Make Better Presentations – The Anatomy of a Good Speech

February 23, 2009 · Comments

soccer player You deserve some great tools, so I’d like to share what I’ve been working on. You might have an upcoming presentation, or you might be looking to speak more at events. ( here’s how to start speaking at events) I have a few ideas for you. I want to share with you my current thinking on presentations, such that I hope you feel equipped to do more with your own work. Fair?

Presentations are a way to move information from my head into your actions. If I do it right, I give my ideas “handles,” so that you can run with what I’ve started and make it your own. If you do it right, then your presentations will also help others. I’ve been thinking about the anatomy of presentations, and what we can do to improve how we’re doing what we do.

Start with WIIFM

I have talked about this before, but the first and most important thing to talk about first is explaining what’s in it for me, the listener, the audience. “What’s in it for me?” Answer that early. You might start by saying, “You’ve got a lot of work on your plate. I’ve got seven ideas for how to make that go smoothly for you.”

See what that does? It starts the story from the reader’s perspective. And if you think of your audience as readers in a story, or viewers of a movie, or an audience at a play, you’re in the right mindset.

What Is the Goal of a Presentation?

Perhaps the simplest goal is that a presentation is built to convey ideas. But to me, that’s not going far enough. If I’m going to bother to educate through a presentation, my goal is to influence you to take action and/or change behavior. It’s not good enough that you walk away as if you feel you know something more. I want you to want to do something more.

So, if you think of it that way, a presentation is a sale.

If we’re going to sell, we have to be a bit more serious about it. With that in mind, I’ve collected some ideas. Maybe they’ll spark some ideas of your own, and you can add them to the conversation.

Use a Framework of Some Kind

I absolutely loathe the “I’m going to tell you this; I am telling you this; I told you this” method of presentations. We don’t watch movies that way. Only some books have a table of contents up front (fiction doesn’t do that often). It’s just not fun seeing the “Title, Agenda, About Me” method. We’re too used to it.

Instead, how about a framework like this (for example)?

  • Ask your audience a question that frames the speech.
  • Tell your audience how you’ll try and answer that question.
  • Start with a personal or investigatory story.
  • Drill down into the details of how the story applies to your presentation.
  • Offer some takeaways or next-actions for this.
  • Tell another personal or informational story.
  • Repeat the drill down points, the takeaways, etc.
  • Thread questions in earlier than the end.
  • Finish with a solid set of steps people can use to take action based on your presentation.

This is one storytelling frame. You can do all kinds of other variations on the theme. For instance, what if you did something like this:

  • Start with a question about a famous figure.
  • Explain that your audience is there to help you figure out if that figure embodies the subject matter you’re covering.
  • Ask them to consider the figure at every step in the presentation.
  • And present…

In whichever framework you choose, make sure that you check in, frequently with your audience. Be sure they’re moving along with your presentation. If you see eyes glazing, react (either by livening up your speaking tone, or by noting where people start to glaze and fixing it in a subsequent effort). If you see enthusiasm, look at that person for inspiration. But always check in. Often.

Inspiration for Great Speeches

It’s easier to learn if you pull from interesting sources for inspiration.

First off, some number of you thought my first link would be to TED or PopTech. Though you can hear some amazing speeches there, I thought we’d slip off the beaten path of presentations and look for our inspiration elsewhere.

  • Cirque Du Soleil – If you’re going to design presentations, what would happen if you thought of them like a performance? I’ve seen two Cirque du Soleil shows in the last 12 months, and I think you could do worse than to think like a performance troupe who breaks the boundaries of showmanship with each event.
  • Alec Baldwin – The “Always Be Closing” Speech – The important part of this speech is the passion, the timing, the directness. Yes, there’s cursing, but there’s also big heaps of passion. Watch and learn.
  • David Lee Roth – In his time, David was quite the showman. Say what you will about his music, he knew what the audience wanted and he gave it to them. A good showman (showperson?) knows how to give the audience his or her best.
  • Watch Eve Ensler doing her vagina thing for TED (yep, I blew it and had to point you to TED). Did you see how she started? She pulled you in right away. It’s an uncomfortable topic (to some), and you can watch her move people back and forth from emotions. Do you even think about emotions when you think about presentations? Notice also how she does this as a conversation, and yet, it’s very practiced.
  • Look at comic book covers. Graphic design and interesting layout for your presentations sure doesn’t come canned inside the application. Look for it. Think on ways to deliver different visual experiences, and think about how to make them more interesting than linear text and clip art.
    little pirate ship
  • What About the Physical World? – I’ve been increasingly more interested with thinking about how the physical world can tie into the world in our minds. If you do something physical in the room, it makes a buzz.

The point is this: don’t look at other slide decks to be inspired. Look at other sources that go far afield of the beaten path and bring some synthesis of those ideas and your goals together on the table for you to work with. Think like a creator and a storyteller, and use tools way outside one specific constraint to get where you need to go.

Shop Your Work

You can practice and test and work out your presentations, you know. Author and speaker David Meerman Scott works from the perspective of perfecting his presentations, mapping them out to great detail, and then tweaking only small pieces while leaving the most of his work intact.

I think both Mitch Joel and Seth Godin do the same: take their presentations into a fairly solid form, and then just modify certain parts to match certain audiences. It makes sense. Working from a solid place, a home base, a pre-conceived set of ideas in a certain flow makes sense to lots of folks.

But don’t be afraid to try things.

How I’ve Been Doing It

Notes from a PresentationThe way I’ve been doing my presentations over the last several weeks has been very experimental. I’ve been writing some ideas into a small notebook and presenting from that notebook. The thing is, I’ve been doing it without a linear storyline.

I’ve worked strictly in the moment, like an improv actor or an artist or a cook. I take all the raw pieces of my conversations and work them into pieces of information on the fly and in real time.

I enjoy it. My audience doesn’t seem to like it as much. They come away appreciative of my passion but no more ready to take action. And that matters, so after some feedback, I’m working on my own presentations to reel them back into something that matches what’s above.

It’s important that you realize that your presentation is not just your creative work, but also your audience’s time and attention. If you don’t give your work some level of care and if you don’t constantly strive to communicate better with your audience, then why will people choose to learn from you over another source? Always pay attention to how your audience receives your work. Always seek feedback. Always strive to improve even more.

What Else Can I Tell You?

I know what I know. What do you want to now? How may I help you understand more? What will help this all make sense? What more can I add or clarify?

Thank you, as always, for your time and attention. It’s my goal that you feel like you receive value from spending time with me, and it’s my aim to be helpful. Thanks.

Photo Credit, Steve Jurvetson and idovermani

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  • Oh!...that's great helpful, it's so right to me! Million thanks for the article,
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  • I really dig your post Chris. Thanks for sharing these!!!
  • Thanks so much for this. I've got a presentation on child passenger safety coming up and these are great tips.
  • In another lifetime I was a Design & Decorative Arts Historian, and as such I particularly appreciate your invitation to think and look to the physical world for presentation inspiration. Your post has re-engaged me to look at the curatorial, storytelling aspect of a preso - how to frame the story, use related images for support, engage the listener, make them see things in a new way... Thanks!
  • Really good one - thanks for posting it
    @AxelS
  • Some great ideas and comments Chris.

    May I point you all over to Andy Bounds>>http://www.andybounds.com/
    He has some superb free info, and has written an excellent book called the Jelly Effect.

    I've been fortunate enough to meet Andy a couple of times, business and social, and he always impresses and helps me.
  • Priscilla Wyeth
    With all due respect, Toastmasters, founded in 1924, is where public speaking training and support starts and comes around to. Plain and simple, it's the best way to improve your speaking, your confidence and your leadership skills. You practise with fellow members who become friends and supporters and who provide constructive feedback to help you grow.

    I'm in business for myself and have been involved with my TM club for 4 years now. We have over 30 members, most of them business people, and all of them will tell you that joining Toastmasters has been the best decision they've made to help grow their business. Find the Toastmasters club nearest you by going to the TMInternational website, http://www.toastmasters.org/find/.

    Priscilla Wyeth, ACB, ALB
    President, Hudson Rise 'n Shine Toastmasters
  • I love the idea of treating a speech like a production. I did ballet for many years of my life and feel that giving a speech is strikingly similar to a performance. In dance you need to connect ideas through movement, whereas in when making a speech you need to connect your ideas and thoughts with words. In both situations, the thoughts need to run together smoothly and the performer needs to be able to create a constant balance between clarification and excitement. This was a great post that gave me many insightful tips to use when I make my next presentation. Thanks!
  • I practice the same presentation style, from notes and improv. I get tripped on memorization or scripted speeches. I learned this from Toastmasters
  • I work the same way as you mentioned with basic notes and improv from them. I get tripped up too easy if I script my speech into memorization. I learned this when I was a Taoastmaster
  • I have to disagree on the Baldwin speech in Glenngarry. I is a "bully" speech that we sales people hear all the time. It just puts fear into people. As opposed to a speech that helps people find their own "system" of selling and building on that.

    Is it dramtic...yes. Effective....no.
  • Chris,

    Insightful post - thanks for sharing!

    I can see how I've applied many of the tips you describe, however with 90% of our presentations being done via Web conference, what kind of barometer can you use to measure effectiveness, and/or what tips do you have to help read a room of people you can't really see?

    While mine is a unique example to introduce into this discussion, I do see Web conferencing becoming more widely used/accepted mainly because cutting down air travel is good for the environment and makes for good fiscal policy for businesses operating in a tough economy.

    I'd appreciate any insights you may have on the subject.

    Thanks Chris!

    Joseph
  • Hey Chris,

    Really great post - as others have said.

    I especially appreciated your humility in acknowledging where your audience were not digging your improv.

    The value of putting other people first can never be underestimated (unless you subscribe to the 48 laws of power!).

    Thanks again,

    Peace, W
  • I love your sense of being a simple normal cool down to earth guy, I think it helps people to learn by seeing that you make mistakes; you show a big time willingness to keep learning; and you have a very passionate way of bringing people into being interested. Presentations get more masterful when we relax, make mistakes and focus on helping people. People respect genuine humility in speeches! Helping people to learn is key, keep experimenting Mr. Brogan, great work....
  • Chris, this hit the spot! (Although I hate the pic - those exhibits are sick, man!) I'm planning a social media training with some friends and hope to incorporate some of these fresh thoughts, or at least let them influence my own thinking and planning. I've done a lot of public speaking, so it's easy to wing it. Reading this made me think how much I'm ripping off the audience by not putting my best into a presentation.
    I also really appreciate your humility in admitting that you are learning as you are thinking.
  • Chris,
    Great points. You obviously speak from experience. Appreciate your humility as well (i.e., my audience doesn't seem to like it as much). Been there.
    I would add that there's an attention curve when you have the greatest % of your audience's attention: at the beginning and end. If a presentation is going to be judged as effective, it will be due in large part to a strong opening and closing.
    Best,
    Steve
  • Good thoughts here, Chris. As a undergrad in Industrial Engineering, I am often shocked at how poorly my peers give presentations. People underestimate the importance of getting your thoughts clearly to an audience (or a board, etc).
  • Chris,

    This post nails the whole issue with presentations. I became rather agitated and downright offended, while at Sony Systems Engineering, to attend engineering design review meetings for new broadcast television systems design customers, and the presenter would place his PowerPoint slide-show on the projector screen, and the count was: Slide # 1 of 150 slides!

    A collective groan would emanate from my peer engineers as well as the customers! It would take this two hour, winding tour of the proposed system design, with way too much detail, and served to confuse the customer rather than engage and motivate the customer to respond.

    It was truly mind-numbing behaviour.

    Your approach is much more memorable, as I cannot recall any memorable ones from Sony in the five years I worked there, excepting my presentation to the elite management that contained fifteen (15!) slides, and covered only the essential information required. It took ten minutes, and I saved more time for questions than my presentation's duration.

    If only companies and presenters followed your lead, this method of sharing information would be more efficient, timely and not frustrate your customer.

    Respectfully,

    Nicholas Chase
    www.twitter.com/nachase
  • I use storytelling all the time and found it is effective. I also try as much as possible to involve the audience, make it as interactive as possible.

    One of the best resources for storytelling and your presenations is from Andy Goodman - Why Bad Presentations Happen to Good Causes.
  • I teach presentation skills. One thing that is always missing is the audience engagement part. In November I wrote an article for Training + Development of ASTD. The title was Engage Me, Please! I don't see much about engagement here, Chris.

    There are three segments of any presentation: Sender, Audience and Message. Chris, you deal nicely with Sender and Message. I challenge you to consider the Audience part. A great presentor does all three well.

    Speakers who are too Sender-focused tend to be "showmen." We've all seen them (and maybe enjoyed them). But, as you say in your post, the audience may walk away with nothing. Speakers who are too audience-focused tend to be "shrinks." There are fewer of these kinds of speakers. Speakers who are too message focused tend to be the "university professors." We've all suffered through the drone.

    That's my two-cents!
  • I've noticed in my 50 minute presentation that I use "gap" words like Um, You Know, Uh, and Basically waaaaay too much.

    As Obama teaches, pausing is not bad and can make you look careful, which is how you should be when you are presenting. Good stuff.
  • lisa wilburn
    great article. It had some useful info. I will try to use it.
  • Hi Chris,

    Great stuff, as usual.

    Did you catch the post from Olivia Mitchell about how audience Twittering might impact the "spontaneity" of a presentation and possibly enable you to give the audience greater value on the fly?

    How to Present While People are Twittering

    I enjoy using live internet in presentations to find examples in response to live questions and the suggestion to put up a live twitter stream sounds fun!

    Tom
  • Here's what works for me: I always ask the meeting planner: what do you want your attendees to walk out with? Most every time it's action steps in one direction or another - that's why I'm developing action planners that connect accountability partners before the group leaves the room.

    Yes, I have PowerPoint presentations, but they're mostly to promote my speaking on slideshare.net. People are more interested in what's real and in the moment. That's why your presentation at SOBCon was such a hit last May, Chris.

    You surprised us by showing pictures of people in the room as you talked and the call to hack and make pirates only added to the allure. Every speaker should read this post - and see you speak.
    @wiredprworks on twitter.com
  • Hi Chris,

    Yet another great blog post! You can sense thru your writing, your passion, and I love that! This is not just for big presentations but useful for one on one's too. Your coaching is inspiring to even those who may not present in person but also in writing. I will bookmark this and RT for all to read.

    Thank you Chris!
    svalskis
  • I am not a speaker, so I took your comments from a blogging perspective.
    It works...from "What is your goal" to "always check feedback- strive to improve."

    Thank you.

    Sheila
  • I love giving presentations in my classes. They usually count as a big part of the grade. The first one I gave was on the Blue People of Troublesome Creek for my biology class. The second was on the human embryonic stem cell debate as part of a team of four, for which we won best presentation. Always after the fact do I think of something I could have done better or I see someone else's presentation and wish I had followed their format, etc. The more memorable presentations I've seen have always touched on human emotion - laughter, fear. I think it is great to open and end a presentation with humor. Recently I attended a Chamber of Commerce annual awards dinner. The Citizen of the Year gave a presentation at the end of the dinner. He used humor and common sense alternately. His theme was five things a person needs to do or know to be a good citizen. Tip #3 was to be prepared. He preceeded that tip with a youtube video of a little boy having a tantrum in the grocery store and his father stands by helplessly. The video is actually a condom commercial but that part was not displayed in the speech. The choice of video made sense even not knowing that it was a condom commercial. Tip #4 was to understand the situation so as to work towards a solution. This tip was preceeded by a youtube video of a man leaving the office to find his car buried under a mountain of snow and a storm still raging. He was not dressed to be outside in that weather and he didn't have an ice scraper or anything so he had to improvise with his briefcase. Time elapse showed that it took him quite awhile to clean off his car and then he clicked the door unlocker and the car in front of the one he had just cleaned off, still buried in snow, beeped and flashed lights as doors unlocked. The man tries it again and realizes his mistake. I think these are great uses of short videos to bring home good ideas. Granted, this was an acceptance speech for an award, but the idea behind the presentation may be useful.
  • Another great post, Chris. Thanks for this info! I did a lot of presentations last year and I've been working on ways to update my information and delivery. This is incredibly helpful!!
  • Two tips:

    1. I always begin a technical presentation by finding out how much the audience already knows, via a few questions and 'show of hands', etc. Then I adjust the level and content accordingly. I am amazed at how often the event organizer insists that attendees need an "advanced" seminar, and within 60 seconds I know that they don't even grasp the basics yet.

    2. Use a handheld microphone and hold it close. Most people hold the mic at their chest or wear a lavalier mic; by holding the mic closer to your mouth you can instantly be 50% louder than the previous presenter, which wakes people up and grabs their attention. Presentations that are difficult to hear invite people to tune out. Try this when you are awarded the coveted 'after lunch' speaking slot!
  • I'm book marking this! Great info. I'm doing my first panel presentation in March on SMS and am super nervous about it.

    Hope you enjoyed the Cirque shows!!
    Katie - Internet Marketing Manager at Cirque du Soleil ;)
  • Goo piece.

    I was recently inspired by a board room presentation given my "Don Draper" of the TV show Mad Men. His talk about product value got me interested but I was blown away by his presentation: *very* personal, nice timing, and the faded in music is TV all the way. Sure, it's TV but there are lessons there too.

    http://www.outsideincredible.com/blog/wp-trackb...

    Tom @tomwgibson
  • I like how your blog post follows your own rules for giving a presentation. You say that you have to address an audience's question What's in it for me? and your blog post starts by telling us that we deserve great tools. Nice strategy. Also, you say that a good presentation shouldn't follow the traditional guidelines of preview, body, conclusion - a valid point. It's been done, and it's boring. Having some kind of structure, however, is necessary, and you need to tell your audience this structure right away so they know what's coming. How do you satisfy this need without coming off as rambling about what you're going to ramble about?
  • This was a great article...but then again, I always enjoy reading your blog posts anyway. High-light of my day because there's always so much to learn and it makes you go hmmm all the time which is the best part of it. The comments rock as well---great learning platform Mr Brogan! :)
  • I really like what Jeff Korhan & Tumblemoose have added to this discussion and have to echo Mitch Joel's recommendation of Nancy Duarte's book. She gave a great preso on giving presentations at Web2Summit in November 08'.

    Since the information I present to my audiences often shakes up their perceptions and makes them refocus and look at things differently, audiences can be a bit overwhelmed. I'm sure many people who read this blog and teach social media run into this from time to time.

    I always open by making sure folks know that - this presentation will be available online, any notes related to this presentation are there too! Hold the audiences hand and reassure them that you will take good care of them.

    It's important to know who is in the audience. Be sure to chat informally with folks and find out what kind of business people are engaged in and think about how the information you are going to present will be relevant. I often get ah ha moments that provide great insight just prior to going on stage. These discussions or questions to the audience help you understand where folks are and where they need to go.

    Never ever confuse keynote or ppt slides with speaking notes or the notes you need to leave with folks. Only use slides for effect, to amplify your ideas and spark emotion with the audience. Colour, form and design matter - words, not so much, unless you use them like Larry Lessig. - Go watch!! He rocks the stage.

    Always finish with - Now What? and give some concrete examples of actions that individuals in the room can take. Bounce back to the folks whose business you know and help them bridge the digital divide.

    This stuff is important, it matters and helping folks bridge the digital divide is important work. Giving Great presentations helps.

    bonus note: ask yourself what you can do to bring in other audiences? How can you capture the moment and ENGAGE folks in real time from outside the room.... think about how you can share the slides, audio or video of your presentation beyond the presentation moment. Great ideas need to be shared.
  • Katrina Meidanis
    Awesome post! I think that everyone could always use some extra advice to take with them when they are ready to make a presentation of any type.

    I enjoyed the different frameworks you mentioned instead of the regular 'go to' methods. I will definitely be taking your advice in some of my future presentations to come!
  • re: visuals-
    I use them to illustrate my talk, and keep me on track. I can bore you to death with all the reasons why this is a good idea, including how the brain processes language inputs- but at the heart of it, think of the slides as pictures in a book, and you are providing the captions and stories than link the pictures together into a unfied whole. The closing is the "and the moral of the story is:" when you hit people with the take home points. This also gives you free license to modify your presentation on the fly for the audience, change up your stories, but keep a structure, because you know what the "moral of the story" is supposed to be by the end.
  • Hello Chris,

    This is all great advice. And by focusing on giving value to your audience, you take the pressure off yourself so for those of you who are uncomfortable speaking publicly, this is a great way to reduce the stress.

    And remember, when speaking publicly, turn that event into multiple personal branding opportunities. For example, get video clips of your presentation so you can post them online, post a pdf of your slides on your web site, send out a press release announcing your presentation, etc.

    Best.
    William
    www.williamarruda.com
  • I'm not in the "speaking circle" ... yet ... but I really appreciate your insights on how to structure an engaging and FUN presentation. As someone who listens to a fair number of presentations, I can attest to the fact that many (many!) people don't have a solid grip on what makes people tick. These presenters are so focused on what they are trying to get the audience to do (usually buy something), that they completely lose sight of the message they should be delivering - which is the WIIFM message. I think if you go into a room with a sincere desire to educate or otherwise help people, you are in a much better place from which to launch your speech.
    Love the tips - am definitely bookmarking this one for later reference.
    Thanks!!
  • Hamilton
    Truly motivational post !!
    Thank you very much.
  • Great points although any pp points feel ....stale...darn! I like visual aids!!!!As a listener it helps me relax and decide if I like the speaker!
  • John Piercy
    Having heard so many stories .. about Chris Brogan
    I had my first opportunity to attend a CB session at Podcamp Toronto ,,
    Walking into a standing room only classroom .. was already giving the room a buzz ,,,
    Before beginning his session he actively encouraged people to leave and attend another presenters session ,, not many left ...
    Chris was interactive , he kept the crowd entertained , he gave away books ,
    he spoke very easily ... and kicking Microphone stands ,,
    His discussion lead to many hands up in the air , he took questions readily .. but he asks for input ,,,
    When the swearing started ... he had the room laughing ..
    I thoroughly enjoyed the experience ,,
    John Piercy
  • The more I speak the less complicated it seems to get Much of my learning comes from working with more expienced speakers, and the more I get their insights, the more I am reminded how the basics make the speech a success.

    When I'm writing a speech, I always start with this:

    1. Meet them where they are
    2. Remind them what they already know
    3. Take them where they want to go

    Jeff Korhan
  • I had a professor teach me the exact same things that you have posted here! It's good to see that the advice you posted hasn't changed one bit since last year!

    I'm wondering if you could add anything about using visuals to help aid a speech. There are obviously pros and cons to using these, but I think this may help people as well.

    Thanks for another informative post!

    --James
  • That took me to a whole other place, thank goodness. I'm so use to the same old, boring stuff. Your approach is refreshing.

    I've had the pleasure of attending lots of meetings because of our business and because my husband serves on a school board. Most speakers are either boring or so nervous, that's it's pure pain to listen to them. It makes you wonder why they agreed to speak.

    I've also heard great speakers like Dr Ben Carson. He held the room in awe. He is a great storyteller. He connected with the audience. He is a soft spoken man, but his message is loud and clear.

    I'd much rather see Cirque De Soliel than the old, boring style circus. You're right Chris, think of your audience as viewers or readers. Perform and always
    strive to improve.
  • Good job, Chris!
    This was really helpful.

    I have at least two presentations a month and when you do something so often, you kinda make a pattern that you follow every time. The thing is, this pattern is not always that good and you have to re-evaluate it every now and then :)
    I really liked your point about the framework. I usually build my framework depending on on my public. Different audiences have different interests and, most importantly, value time differently. You should always have that in mind :)

    Thanks for the good article!

    Regards,
    Phil
  • It's imperative that you have a deep sense of passion for the subject. That inner enthusiasm will shine throughout the presentation and will work to actively engage your audience.

    In essence, you are selling. And one of the best ways to be successful in selling is to not sell a product, sell your LOVE for the product.

    Cheers

    George
  • Thanks Chris,
    I've got a presentation coming up this weekend and this was a great refresher course as I attempt to sit down and hash out my material.

    Keep at it,
    -Chase
    Taiwan
  • Many people are waking up to the fallacies of the "typical" powerpoint presentation (thank goodness!). Great books on this include Presentation Zen (Garr Reynolds) and The Exceptional Presenter (Tim Koegel). And I have a chapter on the power of pictures and stories in my book too.
  • Fantastic post. I agree- there's no one framework that works, but I think merging structure and improv, making sure to deliver relevance to the audience at hand, is not a bad place to start.
    One thing I learned this weekend at Podcamp Toronto was how Mark Blevis looks at pacing and attention. He does a refresh, so to speak, about every thee to five minutes- changing tempo, speed, or topic. It keeps the audience with you and keeps their attention focused. This, along with some pacing advice I got from an Ira Glass presentation about how he puts together This American Life, has me rethinking how I edit my audio and how I pace my writing. It's building my house of ideas, so the sum of the parts is cohesive, but the individual elements still shine and have their place in the overall structure without getting lost.
  • Adding to Mitch's list of great resources, I strongly recommend the book "Made to Stick" by Chip and Dan Heath. In fact, I bought a whole box and I just give the book away (started a book chain where part of the deal is that recipient writes their email in the book and passes book on after they are done with it).

    In the book, the authors talk about key elements of SUCCESs: Simple, Unexpected, Credible, Concrete, Emotional, Story. If you want people to actually DO something, the message needs to stick. The website (http://www.madetostick.com/) is also full of great info, including some focused on presentations. I'm being asked to do more and more presentations and I ALWAYS go back to this acronym as a checklist.

    @isfan
  • I remain enthralled with the videos that I have watched so far that you posted from your recent speaking engagements. OMG. How could I get more out of them?? What could you add to make it better? I always leave feeling that you have enlightened and inspired me, in one way or another. I'll be lurking!
  • Great post Chris.

    I think there is one huge element not included in your Blog post: "what type of presentation is it?" If you're invited to give a quick 45-minute keynote or a half-day seminar (or a full-day), those are three very different types of presentations and within them are many permutations. I think the most important question is: "is this presentation tactical, motivational, informational, etc..." From there, you can figure out how you should structure your talk.

    The reason I use the word "structure" is because that and the content is EVERYTHING. The reason I do not improv is because sometimes improv is awesome, sometimes it's terrible but it's certainly not predictable. If someone is paying me to speak, they deserve both content and structure that works and will work for their audience (unless they are happy to pay for improv). That is not to say that you shouldn't customize and optimize your content for the audience, but you should know how it begins and ends and so should the audience.

    Before even thinking of presenting, I'd recommend that anyone interested in speaking read through these three books:

    1. Give Your Speech, Change The World - Nick Morgan.
    2. Presentation Zen - Garr Reynolds.
    3. Slideology - Nancy Duarte.
  • Thanks Chris for yet another great post. Lots of great insights for me to take on board for my next presentation.
  • Chris,

    Excellent points. What I sometimes do at the end of a presentation is dictating their agenda for the next day. What can they do in what amount of time the next day? For instance:
    9 am - Get coffee and check this presentation on slideshare again
    9.30 am - Make a Flickr account and start uploading some photos
    etc..

    Hope to see you this thursday, we'll both be speaking on the same Social Media event in Utrecht!
  • Very good post Chris. I've tagged you at JeremyJacobs
  • Hi Chris,

    Have you ever read anything about rhetorics? Quintilian, Cicero and Aristotle have written excellent stuff on the topic you're touching. Maybe it's an nice idea to blog about what we can learn from those classic teachers, when giving a presentation.
  • As someone that speaks on a variety of (admittedly dry) topics in telecom, one thing I've struggled with is how much interactivity can be expected or encouraged. Where is the line to be drawn and what is in play for a presentation? Are the tactics of transitions and slide deck fireworks any different than stepping away from a podium and introducing body language and proxemics to the presentation?

    One school of thought is that you are on a stage and will impart to the audience the same mechanics and delivery if it was one or ten thousand. Another school of thought would compel you to read the audience in real time as you go through the presentation and interact or extemporaneously strike off in a direction of their choosing by reading the crowd. Accommodating both schools would make for an interesting deck and/or set of talking points.

    One thing I blatantly copy is the teachers in my life. I try to throw in a little bit of the crazy science teacher that blew stuff up to get us to pay attention in class. When I know there is a very very dry area of a given topic, I try the visualization methods of a calculus professor to make it easier to get it -- or suffer through it with some modicum of entertainment value.

    More than anything, I think the process is one of distilling a given topic into a potent residual memory. Just like a stiff drink, you want them to remember it. So, my real question by way of a drinking analogy boils down to this:

    Does the audience want it straight up or on the rocks with a splash of mixer? Or, can the time you share with them be a variety of concoctions that are able to please a variety of temperaments and palates? Are their rules for rounds?
  • This had some really great and original information thanks Chris. Great to have snippets in there as to what others do. Succinct and creative!

    Another great performance speaker to analyze is Malcolm Gladwell - he has his own unique way of bringing it all home.
  • I'm also wondering how to get my dang picture to show up here, since I'm logged into Disqus and it's right there. :~) Ah, commenting systems!
  • Real Leaders Don't Do Powerpoint, but they do use Keynote *if* it's helpful in presenting new ideas, new information, new tools.

    I do, because I often use video and visuals.

    If you do, make sure it's a supplement to your talk and not a crutch to lean on. Engage your audience. Move away from the lectern and into the crowd as much as possible. And heed Chris's suggestions above.
  • Learned some good things from this, Mr. C.

    Thanks for your insight.

    I always start with what I'm NOT gonna do.

    (I'm not gonna try to convince you to...) then I tell everyone
    what my objectives are...I'm want you to...

    Thanks again for posting. I enjoy your thoughts.

    Keep the faith and keep being YOU!

    ~Ronald
    TrueBeliever & HopeDealer
  • Great post! I'm looking into getting into speaking myself (inspired by this weekend's Podcamp) and this is the perfect post! Thanks for the insights!
  • Great post, Chris. I mentioned to you on Twitter last Friday that I just picked up 'Real Leaders Don't Do Powerpoint". (referral link: http://is.gd/kvna) I read it on my flight and it was a really good book!!! Even talked about WIIFM. You should check it out, not that you need it. ;) Good read for a plane flight. Gave me some great tips for speaking to the international crowd. Plan on writing a book review at SquaredPeg soon.

    @bradjward
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