The Pedestal Group

There are times I’m heads down, working like crazy and never come up for air. Like now. So this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wac3aGn5twc&feature=share was a great way to stop, look and listen to what’s going on. We have all been there and it doesn’t matter which side of the table you are on – there are clients who want this level of complication and there are vendors that bring it to the table. At this time of year, try to Keep It Simple (KISs). Your clients will thank you and so will your family (when you aren’t so stressed)!

Sorry for the short post today, but I’m keeping it simple!

Let’s play a game. Let’s pretend it is Thanksgiving 2012. I have just run into you at a networking event and I ask, “so what’s the best thing that happened to you this year?”. What’s your answer? Whatever you come up with is the start of your plan for 2012. Get it?

What’s my point? We often start our strategic goals from a money standpoint, or looking at our goals for the previous year and see how we improved. All valid things, but you are never going to stand at a party and tell me, “I achieved all of my stated goals!”. If you do, you would probably get a “congratulations” and the group would change the subject. But, if you had a story about landing a killer account or increasing sales by some amazing number well… people would want to hear about it. And you would want to talk about it. And then, the cycle would continue.

So this year start your plan from what story you would like to tell about 2012. You don’t have to tell anyone what it is but know what it is. Then, throughout the year you will work on it. Not because you wrote it down and read it to yourself every day, but because you internalize the story and we are pre-programmed to understand stories. When a piece of the story falls into place, you will have that satisfaction of knowing it is working. And then next year when I ask, you will tell me a compelling story about how you really worked hard and were able to do X. I will have questions and others will join the conversation because you have something to say. And from that conversation someone will say, “I want you to help ME with that too” and the cycle will continue!

So what was the best thing that happened this year?

As promised, here is a summary of a presentation I gave to the Greater Medina Chamber last week.

PowerPoint is an incredibly powerful tool – when used well. When used poorly, it is just BORING. In the past, I was taught to put everything on a slide, including our logo and “all rights reserved” at the bottom. Each slide had a header and a footer, and then we would cram as much text as possible into the slide. The idea was, when they took the slides as the handout, they would have all the information. I now know that thinking is completely WRONG.

Instead, your PowerPoint is to enhance your presentation. We all learn in different ways so the slides add a visual backdrop for your presentation. The key here is backdrop. YOU are the focus. YOU provide the content and the information. If you are just going to read to me, knock it off. I read faster than you talk. Send me an email. I’ll get to it – I promise.

One big hurtle I’ve had with the idea of PowerPoint being a backdrop was the handout at the end. I wanted a scenario where I was vital to the experience of the program, but if someone wanted the information as reference or to share with a friend, they could. Enter “Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery” by Garr Reynolds. The obvious answer? Create the handout as a DOCUMENT. Put all your information into a document form with as much detail and information as you like, with headers and other ways to quickly find what they need. Now, you are free to really use PowerPoint for the tool it can be.

Once you’ve written your handout, design your presentation. Slides become large pictures with few words to convey your meaning. There are no titles, logos, or disclaimers because they aren’t necessary anymore. One comment Reynolds makes is, you would never start every conversation with your name, so why start a slide with your logo?

Outline your flow and what information you want to provide. Then create slides that support that mission. You don’t need to put all the information on the slides because it is in the handout so think in terms of what is engaging, what will enhance your presentation and what will keep the audience’s attention.

For more on these concepts, I highly recommend checking out the Presentation Zen blog and book. Hope to see a change in your PowerPoints!