Presentation Generation

Garr Reynolds, author of the best-selling books "Presentation Zen" and "Presentation Zen Design" is a leading authority on presentation design and delivery.

His latest book - "The Naked Presenter" - focuses primarily on the presentation delivery process. With a foundation in the Japanese concepts of simplicity and naturalness, it will help you make natural connections with your audience and deliver powerful presentations that are effective and remembered.

Today I want to begin a periodic sampling of some of the key ideas in Reynolds books. I hope you find them intriguing enough to get a copy for your own use - after all, every leader is a presenter.

Presentation Generation
The ability to stand and deliver a powerful presentation that engages the whole minds of the audience has never been more important than today. The ability to speak passionately, clearly, and visually is more important than ever before - partly because of the fantastic reach that our talks have, largely thanks to the power of online video.

What you day and what you present visually today can now be captured easily and cheaply in video and webcast around the world for anyone to see. The potential of your speech or your presentation to change things - maybe even change the world - goes far beyond the words spoken. Words are important, but if it were just about words, you could create a detailed document, disseminate it, and that would be that.

Effective presentations allow you to amplify the meaning of your words.

What does this mean to you as a leader in your organization? How do you approach presentations - from one-on-one to a group of a few dozen or to a crowd of hundreds or thousands?

Bert Decker, author and speaking coach, says presentations need to move from information to influence, beginning at the intellectual and passive quadrant and moving to the active and emotional quadrant.

Seth Godin puts it this way: A presentation is a precious opportunity. It's a powerful arrangement...one speaker, an attentive audience, all in their seats, paying attention (at least at first).

Don't waste it.

Four Words to Use Every Day

Most of the time we give ourselves more credit than is due for our conversations. When those conversations are intended to move the listener to take an action, we need to remember the following:

The significance of what we are saying is not always self-evident, 

let alone shocking and/or awe-inspiring.

It's time for clarity:

So what?

Keep asking the question till you (and your audience) are satisfied that you are both clear on what is being communicated.

But don't stop there: information without application leads to stagnation.

It's time for transformation:

Now what?

Your audience may have information, but have you given them reason to act on it?

Today.

From Information to Influence

Jack Ryan, the historian-CIA-politician hero from author Tom Clancy's fiction writings of the 1990s is always good for a quote:

Next time Jack, write a #@$!! memo!

He muttered this to himself as he was being lowered in a raging storm from a helicopter to a submarine, on the way to averting WWIII. His research led to an astounding discovery, but it was his willingness in presenting the information first-hand that led to the quote above. It may make for good summertime reading and an action movie, but there is actually an instructive lesson in it for anyone who seeks to become a better communicator.

The written medium is a cognitive, linear, literal, and didactic process that's great for transferring information.

Speaking is the medium of action and influence. In speaking, we create an experience where people get us and our message together - and the two are inseparable. In speaking, we use information to influence. The power is in the presentation.

The two previous paragraphs come from Bert Decker's book "You've Got to Be Believed to Be Heard." Whenever I'm working on major presentations I always find myself coming back for a refresher course.

This week I'll be posting excerpts from this book along with observations for ChurchWorld.

Clarity is Audible

When you read or hear the word "clarity", the odds are that your next thoughts have something to do with vision, imagery, or similar metaphors. Will Mancini, author of "Church Unique" and founder of the consulting group Auxano, refers to himself as a "clarity evangelist." One of the central tenants of his work is clarity, and he uses powerful visual images to illustrate.

The concepts of clarity are a regular part of my conversations with churches. In the last week, I have talked about clarity with large and small churches; rural and urban churches; traditional and contemporary churches. Clarity transcends all these groupings as a necessary ingredient of successful churches.

In the midst of all this conversation about clarity, a comment was made to me that literally stopped me in my tracks:

Clarity is audible, too

This astute and wise church leader was telling me that our words - verbally - were very important in his context, maybe even more so than images and other visual elements. He demonstrated this the next day in a powerful, passionate sermon that was a masterpiece of the spoken word. He schooled me though the use of:

• The dynamics of voice
• Volume
• Inflection
• Pacing and tempo
• Eliminating verbal graffiti

Leaders who communicate with clarity radiate passion, conviction, and enthusiasm - and people respond.

Speaking My Mind...or Should I Say, My Heart?

In about a month I will be speaking at the National Association of Church Business Administration in Long Beach CA. This will wrap up this cycle of presentations; a whole new one starts in the fall. Since January I’ve given an 8-hour leadership seminar, presented 6 sessions at national conventions, and made over a dozen presentations to individual churches.

I didn’t pursue this speaking gig, but I’m having a whale of a time writing, researching, and delivering presentations. I’m finding out that the old axiom is true: the more you know, the more you don’t know.

My presentation style has changed a lot as well. I am trying hard to avoid the “death by PowerPoint” syndrome. Seth Godin’s comments are probably appropriate here:

A presentation is a precious opportunity. It's a powerful arrangement... one speaker, an attentive audience, all in their seats, all paying attention (at least at first). Don't waste it.
The purpose of a presentation is to change minds. That's the only reason I can think of to spend the time and resources. If your goal isn't to change minds, perhaps you should consider a different approach.

1. The best presentation is no presentation at all. If you can get by with a memo, send a memo. I can read it faster than you can present it and we'll both enjoy it more.
2. The second best presentation is one on one. No slides, no microphone. You look me in the eye and change my mind.
3. Third best? Live and fully interactive.
4. PowerPoint or Keynote, but with no bullets, just emotional pictures and stories.
5. And last best... well, if you really think you can change my mind by using tons of bullets and a droning presentation, I'm skeptical.

A presentation isn't an obligation, it's a privilege.

Share your heart and passion, and the information will follow.

The Power of a Presentation

2009 is shaping up to be my busiest year ever as a speaker, and I want to pause right now and thank God for the opportunities He has given me to speak. He has given me the desire and basic tools to use, but more importantly He has given me the drive to constantly improve.


In that constant journey of becoming a better speaker, I listen to as many presentations as possible at events I attend; I browse the web for captivating speeches; I listen to CDs of great speeches, and I read a lot (is that a surprise?) on the best books available on the topic.


One such book is slide:ology by Nancy Duarte. I've mentioned her work before, but it has been such an important work and influence that I wanted to post her Five Theses of the Power of Presentation for your consideration - and application.

• Treat Your Audience as King - They didn't come to your presentation to see you. They came to find out what you can do for them. Success means giving them a reason for taking their time, providing content that resonates, and ensuring it's clear what they are to do


• Spread Ideas and Move People - Creating great ideas is what we were born to do; getting people to feel like they have a stake in what we believe is the hard part. Communicate your ideas with strong visual grammar to engage all their senses and they will adopt the ideas as their own


• Help Them See What You're Saying - Epiphanies and profoundly moving experiences come from moments of clarity. Think like a designer and guide your audience through ideas in a way that helps, not hinders, their comprehension. Appeal not only to their verbal senses, but to their visual senses as well.


• Practice Design, Not Decoration - Orchestrating the aesthetic experience through well-known but oft-neglected design practices often transforms audiences into evangelists. Don't just make pretty talking points. Instead, display information in a way that makes complex information clear.


• Cultivate Healthy Relationships - A meaningful relationship between you, your slides, and your audience will connect people with content. Display information in the best way possible for comprehension rather than focusing on what you need as a visual crutch. Content carriers connect with people.

As I continue preparing for 2009 presentations, I'm going back to a blank page and starting with this question:

What action do I want to move my audience to undertake?

The Eyes Have It

Okay, here's the deal - I've been really fortunate to be selected for presentations at national events the past few years. This year alone I have spoken at 8 conferences, giving a total of 13 presentations. The topics ranged from Creation Care Audits to leadership development. The topics were all submitted in advance, and chosen by the conference team. All were designed to give a lot of information to an audience (supposedly) interested in learning. And so I dutifully did the PowerPoint thing, with anywhere from 30-85 slides for talks ranging from 45 minutes to an hour and a half. They were deemed successful by the surveys and the conference team, and everybody seemed happy as they headed off to their next seminar.

What's wrong with this picture?

I have come to the conclusion that I am going about the right thing in the wrong way. I have had suspicions of this for many months, but it was brought home to me at the Catalyst Conference in October when I heard Seth Godin rip through well over 100 slides in less than 45 minutes. The kicker - it seemed like 5 minutes, and I was captivated by his presentation. Godin wasn't giving information out - he was telling a story. He issued a call to action through the story, and by the end everyone in the 12,000 + audience seemed ready to take him up on it. Oh, and by the way - the "information" was given out as his latest book - to all the audience - as he left the stage.

If you want to give out information, put it in writing.

If you want action, speak in stories.

So here it is the end of 2008, and I'm prepping for presentations coming up in January and February of 2009, with the likelihood of more coming throughout the year. And I'm pretty much starting with a blank page - or in this case, a blank white board. Using the ideas I've posted about recently, I'm crafting a new presentation that will be highly visual. The audience I will be speaking to will be expecting "information" - and the conference requires it - but it will come in written form after the presentation.

Here's my first attempt at white boarding on a big scale - as in a 4 x 8 whiteboard in my office. It's not a great picture, but maybe you can get the idea. What you can't get is the feeling of creativity, flow, and grasp by having the major points of what I am trying to communicate in front of me all at once.

This is going to be really fun.