Posted in Uncategorized on March 9, 2008| Leave a Comment »
I am part of a branding team at work. We are developing clean, minimalist, memorable and unified images and ad copy. One of the team members found this funny video of Microsoft dirtying up Apple’s beautiful iPod brand. It was very appropriate considering our project.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeXAcwriid0
Here is the U.S. Air Force’s new brand also employing a minimalist theme.
Posted in Uncategorized on March 6, 2008| 2 Comments »
I have been busily preparing for a major presentation to ASRT’s senior leadership team. We are seeking support and funding for a major expansion of our professional development offerings by building a personalized, customized member educational portal. This educational portal will house a comprehensive suite of applications including a self-assessment, offerings in multiple delivery vehicles recommended based upon results of self-assessment, a wiki library, peer-to-peer learning forums, and much, much more. Depending on what functions secure approval, I will share more about the development of the portal in future blog postings.
In preparing for the presentation, I thought I would share some of the presenting best practices I have gathered and try to employ.
Mingle with your audience- Mill around the crowd as they gather to hear you speak. Introduce yourself and exchange pleasantries. This will build a comfort level between you and your audience.
Use an outline, not a script- The best presenters appear comfortable and relaxed. They may be standing in front of thousands of people, but you get the impression that they would be speaking the same way if they were speaking with a friend while sipping chai lattes at Starbucks. Using an outline helps you remember all the areas you want to cover while remaining general enough to reinforce a conversational tone. You will cause a snooze alert if you read word for word a pre-crafted speech.
Make eye contact- This is easier to do if you use an outline instead of reading a prepared speech. Making eye contact tells your audience you believe what you are telling them. You are not hiding anything.
Portray excitement- Many times you are presenting to secure approval for a plan or are training an audience on a new way of doing something. Excitement is contagious. Building an excited audience will cause them to take action to approve your plan or try out your methods.
Use humor, appropriate humor, and not too much- Incorporating a few safe (non-offensive) jokes or funny observations will help you build a link with your audience. Humor is best used in sections of a presentation that may be a little dry. The humor will build a bridge to the rest of the meat of presentation.
Include a memorable sound bite- Attorneys (such as my wife) often use theme statements in their closing arguments. A theme statement cleanly wraps up all of the facts of the case and leads a jury to their decision. Try to assign a memorable sound bite in your conclusion and your audience will remember it for a long time afterwards. I use this sound bite to describe the value of an iTunes presence: Free, but priceless.
Anticipate Questions/Objections- Develop a list of potential questions you may receive from your audience and determine how you would answer them. Again, your preparation will convey your belief in the merits of your proposal.
Look into the Future- Think about what approval of your proposal would mean in the present as well as what it could mean for the future. By being forward thinking, your presentation will also come off as more directly linked to the Society’s long term mission and vision.
Summarize major areas- If you are seeking funding on a proposal, state directly at the end of your presentation exactly what you are seeking.
Every presentation demands your best- Presenting can be fun, but you must remember it puts you in a spotlight. You are being evaluated on a personal and professional level during every presentation you give no matter who the audience may be. Your performance will be talked about. A presentation worth giving is worth giving well.
Practice- Rehearse and then rehearse some more. You should know your topic completely to be able to talk about it freely, comfortably and believably.
Good luck with your presentations.
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