One-two-three-four-five, I am going to present
Oh, those presentations. The project manager has to regularly talk about the results of his work, and at the same time - to escalate and solve project problems. The audience before which he speaks are decision makers - the top management of the client company, the project management committee, the sponsor and other interested parties. There is nothing more important than such presentations, often the future of the project (and the manager) depends on their results.
Presentation is a sale. Our whole life is a solid sale, but the presentation is just a concentrated sale. :-)
In life, anything can happen. Sometimes the project goes fine, but one wrong presentation and - oh! - management has strange and unnecessary questions, it forms an incorrect picture of the situation or of the manager. And there are unpredictable consequences.
And sometimes it happens the other way around - you manage to save the project by making a good presentation and enlisting the support of all-powerful bosses.
')
Below I have cited several of the most important rules that should guide the preparation and conduct of the presentation. In general, about how to make presentations, a lot of books have been written. I can recommend the Reality Check (Guy Kawasaki) - a storehouse of useful tips.
For the presentation should be carefully prepared. Even if you do not know the fear of the audience, and you never feel confused. Even if you have a phenomenal memory, and you never forget any, even minor, details of the project. Even if you are a fantastic speaker, and yesterday the Parliament of the United Kingdom applauded standing after your speech.
Preparation consists in defining the purpose of the presentation, working out the slides, the main milestones of the story and training the performance itself.
The purpose of the presentation is the stove from which the narrator dances, and at the same time the music to which he dances. The goal determines the content and logic of the story. This is the pivot on which all thoughts are strung. But enough tangled metaphors. :-) What are the goals? Here are examples: “Open (close) a project”, “Approve budget changes” (or some other changes in the project), “Report project status”, “Agree on a team, manager, sponsor and project schedule”. The goal should be stated briefly and should be understandable to all. The goal should be written on the first slide after the title of the presentation. When the projector lights up, the delighted audience should see the name of the presentation, its purpose and your name. There is simply no place.
When the goal is formed, you need to think about who to speak to, who will be set up. Think about who the key figures are, what questions are relevant for them, prepare approximate answers to these questions. Dream up. Even if you make a mistake with the questions, it is still useful - you can look at your work from different angles.
The next step is to determine the milestones of the performance. To do this, we use a simple school method - we throw in a plan containing basic ideas. Ask yourself questions - what you need to convey to the audience? What should happen when the presentation ends? What questions need to be covered, and which ones can and should be left in the shadow? In no case can not write the text of the speech and memorize it. It is necessary to keep in mind the sequence of the story (slides will help support it) and take care of logical links.
Now, about slides (a situation where other forms of presenting results are used instead of PowerPoint slides, we are not considering yet). Slides should be small. Ideally, the smaller the better. I personally follow the simple rule of 10-20-30. 10 is the number of slides. 20 - time speech. 30 - font size. If the first parameter can be reduced, the third one can only be increased. Doesn't the grandiose thought fit into the slide? Formulate it two times shorter. It seems that a miserable ten slides will not give you the opportunity to show all the greatness of the project and your merits? Think again, delete all unnecessary, and then again and again.
There are situations where, just in case, you need to have important figures at hand or, for example, details of the calculations, but you don’t want to put them on the slide. For such cases, I make an additional section after the tenth slide and throw all the details there - if necessary, you can always quickly squander on the desired slide. Everything, of course, depends on the composition of the audience, but usually people at the top of the hierarchy do not dig in details (there are working meetings with other people to cover the details).
The last slide should be called “Proposed Solutions”. It should briefly list the decisions that should be made. It does not matter if during the discussion everything has changed and the slide is not relevant - you can always scroll through it quickly.
Yes, I almost forgot - no animation on the slides. No different fonts on the same slide, including - different in color. And smaller pictures from photobanks (white-toothed satisfied customers, twisted hands, a Chinese girl with a headset, etc.) - it’s better to do without them.
Let's describe the preparation algorithm again:
* Give the title of the presentation (obviously, it is convenient to give the name that matches the name of the project).
* Define the purpose of the presentation.
* Formulate the goal clearly and briefly, write it on the first slide.
* Outline a presentation plan, highlight the main milestones of the story.
* Prepare slides (one slide illustrates one thought).
* It is convenient to use proportions 10-20-30: 10 slides for 20 minutes of performance, 30 pt.
* If necessary, make a few additional slides with the details, placing them after the main ten.
So, come the important day. 40 minutes before the start of the speech should already be in place. Inspect all the equipment - check that your laptop is turned on, that the projector is working, you can see everything on the screen. If something is wrong - it's time to get a spare flash drive or personal projector brought with you (this is not a joke - it’s better to carry this heavy machine with you than to look silly in front of the client’s top management). I also recommend having several sets of printed slides - the paper doesn’t care that the socket doesn’t work, but you don’t care if the presentation takes place.
There are more books written about how to perform, than about preparation, so I will list only the most important points:
* Choose one or two people from among the listeners and tell them. It is necessary in order not to look over the heads of the audience. Remember: there is no contact with the audience - the presentation is ruined.
* Look at these two lucky ones, concentrate on them. It is better if you know them - it relieves stress. Even better if they are friendly. And it is quite good if their opinion has the greatest weight.
* Do not speak monotonously - it will lull people. Use intonation, pause. People do not like to be bored.
* Hands need to take something. Ideal - confident gesticulation, open palms. If it is scary or does not work out yet, hold a pencil or pointer in your hands. You can even keep a hand in your pocket in Lenin's style; this is definitely better than flabby fingers and shoulders down.
* Questions need to respond positively. Answer quickly and to the point. On the one hand, you do not have a task to rally the entire presentation as soon as possible. On the other hand, there is no reason to turn your presentation into a discussion. So it is important to keep a balance. If the duration of the presentation is small, it is better to politely ask to wait and give the audience a whole picture, and then calmly answer questions.
Presentation is a sale. Our whole life is a solid sale, but the presentation is just a concentrated sale. :-)
In life, anything can happen. Sometimes the project goes fine, but one wrong presentation and - oh! - management has strange and unnecessary questions, it forms an incorrect picture of the situation or of the manager. And there are unpredictable consequences.
And sometimes it happens the other way around - you manage to save the project by making a good presentation and enlisting the support of all-powerful bosses.
')
Below I have cited several of the most important rules that should guide the preparation and conduct of the presentation. In general, about how to make presentations, a lot of books have been written. I can recommend the Reality Check (Guy Kawasaki) - a storehouse of useful tips.
For the presentation should be carefully prepared. Even if you do not know the fear of the audience, and you never feel confused. Even if you have a phenomenal memory, and you never forget any, even minor, details of the project. Even if you are a fantastic speaker, and yesterday the Parliament of the United Kingdom applauded standing after your speech.
Preparation consists in defining the purpose of the presentation, working out the slides, the main milestones of the story and training the performance itself.
The purpose of the presentation is the stove from which the narrator dances, and at the same time the music to which he dances. The goal determines the content and logic of the story. This is the pivot on which all thoughts are strung. But enough tangled metaphors. :-) What are the goals? Here are examples: “Open (close) a project”, “Approve budget changes” (or some other changes in the project), “Report project status”, “Agree on a team, manager, sponsor and project schedule”. The goal should be stated briefly and should be understandable to all. The goal should be written on the first slide after the title of the presentation. When the projector lights up, the delighted audience should see the name of the presentation, its purpose and your name. There is simply no place.
When the goal is formed, you need to think about who to speak to, who will be set up. Think about who the key figures are, what questions are relevant for them, prepare approximate answers to these questions. Dream up. Even if you make a mistake with the questions, it is still useful - you can look at your work from different angles.
The next step is to determine the milestones of the performance. To do this, we use a simple school method - we throw in a plan containing basic ideas. Ask yourself questions - what you need to convey to the audience? What should happen when the presentation ends? What questions need to be covered, and which ones can and should be left in the shadow? In no case can not write the text of the speech and memorize it. It is necessary to keep in mind the sequence of the story (slides will help support it) and take care of logical links.
Now, about slides (a situation where other forms of presenting results are used instead of PowerPoint slides, we are not considering yet). Slides should be small. Ideally, the smaller the better. I personally follow the simple rule of 10-20-30. 10 is the number of slides. 20 - time speech. 30 - font size. If the first parameter can be reduced, the third one can only be increased. Doesn't the grandiose thought fit into the slide? Formulate it two times shorter. It seems that a miserable ten slides will not give you the opportunity to show all the greatness of the project and your merits? Think again, delete all unnecessary, and then again and again.
There are situations where, just in case, you need to have important figures at hand or, for example, details of the calculations, but you don’t want to put them on the slide. For such cases, I make an additional section after the tenth slide and throw all the details there - if necessary, you can always quickly squander on the desired slide. Everything, of course, depends on the composition of the audience, but usually people at the top of the hierarchy do not dig in details (there are working meetings with other people to cover the details).
The last slide should be called “Proposed Solutions”. It should briefly list the decisions that should be made. It does not matter if during the discussion everything has changed and the slide is not relevant - you can always scroll through it quickly.
Yes, I almost forgot - no animation on the slides. No different fonts on the same slide, including - different in color. And smaller pictures from photobanks (white-toothed satisfied customers, twisted hands, a Chinese girl with a headset, etc.) - it’s better to do without them.
Let's describe the preparation algorithm again:
* Give the title of the presentation (obviously, it is convenient to give the name that matches the name of the project).
* Define the purpose of the presentation.
* Formulate the goal clearly and briefly, write it on the first slide.
* Outline a presentation plan, highlight the main milestones of the story.
* Prepare slides (one slide illustrates one thought).
* It is convenient to use proportions 10-20-30: 10 slides for 20 minutes of performance, 30 pt.
* If necessary, make a few additional slides with the details, placing them after the main ten.
So, come the important day. 40 minutes before the start of the speech should already be in place. Inspect all the equipment - check that your laptop is turned on, that the projector is working, you can see everything on the screen. If something is wrong - it's time to get a spare flash drive or personal projector brought with you (this is not a joke - it’s better to carry this heavy machine with you than to look silly in front of the client’s top management). I also recommend having several sets of printed slides - the paper doesn’t care that the socket doesn’t work, but you don’t care if the presentation takes place.
There are more books written about how to perform, than about preparation, so I will list only the most important points:
* Choose one or two people from among the listeners and tell them. It is necessary in order not to look over the heads of the audience. Remember: there is no contact with the audience - the presentation is ruined.
* Look at these two lucky ones, concentrate on them. It is better if you know them - it relieves stress. Even better if they are friendly. And it is quite good if their opinion has the greatest weight.
* Do not speak monotonously - it will lull people. Use intonation, pause. People do not like to be bored.
* Hands need to take something. Ideal - confident gesticulation, open palms. If it is scary or does not work out yet, hold a pencil or pointer in your hands. You can even keep a hand in your pocket in Lenin's style; this is definitely better than flabby fingers and shoulders down.
* Questions need to respond positively. Answer quickly and to the point. On the one hand, you do not have a task to rally the entire presentation as soon as possible. On the other hand, there is no reason to turn your presentation into a discussion. So it is important to keep a balance. If the duration of the presentation is small, it is better to politely ask to wait and give the audience a whole picture, and then calmly answer questions.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/123219/
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