A500.8.3.RB_LarsonKurt, Blog-Good Presentation Design

A500.8.3.RB_LarsonKurt, Blog-Good Presentation Design

Like I discussed in A500.8.2.DQ, I do not agree that most business presentations are terrible. One must take into account the audience one must present to and putting the responsibility of knowing ones audience upon the presenter.

The example I used for the DQ discussed a particular presentation to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB,) in Washington, DC. The topic Public Aircraft Safety being high on their radar, I along with a host of others presented in a formal setting knowing we had exactly 10 minutes to present our salient points. And with the typical Green, Yellow and Red lights in front of us as a constant reminder to stay on point and on topic. My point, simply that individual’s high on the food, chain do not want to be entertained… they want to be informed. 

That said… the essential elements of a good presentation should be Simple, clear, concise and too the point. And have the ability to address to the audience what exactly your message is and allow some time to be interpersonal with your audience (if and when permissible,) this would be an opportune time to utilize the “B” key as a way of taking the audiences attention off the silver screen and squarely on you.

Creating a presentation should be undertook with the end in mind, this way you will have a method of navigating to your final destination… and your audience will as well. Knowing your audience and remembering that most CEO’s, General’s and Admiral’s have staff to get into the detailed portion of your topic after the brief is complete. So keep it on point and with a level of difficulty and technicality that is commiserate with your audience. And when presenting to multiple audiences in might be a good idea to have a variant of your presentation adaptable to the differing audiences.

Do not allow the presentation to do your presenting for you, rather you present to your audience and use which ever video and audio methods you choose to back-up and accent your presentation.

Knowing your topic backwards and forwards also might also be a good idea, if you wish for your topic and yourself to maintain credibility. Also should you stumble and forget your place or a particular train of thought, simply move on. Your audience will not know the difference unless you constantly use the “ah” word as you search for something to say. If you get lost… take a moment to regroup and continue like nothing has happened. You may remember what you forgot earlier and find a way to insert it into your presentation without anybody the wiser, or use it as reinforcing point at the end of your presentation… if applicable.

And lastly, do not make excuses for yourself in advance, if you are sick or have a sore throat, the audience will see it and respect you for sticking with-it.