Presentations and Communications 101 for Information Professionals

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Presentations and Communications 101 for
Information Professionals 

• By Jennifer R. Pitarresi, Esq.
• Presented June 6, 2004
• SLA-LMD Program
• Nashville, TN
• Proprietary Materials - Do not reprint without
  permission of JP Consulting

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Road Map

• Overview
• Presentation w/ mini-break
• Questions
• Break
• Prepare Exercises
• Perform Exercises

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Overview

• General Rules for Presentations
• Dealing with Nerves
• Preparing Your Presentation
• Dealing with PowerPoint
• Performing Your Presentation
• Dealing with People
• Dealing with Questions
• Post-Presentation

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GENERAL RULES
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The Three Tenets of Presentations

• Preparation, Preparation, Preparation - if you
  know your material, you will be confident 
• Know your target audience -- their interests,
  their communication preference, how they like to
  be addressed (firm vs. company)
• Give your audience a road map -- what you will
  cover, order and length of topics, when to expect
  a break, and the WIFM (Whats In It for Me?)

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DONT

• Dont picture anyone in their underwear reserve
  that for Calvin Klein models

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Tip

• If you find nerves getting the better of you
  take a few deep breaths and begin speaking or
  start by engaging the audience Ex. Show of
  hands, how many people have attended a
  presentation like this before?
• Fight or flight syndrome and its adrenaline rush
  will dissipate as you get into speaking and
  breathing normally.

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DONT

•  Dont try gimmicks outside your comfort zone
  this will only make you less real, appear
  nervous, more focused on getting the gimmick
  right

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DONT

• Dont use lingo, slang, and/or acronyms without
  giving an explanation

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DO

• Observe time limits humans can only pay
  attention in short spans.
• Let people know how much time they will need to
  pay attention, and break up the time with topic
  and subtopic switches or audience interaction -
  that create gaps, allowing the mind to switch and
  refresh.  

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DO

• Pack your sense of humor technology glitches
  and other problems occur if you handle it with
  humor, your audience will still remember the
  presentation and not the problems. 

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To Move or Not to Move

• Walk or Plant
• Moving among the audience can promote interactive
  exchange, informality
• Do not do so if you are uncomfortable,
  uncoordinated, the room is not conducive or the
  presentation format does not allow (formal, panel
  discussion, etc.)

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Goal

• Do not become a duck in a shooting range --
• nor a lamp post 

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and Other Such Questions

• Sit or Stand
• Podium or Table
• Notes/Scripts or Freestyle
• Pointers, Lasers
• Table Microphone, Lavalier or None

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PREPARING
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What Is Your Presentations Special Purpose?

• Informative -- conveying facts/news/ideas to an
  affected group
• Educational teaching new information or
  reviewing a topic to an interested group
• Persuasive presenting a position or argument
  intending a particular result/decision 

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Dress for the Team That Shows Up

• Consider the type of presentation and audience
  when choosing your outfit appearance inspires
  confidence for you and the audience members
• Typical boardroom presentation be trial ready
  with a suit or more formal dress
• Be careful of large or noisy jewelry, flashy
  nails anything that will distract attention
  from your presentation and its substance

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A Word About Language

• Be cognizant of the language you use and match it
  to the purpose of your presentation.
• Be aware of the feminine voice avoid use of
  words like I feel rather than we have found,
  the facts show, indications are especially
  in a budget, ROI or boardroom presentation.
• Be diligent about spellchecking and proofreading
  print out and edit your slides and any hardcopy
  handouts.

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Using PowerPoint or Other Presentation Media

• Follow the paragraph rule -- 1 major idea or
  theme per screen
• 3 to 4 items per screen and shorter sentences or
  phrases
• Keep it simple dont get too fancy with
  backgrounds and animation that detract from the
  presentation. Make an effort to match the format
  to the topic. Keep the same font throughout.
• No eye charts dont use graphs or tables in
  small fonts, crowded with too much information.
  Never put up screens you have to apologize for
  the confessional speech.

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Tips 

• Use PPT screens effectively ---
• pick an important point to illustrate with a set
  of numbers of a graph
• make it clear, colorful, put words in boxes or
  borders
• EXPLAIN how the graph is to be read before
  launching into all of the information contained
  therein (cover the four corners how to read
  the chart.)
• If you have voluminous or complex information to
  convey, use a hard-copy appendix and refer to
  documents with more details (for later review).
  Give the page reference so the audience can note
  it.

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Points about graphs and charts

• Great for
• showing changes,fluctuations, or measurements
  over time
• to give a visual depiction of percentages,
  volumes, and other numbers
• to track performance or other metrics for a
  number of departments or people.
• Not especially good for
• detailed, complex information
• narratives

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PRESENTING/PERFORMING
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Care and Feeding of Your Audience

• Keep a notepad for questions or ask someone to
  track questions and concerns for follow-up.
• Decide whether you will pass out hardcopy of the
  presentation prior to starting.
• Let the audience know if the presentation will be
  available electronically or otherwise afterward.

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How To Deal with People

• Dealing With The Know It All  Tell us about
  thathow does it impact our discussion here? How
  does it relate to what were talking about
  today? or Excellent point. Thank you for
  that.
• Dealing With The Talker  Kindergarten rules
  Move closer to the talker as you continue your
  presentation. Put your hand on the table near
  the talker or on their shoulder. If the talking
  persists, ask if the person has a question you
  could address or something to add to the
  discussion.
• Dealing With The Too Busy Attendee
• Use similar tactics as with the talker or ask
  the person if they may need to check their e-mail
  or answer that call. If so, the group can take a
  break or they are free to go outside.

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Tip

• Be careful.if the person is your boss.
• Is this a bad time? I know you feel the
  material is important. Should we reschedule?
• Or should I continue for the group and we can
  schedule a one-on-one later? 

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How to Deal with Questions

• Dealing With a Question That Is Answered Later in
  Your Presentation
• Great question I cover that later in the
  presentation. Can we see if your concern is
  answered then? Or Can it wait?
• Alternative Ill be covering that more fully
  when we get to section 3, but the short answer is
  no, its not the same and you should see why when
  we get there. If its still unclear after that,
  please let me know.
• Dealing With a Question That Would Eat Up Time to
  Answer
• Excellent question the answer is a bit more
  complex than we have time for here today. Could
  you come up and see me after the presentation to
  discuss?
• Dealing With Not Knowing the Answer
• Thats a great question. Its outside the scope
  of what Im prepared to discuss here today, but
  Id be happy to look into it and get you the
  answer.

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End on a high note

• Recap your key points at the end of your
  presentation
• Ask if there are questions that have not been
  covered by the presentation
• Schedule follow-up --- either a session or
  hardcopy or electronic to answer more complex
  questions and provide additional information.
• If your speech was intended to be persuasive, ask
  for a time when you might hear a result. If
  educational, ask what folks learned. If
  informational, ask if this was helpful material.
• Thank your audience for their time, attention and
  input!

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POST-PRESENTATION
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  Recap

• The Three Tenets
• Preparation
• Target audience
• Road map and WIFM
• General Rules
• Dont picture anyone in their underwear
• Do take deep breaths before beginning to speak
• Dont try uncomfortable gimmicks
• Dont use or limit lingo, slang, or acronyms
• Do observe time limits
• Do allow breaks, interaction, and topic switches
• Do pack your sense of humor
• Decide logistics based on your comfort level
• Preparation
• One idea/theme and 3 - 4 items per slide
  maximum
• New idea, new slide paragraph rule
• No eye charts use graphs or charts for
  salient points

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Recap

• Performing
• Consider your dress, voice, language and match it
  to target audience
• Dealing with People
• Dealing with Questions
• Post-Presentation
• Recap
• Ask for questions
• Offer follow-up
• Indicate where materials can be obtained
• Set a date for discussion of result or additional
  sessions
• Thank your audience

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QUESTIONS
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Exercises

• Persuasive give a 5 min. speech intended to
  persuade the audience to agree with a position
  youve taken
• Ex. Anti-death penalty need a budget increase
• Educational give a 5 min. speech teaching the
  audience about a subject
• All about egrets, quilting 101
• Informational give a 5 min. speech intended to
  communicate info.
• How we performed 1st Quarter, strategy for 2005