NORTHERN PLANNER

Not much is probably the answer.

What I do know, I put into one little guide for a couple of people, intended for presenting in the real world, not the imaginary one that exists in the case studies and most industry advice.

Anyway, for better or worse, here it is……

IS IT A PRESENTATION THAT’S REQUIRED?

Be sure what is really required is a presentation. If you want (or the client wants) a discussion, or there is less than 5 people in the room, you really need a meeting and probably a proposal or word document. Use powerpoint if you have visuals you need everyone to look at, or you need some data or charts for everyone to analyse together – but be clear, these are for people to talk about, not a presentation where you mostly talk and people mostly listen

STRUCTURING AND BUILDING IT

1. Always tell people what you are going to tell them, tell them and then tell them what you told them
2. People tend to remember only three things from a presentation. Make sure you structure your presentation around the three things you want them to remember, tell them the three things at the start, remind them at the end and spend the bit in the middle convincing them why they should take the three things seriously
3. Getting to those three things should come from audience analysis. What do you and PHD want out of the presentation? What does the audience you’re presenting to want? There will be clashes of agenda , motivations and world views. Frame your three things around persuading your audience to buy into what you want out of the presentation
4. Find out as much as you can about the people you are presenting to, make your deck relatable to them. Find a hook, write a film log line for your presentation, based on the key tensions that will be in the room… if you know the biggest client dilemma is getting more budget out of the board, make that the key sub-plot. If you know you have two people in the room with opposing views, make your deck open up the debate
5. An easy way to win people over is using emotion. We remember how we feel longer than what we’re told. Make them feel something….don’t be afraid to use emotional blackmail
6. Tell stories, frame your entire presentation as a story with a beginning, middle and end. Think about stuff like this or the Pixar structure,
7. Use examples to bring the points you’re making to life. People react well to personal stories, so try and use them
8. Will all this in mind, don’t start with powerpoint, start with a succinct one page wonder – your summary script for the presentation. If you can’t get it down to a page, you haven’t got a tight enough story. Share the one pager with someone else, get buy in from the people internally you need to also.
9. Once you’re happy with the one pager, you can move to powerpoint. The purpose of powerpoint is to deliver exactly the right slides to deliver your story, always think about the deck as an illustration of what you will be saying, not the actual script.
10. Use a picture instead of words, bullets – no more than 5 – instead of a paragraph. Never write something people will read instead of  listening to you, write something that makes what you will say more powerful.

HOW TO PRESENT

1. Don’t worry about memorising a script. If you’ve developed your deck as above, you’ll know it all.
2. Most people (me included) are naturally not great presenters. Great presenters just prepare more.
3. So, re-hearse. Present to at least one person who doesn’t know the project. Make sure it’s the right length of course. If they get it, so will your audience. Also, the mirror neurons will fire and you’ll see the deck from their point of view and know how to refine it
4. Practise talking slower than normal. We all talk faster when we present, slow it down
5. Always stand up, accentuate confident body language. Stand up straight, imagine trying to get your head to touch the ceiling. Open stance – when you act confident, you feel confident.
6. Shy people like me talk quietly, practise in social situations talking a bit louder. Get your lungs used to working harder, I sing in the shower (seriously) Disney songs so the kids laugh at me.
7. Always stand to the right of the screen not the left. We read left to right, people will focus on you more if you stand where a sentence might finish
8. Never pretend to be something you are not. I’m not funny and never pretend to be. Be yourself – the universal rule is find a way to really care about what you are presenting. Your enthusiasm will be infectious. You don’t have to be slick, just look like you care

SOME CUNNING TRICKS

1. Edit, precis and distil at least three times. Every deck is too long, editing makes you see what is important and what isn’t
2. It’s a quirk of human nature that the more complex your language, the less seriously people take you. To be seen as totally on top of your game, make everything clear, simple and human. The more jargon you use, the less credible you will seem
3. Remember the Ikea effect. We tend to like things we feel we have helped create. Insert a mistake in your deck, let your audience correct you and they’ll feel they own in. Include your audience in the deck creation and they’ll support it even more
4. Only share the numbers and data that matters. If they ask for more, make sure you know what you left out, you’ll look totally ace when you nail it