Spring Contest Season - 2008

WOW!! I saw the positive results of following the Toastmasters program. I attended club contests and two Area contests this week, and have watched speakers develop excellent speaking skills over the past 3 years.

Next week is the last Area contest that I am involved in. My term as Area Governor has exceeded my wildest expectations. I gained experience and grew leadership skills in this role. If you are thinking of taking on an officer role in Toastmasters, then don't be shy. You will grow and gain as you step out of your comfort zone and become more involved with the organization.

Pacing your Presentation

What do you hate most about sitting through a PowerPoint Presentation? Most presenters do something like this:

"Good morning. My name is Joe Soap. Today I will tell you about Acme Corporation and how wonderful we are". Then Joe Soap goes on to read his 200 slides to you which all are so heavily laden with text that you are surprised the projector screen does not come crashing down with the weight of all that text being displayed.

How can you drastically change this atmosphere? With two strategies that my clients learn during my coaching sessions:
1. The Pow'Rful Opening. Have your title slide on show while your audience enters the room, and settles in. Your title slide tells the audience that we are in the right room, and Joe Soap is the presenter. Then your next slide is a black slide. This is where you build rapport with the audience, without the distraction of a slide. You use this time to deliver your opening story, and determine the audience's level of knowledge about your topic, if appropriate. Then you move onto your slide show.
2. Then, pace your slideshow with questions and reviews after you have covered every major topic. This is where I see many presenters fall flat - they just keep on going, irrespective of audience engagement. You need to stop and pace your presentation. It is not a lecture, this is a presentation. Stop speaking and stop presenting. Have a slide stating "Questions?", and then wait a moment for questions. If you don't get any questions, then initiate conversation by stating "At this point I often get asked...". Then have two questions ready, with answers to stimulate audience engagement.

Pace your presentation with the Pow'Rful Opening, and stopping after each major topic, to interact with your audience.

Have you ever wondered ...

Have you ever wondered:

- Why the salesperson at an appliance retail store spends 20 minutes convincing you of the durability and reliability of a major appliance, and then tries to sell you a Service Protection Plan if the appliance should self-destruct on the day after the warranty expires? (Honey, didn't he just say this dishwasher is built to last for 20 years?)

- Why on earth you would want to purchase a Service Protection Plan on an XBOX game, which has no moving parts and is supposedly going to hold the exact same data for 3 gabillion light years.

- Who has the lovely voice in the self-service checkout machine at Home Depot?

- How the artist is chosen to voice my directions in my GPS. "Turn left in 300 feet!". Why does my GPS use a woman's voice? Why my wife's GPS doesn't have a voice that conjures up an image of a Chippendale?

- Why every stock you purchase takes a nose-dive after you purchase it, and for as long as you hold it?

- Why the slowest lane in bumper-to-bumper traffic is the one that you are in?

Variety is the spice of life, and your PowerPoint Presentation

Variety is the spice of life. Life is boring and dull when you do the same thing, day after day after day. We need to take vacations, travel to foreign lands and explore new frontiers to fully live our lives.

In the same way, your audience benefits when you add variety to your presentation. We have all been over-exposed to the traditional PowerPoint Presentation Style - often referred to as "Death by PowerPoint". This style is played out by the presenter turning his or her back on the audience and then proceeding to read every word from text-laden slides to his or her snoozing audience.

However, every presenter can spice up a presentation with the following simple and easy strategies.
1. When you use text, use GIANT size text. Don't be scared to stand out. Use 80 point font.
2. Use black slides occasionally to completely change the pace of your presentation. Make a point and tell a personal story when the black slide comes up.
3. Use simple and clean graphs to highlight the important point that you want to make at any time. Make sure your graphs clearly indicate the point you want to make.
4. Then, of course, use Photographs liberally. (I surely don't need to expand on this strategy for readers of this blog, do I?)

These four strategies will add variety to your next presentation and you will be remembered as the presenter with SPICE.

Conversational Photos

While working with a client recently I realized a new benefit of using photos that have a personal message. The benefit is to stimulate conversation.

Use the photos on your slides to stimulate conversation with your audience. Do not use the photos on your slides as a creative form of lecturing.

For example, when you visit Paris, take photos of the Eiffel tower. If the situation comes up where you present a message that is related to towers, Paris, or overseas travel, put up your photo of the Eiffel tower. Then quickly mention that you were recently in Paris and took this photo. Don't dwell on your trip to Paris. While the slide is up, continue to make your point about towers and use the Eiffel tower as an example to prove your point.

This photo connects with audience members who have visited the Eiffel tower or are interested in the Eiffel Tower. It frees you up from having to read any data to the audience, which then allows you the flexibility to create eye-contact and engage in conversation about your point.

Also, audience members are more likely to converse with you afterwards and discuss visiting the Eiffel tower, which opens the door for you to create a personal relationship and generate business.

Wherever you can, use photos to stimulate conversation in your presentations.

Remember - "Photos beat formulas by far".

Jaw-droppingly bad powerpoint

Just when I think I have seen the worst PowerPoint Presentation imaginable, someone, somewhere, sets out to prove me wrong.

Barry Flanagan at Public Speaking for Geeks list examples of what the few of us enlightened PowerPoint Presenters are all working to avoid. Thanks to Barry for uncovering these disasters and sharing them.

Shake your head in disgust at the incompetence of presenters who put together presentations such as these.

Then post your comment below on how you think these presentations can be rescued.

The rule of 6

Today, I came across the rule of 6. This ludicrous rule states:

- No more than 6 slides without a picture
- No more than 6 bullet points per slide
- No more than 6 words per bullet point

There are no rules to follow when creating PowerPoint slides. There are only guidelines to apply, and common sense. The Pow'rFul Process clearly defines the repeatable process for you to follow when you are afforded the privilege of taking the platform.

Instead of trying to follow the rule of 6 and being afraid that the PowerPoint Police will haul you off the stage when you have 7 slides without out picture, put yourself in the shoes of the audience. When you are in the audience, do you care if there are 7 slides without a photo? Six is not the silver bullet. Common sense must guide you as you create your slideshow and present it.

Common sense for you to implement:
- Use high-resolution photographs.
- Use black slides liberally.
- f you must present content that does not have a photographic representation, then a maximum of 3 bullet points on any slide. (And use as many words as you need to get your point across clearly, but not one word too many).
- Tell stories and examples. Aim to tell one or two stories on every slide that you show.

But, please do not believe for a minute that the "Magic rule of 6" or "7-point solution" is a guarantee of a memorable presentation.

Mentor, coach and presenter restraint

How do you feel when you mentor a new Toastmaster? Do you want to share your years of knowledge and passion for the cause with the new Toastmaster at one setting? I love Toastmasters and want to help all new members benefit from the numerous Communication and tremendous Leadership opportunities available.

The vastness of education that Toastmasters provides is overwhelming for most new members. As a mentor I find that new members can only absorb small pieces of information at one time, and so we focus on learning one new role at at time, such as Ahh counter and Timer. Then working on one aspect of public speaking at a time.


Mentoring is a balancing act. On one hand, you have so much information to give and on the other hand you don't want to scare new members off by conveying the impression that a good speaker needs to follow 101 rules for an effective speech.


The same is true when coaching a client. I have so much knowledge and passion about using PowerPoint to improve their business results that I would love to impart all relevant knowledge at once. But using mentoring skills taught in Toastmasters, my clients benefit more with small, actionable improvements in Presentation skills. I encourage clients to present regularly and persist in making small impovements in their presentations.

Your audience benefits from your mentoring experience when you do the following in your PowerPoint presentation:
1. Realize that you cannot impart all of your expertise in a single presentation. .i.e. Do not create 97 slides for a 20 minute presentation.
2. Assess what information is most beneficial to your audience, at this time. Then write this down in 10 words or less. This is the purpose of your speech.
3. Create your presentation around the purpose of your speech, using PowerPoint as a visual aid to support your message.

Your audience benefits from your restraint when they walk out of your presentation, having understood the purpose of your message and with one or two actions to implement.

The PowerPoint Secret

PowerPoint has a hidden benefit. A secret known only to a few seasoned presenters. A secret that is shared with a wink of the eye. Just like a dark family secret. Like an uncle who served jail time - The whole family knows about it, but no-one speaks about it.

The PowerPoint Secret is "The Presenter View". When you computer is hooked up to multiple monitors, such as when your laptop is connected to a projector, you have the option to have your slides on display for the audience while you see a view that includes your notes and a timer.

Craig Strachan reveals this secret to the world in this dynamite ebook - Putting the POWER back into PowerPoint®. Read his book to astonish, amaze and astound your fellow presenters, as you display your knowledge of "The PowerPoint Secret".

NSA New England, Which style works for you?

I attended an informative, actionable and fun meeting at NSA New England chapter yesterday. Six professional speakers shared their insights and experiences with members. If I read 100 books on Professional and Public Speaking, I would not have received this volume of timely and valuable information.

My head is swimming with all of the ideas and information I received. Professional speakers implement different speaking models and each model has benefits and drawbacks. The perfect fit is one with benefits that suits your unique needs as a speaker.

This is the same with PowerPoint presentations. You need to find the presentation style that works for you, if you want to deliver memorable presentations. Do you prefer a fast-paced slideshow style? Or do you prefer to spend 2 to 4 minutes on a slide while you tell a story about your point and then engage the audience with personal examples?

I strongly believe in very few slides, with notes that display in the Presenter View of PowerPoint and coach clients to use this approach as well. Few slides with personal examples put you as the speaker in the desirable position of speaking directly to the audience with heartfelt conviction. Your audience senses that you are totally sincere in this situation and you prove that you are presenting for the benefit of the audience.

Try various PowerPoint Presentation styles and see which pace and style works best for you. Stay within the guidelines documented in "Dodging the bullet points", such as minimal text and generous use of high-quality photographs. You audience benefits as you discover your best presentation style.

Same old, same old - Winter Storm Ethan

Winter Storm Ethan passed over Connecticut last night, and left us with 4 inches of snow. At this time of the year, more than halfway through winter, 4 inches of snow is just the "same old, same old".

However, in July and August, we long for the snow and relief from oppressing humidity. In August, we long to open the windows and get fresh air, but are forced to keep our windows closed to let the Air Conditioner work. In February and March we we long to open the windows but are forced to keep the windows closed to keep the heat in.

For two periods of the year we long for a change. It is not that Winter is better than Summer, or Summer is better than Winter, it is just that we do not like too much of the same. We become accustomed to routine events and they lose the initial appeal. Variety is the spice of life.

In your presentations, and especially your PowerPoint slides, avoid sameness. Do not design every slide to look exactly the same as every other one, with only the text changing. Use some creativity and make each slide unique for a memorable presentation. Otherwise your audience will also long to open the windows and do anything to not experience the "Same old, same old" PowerPoint presentation.