HOW TO DELIVER EFFECTIVE PRESENTATIONS -

Edited by Kare Anderson, Webster, Chris Hadley, Kene and 29 others

"O, it offends me to the soul, to hear a robustious periwig-pated fellow tear a passion to tatters..."
William Shakespeare: Hamlet - Act 3, Scene 2

Giving presentations to audiences, large or small, can be a daunting and anxiety-ridden task. You’re going to be in front of a group of people, some you may know, some may be total strangers. You’re on stage, all eyes are on you, the audience has high expectations or they wouldn’t be there. Every word, every nuance, your appearance, the tone of your voice, not to mention the content of your presentation, will be scrutinized in every way. You know what you want to say – you know the material – but there’s that nagging feeling that you’ll say the wrong thing or you’ll have a spot on your suit or there will be some errant distraction.

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Business presentations take many forms. Some are extremely formal with highly detailed information… how do you make sure the audience doesn’t get lost in the detail and lose focus on the overall message? Some are informal and the difficulty is controlling the cross-talk. What about the technical aspects? What will you do if the projector goes out; do you have a backup plan? The outcome you want is that when the audience leaves, they will remember the information and be impressed with the overall presentation. These steps offer some guidelines on how to accomplish that purpose.

Steps

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   Know your audience and understand its perspective. Whether your goal is persuasion, or simply to inform, you need to understand your audience, its level of expertise and how your message will resonate. Crafting a presentation for a group of high school interns would be very different compared to an executive report to management, pitching a sales idea, or addressing a hostile audience about why the company needs to cut benefits.
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   Research thoroughly. You absolutely must be an expert on the subject. Okay, you don’t have to be the world’s leading authority, but you have to know the critical facts as well as much of the little-known information. Just talking about things everybody already knows is a recipe for boredom. It’s not at all unusual to spend weeks, or months, getting the facts, alternate opinions and comments from reputable sources as well as what the general community may think.
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   Document your sources. Where you get your information is as important as the information itself. Without solid, peer-reviewed data, you’re just a person with an opinion. The audience, in this exercise, is expecting facts and projections. Your personal opinion may very well be important but it must not be the only thing you present. You won’t be listing the sources ad nauseum (you will bore them silly) but you do want to be able to give citations when asked.
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   Write your speech. Off-the-cuff talks are fine if you’re on a soap box in a park. In a large room with hundreds of attendees, you just can’t afford that. You might not exactly "read" the speech, but that’s certainly not uncommon, especially if you’re going to be using a teleprompter. Print the speech in large print so you can easily see it at a glance without appearing to read from it. You want to give the appearance of talking to the audience instead of reading to them, but you also want the words and phrases to be precise and predetermined.
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   Prepare the slide show. If you're going to use a slide show, the visuals you will show to the audience need to be designed to support what you’re saying. Avoid showing a slide that has an inordinate amount of detail – the visuals are for impact. A spreadsheet with dozens of rows and columns will be basically meaningless. Titles on the slide should reflect the content of the slide and support what you’re saying. Do not read the slide!Assume the audience can read. The visuals should support your words, not duplicate them. There are very few things you can do that will have a worse impact than reading what the audience can read on their own. If all you’re going to do is put up slides and repeat what’s on them, then they don’t need you.
   • PowerPoint slides, overhead projectors, blackboards, and whiteboards are "visual aids" and should be treated as such. First, they should be visual, focusing on graphics, illustrations and plots rather than text. If your slides contain large blocks of text--or even a few sentences in bullet points--your audience will spend their time reading instead of focusing on you and the points you want to draw attention to. Second, they should be aids--don't rely on the slides to make the presentation for you. Your speech should have more content than the slides.
   • Don't pack slides too densely. If you put too much information up at once, the audience will lose focus. Have your bullet points have around ten words or less. This is a PowerPoint, not a PowerEssay.
   • Don't use too many flashy graphics and animations. They distract attention from the information content of the slides--and they will distract attention away from you, the speaker, and what you are saying.
   • Time your presentation to fit the information. If there is a time limit, be sure you stick to it including time for questions, if that is planned. It is better to pare down the material rather than to rush through it more quickly. Time your visuals to coincide with your speech. Avoid unnecessary or redundant slides such as outlines that describe the presentation to follow.
   • If you have more material than you can fit in the time limit, push that material onto "extra" slides after the end of your presentation. Those slides might come in handy if, during Q&A, someone asks you for more detail. Then, you will look extra-well-prepared!
   • Make sure the color schemes of slides are appropriate for the presentation venue. In some situations, dark text on a light background looks best, while sometimes light text on a dark background is easier to read. You might even prepare a version of your presentation in both formats just in case.
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   Rehearse alone. Do this repeatedly. Read your speech and watch your presentation dozens of times. This needs to be so familiar to you that you know what slide is next; what you’re going to say about each one, how you will segue between slides… this must be second nature to you. When you begin to get completely bored with doing this and you know it by rote, then you’re ready for the next step.
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   Do a dress rehearsal. Enlist some people that you trust to give honest opinions. These should be people that are reasonably representative of your expected audience. Give them the whole presentation. Have them make notes during the rehearsal – where are you confusing; what is particularly good? Have them also concentrate on you: Are you moving around too much; too little? You don’t want to appear "hyper" but you also don’t want to come across as a monotone statue.
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    Tweak the presentation. Take what you learned in the dress rehearsal and make modifications. Try to put yourself in the audience when you do this. What will they hear when the slides are on the screen?
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    Prepare yourself. So far, the steps have all been about preparing your presentation. Now, it’s time to think about you. Unless you do this for a living, you’re going to be nervous. Do some visual imagery of yourself in front of the crowd; doing a perfect job; getting applause, oohs and aahs. Find a quiet spot, close your eyes, and go over the presentation, imagine yourself being completely in control without any stumbling. This is a very, very important step. Professional athletes use this virtually every time before they go out to perform. It’s a proven technique.^[1] Use it. You should also be doing this immediately before you go on stage.
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    Introduce the presentation. You’ve done a great job preparing, you know the material, you’ve rehearsed, you’ve visualized perfection – in short, you’re ready. One of the very important things to which you must pay close attention is your physical demeanor. You don't want to look too stiff, and you don't want to look too casual. You should have already gotten the right stance and movement in your dress rehearsal.
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    Present the material. Obviously, this is the meat of the subject. Remember you are the expert. Also remember… you will be nervous. How to avoid "stage fright" varies from person to person (you have heard the "imagine them in their underwear") but one serious tip is to use eye contact. Present to one person – then another – then another. Don’t think of it as a large crowd… you’re talking to one person at a time. Remember that YOU are the presentation.
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    Question and answer. This is optional, but can be an important way to clarify key points and be certain that your audience received your message. How to do a Q&A session is worthy of an article in itself but there are a few things you should consider.
    • You must be in control. Some questions will undoubtedly be less than friendly. When you get those, answer them factually and move on. Just don’t call on that person again.
    • You also might get "soft" questions that don’t really ask anything new – be careful with those. They’re easy and don’t deserve a lot of time. Don’t dismiss them or brush them off, but don’t spend too much time rehashing what you’ve already said. Answer factually, bring in some new information, then move on.
    • Open the QA with, "before I close, are there any questions". This allows for a strong close and not a presentation that withers away with poor audience participation.
    • When you get a question, first repeat the question to the audience so everyone can hear it, then proceed to answer.
    • Take a few seconds to formulate a clear answer before replying to a question. Failing to do so can lead to wandering or vague responses that do not reflect well on you as a speaker.
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    Exit the stage. Thank everyone for their attention, tell them the presentation is available in printed form. If you will be available for personal consultation, make sure you mention that. Don’t spend a lot of time in the exit; you’re finished – exit graciously.

The previous steps are oriented primarily towards more formal presentations. In a less formal setting, consider the following:

• Remember adults are self-directed. You are a facilitator and not a grade school teacher.

• Ask your audience to share their experiences with the group; adults need to connect learning to their knowledge base.

• Help your audience see the importance of your topic to their work. Adults are goal-oriented and will appreciate an educational program that is organized and has clearly defined elements.

• Remember to show your audience respect. They bring a wealth of experiential knowledge to your presentation and will, if allowed, contribute richly to it.

• Control the cross-talk. In these environments you can lose control of the presentation if you do not maintain the focus of the audience. This does not mean adopting Draconian-style dictatorship, but do make sure everyone is aware that you are the presenter and keep control of the other participants.

How to Be a Good Manager Motivating by Tom Viren

How to Be a Good Manager

In every large organization, there's a hierarchy of management that keeps the whole operation running smoothly. A good manager acts as a facilitator while blending into the background, tweaking small things here and there to great effect. Being a good manager is about calmly leading and showing by example. It's one of the toughest jobs out there — in part because you have to manage egos and expectations — and also one of the least acknowledged. Despite this, there are several tricks of the trade that will help you successfully manage all your responsibility, in style and with verve.

Part 1 of 5: Motivating Your Employees

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   Motivate people. Why are the employees there? What keeps them with your organization and stops them from going somewhere else? What makes the good days good? What makes them stick with the organization after a bad day or a bad week? Don't assume it's money - most people aren't that one-dimensional.
   • Remember, our values are what makes us "tick." If you manage by respecting your team's values, they will give you 110 percent of their effort.
   • Ask the employees how they're liking their job on a regular basis. Encourage them to be honest with you. Then take action based upon what they tell you.
   • Offer perks that your employees will value. If health is important to them, give them time to go to the gym and work out. If their family is important, respect the time they may need to send their kids off to school in the morning or pick them up in the afternoon.
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   Make people feel good about what they do. The successful manager is great at identifying his employees' strengths and applauding them every once in a while. That's because good managers know that happy people make productive people. Try to applaud your employees' strengths both publicly and privately.
   
   
   • In a meeting with your boss, for example, mention something one of your workers did well. If your boss happens to mention to that worker that you said something good about them, they're likely to feel that you appreciate them and made the effort to put in a good word. That sort of compliment doesn't go unnoticed.
   • Privately laud what your employees do well. Tell them when you have a moment. Go into detail. A private chat, however short, can have a big impact on morale, resulting in more self-motivation.
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   Tell your employees how much you appreciate them from time to time. Just go out and say it. Ask them out for a cup of coffee and tell them what you appreciate about them: They're a hard worker; they effectively motivate other people; they're easy to coach; they're disciplined or go the extra mile; they always cheer you up, etc. Don't mince words — just lay it out there. An employee who knows just how much they are appreciated will work harder, enjoy what they do more, and pass that psychic happiness along to other employees.
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Part 2 of 5: Setting Goals

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   Under-promise, over-deliver. This idea can apply to several different areas of life, but it's a great managerial mantra. Do you want to be the kind of person who has wildly optimistic goals that they never meet, or do you want to be the kind of person who sets measured goals and ends up exceeding them by leaps and bounds? Although this is about image, image is extremely important.
   • Don't be the kind of person who never shoots for the moon. Staying measured in your goals doesn't mean that you should always play it conservative, never setting high goals. A manager who never punches above her weight can come across as lacking ambition. Even the conservative poker player knows they need to go all-in from time to time.
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   Make sure each employee knows what's expected. Having concrete goals empowers your employees and keeps them focused on work. Explicitly outline what you expect, when the deadline is, and what you'll do with the results.
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   Offer goal-oriented feedback. Providing your employees with quick feedback that's focused on their work can help foster improvement. Meet in small teams or one-on-one, and go over your comments in detail.
   • Set up a schedule for feedback. Offer it regularly so that your employees know when to expect it and can make space for it in their workflows.
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   Hold yourself to the highest standards. We all know the kind of manager who constantly busts his employees' chops but gives himself a pass when he fails. Don't be this kind of manager. Ideally, be harder to on yourself than you are on your employees. This can have a trickle-down effect: Employees see the types of goals and standards you set for yourself and want to emulate you because they look up to you.
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Part 3 of 5: Delegating Responsibility

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   Delegate. You're a manager because you're good at what you do, but that doesn't mean you're supposed to do everything yourself. Your job as a manager is to teach other people how to do a good job.
   • Start small. Give people tasks that, if performed incorrectly, can be fixed. Take the opportunity to teach and empower your employees. Then gradually give them tasks with greater responsibility as you come to understand their strengths and weaknesses.
   • Learn how to anticipate any problems they might have so you can coach them properly before they begin.
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   Assign tasks that will stretch your employees. As your workers begin to take on more responsibility and demonstrate that they're capable, give them tasks that will expand their skill sets and help them take more ownership of their work. Not only are you finding out how much your employees can handle, you're making them more valuable to the company.
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   Assume responsibility for your employees' mistakes. When one of your underlings makes a mistake, don't lord it over them; assume the mistake as your own, even if it isn't technically yours. What you're doing is creating a culture where your employees feel comfortable making mistakes.^[1] This is a very important concept:
   • Doing this allows your employees to innovate and, ultimately, to learn or grow. Workers who learn from their mistakes will grow to become better workers; those who fail to make mistakes in the first place usually play it too safe, never venturing out into deep water.
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   Don't take credit for your employees' achievements. Let them take credit for their own achievements. This motivates them to continue to chase after success. The successful manager is like a conductor. He orchestrates the music so that each element sounds as good as possible and resonates with the group as a whole. A great conductor will lead by example, blending into the background.
   • What happens if you're the type of manager who "steals" someone else's idea and plays it off as your own? You send the message that you only care about your image and are ruthless enough to sacrifice someone else in order to get ahead. That's not a great image to have, and it certainly doesn't motivate the people below you to work harder.
   • You may be thinking — take responsibility for other people's mistakes and don't take credit for what your employees do; where does that leave me? If you do good work and you're an effective manager, you shouldn't worry about dressing up your laurels. People will recognize the work that you do. Even more important, they'll be impressed that you motivate your employees, know how to be humble, and stay out of the way. If you work hard, you'll get your dues.
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   Acknowledge your own missteps. When things don't turn out the way you expected, recognize what you could have done differently and verbalize this realization to your employees. This shows them that you make mistakes too, and it also shows them how they should handle their own mistakes.
   • Whenever you're doing something correctly after having done it incorrectly in the past, let whoever is watching know. For example: "The reason I know to press this button is because this happened to me when I first started out, and I made the mistake of pressing the blue button, thinking 'This will shut down the system, which should resolve the issue' and I found out — the hard way — that it makes the issue even worse!"

Part 4 of 5: Communicating Effectively

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   Keep the door open. Always remind people that if they have any questions or concerns, you're ready and willing to listen. Maintaining an open channel of communication will make you aware of problems quickly, so that you can fix them as soon as possible.
   • Don't be one of those managers who inadvertently makes an employee feel like they're bothering you when they bring up a question or concern. Instead of seeing it as another crisis to manage, look at it as an opportunity to show your employee how much you want this organization to be a fulfilling place to work.
   • Never minimize or dismiss the concerns of your employees, and always make sure that you've answered their questions completely.
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   Take an interest in your employees. Don't make every interaction with your workers strictly business. Ask after their well-being, chat with them about yourself, and establish a personal connection.
   • Being in-tune with your employees' lives outside the office can potentially alert you to times when that person needs extra consideration from you, for instance if he or she requires sudden time off for a family funeral. If you can be accommodating about upheavals in the personal lives of your workers, they'll feel good about rewarding you with loyalty.
   • Know your boundaries. Don't overstep and ask your employees about anything too personal, such as religion, politics, or personal relationships. You can keep up a friendly rapport without being invasive.
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   Don't mix positive and negative feedback. Say you're giving your employee feedback in a performance review. You start off by mentioning how swell the employee is to work with, and note one or two additional things they've excelled at. Then you launch into an extended itemization of their deficits — "production was down this quarter," "revenue slipped," etc. What do you think the employee hears most resoundingly, the positive or the negative?
   • When you mix positive and negative feedback, both areas suffer. The positive becomes overshadowed by the negative, and the negative doesn't carry the full force of its potential impact. Of course, there may be situations where you'd want to communicate this, but on the whole it makes communication less effective.
   • When you silo positive and negative feedback, the positive stands out even more and the negative becomes more urgent.
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   Listen. Listen to what your employees and coworkers have to say. You don't always need to be the driver of meetings, boxing others out by dominating the podium. Always make a sincere effort to listen, but be on the lookout most during the following situations^[2]:
   • When employees are actively sharing ideas. Don't butt in and talk just to make sure your voice is part of the mix. This can put the idea-sharing into a stranglehold.
   • When emotions are turbulent. Let people voice their emotions in a safe, controlled environment. Stifled emotions can turn into resentment, eroding your working relationship. Similarly, emotions that are not adequately dealt with can interfere with rational discussion, which should be the mainstay of your work environment.
   • When teams are building relationships or having discussions. Offer your employees a receptive ear when they're building relationships and getting creative.
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   Clarify what you're hearing. A good manager not only strives to make herself clearer, but also strives to understand what those around her are saying. You can do this by repeating what the other person has said as a part of your conversation. Use this technique when you're not exactly sure what the other person is saying.
   • Instead of asking your co-worker "I'm sorry, can you repeat what you just said? I'm not sure I understood." say something like "So you're saying that we could drive up productivity by offering more meaningful incentives. What might that look like in the flesh?"
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   Ask questions. Intelligent questions show that you can follow the flow of the conversation and clarify when necessary. Don't be afraid to ask questions because you're worried about appearing "stupid." Effective managers care about understanding what's important; they don't care about how they get there. Know, too, that others will probably have questions and may not ask. If you ask their question for them, you can act as a facilitator and build your team's engagement level. That's the true mark of a manager.

Part 5 of 5: Embracing Egalitarianism

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   Treat everyone equally. Most of us aren't as egalitarian as we'd like to be. Many times, favoritism happens on a subconscious level. The tendency is to give morepositive recognition to the people who remind us of ourselves somehow and who actually like us, rather than to the people who make the biggest contributions to the organization.^[3]In the long run, it's people in the latter group who will make the most progress in achieving the organization's goals, so monitor your own behavior carefully and make sure you're not accidentally short-changing them, even if they give you the impression that your positive regard doesn't affect them. Some people shy away from positive feedback but appreciate it nonetheless.
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   Treat your employees well. If you're good to your workers and they're happy with their jobs, they'll pass that kindness on to customers and invaluably bolster the image of your company. Or, they'll do the same for their employees and maintain a positive corporate culture.

6 Follow-Up Emails You Should Be Sending by Dean Levitt Chief Of Culture

Winning loyal customers is as simple as sending the right email at the right time.

MAY 15, 2013 

Good customer service is about getting the basics right. If you answer inquiries quickly and sincerely, you'll build a reputation of being responsive and your customers will feel that they can reach out to you when there's an issue. Excellent customer service, however, goes beyond the basics and can greatly differentiate you from your competition. One simple way to do this is to perfect "the follow-up."

By follow-up, I mean the email you, or your customer-service team, send to a customer after a transaction takes place. That transaction may be a customer support solution, a product or services inquiry, feedback, or any other type of communication. Not every type of follow-up is right for every situation or for every business. Here are six follow-up emails you should familiarize yourself with and implement into your customer-service strategy.

The “Insight and Understanding” Email

If you can't deliver, your customers interpret the failure based on their outsider’s knowledge of your industry. If a package isn't delivered on time, the customer imagines a dismissive guy who was too lazy to make it to the post office. The reality may be an unavoidable logistical problem, and there are benefits to explaining that.

Once the issue is resolved, it's worth following up to explain to your customer the steps you've taken. Describe not only what happened and how you rectified the issue, but also how you’ll avoid it in the future. This gives the customer some insight into your business and the challenges you’ve overcome.

The “Turn Feedback Into Fandom” Email

Consider the customer who sends an email with some feedback about your business. Maybe your website has a typo or needs a user-experience improvement. It's likely that you'll take action, because you care. When you do—even if you make the changes three months later—let that customer know. You'll demonstrate that you appreciate and value the feedback, and it gives the customer recognition for helping you improve. That, in turn, confers an emotional ownership to the customer and builds real loyalty.

RELATED: J.C. Penney Playbook: 5 Tips to Win Back Customers

The “Building Genuine Relationships” Email

This is probably the most effective, yet difficult, style of follow-up emails you can send, and requires you to be organized, use a CRM effectively and have an elephantine memory.

Let's look at a real world example: Let's say customer Alex has some support issues. While resolving them, you learn a little about him. Perhaps Alex runs an e-commerce site specializing in tech products and, on the side, he's an avid blogger about the latest gadgets.

Six months down the line, your business releases a product or service that would be of interest to Alex as a blogger. By writing to him personally, in advance of a general newsletter, you open the door to a business-oriented friendship.

And yet it needn’t be strictly promotional. One of my customers, Tim, had sent out a newsletter detailing his around-the-world trip. When I learned he was heading to New York City, I reached out to him to tell him about some sights he shouldn’t miss. That simple act led to him encouraging other businesses to join us—and he even crashed on my couch. 

By initiating genuine interaction based on your knowledge of your customers, you will unavoidably build positive relationships.

The “Turn Your Team Into Their Team” Email

Not everything can be solved by the customer support folks on your team. Sometimes, they will need to pass the issue on to an engineer, developer, salesperson or CEO. In these instances, there's a two-part follow-up.

In this case, don't pass the customer off to someone else. Bring the customer along.

First, before sharing the issue with a colleague, let the customer know you're doing so and introduce the customer to the next team member they'll be interacting with. Explain who the new person is, what they do, and how you think they can help. This shows genuine concern for the customer and a humble commitment to making sure the right person does the job. 

After the issue is resolved, a note to check in is a great way to show the customer that you didn't pass the buck, but rather handled the issue in an inclusive way. This makes your customer think, "Wow, they have a few people working on solving this for me." This is infinitely better than a buck-passing, and turns your team into your customer’s team.

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The “Very Long Solutions” Email

When a customer service issue is clearly going to take more than a week to resolve, customers can begin to get frustrated. Your team is working behind the scenes to help, but the customer doesn't see this and might feel neglected.

A short email follow-up after one day, letting the customer know that it's going to take more time, but that you're actively on the case, goes a long way. A second follow-up email two or three days later reiterates that you haven't forgotten about them. This lets the customer know that they're valued. It's an opportunity to update the customer on where you are with the solution, what work you've currently done on their behalf and helps the customer see the hard work you're doing for them.

In some cases, though, it's better to stop following up after the initial one or two updates unless there’s some important progress. Use your judgement, and if you're not sure, remember less is usually more.

The “Just Checking In” Email

This is a really easy way to show you care. A one- or two-sentence note to a customer is a brilliant way to show you value them:

"Hey, I was thinking of you. Even though your concerns were addressed a couple weeks ago, I wanted to just check in. I'm standing by if you have any questions or thoughts."

Can you beat it? Nope! This is the mark of a customer support team that excels. With these follow-up ideas, you will incrementally improve your interactions with your customers. Remember, it’s not an all-or-nothing approach. Just do what you can, when you can, and soon following up will become a valuable habit.

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