How to Give Effective Presentations

How to Give Effective Presentations Bruce Archambeault IEEE Fellow, IBM Distinguished Engineer barch@us.ibm.com

Why Should You Care? Promotion If you want to get ahead you have to sell your ideas If you want to get ahead you have to be able to explain to managers why *they* care about *your* results Personal satisfaction See your ideas and recommendations implemented Bruce Archambeault, PhD 2

Overview of this Presentation Delivery skills Presentation material Control the environment Handling anxiety Content Bruce Archambeault, PhD 3

Delivery skills Extremely important! Verbal Body language Bruce Archambeault, PhD 4

Verbal DO NOT READ YOUR SLIDES Number ONE problem Assume your audience can read! Use the slides to guide what you say Say it in your own words Bruce Archambeault, PhD 5

Verbal Vary loudness Do not talk in mono-tone Get excited about your material Vary talking speed Not too fast, Few people know your material like you do Not too slow Bruce Archambeault, PhD 6

Verbal Avoid using $10 words Explain them if you must use them Simple concepts and examples Stay on schedule Avoid getting side tracked Bruce Archambeault, PhD 7

Verbal - Other important Things Avoid ah & um Ask your practice audience to count the number of times you use these Avoid jargon and acronyms Avoid tech-speak Cultural considerations? Don t t Mumble -- Project to back of room Bruce Archambeault, PhD 8

Body Language YOU must keep people awake! Move around Wave your hands Gesture Be excited about your material! Bruce Archambeault, PhD 9

Body Language Look at the audience Make eye contact for a moment, then move to another person Do not look at your slides for more than one second Never show the audience your back Just glance at your slides to make sure you covered all the points you feel important Bruce Archambeault, PhD 10

Body Language Never use laser pointer to show each word in turn Follow the bouncing ball sing-a-long Avoid nervous movement Avoid pacing back and forth Avoid Hands on hips Crossed arms Hands in pockets Bruce Archambeault, PhD 11

Presentation Material Slides Animations Projector Visual aids Bruce Archambeault, PhD 12

Presentation Material - Slides Too much material turns off audience Density should be 50/50 white/black Font large enough to read from back of room Keep the background simple Not too cute Not too complex Use key words and phrases Not sentences Intended to help you remember what you want to say and to allow audience to see key points Bruce Archambeault, PhD 13

Too Much Material!  <emsattree name="link Path Analyzer" version="1.10"> <ruletype name="general Settings"> <param label="description of General Settings" type="bold_label"></param> bel"></param> <rule id="0" shortname="initial Settings"> <paramgroup col="0" height="1" row="0" width="1">  <param label="number of Channels" name="numchannel numchannel" " type="integer" view="always"> <description></description> <value>3</value> </param param> <param label="all Channels" name="all_channels all_channels" " type="boolean boolean" " view="always"> <description></description> <value type="default">single Ended</value> <value type="">differential</value> </param param> <param label="channel 1" name="channel1" type="boolean boolean" " view="always"> <description></description> <value type="default">single Ended</value> <value type="">differential</value> </param param> <param label="channel 2" name="channel2" type="boolean boolean" " view="always"> <description></description> <value type="default">single Ended</value> <value type="">differential</value> </param param> <param label="channel 3" name="channel3" type="boolean <description></description> <value type="default">single Ended</value> Bruce boolean" Archambeault, " view="always"> PhD 14

Avoid too Complex Start a=b c=b c=b c=>b D<>b d=a a=>b c=<a Bruce Archambeault, PhD 15

Presentation Material - Slides Number slides for easy reference Don t t use laser pointer to follow the bouncing ball.. Use slide animation sparsely Keep it simple Bruce Archambeault, PhD 16

Presentation Material - Slides Avoid complex & lengthy animation Distracts the audience from your message Wastes time Bruce Archambeault, PhD 17

Presentation Material - Slides Emphasis for important points Color Font size Bold, underline, italics Reduces boredom Bruce Archambeault, PhD 18

Presentation Material - Slides Use occasional cartoon to help make a point Avoid too much or too cute Ground is a place where potatoes and carrots thrive! Bruce Archambeault, PhD 19

Presentation Material - Slides Use humor When appropriate to the subject matter You are not a stand-up comic Respect audience Keep it clean and politically correct Bruce Archambeault, PhD 20

Presentation Material - Projector Test connection before the start Murphy s s law works well! Avoid extreme video resolution on slides Many LCD projectors have lower resolution Important things could be missing Sometimes colors do not project the same as on the computer screen Test in advance Bruce Archambeault, PhD 21

Presentation Material Visual Aids Use caution before passing around stuff Distracting to audience as they examine it Distracting as it moves from person to person Use white boards or paper on tripod Help explain answers to questions Bruce Archambeault, PhD 22

Control the Environment Room arrangement Pre-check audio and visual equipment Greet/Meet audience Bruce Archambeault, PhD 23

Handling Anxiety Before Presentation Everyone is nervous (especially at first) Nervous is good Techniques Practice by yourself Practice in front of others Practice in front of video recording Deep breathing Mental Preparation Bruce Archambeault, PhD 24

Handling Anxiety During Presentation All the world s s a stage.. Look at forehead rather than eyes Do not look at people sleeping Remember -- they came to listen to you Bruce Archambeault, PhD 25

Handling Anxiety Stress Symptoms Dry mouth Avoid coffee Drink tea with honey Drink lot s s of water Nervous, clammy hands Talcum powder Shake out hands loosely before presentation Bruce Archambeault, PhD 26

Content Content -- Content What is the main point? Bruce Archambeault, PhD 27

Content What is the main point? Who cares? Why is this important to audience? Introduction Not too detailed Summary One page maximum Bruce Archambeault, PhD 28

Content Number of slides? Don t t use more than you have time for Practice to see how long for each slide Leave extra time for over run A few minutes Questions during presentation can derail you Bruce Archambeault, PhD 29

Questions from Audience Repeat the question Makes sure you understand the question Makes sure all others hear the question Answer clearly and simply If you do not know SAY SO Winging it will lose credibility Offer to get back to person if appropriate Avoid complex drawn out responses Offer to take off-line Bruce Archambeault, PhD 30

Teleconferences A Special Challenge Body language & eye contact missing Voice and slides only Time zones Often other side of the world Electronics often fail! Send slides to all participants in advance Test web connection in advance Bruce Archambeault, PhD 31

Teleconferences A Special Challenge Give slide number when changing Identify who is attending if possible Remind everyone to use mute Stand up while presenting Even if alone More personal energy Don t t move around Bruce Archambeault, PhD 32

Summary Most important things to remember Don t t read slides look at audience Be clear what you message is Spell check Practice presentation Keep slides simple (50/50 rule) Self confidence -- know your material Bruce Archambeault, PhD 33