某企业IBM咨询管理工具分析及某某咨询公司做的全套职位描述英文版

TherearethreestepstomakinganIBMpresentation:

PlanItoffersadviceonorganizingyourmessage,sharpeningyourfocusonwhatyouwanttosay,andarrangingitinamannerthataudiencescanfollow.

PrepareItisaresourceforconstructinggraphicsupportmaterialsinFreelanceGraphics(PowerPointisalsosupported).Youwillfindinstructionsonhowtoincludeelementssuchastext,chartsandgraphsinastylethatwillbeconsistenttoallouraudiences-an"IBMlook,"inmuchthesamewaythatouradvertisingandmarketingmaterialshaveadistinctappearance.

PresentItofferstipsonhowtodeliverwhatyou'vepreparedeffectivelytoanaudience.Presentationsarenotaboutshowingaseriesofslides;theyareaboutyou,communicatingamessage,withvisualelementsinasupportingrole.

Wheretobegin

InherbookSecretsofPowerPresentations,MickiHollidaysuggestsansweringthefollowingquestionsasafirststarttoorganizingyourpresentation:

·Whatdoestheaudienceneedtoknow?

·Whatdoestheaudiencewanttoknow?

·Whatarethepossiblebenefitsofasuccessfulmeetingforthisaudience?("What'sinitforme?")

·Whatquestionsmighttheaudiencehave?

Here'swhatyoudofirst:Stop.Takesometime.AsThomasWatsonSr.usedtoadvise,famously:Think.

Youareabouttomountanargument.Whatdoyouneed?Don'tsuccumbtothetemptationofcollectingeveryapparentlyrelevantitemintoajumbleandthentryingtoreshufflethemintoacoherentorder.("Jimhasanicechartonthis,andLisahassomegoodmarketdata,I'llgetthose.")That'stheflawedtechniquebehindmanyofthemoreoverblown,leadenpresentationsyou'veeverdozedthrough.That'sworkingbackwards.Instead,startwithnothing...andworkforward.

Askyourselfthis:Whatismypoint?Everypresentationisanattempttocommunicatesomething.Itmaybeacomplextopic,withlotsofsupportingdata,butfundamentallytherewillalwaysbesomethingsimpleyouwanttosay.Itmightbe"IBMunderstandsyourbusiness,"or"Thistechnologyisthebestforourrequirements"or"Weneedmoretimetodothisjobright."

Figureoutwhatyou'retryingtocommunicate,initssimplest,clearest,mostconciseform.Writeitdown,inonesentence.Doesitmakesense?Doesitreallycuttotheheartofwhatyouneedtoconvey?Ifnot,rewriteit.

Ifyouonlycoulddeliverthisonesentencetoyouraudience,withnochartsoranysupportinginformation,wouldthisbetheoneyou'dchoose?

Composingthisbasicsentencemighttaketwominutes,oritmighttakeanhour.Itdoesn'treallymatterwhich.Justgetitright.Withoutaclearpointofview,youarenavigatingwithoutdirection.

Getitwrong,andyou'llstruggletherestoftheway.

Getitright,andthepieceswillbeginfallingnaturallyintoplacebehindit.

Buildyourcase

OK,you'reclearaboutthepointyouneedtoconvey.Butit'ssafetoassumethatyouraudienceisnotpreparedtoacceptyourmessageonfaith.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,andit'sausefulresource.Butthebasicideaisreallycommonsense,merelyawayoflayingoutyourinformationsoyoucanarrangeand,lateron,presentitlogically.

Let'stakealookatahypotheticalpresentationandhowyoumightorganizeitsvariouselements,usingthistechnique.

Fromthetopdown

Let'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.

Younowseethatyou'regoingtoopenbystatingyourmainpoint,andyou'regoingtoproceedthroughyourpresentationbyofferingfactsanddatainthesefourareas.Don'tworryyetaboutwhichwillcomefirst.

Takeeachofyoursupportingargumentsanddothesameagain.Buildanotherpyramidundereachofthefour.Under"productsworktogether"youmighthaveinformationabouteachoftheelementsinthesolution:servers,middleware,storage.Youmightwanttotalkaboutinter-divisionaleffortsinIBMtointegratetechnologiesacrossourproductlines.Itwouldlooksomethinglikethis:

FallenPyramids

Somepeoplefindithelpfultouseapyramidonitsside,withthetopicintheleft-mostbox,andbuildingthepyramidouttotheright,insteadofbelowit.Ifyouusethismethod,you'llnoticethatthepyramidmorecloselyresemblesaclassicoutlinestructure.Unlikeanoutline,however,therelativeequalityoftheboxesmakeitmucheasiertorestructureandre-orderyourpresentationandestablishnewrelationshipstoitemwithoutalteringtheentireorganization,asoftenoccurswhencreatinganoutline.

Forthisexample,wedon'tneedtobothercreatingallthepyramidsthatbuilddownward,butyouwillwanttodothisforyourentirepresentation.Organizealltheinformationthatyoumightwanttoinclude.Youwillthenhaveapyramidthatencompasseseverythingyouneedtoconvey.

Now,playwithit.Lookatthebigpicture.Seewhat'smostimportant.Takeoutthingsthat,whileyoumightthinkthey'reimportant,justwon'tresonatewithorbeunderstoodbyyouraudience.Movethingsaround.Addordelete,butkeeptheorganizingstructureintact.

Onceyouhaveapyramidthatseemstorepresentyourthemeandthevariouspointsyouneedtogetacross,you'rereadytostartcreatingthematerialsyouwillactuallyshowpeople:bulletpoints,charts,graphs.Insteadoforganizingon-the-fly,you'veorganizedfirst.Congratulations:younowhaveaclearpicture-literally-ofwhatinformationisrelevanttoyourpresentation,whatpointsitsupports,andwhereitshouldgo.Unfortunately,manypeopledon'tbothertobeginwiththisformal,structuredapproach.

Althoughyouhaven'tevencreatedyourfirstslide,themostcritical(andoftenbotched)workincreatingyourpresentationiscomplete.

Ifthisallseemstooplodding,toorestrictiveandstructured,don'tworry:itisn't.Bythetimeyouhaveapresentationreadytoshow,theunderlyingorganizationwillfadefromview,leavingbehindmerelyaframeworkthathelpsyouraudiencefocusmoreeasilyonyourmessage,andenhancesyourownmasteryofthematerial,sinceyouunderstandthoroughlyhowitallfitstogether.

Now,let'stakeyourgraphical,pyramidoutlineandprepareapresentation.

Wheretobegin

Visualelementssuchasgraphs,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.

Don'tautomaticallyassumeyouneedtousepresentationsoftwaretomakeyourpresentation!

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,thisisthetypeofpresentationwe'llbeworkingoninthissection.

Titlescreen

Byusingastandardtitlechartandfollowingthestyleconsistently,wewilladdaprofessionaltouchnotonlytoourindividualpresentationsbutcollectivelytoallofIBM'sface-to-facecommunications.

Thetitleslideisastraightforwardelement,andgenerallyrequiresonlythatyouincludeyourname,IBMorganization,andspeakingtopicintheplacesprovided.However,thetemplateallowsforotherelementsthatmightberequired,andit'simportanttofollowtheguidelinesifyouwillbeusingthese.

Moretext(ifyoumust)

Thetemplatealsoprovidesaformatforlongerblocksoftext.Youshoulduseblocksoftextverysparingly.Yes,onceinawhiletheremightbealongerpassagethatisrelevant,andvaluable.Forinstance,youmighthaveaquotefromananalystorcustomerthatisparticularlystriking:

Ifyouaregoingtomakeyouraudiencereadsomething,makesureit'sworththeirtimeandeffort.Moreimportant,makesureit'sworthyourtime,sinceyoudon'thavemuchavailableandyou'vejustturnedsomeofitintoasmallreadingassignment.

Don'toverdoit

Beforeyoubegin,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-pointtext

Youraudienceisreadytolistenandtolook,buttheydon'twanttoreadlongpassagesoftextonascreen.Andyoudon'twantthemtoo,either—readingtakestheirattentionawayfromwhatyouaresaying.

Themosteffectivewaytousetextiswithshortphrasesthatcanbereadataglance.Presentedthisway,textcanremindpeopleofyourkeypoints,orhelpthemfollowtheprogressofyourpresentation.Here'sanexampleoftextpoorlyused:

Thatisn'tabad-lookingpage,anditisn'ttoodifficulttoread.Butitcanbeimproved.Thiswouldbeevenbetter:

Thefirstexampletriestopresentyourmessage.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:

Hereagain,youaregivingyouraudiencealimited,manageableamountofinformationatanyonetime.Ifyouhavebenchmarkdata(inthisexample)thatsimplydemandsagraphictreatment,don'tcramitontothispageunlessit'saverysimplegraphic.Makeanotherpage,devotedtothat.

Whenyou'vefinishedwithyourinformationaboutprice-performance,returntoyourlistandthesecondpoint.YournextpagemightlistthekeypointsaboutIBMservers'advancedmanagementcapabilities,followedbyonewithmoredetailonLinuxandopenstandards.

Ifthoseothertopicsdon'thaveasmuchsupportingdetail,youmightsimplyshowyourfirstpageaboutIBMserversagain,perhapswithyournextpointhighlighted:

Youwouldthenproceedtodiscusstheadvancedmanagementfeatures.Youraudiencehasaclearandquickvisualcuethatyou'removingontothesecondpoint,alongwithareminderthatathirdonewillfollow.

It'sperfectlyokaytorepeatpagesinthismanner.Repeatingpagescanhelpyouraudiencefollowthepresentation,withoutrequiringalotoftheirattentiontodoso.Whileit'struethat"lessismore"onanysinglepage(andevenforvisualsingeneral)solongasyourpagesarebriefanddirect,repeatingpagesinordertohighlighttheprogressofyourpresentationisaneffectiveuseofsupportingvisuals.Inthisinstance,morecanbemore.Justdon'tgetcarriedaway:youdon'tneedalineonthescreentosummarizeeverysinglethingyou'regoingtosay.

(Ifyouarepreparingaprintedversionofyourpitchtodistributetoyouraudience,youwillprobablyincludeapageonlyonce,andremoveanyhighlightedandrepeatedpages.)

Charts&graphs

Chartware

Ifyourpresentationsrequiregreateruseofawidervarietyofcharts,youcanfindamoredetailedexplorationofthetopicinSayitWithCharts,byGeneZelazny,oneofthebooksinourrecommendedreadinglist.Foranevendeeperexaminationofvisualcommunication,EnvisioningInformationbyEdwardTufteisexcellent,thoughnotasdirectlyrelevanttobusinesspresentations.

Chartsandgraphscanbeveryeffectivetools.Theycanalsobeannoyinglyclumsy,obscuringtheveryinformationthey'reintendedtocommunicate.Likeothertools,theymustbeusedwhenthetaskrequiresthem,andwithcare.

Ourtemplatecallsforchartsstrippedcleanofextraneousclutter,freefromsuchvisualgimmickryasthree-dimensionaleffects,andrestrainedintheiruseofcolor.Ifyourinformationisrelevanttoyouraudience,itshouldn'tbeobscuredbythissortofdistraction.Ifyourinformationisn'trelevant,itshouldn'tbeonthescreenatall.

Thisintroductiontothesimplest,mostcommonandeffectivetypesofchartsusedinpresentationsshouldhelpyoudevelopthebasicskillsyouneedtodecidewhentouseagraph,howtoselectthetypemostappropriatetoyourdata,andhowtocreateitusingthesoftwareyoualreadyhaveavailable,inastylethatwillblendharmoniouslyintotheIBMtemplate.

Beforeyouevenbegincreatingcharts,thereareafewpointstokeepinmind.

Chartsmustberead.Theydon'tconveyinformation,butratherpresentitinavisualwaythatmakesunderstandingiteasy.Still,youraudienceisgoingtohavetoextractthemessageofachartbylookingatit,by"reading"it,possiblywithyourassistanceinpointingoutitskeyaspects.

Thesimplerachartis,themoreclearanddirectitsmessagewillbe.Complexchartsofsimpleinformationarefailures.Simplechartsofcomplexinformationareachievements.

Whendatademandscomplexcharts,theyarenearlyalwaysbetterpresentedonaprintedhandout.Wewillworkaroundtheselimitsasbestwecan,butyoumustbeawareofthemandstriveforsimplicity.

Inthehandsofskilledpeopletrainedinpresentinginformationvisually,therearesoftwaretoolscapableoftransformingcomplexdataintoelegantandeffectivecharts.Buttheseoftenrequirespecializedskills.

You'llfindallsortsofexamplesofchartsandgraphsinthe"Infographics"presentationtemplates.Onceyou'vegotyourpresentationprepared,however,you'rereadyto"PresentIt"—whichjusthappenstobethesubjectofthethirdandfinalsectionoftheIBMPresentationMethodology.

Thetemplate

TheIBMPresentationTemplate(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,we'llconcernourselveswithsomeofthemostbasickindsofpagesandhowtousethemmosteffectively.

Wheretobegin

Congratulations:Youhaveawell-organized,concise,targetedpresentation.Youknowthematerialwellenoughtoimproviseifneeded,andrespondtoquestions.Yoursupportingvisualmaterialslooksharp-andmoreimportant,theyconveyinformationtosupportyourmessages,nothingmoreorless.Youhavecreatedaneditedversionofyourslides,reformattedforblack-and-white,andprintedenoughtohandouttoyouraudience.You'rethoroughlyprepared.

SayIt,Don'tJustPlayIt

It'sbecomeanacceptedpartofthecultureatIBM(andelsewhere)toe-mailapresentationtosomeone,inlieuofpresentingitinpersonorwhenanin-personpresentationisn'tpossible.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.

Speakingtips

Therearemanybooks,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(SecretsofPowerPresentations)says:"Presenterstendtogetdistractedandcontrolledbythenegativepersonalitytypes.Theytrytoconvince,cajole,persuadethatoneperson,oftentothedetrimentoftherestoftheaudience.Itisusuallyahopelesstask."

Donotreadyourslides.Assumingthetext(ifany)onyourslideislegible(asitshouldbe),youraudiencecanreaditfasterthanyoucanspeakit.Fewthingsaremoreannoyingthanwatchingsomeonemerelyreadorcloselyparaphrasepageafterpageoftext.Peoplewilleitherassumethatyoudon'tknowthetopicverywellandhavenothingtoadd,orelsethatyou'reanovicepresenterandtoonervous.

Explainyourslides.Goodsupportingmaterials,ontheirown,willpromptquestionsintheaudience'smind-questionsthatyouanswerevenbeforetheyareasked.Forslidesthatpresentdata(ingraphs,charts,etc)askyourself:Whatdoesthisinformationmean?Or,morecritically:WhatdoIwantittomeantothisaudience?

Forexample,ifyouhaveachartthatshowsanIBMproductoutperformingitscompetitorsinabenchmark,it'suselessmerelytotellyouraudiencewhatthey'relookingat:"Lookhere-oursoftwareismorepowerful."Instead,usethatasyourcuetoexplainwhyit'smorepowerful,whatcriticaltechnologiesareinthelatestversion,andwhythisparticularbenchmarkisrelevanttoyouraudience.

Transitionfirst,thenchangeslides.Thisisoneofthemosteffectivepracticesyoucanadopt.Toooften,speakerswillchangethevisualsfirst,everyonestartsreadingwhilethespeakerstartsatransitiontothissubject,andtheaudiencestartswithasenseofconfusionuntilthespeaker'sfinishedthistransition.Atbest,itwillseemasifyouneedtoseeyourownslidestorememberwhattotellpeople.Transitionverballytothenextslidefirst.Here'sanexampleoftheeffectivewaytotransitionbetweenslides,givenbyGeneZelaznyinSayItWithPresentations:

Continueeyecontactwiththeaudienceasyoufinishdiscussingthepreviousslide."Aswe'vejustseen,theUnitedStatesholdstremendouspotentialforJ.J.Ltd."

Holdtheeyecontactasyoumakethetransitiontothenextslide."ButwillJ.J.beabletoentertheU.S.market?Infact,therearenoinsurmountablebarrierstoentry."

Bequiet--stoptalking--asyoureplacetheoldvisualwiththenewone.

Makeeyecontactoncemoreasyoubegintotellthestoryofthenewvisual."Herearethebarriersyou'refamiliarwith,andtherecommendationsforovercomingthem."

Changeyourownslides.Whilenotalwayspossible,dependingonthepresentationenvironment,youshouldgenerallybeprepared