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Posts Tagged With: "PowerPoints"

Are you in the weeds?

Ben DeckerPosted by Ben Decker   |   November 5th, 2009   |   1 Comment   |  Tweet This

weeds4We’ve all been there – caught up in the shrinking world of tunnel vision.  But when communicating with others, being in the weeds can lose your audience.

Last week I coached two executives, neither of whom had used video feedback before.  In both of these sessions, we addressed the need to “get out of the weeds.”  Most often, when we’re in the weeds, we don’t realize it.  Having an outside perspective (such as coaching and video feedback) is important for this very reason.  When we are passionate and invested in a message, it’s our natural tendency to share as much as we can in as much detail as we can.  The material is so important, so brilliant and so valuable that we inadvertently create information overload in our fervor.

When you present your communications experience, are you in the weeds?  Consider these indicators:

  • The verbal content of your message is cluttered with verbosity, technical jargon, industry lingo, and too much detail.
  • The visuals presented are overkill (too many slides, too much text, little or no graphics).
  • Your presentation lacks stories, anecdotes, and humor.
  • Your intensity for the material blinds you from the need to connect with and engage your audience.

The answer?  Focus on two things and two things only.

  1. Your point of view:  What is the core message you want to convey?
  2. Your audience:  What’s in it for them?  What are they looking for in your message?  How can you focus on the aspects of your message that they’ll care about?

Simplify your material.  Divorce the details that excite you but alienate your listeners.  Become a master of exclusion and a facilitator of a memorable message.  Take “you” out of the message.  Focus on your listeners, learn them and create an experience that leaves an impact on them.

Want to connect your message with your audience?  Get out your weed whacker!

Photo credit: gracieshoots


Categories: Communication Skills, PowerPoint Abuse - Avoid It, SHARPs and Stories, Speakers, Video - Use It
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SlideShare – World’s Best Slideshows

Bert DeckerPosted by Bert Decker   |   September 2nd, 2008   |   Leave a Comment   |  Tweet This

SlideShare has announced the winners of the World’s Best Presentation Contest.

#1 was

THIRST
View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: design crisis)
And very well deserved. Creative, with powerful advocacy. You will never know how little you knew about water…

Judges were Guy Kawasaki, Garr Reynolds, Nancy Duarte and myself. Very interesting contest with many great designs – more on that later.

See them all here.






PowerPoints Are NOT Your Presentation

Bert DeckerPosted by Bert Decker   |   July 29th, 2007   |   16 Comments   |  Tweet This

Many major conferences ask their speakers to send in their PowerPoints in advance. Why? They are NOT their presentation! (This just happened to me, and I did it because the client IS the client.)

Unfortunately in 95% of the cases for most speakers in business today their PowerPoints (PP’s, which could also be Keynote’s for MAC folks) are the centerpiece of their message. They create their content around their PP’s, rather than figuring out what they want to say, and then using PP’s, (and videos, and exercises, and SHARP’s, etc.) to SUPPORT their presentation.

When it comes to persuasive impact in our communications, it is not through technology, but only with it. YOU are always the centerpiece of your presentation, and no graphically dazzling slide should ever replace you.

With all the advances in technology, we must continuously emphasize the critical importance of human confidence in the delivery as well as in the tools of delivery – the primary tool being yourself. With greater "high tech" we need a corresponding increase in "high touch." Otherwise, advanced technology will just make our mistakes stand out even more. Jobs_black_slide

That’s exactly why Steve Jobs presentations are so powerful. (He led our Top Ten Communicators of 2005 list, even before the famous iPhone announcement.) While he uses elegantly simple slides and perfectly timed and executed demos, he remains the center of the presentation. Often, he will completely clear the screen (using a black slide – that’s the way to do it) to keep the audience’s attention on his energy, on his enthusiasm, and on his words. Not the PowerPoint’s. (Or Keynote’s in this case.)

Remembering that you are the presentation, develop visuals that enhance your point of view. After all, visuals are important:

  • 55% of believability comes through the visual
  • A 500% average increase in retention occurs when visuals are used in a presentation
  • 83% of what we know is learned by seeing and observing

For your own personal and visual impact, see yourself on video. And when you get to support, for great tips on presentation design, check out Garr Reynold’s blog Presentation Zen.

Always keep in mind that you are your most important visual aid. Train yourself first so that you have a confidence that never quits in the face of new technology.






World’s Best Presentation Contest Winners

Bert DeckerPosted by Bert Decker   |   May 8th, 2007   |   1 Comment   |  Tweet This

Contest_logosmall Slideshare has just announced the winners of the first World’s Best Presentation Contest. OK, these are not really presentations, because they do not have the critical human element – but they are standalone PowerPoint decks – and useful to see what the best are doing.

What was exciting was that these were not just pedantic slide shows, but were visual and arresting. If only one of the entries had a "black slide" or an explanation of what went along with the visual support – they would have had me applauding! Most of us are still missing the point in what makes an arresting presentation -  it’s not the PowerPoint but the People.

We judged them on design, impact and message (or at least I did.) Guy Kawasaki, Garr Reynolds and Jerry Weisman were the other judges – and I think we pretty much agreed on the best of over 400 entries.

What I was delighted in was the originality and visual quality of almost all of the entries. And next I hope we can figure out a way to have videos of the actual presentations – then we will have a "Presentation Contest" worthy of the name. But this is a great start.

Winners (chosen by judges)

  1. ShiftHappens by Jbrenman

  2. Meet Henry by Chereemoore
  3. Sustainable Food Lab by Chrislandry

People’s Choice Winners

  1. PaniPuri–An Introduction by Thakkar

  2. ShiftHappens by Jbrenman
  3. Meet Henry by Chereeemoore