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