| As a military officer I've learned quite a bit about | | | | crossed over your chest sends a signal that |
| using PowerPoint and learned the hard way | | | | you don't want to be there and frequent |
| how to brief complex information in a short amount | | | | hand/arm gestures can distract from your |
| of time. I'd like to share my experiences | | | | presentation. |
| with you so that your next presentation will be a | | | | - How do you give the information? Don't be the |
| surefire success. First, in my opinion, success | | | | presenter that reads the slide verbatim to |
| begins with your slide show and its set up. This is one | | | | the audience. If you've done your homework you |
| case where less is more. PowerPoint is a | | | | should have set up your presentation so |
| powerful piece of software with a ton of good | | | | that as the audience reads your slides, your narration |
| features that have their place, however, | | | | amplifies what's on the screen or provides |
| fancy transitions, embedded sounds, and odd | | | | clarification for complex slides. Nothing |
| colors can cloud a presentation and distract | | | | frustrates an audience more than having a slide read |
| from you objective - getting your point | | | | to them. |
| across. So, with that being said, I offer the | | | | - Make eye contact and keep the audience involved. |
| following suggestions: | | | | You've come to tell them something or sell |
| - Use a slide master - found under View - Master - | | | | them something, etc...so to that end, the more you |
| Slide Master. If you set this up right you can | | | | involve them and make it clear why you're |
| eliminate a lot of formatting later. | | | | there; then your point is more likely to sink |
| - Follow the KISS (Keep it Simple, Stupid) Principle. | | | | in. |
| Eliminate the flowery background and the | | | | - Utilize concrete examples in your presentation and |
| fancy fonts - a simple black and white slide that | | | | be able to articulate where you got your |
| outlines your points in quick succession will | | | | information from. While some presentations can |
| go much further than a pretty slide lacking | | | | make use of emotions, I submit that |
| content. Also these stripped down | | | | empirical data goes further than raw emotion 9 times |
| presentations will be smaller and load quicker, | | | | out of 10.In summation, I think GEN |
| reducing wait times when you're briefing away from | | | | Colon Powell said it best in his book, MY AMERICAN |
| your personal computer. | | | | JOURNEY, when briefing - tell them what |
| - Show the "Bottom Line Up Front" that is, from the | | | | you're going to tell them, tell them, and then |
| beginning, let your audience know what your | | | | tell them what you said. It's a good |
| point is and reinforce it along the way. | | | | construct to follow. Have an agenda slide, give the |
| Second, how you give the presentation tells | | | | presentation, and then recap for your |
| a lot about your comfort with the information | | | | audience. Utilize the opportunity to engage your |
| and your preparation. Remember you're the | | | | audience and never ever read slides to your |
| one giving the presentation, and therefore | | | | audience. Not everyone has an instant |
| you're in control of the information flowing | | | | affinity for public speaking and working with |
| and you can lead the audience where you | | | | PowerPoint. However, with some practice |
| want them to go. I offer the following | | | | and keeping a few simple tips in mind, you can |
| suggestions: | | | | greatly improve your public speaking ability |
| - Watch your body language - what are you doing | | | | by adding PowerPoint slides.I live in South |
| with your hands and arms? Are your arms | | | | Florida and have a passion for Swiss watches and run |
| crossed over your chest or do you frequently | | | | an on-line watch store ( in addition to my military |
| gesture with your hands? Neither is 100% | | | | career. |
| right or wrong but I submit that keeping your arms | | | | |