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TherearethreestepstomakinganIBMpresentation:???planitPlanItoffersadviceonorganizingyourmessage,sharpeningyourfocusonwhatyouwanttosay,andarrangingitinamannerthataudiencescanfollow.prepareitPrepareItisaresourceforconstructinggraphicsupportmaterialsinFreelanceGraphics(PowerPointisalsosupported).Youwillfindinstructionsonhowtoincludeelementssuchastext,chartsandgraphsinastylethatwillbeconsistenttoallouraudiences-an〃IBMlook,“inmuchthesamewaythatouradvertisingandmarketingmaterialshaveadistinctappearance.⑶presentitPresentItofferstipsonhowtodeliverwhatyou,vepreparedeffectivelytoanaudience.Presentationsarenotaboutshowingaseriesofslides;theyareaboutyou,communicatingamessage,withvisualelementsinasupportingrole.Wheretobegin

Here,swhatyoudofirst:Stop.Takesometime.AsThomasWatsonSr.usedtoadvise,InherbookSecretsofPowerPresentation,MickiInherbookSecretsofPowerPresentation,Mickifamously:Think.Youareabouttomountanargument.Whatdoyouneed?Don,tsuccumbtothetemptationofcollectingeveryapparentlyrelevantitemintoajumbleandthentryingtoreshuffleyourpresentation:?Whatdoestheaudienceneedtoknow?themintoacoherentorder.("Jimhasanicechartonthis，andLisahassomegoodmarket?Whatdoestheaudiencewantdata,I,llgetthose.")That,stheflawedtoknow?techniquebehindmanyofthemoreoverblown,leadenpresentationsyou,veeverdozed?Whatarethepossiblethrough.That,sworkingbackwards.Instead,benefitsofasuccessfulstartwithnothing...andworkforward.meetingforthisaudience?Youareabouttomountanargument.Whatdoyouneed?Don,tsuccumbtothetemptationofcollectingeveryapparentlyrelevantitemintoajumbleandthentryingtoreshuffleyourpresentation:?Whatdoestheaudienceneedtoknow?themintoacoherentorder.("Jimhasanicechartonthis，andLisahassomegoodmarket?Whatdoestheaudiencewantdata,I,llgetthose.")That,stheflawedtoknow?techniquebehindmanyofthemoreoverblown,leadenpresentationsyou,veeverdozed?Whatarethepossiblethrough.That,sworkingbackwards.Instead,benefitsofasuccessfulstartwithnothing...andworkforward.meetingforthisaudience?("What'sinitforme?")?Whatquestionsmighttheaudiencehave?Askyourselfthis:Whatismypoint?Everypresentationisanattempttocommunicatesomething.Itmaybeacomplextopic,withlotsofsupportingdata,butfundamentallytherewillalwaysbesomethingsimpleyouwanttosay.Itmightbe"IBMunderstandsyourbusiness,"or"ThistechnologyisthebestforourrequirementsorWeneedmoretimetodothisjobright.audiencehave?Figureoutwhatyou,retryingtocommunicate,initssimplestclearest,mostconciseform.Writeitdown,inonesentence.Doesitmakesense?Doesitreallycuttotheheartofwhatyouneedtoconvey?Ifnot,rewriteit.Ifyouonlycoulddeliverthisonesentencetoyouraudience,withnochartsoranysupportinginformation,wouldthisbetheoneyou,dchoose?Composingthisbasicsentencemighttaketwominutes,oritmighttakeanhour.Itdoesn,treallymatterwhich.Justgetitright.Withoutaclearpointofview,youarenavigatingwithoutdirection.Getitwrong,andyou,llstruggletherestoftheway.Getitright,andthepieceswillbeginfallingnaturallyintoplacebehindit.BuildyourcaseOK,youreclearaboutthepointyouneedtoconvey.Butitssafetoassumethatyouraudienceisnotpreparedtoacceptyourmessageonfaith.Afterall,ifeveryoneintheroomalreadyknewwhatyouwantedtotellthem,andagreedwithit,therewouldbenopointwhatevertoyourstandingupandtalking.Thepurposeofyourtalkistomoveyouraudiencetoyourpointofview.Soyouwillhavetobuildyourcase.Youneedtoorganizeyourargument.Makearoughflowchartoftheinformationyouaregoingtopresent.Justsketchitoutonpaper-thisisn,tgoingtobeachartyou,llshow,andyou,llprobablyhavetoreviseitafewtimesanyway.Theorganizingprinciplebehindthisisapyramid:eachstatementyoumakewillhaveone,ormorelikelyseveral,supportingpiecesofinformationunderit.Asyoubuildyourpresentationinthisoutlineform,apyramidwillform,withyourbasicstatementatthetopandeverythingelsearrayedbeneathit.Don'tworryyetabouttheorderinwhichyou,llactuallypresenteachitem.Justgetthemalldownonpapertolookat.ThePyramidPrinciplebooklistedinourrecommendedreadinglistisdevotedtothismethodoforganization,anditsausefulresource.Butthebasicideaisreallycommonsense,merelyawayoflayingoutyourinformationsoyoucanarrangeand,lateron,presentitlogically.Let,stakealookatahypotheticalpresentationandhowyoumightorganizeitsvariouselements,usingthistechnique.FromthetopdownLet'sassumeyourbasicpointis:IBM,ssolutionisyourbestoption,becauseitscombinationofproductsandservicesisintegratedandflexible,andbecauseweunderstandyourbusinesschallenges.Now,putyourselfinyouraudience,sposition.Theywanttoknowwhytheyshouldbelievethis.Theyexpectproof.Youhave,let,sassume,fourreasons.First,IBMproductsworktogether.Second,IBMofferstheflexibilityofopensystems.Third,IBMservicestieeverythingtogether.Fourth,IBMhasexperienceinthecustomer,sindustry.Thisistheheartandframeworkofyourpitch.Layitoutgraphically.

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worktogethereverythingYounowseethatyouregoingtoopenbystatingyourmainpoint,andyouregoingtoproceedthroughyourpresentationbyofferingfactsanddatainthesefourareas.Don,tworryyetaboutwhichwillcomefirst.everythingTakeeachofyoursupportingargumentsanddothesameagain.Buildanotherpyramidundereachofthefour.Under"productsworktogether"youmighthaveinformationabouteachoftheelementsinthesolution:servers,middleware,storage.Youmightwanttotalkaboutinter-divisionaleffortsinIBMtointegratetechnologiesacrossourproductlines.Itwouldlooksomethinglikethis:

乂fFallenPyramidsSomepeoplefindithelpfultouseapyramidonitsside,withthetopicintheleft-mostbox,andbuildingthepyramidouttotheright,insteadofbelowit.Ifyouusethismethod,you,llnoticethatthe

Forthisexample,wedontneedtobothercreatingallthepyramidsthatbuilddownward,butyouwillwanttodothisforyourentirepresentation.Organizealltheinformationthatyoumightwanttoinclude.Youwillthenhaveapyramidthatencompasseseverythingyouneedtoconvey.pyramidmorecloselyresemblesaclassicoutlinestructure.Unlikeanoutline,however,therelativeequalityoftheboxesmakeitmucheasiertorestructureandre-orderyourpresentationandestablishnewrelationshipstoitemwithoutalteringtheentireorganization,asoftenoccurswhencreatinganoutline.Now,playwithit.Lookatthebigpicture.Seewhat,smostimportant.Takeoutthingsthat,whileyoumightthinkthey,reimportant,justwon,tresonatewithorbeunderstoodbyyouraudience.Movethingsaround.Addordelete,butkeeptheorganizingstructureintact.pyramidmorecloselyresemblesaclassicoutlinestructure.Unlikeanoutline,however,therelativeequalityoftheboxesmakeitmucheasiertorestructureandre-orderyourpresentationandestablishnewrelationshipstoitemwithoutalteringtheentireorganization,asoftenoccurswhencreatinganoutline.Onceyouhaveapyramidthatseemstorepresentyourthemeandthevariouspointsyouneedtogetacross,you,rereadytostartcreatingthematerialsyouwillactuallyshowpeople:bulletpoints,charts,graphs.Insteadoforganizingon-the-fly,you,veorganizedfirst.Congratulations:younowhaveaclearpicture-literally-ofwhatinformationisrelevanttoyourpresentation,whatpointsitsupports,andwhereitshouldgo.Unfortunately,manypeople

dontbothertobeginwiththisformal,structuredapproach.Althoughyouhaven,tevencreatedyourfirstslide,themostcritical(andoftenbotched)workincreatingyourpresentationiscomplete.Ifthisallseemstooplodding,toorestrictiveandstructured,dontworry:itisn,t.Bythetimeyouhaveapresentationreadytoshow,theunderlyingorganizationwillfadefromview,leavingbehindmerelyaframeworkthathelpsyouraudiencefocusmoreeasilyonyourmessage,andenhancesyourownmasteryofthematerial,sinceyouunderstandthoroughlyhowitallfitstogether.Now,letstakeyourgraphical,pyramidoutlineandprepareapresentation.IBMPresentationGentral:Blue-and-LlackIBMPresentationGentral:Blue-and-LlacktemplatewithimagePresentationsubtitle■;tsectionalthisinformationWheretobeginVisualelementssuchasgraphs,charts,andtextcanenhanceyourabilitytocommunicate,helpingyouraudiencefollowyourmessageandquicklyunderstandvarioustypesofinformation.Usedthoughtfully,theycanbevaluabletools.Usedindiscriminately,orconstructedpoorly,however,theycanactuallydetractfromyourmessage.Theycanclutteryourpresentationandconfuseyouraudience.ThistemplatewillfacilitatethepreparationofyourpresentationandwillhelptocontinueestablishingyouasoneofthebestexpressionsoftheIBMbrand.ItreflectsIBM,scorporatedesignstyle,whichalsoinfluencesouradvertisingandmarketingmaterials.Itisstraightforward,clean,andsimple.It,sflexibleenoughtoaccommodateavarietyofuses.Somemayuseitwithlittleornographicelements,whileothersmightneedtoconveyfarmorecomplicateddata.It,ssimpletouse.Althoughcommunicationsspecialistsandgraphicdesignershaveworkedtocreatethistemplate,anyoneinIBMshouldbeabletouseitwithoutanyspecialskillsorsoftwarebeyondwhatisalreadyavailable.Dontautomaticallyassumeyouneedtousepresentationsoftwaretomakeyourpresentation!Someofthemosteffectivesalesjobsaredonejustbyspeakingdirectly,sincerelyandinformativelyaboutthesubject,withouthidingbehindcharts.InSayItWithPresentations,notedpresentationdesignerGeneZelaznygivesthreebasictypesofmediayoushouldconsiderifyouneedvisualstohelpconveyyourmessage:Lapvisuals,socalledbecauseeachmemberoftheaudiencereceiveshisorherowncopyofthematerialsatthestartofthemeeting,ifnotbefore.Bestforsmallgroups,theirusecanopenupdiscussionandhelpeveryoneparticipateasequalpartners.Thedownsideisthattheymayreadaheadandstartaskingquestionsyouwouldprefertodealwithlaterinthediscussion.Andyoucanalsomissopportunitiesforeyecontactifeveryoneislookingdownreading.Easelsorwhiteboards.Greatforincreasinginteractivityamong15orfewerpeople,sinceyou,rerecordingtheaudience,sideasastheycomeup.Downsides:Avoidspendingallyourtimewithyourbacktotheaudience;perhapsdeputizeamemberofthemeetingtohelpwritedownpointssoyoucanconcentrateontheircommentsandreactionstoyouandeachother.On-screenpresentations.Whilelesspersonablethantheothertwomethods,thisisbyfarthemostpolishedandsuitableforlargeaudiences.Sincethisisalsothemediumwiththegreatestpitfalls,thisisthetypeofpresentationwellbeworkingoninthissection.TitlescreenByusingastandardtitlechartandfollowingthestyleconsistently,wewilladdaprofessionaltouchnotonlytoourindividualpresentationsbutcollectivelytoallofIBM,sface-to-facecommunications.Thetitleslideisastraightforwardelement,andgenerallyrequiresonlythatyouincludeyourname,IBMorganization,andspeakingtopicintheplacesprovided.However,thetemplateallowsforotherelementsthatmightberequired,andit,simportanttofollowtheguidelinesifyouwillbeusingthese.Moretext(ifyoumust)Thetemplatealsoprovidesaformatforlongerblocksoftext.Youshoulduseblocksoftextverysparingly.Yes,onceinawhiletheremightbealongerpassagethatisrelevant,andvaluable.Forinstance,youmighthaveaquotefromananalystorcustomerthatisparticularlystriking:GijjlresjUNI/GijjlresjUNI/叫加此INaTiESinceweoj/sourcec/JTtoSinceweoj/sourcec/JTto归MGlobalServices,oncostsarecfown)profitsareup,!Vebeenpromotedtotheboafdofdirectors,mykidsaregeninghighergradesatschool,andtheweatherhasbe1白门muchheffeu丁hankyou,一AdelightedFortune500CIO1- IPrivrft-IfcrfiTfrIFTNtfufefIUI t*『屈HSffHdfcfhavemuchavailableandyouvejustturnedsomeofitintoasmallreadingassignment.Don,toverdoitBeforeyoubegin,keepinmindsomekeypoints:Visualsarenotyourpresentation.Youarethepresentation.YouraudiencehasnotgatheredforthepurposeofreadingyourFreelance(orPowerPoint)pages;theyhavecometohearyoucommunicate.Usevisualstosupportyourmessage.Lessismore.Agraphthatshows(forexample)levelsofcustomerspendingoncertaintechnologiescanrevealataglancetrendsinthemarket,butitremainsyourtasktoexplainthatdata'srelevancetoyouraudience.Asingle,well-constructedgraphic,supportedbyyourthoughtfulexplanation,ismoreeffectivethanaseriesofchartsthattheaudiencemustdecipher.Projectedvisualshaveseverelimits.Theyareconstrainedbytheresolutionofacomputerscreen,whichisfarlowerthantheprintedpage.Theyarelimitedfurtherbybeingprojectedontoascreenthatpeoplemustreadfromadistance.Forthisreason,wewanttokeepvisualssimpleandbold.Morecomplexgraphicsarebettersuitedforinclusioninprintedmaterials.Let,stakealookatthemainelementsoftheIBMPresentationTemplatethatyoumightneedtoinclude.Morepossibilitiesandvariationsareavailableinthepresentationtemplatesthemselves.Butunderstandingwhichyouneed,andwhen,isthefirststep.Bullet-pointtextYouraudienceisreadytolistenandtolook,buttheydon,twanttoreadlongpassagesoftextonascreen.Andyoudon,twantthemtoo,either-readingtakestheirattentionawayfromwhatyouaresaying.Themosteffectivewaytousetextiswithshortphrasesthatcanbereadataglance.Presentedthisway,textcanremindpeopleofyourkeypoints,orhelpthemfollowtheprogressofyourpresentation.Here,sanexampleoftextpoorlyused:IBMeServersoffera30percentprice-performanceedgeoverthecampetitian旧MeServersofferaItw&rtotalcostofowrership.duetoadvaneedmanagementcapatailities.IBMeServerssupportLinuxandopenstandards,offeringgreaterfiexbilit/toexpandandfarthefulurehwM'c."dwiTkt-IFtmm*uic-rMH*IThatisn,tabad-lookingpage,anditisn,ttoodifficulttoread.Butitcanbeimproved.Thiswouldbeevenbetter:IBMeServersPrice-perfoimanceedge:30%Advancedmanagernent=lowertotalcastLinux&apenstandards=flexibilityThefirstexampletriestopresentyourmessage.Thesecondexamplemerelyprovidescuestothemessagesyouarediscussing.Itengagestheaudience'stimeonlyforamoment,anddemandsthattheylistentowhatyou'resayingasyouexplainthepoints.Ofcourse,evenwhenyoureduceyourmessagetoabullet-pointphrase,youcanstilldefeatyourselfbycrammingtoomanyontoasinglepage.That'swhyyoushouldlimitanypageoftexttonomorethanfiveitems(andevenfiveispushingit).You'llseethatthetemplatereflectsthislimit.Thislimitoffiveisnotamatterofhowmuchtextwillfitontoapagewhileremainingbothlegibleandvisuallypleasing,althoughtheseareimportantconsiderations.Rather,it'saquestionofhowmuchinformationsomeonecaneasilyretainatonetime,especiallywhilelisteningtoyouspeak.ButwhatifyouhavemorethanthreeorevenfivepointstomakeaboutIBMservers?Perhapsyouwanttotalkaboutthetechnologiesthatgiveourserverstheirprice-performanceedge,andcitesomebenchmarkstudiesasevidence.Youhavemoretosayaboutmanagementcapabilities,too.Itsimplywon'tfitintofivelines.Noproblem.Ifyouexamineyourinformation,youarelikelytofindthatitwillarrangeitselfintogroupsofdetailsthatsupportmoregeneralpoints.(Ifyou,dpreparedyourinformationcarefully,accordingtothepyramidstructuredescribedinthe,PlanIt,module,thisshouldalreadybeclear.)Thesolutionistocreateanotherpagewhichfocusesingreaterdetailononeofyourtopics.Inourcurrentexample,youmightprogresstothis:IBMeServers:price-performanceedgeAdvancedprocessorsMainframe-liketechnologies日6nchmwrks;vs.Sun,HPHereagain,youaregivingyouraudiencealimited,manageableamountofinformationatanyonetime.Ifyouhavebenchmarkdata(inthisexample)thatsimplydemandsagraphictreatment,don,tcramitontothispageunlessit'saverysimplegraphic.Makeanotherpage,devotedtothat.Whenyouvefinishedwithyourinformationaboutprice-performance,returntoyourlistandthesecondpoint.YournextpagemightlistthekeypointsaboutIBMservers,advancedmanagementcapabilities,followedbyonewithmoredetailonLinuxandopenstandards.Ifthoseothertopicsdon,thaveasmuchsupportingdetail,youmightsimplyshowyourfirstpageaboutIBMserversagain,perhapswithyournextpointhighlighted:IBMeServersPrice-performanceedge:30%-■3Advancedmanagement=lowertotalcostLinus&openstandards=flexibilityFrrtWitaiTO-|FTNtfui» 1忏、tfUI 1*MWRHYouwouldthenproceedtodiscusstheadvancedmanagementfeatures.Youraudiencehasaclearandquickvisualcuethatyou,removingontothesecondpoint,alongwithareminderthatathirdonewillfollow.Itsperfectlyokaytorepeatpagesinthismanner.Repeatingpagescanhelpyouraudiencefollowthepresentation,withoutrequiringalotoftheirattentiontodoso.Whileit,struethat"lessismore"onanysinglepage(andevenforvisualsingeneral)solongasyourpagesarebriefanddirect,repeatingpagesinordertohighlighttheprogressofyourpresentationisaneffectiveuseofsupportingvisuals.Inthisinstance,morecanbemore.Justdon,tgetcarriedaway:youdon,tneedalineonthescreentosummarizeeverysinglethingyou,regoingtosay.(Ifyouarepreparingaprintedversionofyourpitchtodistributetoyouraudience,youwillprobablyincludeapageonlyonce,andremoveanyhighlightedandrepeatedpages.)Charts&graphsChartwareIfyourpresentationsrequiregreateruseofawidervarietyofcharts,youcanfindamoredetailedexplorationofthetopicinSayitWithCharts,byGeneZelazny,oneofthebooksinourrecommendedreadinglist.Foranevendeeperexaminationofvisualcommunication,EnvisioningInformationtopicinSayitWithCharts,byGeneZelazny,oneofthebooksinourrecommendedreadinglist.Foranevendeeperexaminationofvisualcommunication,EnvisioningInformationbyEdwardTufteisexcellent,thoughnotasdirectlyrelevanttobusinessofextraneousclutter,freefromsuchpresentations.Chartsandgraphscanbeveryeffectivetools.Theycanalsobeannoyinglyclumsy,obscuringtheveryinformationthey,reintendedtocommunicate.Likeothertools,theymustbeusedwhenthetaskrequiresthem,andwithcare.Ourtemplatecallsforchartsstrippedgimmickryasthree-dimensionaleffects,andrestrainedintheiruseofcolor.Ifyourinformationisrelevanttoyouraudience,itshouldntbeobscuredbythissortofdistraction.Ifyourinformationisn,trelevant,itshouldn,tbeonthescreenatall.Thisintroductiontothesimplest,mostcommonandeffectivetypesofchartsusedinpresentationsshouldhelpyoudevelopthebasicskillsyouneedtodecidewhentouseagraph,howtoselectthetypemostappropriatetoyourdata,andhowtocreateitusingthesoftwareyoualreadyhaveavailable,inastylethatwillblendharmoniouslyintotheIBMtemplate.Beforeyouevenbegincreatingcharts,thereareafewpointstokeepinmind.Chartsmustberead.Theydontconveyinformation,butratherpresentitinavisualwaythatmakesunderstandingiteasy.Still,youraudienceisgoingtohavetoextractthemessageofachartbylookingatit,by"reading"it,possiblywithyourassistanceinpointingoutitskeyaspects.Thesimplerachartis,themoreclearanddirectitsmessagewillbe.Complexchartsofsimpleinformationarefailures.Simplechartsofcomplexinformationareachievements.Whendatademandscomplexcharts,theyarenearlyalwaysbetterpresentedonaprintedhandout.Wewillworkaroundtheselimitsasbestwecan,butyoumustbeawareofthemandstriveforsimplicity.Inthehandsofskilledpeopletrainedinpresentinginformationvisually,therearesoftwaretoolscapableoftransformingcomplexdataintoelegantandeffectivecharts.Buttheseoftenrequirespecializedskills.You,llfindallsortsofexamplesofchartsandgraphsinthe"Infographics".Onceyou,vegotyourpresentationprepared,however,you,rereadyto"PresentIt"一whichjusthappenstobethesubjectofthethirdandfinalsectionoftheIBMPresentationMethodology.ThetemplateTheIBMPresentationTemplate(someonereadingthishasalreadymentallyshorteneditto"theIPT,"nodoubt)givesyouafewbasicoptionstochoosefrom.Insideofthebluebands(the"letterbox"area),youcaneitheruseablackbackgroundwithwhitetextorawhitebackgroundwithblacktext.Youcanhavebackgroundimageryonthetitleslideinsidetheletterboxorinthebluebands.Afewthingsyoushouldn,tchangehowever:Thecolororsizeofthebluebands,exceptbetweenthetwovariationsgivenasoptionsinthetemplateandforthestyleofthebandsintheprintableblack-and-whiteversion.Thefont,whichisArial.(Arialisoneofthesans-seriffonts,whicharegenerallyconsideredeasiertoreadprojectedonamonitororscreen,orwhenprintedondarkbackgrounds.Seriffonts,suchasTimesNewRomanandBodoni,aregenerallyconsideredeasiertoreadinprintonwhiteorlight-coloredpaper.)Thesize,position,orotherattributesoftheIBMlogointheupperright.Thecolorpalette.Theminimum"point"orfontsizeofthevarioustextelements.Thepositionofsuchelementsas"IBMConfidential,"thetitleofthepresentation,thepagenumberingifyouuseit.Whenyouusethetemplate,you,llseemoreguidelinesinthenon-displayingmarginsofitsslides,andmoredetailedexplanationsareavailablefromthetemplatedownloadmenu.Fornow,wellconcernourselveswithsomeofthemostbasickindsofpagesandhowtousethemmosteffectively.WheretobeginCongratulations:Youhaveawell-organized,concise,targetedpresentation.Youknowthematerialwellenoughtoimproviseifneeded,andrespondtoquestions.Yoursupportingvisualmaterialslooksharp-andmoreimportant,theyconveyinformationtosupportyourmessages,nothingmoreorless.Youhavecreatedaneditedversionofyourslides,reformattedforblack-and-white,andprintedenoughtohandouttoyouraudience.You,rethoroughlyprepared.SayIt,Don'tJustPlayItItsbecomeanacceptedpartofthecultureatIBM(andelsewhere)toe-mailapresentationtosomeone,inlieuofpresentingitinpersonorwhenanin-personpresentationisntpossible.Whilethiscanbeagreatcost-saverintermsoftravelandtime,realizethatifyourchartsarecompleteenoughtostandallontheirownwithoutyourthoughtfulargumentsandexplications,thenyou,reprobablyforcingyourin-personaudiencetoreadtoomuch.Andifyou,veparedallthenon-essentialsfromyourvisualssothatonlythemostimportantelementsaredisplayed,andtheytrulysupportyourpresentationinsteadofbecomeyourpresentation,thenitprobablyisn'tgoingtobeabletostandonitsownwhenyoue-mailitofftowho-knows-whatenvironmentandaudience.Ifyouhavetoe-mailapresentationyouwon'tbedeliveringviaphoneconcurrentlytoitbeingviewed,considerrecordingyourcomments(FreelanceandPowerPointbothhavethisoption,youneedonlytogetaplug-inmicrophoneforyourcomputerifoneisn'talreadyincluded.)Ifyoucan'trecordit,orthataddstoomuchtothefilesizefore-mailing,createasecond,similarpresentationandusethespeakernotesfunction.Thenyoucanencourageyouraudiencetoprintoutthepresentationwithyourspeaker'snotesorcreateanAdobeAcrobatfileofsuchaprint-out,whichiswhatyoucanthene-mailtothem.SpeakingtipsTherearemanybooks,articlesandseminarsdevotedtotheskillofspeakingtoanaudience.Thisisn'tmeanttoreplacethem,soifyou'renewtopublicspeaking,youmightwanttobrowsethelistofrecommendedreadingprovidedelsewhere.However,hereareafewgeneralpointersthatapplytonoviceandexperiencedpresentersalike.YouTalkingtoMe?Beforeyoupresent,trytoanswerthefollowingforyourselfaboutthepeopleyouseeintheroom,basedonwhatyouknowaboutthemor,ifyouhavenothingelsetogoon,theirexpressionsandthewayothersrespondwhentheyspeak.Whoarethecriticaldecisionmakersoftheaudience,whoseyesornomaybeallthatmattersultimately?Whataretheirneedsandpriorities?Whoaretheinfluencersintheaudience,whoseemtocommandasenseofauthorityandmaybeexpectedtomakerecommendationstothecriticaldecisionmakers?Whoareyourallies?Notjustfriendsorcolleaguesyoumayrecognizeintheaudience,butthe20percentwhoappearmostreceptivetothepointsyouaremakingandareprobablygenerallysupportivetomostpeoplepresentingtothem.Whileitmayseemcounterintuitive,presentmostlytothepeopleyouseeintheaudiencewhoobviouslywantyoutosucceed,whilebeingawareofthedecisionmakersandinfluencers.MickiHolliday(SecretsofPowerPresentationssays:"Presenterstendtogetdistractedandcontrolledbythenegativepersonalitytypes.Theytrytoconvince,cajole,persuadethatoneperson,oftentothedetrimentoftherestoftheaudience.Itisusuallyahopelesstask."Donotreadyourslides.Assumingthetext(ifany)onyourslideislegible(asitshouldbe),youraudiencecanreaditfasterthanyoucanspeakit.Fewthingsaremoreannoyingthanwatchingsomeonemerelyreadorcloselyparaphrasepageafterpageoftext.Peoplewilleitherassumethatyoudon,tknowthetopicverywellandhavenothingtoadd,orelsethatyou,reanovicepresenterandtoonervous.Explainyourslides.Goodsupportingmaterials,ontheirown,willpromptquestionsintheaudi