book

Winning The Room

by Bill Franks, Kirk Borne

March 2022

Beginner to intermediate

304 pages

5h 9m

English

Wiley

Read now

Unlock full access

Section 1: Planning: Reviewing Strategic FundamentalsSection 2: Planning: Designing the PresentationSection 3: Developing: Wording and TextSection 4: Developing: Numbers and LabelsSection 5: Developing: Charts, Images, and LayoutsSection 6: Delivering: Final Presentation PreparationSection 7: Delivering: Giving the Presentation
Tip 1: Results Are Not the Biggest Factor in SuccessTip 2: Data Literacy Is a Two‐Way StreetTip 3: Don't Write Your Story … Tell Your Story!Tip 4: Facts and Figures Are Not a StoryTip 5: Know Your AudienceTip 6: Slides Must Be Short, Visual, and to the PointTip 7: Charts and Graphs Are Like JokesTip 8: Short Presentations Are Harder to Prepare Than Long OnesTip 9: An Executive Presentation May Have No Slides at AllTip 10: Budget Appropriate TimeTip 11: Be Yourself and Be AuthenticTip 12: What Is the Audience Buying Into? You!
Tip 13: Different Presentation Venues Require Different ApproachesTip 14: Try Different Ways to Organize Your StoryTip 15: Too Many Technical Details Will Undercut Your ImpactTip 16: Reveal Details Only to the Extent RequiredTip 17: Focus on How to Use Your ResultsTip 18: Use Analogies to Make an ImpactTip 19: Make Liberal Use of AppendicesTip 20: Create a Distinct Leave‐Behind DocumentTip 21: Create “Launch” SlidesTip 22: Break Content into Smaller PiecesTip 23: Animations Are Your FriendTip 24: Action Settings: A Hidden GemTip 25: Show the Fewest Numbers NecessaryTip 26: Distinguish Technical Significance from Business SignificanceTip 27: Give the Audience Your HeadlinesTip 28: Start with Your Recommended ActionsTip 29: Don't Focus on the “What”
Tip 30: Minimize the Number of Words on Your SlidesTip 31: Use Simple Terms and DefinitionsTip 32: Don't Use Technical TermsTip 33: Clarify Your DefinitionsTip 34: Provide Layperson and System LabelsTip 35: Use Consistent PhrasingTip 36: If It Can't Be Read, Don't Display ItTip 37: Don't Shrink Your Font, Shorten Your TextTip 38: Use Appropriate SpacingTip 39: Use the Same Font throughout Your PresentationTip 40: Beware the Missing FontTip 41: Address Every Agenda Item ListedTip 42: Identify When an Agenda Item Is CoveredTip 43: Spellcheck Is Not Always Your FriendTip 44: Charts and Images Are Misspelling FactoriesTip 45: Beware the Right Word, Wrong PlaceTip 46: Keep Your Text Horizontal
Tip 47: Use Consistent PrecisionTip 48: Use Only the Precision Required to Make Your PointTip 49: Match Precision to Accuracy LevelTip 50: Always Format NumbersTip 51: Always Show Percentages as a PercentageTip 52: Provide Quantities and PercentagesTip 53: Never Use Scientific NotationTip 54: Use Names, Not Numbers, for CategoriesTip 55: Watch for Truncated LabelsTip 56: Define All Acronyms and AbbreviationsTip 57: Use Dedicated Definitions SlidesTip 58: Clarify Aggregations AppliedTip 59: Focus on the Outcome of InterestTip 60: Validate That Your Numbers Make SenseTip 61: Add a Scale to Every ChartTip 62: Ensure Your Charts Have Consistent ScalingTip 63: An Axis Usually Should Start at 0Tip 64: Number Your Slides
Tip 65: Use a Mix of Chart TypesTip 66: Use a Mix of Slide LayoutsTip 67: Do Not Show Raw OutputTip 68: Keep It SimpleTip 69: Choose Charts That Are Easy to InterpretTip 70: Don't Show Incomprehensible GraphicsTip 71: Use Complex Graphics StrategicallyTip 72: Coordinate Your ColorsTip 73: Keep Colors in ContextTip 74: Shun Technical and Architectural DiagramsTip 75: Don't Let Accent Graphics Steal the ShowTip 76: Format Tables ConsistentlyTip 77: Use Shading to Make Tables Easily ReadableTip 78: Don't Put Borders Around ChartsTip 79: Limit the Number of CategoriesTip 80: Label Your DataTip 81: Avoid Stacked Bar ChartsTip 82: Put the Cause on the X‐Axis
Tip 83: Practice Your PresentationTip 84: Consult Some ConfidantsTip 85: Don't OverprepareTip 86: Adjust Your Story to the AudienceTip 87: Focus on Time, Not Slide CountsTip 88: Always Be Prepared for a Short PresentationTip 89: The Audience Won't Know What You Left OutTip 90: Scale Figures to Be RelatableTip 91: Be Clear about the Implications of Your ResultsTip 92: Call Out Any Ethical ConcernsTip 93: Use Simplified IllustrationsTip 94: Don't Include Low‐Value InformationTip 95: Make Critical Numbers Stand OutTip 96: Make Important Text Stand Out TooTip 97: Have Support in the RoomTip 98: Always Have Several Backup PlansTip 99: Use a Slide ClickerTip 100: Do Not Send Your Presentation in Advance
Tip 101: Do Not Read Your Slides … Ever!Tip 102: Read the Room and AdaptTip 103: Do Not Look at the Screen!Tip 104: Physically Point to Important InformationTip 105: Don't Let Bright Lights Throw You OffTip 106: Don't Stand StillTip 107: When Presenting Online, Look Right at the CameraTip 108: Anticipate Random and Irrelevant QuestionsTip 109: Handle Difficult People with GraceTip 110: Don't Correct People in Front of the RoomTip 111: Never Pretend You Know If You Don't!Tip 112: Stress the PositiveTip 113: Be Honest about Costs as Well as BenefitsTip 114: Don't Hedge Too MuchTip 115: Be Clear about the Measure You Are DiscussingTip 116: Don't Ask Which Findings Are ImportantTip 117: Tie Facts to ImpactsTip 118: Provide Specific Recommendations for ActionTip 119: Close with a “Wow” Tied to the Larger Context

Content preview from Winning The Room

Index

Page numbers followed by f refer to figures.

Abbreviations, 118, 119f
Academic presentations, 28
Accent graphics, 159, 160f
Accuracy
- double‐checking, 126, 127f
- precision and, 103, 104f
Acronyms, 118, 119f
Actions, recommended. see Recommended actions
Action Settings feature, in PowerPoint, 50–51, 51f, 209
Advance copies, of presentation, 210–211
Advertising, mass, 4
Agenda items
- addressing all, 87, 88f
- identifying coverage of, 89, 90f
Agenda slides, 87, 88f, 89, 90f
Aggregations, 122, 123f
“All Other” category, 167, 168f
Analogies, 37
Animations
- highlighting numbers with, 202
- slide timing with, 185
- using, 48, 49f
Appendices
- and action settings, 50
- to clarify illustrations, 198
- costs and benefits in, 236, 238f
- and definition slides, 120
- as leave‐behind documents, 38, 39f
Architectural diagrams, 157, 158f
Arrows, 198, 199f
Assumptions, presenting, 239–240
Audience(s)
- addressing concerns of, 217–218
- adjusting story to, 182–184, 183f
- asking questions of, 194, 242
- building trust with, 24
- color‐blind, 153
- correcting your, 230–231
- cutting content and confusing, 190–191
- difficult, 228–229
- eye contact with. see Eye contact
- headlines for, 56–57
- informing, of ethical concerns, 196, 197f
- keeping attention of, 16
- knowing your, 12–13
- managing, 59
- presenting complex analyses to, 4
- providing details to, 33–34
- response of, to text‐dense slides, 8
- scaling figures for, 192
- technical diagrams for, 157, 158f
Authenticity, 23
Average, 200, 201f
Axis labeling
- for cause‐and‐effect ...