How to Write an Effective Presentation

How to Write an Effective Presentation

(And Avoid Killing your Audience with Bullet Points)

By Tammy Eppens

Introduction

The human brain starts working the moment you are born and never stops until you stand up to speak in public. ~~George Jessel

Why is it that fear of public speaking ranks right up there with death and flying on the list of common phobias? After all, we are all born with a deep-seated desire to communicate. Isn’t a presentation just another means of communication? What is it about standing in front of an audience, large or small, that paralyzes every speaker on some level?

Harken back to first grade. Think about show and tell. It was the best part of the week. You got to bring in your favorite doll, a truck, a bird’s nest. Maybe you showed a ball, or a book, or a bumblebee.

You stood in front of your class and you talked about your treasure. The words came naturally. You weren’t afraid because you A) knew your subject, B) cared about your subject, and C) told a story. Sometimes you even made your friends laugh and you laughed with them.

Now think about speech class in junior high school. It’s a different feeling, isn’t it? You lost sleep the night before. You dreaded going to class. You were terrified you would stumble over your words. You were absolutely, positively convinced you would embarrass yourself beyond repair.

Then your worst nightmare came true. The teacher stood against the wall with a tin coffee can and a quarter. You began your speech just as you had eloquently rehearsed it a hundred times the night before. But now, every time you say, “Um,” or “You know,” or stutter or stammer in some way, that quarter gets flung into the coffee can and you about jump out of your well-pressed dress pants.

Who can blame you for hating the very thought of giving a presentation?

Fast forward to your professional life. You have a myriad of electronic gizmos and gadgets at your disposal. You can fill fifty PowerPoint slides with data, clip art, and copy. You may still be terrified, but darn it, you will be heard. You have information to relay and will not stop until the final slide has slithered on to the screen.

Pat yourself on the back. You have just killed your audience with bullet points.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can write an effective presentation without leaving victims in your wake. It starts with going back to how you felt in first grade show and tell.

Begin With the End in Mind

It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech. ~~Mark Twain

The first thing you need to ask yourself is, “What is the purpose of my presentation and what do I want the outcome to be?” Purpose is about you, what you want to accomplish; outcome is about your audience, what you want your audience to do with your information.

You should be able to answer those questions in a paragraph or two. If you can’t, start over.

Remember, you are taking your audience on a journey. You can’t get to your destination without a map.

Follow these directions, and you will get to where you want to go:

1) Know your audience.

2) Brainstorm ideas.

3) Write an outline.

4) Write a script.

5) Edit.

6) Edit.

7) Edit.

8) Rehearse.

9) Develop your slides.

10) Present.

Did you see that? The media development comes after you have written your presentation. PowerPoint (or Keynote or Prezi) isn’t the star of the show. It’s best actor in a supporting role. Never start with media. It will lead you down the wrong path.

In his article Presentation Zen: How to Design and Deliver Presentations Like a Pro, Garr Reynolds says “…the slides are supposed to support/supplement the narration of the speaker, not make the speaker superfluous.” He goes on to say he has often been asked for his PowerPoint slides by colleagues who have missed one of his presentations. His response: “If they are good slides, they may be of little use.”

Which leads to the next point.

Words Matter

Let thy speech be better than silence, or be silent.
~~Dionysius Of Halicarnassus

Your presentation is a necklace of words. Often times the most beautiful necklace is the most simple. Choose your words judiciously.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke directly to the American people in what is commonly known as his Infamy Speech. It was a terse six-and-a-half minutes long.

But what if he had kept the original draft? “Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a day which will live in world history…” doesn’t have the same impact (ah, yes, FDR’s famous World History Speech).

At the last minute, he crossed out world history and inserted infamy. And now the speech lives in, well, infamy.

The right words are important. Peggy Noonan, author and presidential speechwriter, says in her book What I Saw at the Revolution, “A speech is poetry: cadence, rhythm, imagery, sweep! A speech reminds us that words, like children, have the power to make dance the dullest beanbag of a heart.”

She writes in Simply Speaking, “Never strain for a long or demanding word if it does not present itself naturally. If a plain word presents itself first, take that.”

Here are some tips for choosing the right words:

1) Don’t use a big word just to use a big word. You’ll stumble over it if it’s not already part of your vocabulary.

2) Don’t use jargon or slang (unless it’s appropriate for your audience).

3) Don’t speak in acronyms. If you must, explain them.

4) Speak in active voice.

5) Use short sentences.

6) Cut out all the unnecessary adjectives and adverbs.

7) Subscribe to a word of the day website like www.dictionary.com

8) Use analogies appropriate for your audience; look beyond football and basketball.

9) Say it out loud. If the word doesn’t sound right, find another one.

10) Use alliteration to link your points.

Now that you’ve got a map and the right words, don’t fizzle like a dud bottle rocket on your entrance. Read on.

Grab Their Attention

You had me at hello.

~~Dorothy to Jerry Maguire in the movie of the same name

“You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” As trite as the old saying is, it’s true.

Some research says we humans make a decision about another person in 60 seconds; other research says it’s more like two or three. Not to put the pressure on, but Princeton psychologists Janine Willis and Alexander Todorov have found “that all it takes is a tenth of a second to form an impression of a stranger from their face.”

Yikes!

What that means is, you need to discard the old “tell them what you’re gonna tell them; tell them; tell them what you told them” rule. Opening with “Today I’m going to talk about XYZ” won’t cut it.

In his article 10 Tips for More Effective PowerPoint Presentations, Dustin Wax says, “Like the best writing, the best presentations shake their audiences early and then reel them in. Open with something surprising or intriguing, something that will get your audience to sit up and take notice.”

Inspirational speaker and trainer Lacy Matthews, opens her presentations in the middle of a story. She says, “I make them want to keep listening.” You can’t do that if you have to spend the first two minutes of your presentation introducing yourself and outlining your credentials.

So how do you open with a bang instead of a fizzle? Try one of these:

1) Ask a question. Provoke thought.

2) Use humor, but use it well. Don’t tell a joke if you can’t deliver it. Instead, share a cartoon that speaks for itself.

3) Share a quote. www.brainyquote.com www.thinkexist.com or www.quotegarden.com are all great resources. Better yet, keep a file of great quotes from your own reading; it will be more meaningful.

4) Give your audience a shocking statistic.

5) Show something unusual--a unique image or a visual aid that seems out of place with your presentation.

6) Engage the audience. Have them do something unexpected.

7) Tell a story.

8) Get your audience moving.

9) Don’t introduce yourself. Let someone else introduce you.

10) In the words of Julia Child, “NEVER apologize!” (Well, almost never. See Lacy Matthews’ tips below.) You may be nervous or unprepared, but the audience may never know if you don’t tell them.

Garr Reynolds, in his book The naked presenter: Delivering Powerful Presentations With or Without Slides, writes, “There are many ways to strike quickly, start with punch, and make a strong initial connection. Conveniently, at least five proven ways to begin a talk form the acronym PUNCH: Personal, Unexpected, Novel, Challenging, or Humorous.”

Put on your boxing gloves and give them a left jab!

Now that they have your attention…

Be a Storyteller

Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today.

~~Robert McKee

Think about the last presentation you heard. What do you remember? If it was a fifty-slide PowerPoint presentation, probably not much.

Wait. You said it was memorable? What made it memorable?

Let’s pretend last week’s sermon was on Jabez’ prayer (it was). If you were part of the audience, do you remember the bullet points?

• Jabez was a very honorable man.
• Jabez was able to rise above the prophetic doom of his name.
• Oh, that you would bless me.
• Enlarge my border.
• That your hand may be upon me.
• God, keep me from evil.

Chances are, unless you have a photographic memory, you may have recalled that the sermon was about Jabez, but nothing much specific after that--except the pastor’s story, which went something like this:

If you were to go talk to my high school buddies and happen to mention you saw me in Utah and that I’m a pastor and that I’ve started a Christian academy right next to my church, they would probably say, ‘Huh? He’s sober enough? He’s not high?’ You see, miracles are relative. That some guy started a church and an academy are not miracles. That I started a church and an academy in light of my checkered past is nothing short of miraculous.

Voilá. Memorable.

Scott Schwertly underscores the importance of using stories in his book How to be a Presentation GOD: “Our job when presenting is to magically transform outwardly boring subject matter into inwardly fulfilling action…If we can’t find a compelling story in the information we’re sharing, why bother to share it? If it doesn’t somehow relate to some element of the human experience, why should your audience do anything other than play Pong on their smartphones until you’re done prattling on?”

Here are some tips for great storytelling:

1) Weave personal experience into your presentation.

2) Paraphrase a fable, fairy tale or parable to punctuate your point.

3) Make sure your story has a plot.

4) Tell only the necessary details or you’ll get bogged down in the telling.

5) Use the five senses: hearing, sight, touch, smell, taste.

6) Be sincere and relevant.

7) Insert a video clip.

8) Look for stories around all around you.

9) Don’t try to pass off someone else’s story as your own.

10) Illustrate every bullet point with a story.

If you’ve mapped the course, picked just the right words, opened with a bang and kept them hanging on your every story, there’s only one thing left to do.

Close.

Leave Them Wanting More

Make sure you have finished speaking before your audience has finished listening.

~~Dorothy Sarnoff

You’ve been there. You’re twenty minutes past your attention span and you need a bathroom break. You’re doodling, passing notes, checking email, anything to stay awake. The speaker promised she had only one more point to make two points ago.

You are in presentation purgatory.

As Kenny Rogers sang, “You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em.” Now is the time to make a lasting impression.

Listen to what Scott Schwertly has to say about closing: “Closing is all about filling people with purpose: your purpose, their purpose, and the reason for the meeting, product, or events being discussed. By planning your presentation well, you should be able to deliver a solid climax to a story that has built throughout the entire talk.”

Garr Reynolds says to make the ending “sticky.” In other words, the ending should make all the points of your points stick. The audience should leave with your ideas firmly embedded in their brains.

However you choose to end your presentation, avoid at all costs the words “in conclusion,” “to summarize,” or “thank you for your attention.” It’s like putting mustard on filet mignon.

Remember how Lacy Matthews opens her presentations? She jumps right in the middle of a story then goes on to weave her message. As she’s wrapping up, she finishes the story. Most of the time you can’t hear a pin drop.

Here are some tips for ending your presentation with pizzaz:

1) If it’s appropriate, leave them laughing.

2) Ask your audience to DO something as a result of your presentation.

3) Tell a story.

4) Reveal your one most important take-away: “If you remember one thing from my presentation, remember this: X.” And sit down.

5) If you’ve had them laughing, end on a serious note.

6) Use a video.

7) Get your audience moving, physically moving.

8) End with a thought-provoking quote.

9) Paint a verbal picture.

10) Go back to your introduction and take a page from Paul Harvey: “And now you know the REST of the story.”

If you don’t have a second chance to make a first impression, the same can be said for your closing. A memorable closing will anchor your entire presentation; a not-so-memorable closing can erase all your best efforts.

Stick it like Mary Lou.

Conclusion

According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy. ~~Jerry Seinfeld

Forget about your junior high school speech class. Never again subject an audience to death by bullet points. Go back to first grade show and tell:

1) Begin with the end in mind: “I’m going to show my class the glow stick I got at the circus so they’ll want to go see the elephants before they leave town.”

2) Words matter: “Look at this cool glow stick! It’s green. It lights up. You can wave it around.”

3) Grab their attention: “The acrobat fell into the net. The lion got out of his cage. The elephants sprayed water on me. I love the circus!”

4) Be a storyteller: “I went to the circus with my dad. I didn’t think he was going to be home from his trip. He was at a meeting all week. But he surprised me. And he bought me this great glow stick.”

5) Leave them wanting more: “I got this great glow stick. Wait until you see what else I got. I’ll bring it for next show and tell.”

Thoughts from a Pro: Lacy Matthews

Lacy Matthews is an inspirational speaker and trainer. She is the founder and owner of Glass Half Full Enterprises.

Visit her website at www.glasshalffullenterprises.com

Lacy’s Top 10 Tips for Effective Presentations:

1) Don’t talk in words; talk in stories.

If words are our tools, then stories are our power tools. The biggest mistake most people make when presenting is talking in generalities. Not only does it take longer to make a point, it isn’t memorable.

Human beings think in terms of pictures, not words. I can say, “I ate breakfast this morning,” and you won’t remember what I’ve said. Speaking in generalities does not leave an impression. All you will understand is that I took in some form of nourishment.

Or I can tell you, “ Breakfast this morning felt like a gift I gave myself! From the crisp, thick Belgian waffles, topped with fresh strawberries and fluffy, sweet whipped cream, to the coffee beans I ground for my coffee and the sweet smell of the oranges I squeezed for my juice, the whole house was consumed in the aromas from my kitchen. I just love slow mornings.”

When you speak in pictures, your audience is A) more likely to remember your point and B) more likely to transport themselves into how they can relate to you. The purpose is not to incorporate all five senses into your stories. The purpose is to create a picture—and sometimes you will use all five senses.

Your stories don’t have to be grandiose. Look at Seinfeld. He talks about everyday moments. People can relate so it gets a laugh. You want your audience thinking, “Oh yeah! That’s just like when…” You want them going back and forth between your stories and their own stories. Your moments can be their moments.

2) Don’t put in too many details; choose the right details.

You’ve been there. Someone starts telling you a story and it catches your interest. But then come the details: “then this happened, then that happened, then the other thing happened, and the weather was, and the colors were…” Before long you’re thinking about the menu for dinner tonight, how much laundry you have to do and the book you’d rather be reading.

Here is an assignment I often give my audiences: “In two minutes, tell me about a moment that has shaped your life.” With that time constraint, the important details naturally emerge. You can’t put in a lot of fluff when you only have two minutes to tell your story.

Another tip: write out the story, then whittle it down, keeping only the most essential details.

3) Don’t speak in laundry lists.

You’ve been there: endless PowerPoint slides with bullet point after bullet point of text. Each point needs to have a story attached to it. I never “show” my points with written material of any kind. I only give out written materials when my presentation is over, if then. If you’ve done a good job, your audience will remember the point you wanted to make—even quote you or paraphrase you.

One of the worst mistakes you can make is to put a slide up and leave it there. People will be reading your slide and waiting for you to catch up. You’ll be like Charlie Brown’s teacher, some wordless voice in the background intoning “Wah, wah WAH wah.”

4) Open with impact.

Let someone else introduce you so you can get right into your presentation. You don’t want to spend those crucial “first impression” moments credentialing yourself or warming up an audience. Write your own introduction and give it to the person who will be introducing you.

Open your presentation with a moment that has the audience intrigued or on the edge of their seats. Make them want to keep listening. When I talk about the day my dad died, I don’t start by saying I was eight years old and it was a hot August day. I often start with the statement, “His hands were cold and blue and made me nervous.” This captures my audience’s attention so they won’t want to go refill their coffee.

5) End memorably.

End where you started. Go back to the beginning and tell the rest of the story. Or add another tidbit to it. People like you to wrap it up, but you don’t retell everything.

I end my keynotes with another, important tidbit about how my dad’s death impacted my life.

Another tip: end with a question that challenges the audience to do something. I will often ask, “Think of one thing you will do differently in your life based on what I shared today.” I then ask everyone to write it down, even if only in bullet points. I ask them to please stand when they have their idea written down. Now I have the option of surveying the audience, knowing they are prepared to give an answer.

6) Pick the right topic.

You can’t be effective unless you’ve earned the right to talk about something, until you’ve been there, done that, lived through it. If you’re in the middle of something, you haven’t earned the right to talk about it.

You can’t teach us what you’ve learned until you are on the other side of it. Don’t talk about working through a divorce until you’re well on the other side of your divorce decree. You risk depressing people instead of inspiring them. It may well be therapy for you, but it won’t make an impact with your audience.

In business, you can’t talk about selling something until you’ve sold something. You can’t talk about leadership until you’ve been a leader.

7) Use visual aids effectively.

Ask yourself if they are truly necessary or just a crutch.

Visual aids are OK if they draw interest. I prefer to use tangible items. For example, I use a hammer when illustrating how our words, like a hammer, can be used to build something. But both a hammer and our words can also be very destructive. Then I ask, “Do you build people up, or break them down?” while holding up the hammer.

In an upcoming keynote, the organizer is going to hand attendees little mini hammers on their way out so they remember to choose words wisely. I think it’s a great reinforcement.

8) Care about your delivery.

No matter how good you are, or how often you give your presentation, you owe it to your audience to be prepared.

Reviewing your material, well in advance, makes sure you have the time to customize it to your specific audience, when appropriate. Never quit asking yourself if you can improve on the delivery. If you feel part of your presentation is getting stale to you, it’s probably getting stale to those listening.

Getting there early allows you to get focused and mentally ready to present at a high level. A good speaker puts their audience first and finds a way to let go of life’s distractions well in advance of presenting to the group. Nothing is more of a turn off than someone bumbling in, obviously in a frenzy, due to lack of planning.

Get there a minimum of an hour before you present to ensure the room is ready, the sound system is ready, the person introducing you is ready and most importantly, you’re ready. I liken it to professional athletes. No matter how good, they warm up before EVERY game.

You can’t be effective unless you have a point to make. Consider a series of envelopes: regular, FedEx, and padded.

If you have a bill or letter to mail, you’ll use a regular old envelope. If you need something to get there fast, you’ll use a FedEx envelope. If you care about the condition of the contents, you’ll use a padded envelope.

Consider your talk to be one of these envelopes. Think about what you’re going to say before you say it.

9) Remember, it’s not about you.

Make certain every point you want to make within a presentation, has attached a benefit to your audience.

For example, after sharing about a particularly difficult time in my life when I took charge and prevailed, I end with, “No matter what each of us are going through at this very moment in our lives, we must remember we are the authors of our life stories. Are we letting someone else write the script? We can’t let others decide how it’s going to be written.”

A simple but important lesson for all speakers: Say “ we” not “you.” Those who say “you” can come across as talking down to their audience. While it may be true a speaker has gone through something no one else has, we all have our stories. We are there to inspire them, not to preach to them. In my opinion they are very different and set the good speakers apart from the great speakers.

This comes down to knowing your audience. You have to get to know people, make a connection.

When I’m teaching about effective presentation skills I’ll often ask, “Does anyone want free James Taylor music (dates me, right?)?” Then I hand them an 8-track tape.

When they tell me they don’t have an 8-track player, I’ll hand them a cassette. Then a CD. Now it’s all iTunes.

My point is we keep trying to make a point using the same old ways. The old way was to write down a presentation and read it. The new way is to think about what you want to say, write a few points, then deliver your stories. Practice your transitions to lead from point to point.

10) Don’t take yourself too seriously.

No one loves a stuffy presenter who is trying to come off as perfect. Who can relate to perfect? People prefer the humanness of the presenter. If I make an obvious mistake, I sometimes just call attention to it by poking fun at it. People don’t care that I make mistakes and sometimes it might even make them feel more connected to me. Using humor ensures people laughing with me instead of at me.

If you fall, you curtsy.

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