scripted of course.)

Obviously not every topic, situation, or message lends itself to these approaches, but wherever you
can break with usual presentation, within reason, you are better off. Your message will stand out, and
your audience will appreciate the change.

CONSTRUCTING THE ACTUAL PRESENTATION

Start the development of the actual presentation content with the outline. As noted above, the
outline translates very neatly into screens and bullets. The only things you need to add are some
charts and graphics to illustrate key points and your speaker's notes (the speaker's text) to keep you
on the message. However, you do have some important decisions to make at this point.

One decision revolves around your approach to screen headers, subheads, and bullets. [It is also
believed that] headers, subheads, and bullets should be brief, bordering on cryptic, and relies on the
presenter to fill in the details. This works very well as long as a capable presenter always
accompanies the presentation. But very often business presentations have a life that goes beyond
the actual presentation. (I encourage my clients to plan and prepare for this extended life.) They
may be used as a leave-behind or may make their ways into the hands of customers, prospects,
reporters, government regulators, or anyone else. A presentation consisting of cryptic headers and
bullets will not communicate effectively without the presenter.

MODEL PRESENTATION OUTLINE

The following is an outline template for a general presentation such as would be given at a
professional or industry conference.

I've suggested further areas to improvise within brackets [ ].

I. Introduction
A. What this presentation is about
B. Why it's important
C. Presentation agenda
1. What you are going to tell them
2. What they will get out of it
3. Your credentials for talking about this [engage the audience, pose a provocative question]

II. Background
A. Review the issue
B. Why we are talking about this now
Note: Introduce references, citations for validation, substantiation
Reference appropriate research

III. Main Point

A. Introduce your main point.
B. Add supporting material to back up your point
C. Introduce subsequent points in order of importance

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 D. Relate the discussion to your main point and primary message
E. Add appropriate supporting material for each point

V. Conclusion
A. Summarize your main message and key points [pose a provocative question, invite discussion]
B. Take any remaining questions
C. Direct audience members on their next move
D. Thank the audience

Note: Obviously, the specific topic, material, and situation will dictate the content and flow of the
presentation.

DELIVERING THE PRESENTATION

—Test the setup in advance

—Keep it short.
—Keep it moving
—Involve the audience
—Speak to the audience
—Make eye contact
—Smile occasionally
—Ask for questions
—Thank the audience

SIMPLE RULES FOR BETTER POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS

Have you ever given a PowerPoint presentation and noticed that something about it just seemed a
little … off? If you’re unfamiliar with basic PowerPoint design principles, it can be difficult to create a
slide show that presents your information in the best light. Poorly designed presentations can leave an
audience feeling confused, bored, and even irritated. Review these tips on making your next
presentation more engaging.

Don't read your presentation straight from the slides

If your audience can both read and hear, it’s a waste of time for you to simply read your slides aloud.
Your audience will zone out and stop listening to what you’re saying, which means they won’t hear
any extra information you include. Instead of typing out your entire presentation, include only main
ideas, keywords, and talking points in your slide show text. Engage your audience by sharing the
details out loud.

Follow the 5/5/5 rule

To keep your audience from feeling overwhelmed, you should keep the text on each slide short and
to the point. Some experts suggest using the 5/5/5 rule: no more than five words per line of
text, five lines of text per slide, or five text-heavy slides in a row.

Don't forget your audience

Who will be watching your presentation? The same goofy effects and funny clip art that would
entertain a classroom full of middle-school students might make you look unprofessional in front of
business colleagues and clients. Humor can lighten up a presentation, but if you use it inappropriately
your audience might think you don’t know what you’re doing. Know your audience, and tailor your
presentation to their tastes and expectations.

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Choose readable colors and fonts
Your text should be easy to read and pleasant to look at. Large, simple fonts and theme colors are
always your best bet. The best fonts and colors can vary depending on your presentation setting.
Presenting in a large room? Make your text larger than usual so people in the back can read it.
Presenting with the lights on? Dark text on a light background is your best bet for visibility.

Don't overload your presentation with animations

As anyone who’s sat through a presentation while every letter of every paragraph zoomed across
the screen can tell you, being inundated with complicated animations and exciting slide transitions
can become irritating. Before including effects like this in your presentation, ask yourself: Would this
moment in the presentation be equally strong without an added effect? Does it unnecessarily delay
information? If the answer to either question is yes—or even maybe—leave out the effect.

Use animations sparingly to enhance your presentation

Don’t take the last tip to mean you should avoid animations and other effects entirely. When used
sparingly, subtle effects and animations can add to your presentation. For example, having bullet
points appear as you address them rather than before can help keep your audience’s attention.