Interview with Brian Miller: How to prepare a TEDx talk?

Brian Miller is a magician (and an entertainer) who spoke at TEDx recently. His talk has already garnered close to 200,000 views on YouTube. JazzFactory caught up with Brian Miller and tried to understand how he went about preparing his amazing TEDx talk. His talk is short, engaging and has no slides. You can watch him speak here.

JazzFactory: Who was the audience you had in mind while preparing your talk? The global audience of TED or the immediate audience at the event?

Brian Miller: The audience I cared most about was the potential global audience of YouTube viewers. TEDx conferences are limited to 100 attendees, and therefore they represent the smallest potential audience for your speech. The real beauty of TED and TEDx talks is that they are capable of reaching thousands, hundreds of thousands, and even millions of people around the world. I designed the speech and rehearsed it with that goal in mind.

JazzFactory: You are a performer. Did you still have butterflies in your stomach when you went on stage?

Brian: I am a seasoned performer / speaker, having performed for over 10 years in front of 1000s of audiences. For that reason, I am hardly nervous when I go on stage. This event, however, did make me nervous. The TED brand carries so much prestige that I was overcome with the pressure to do a magnificent job. I knew that if I could give a truly great talk, it had the potential to significantly boost my speaking career (and it has).

JazzFactory: How much time were you given to prepare? How much time you actually took to prepare?

Brian: I had about 6 weeks from the time I was invited to speak until the actual conference date, and I used all of that time.

JazzFactory: How did you prepare the content and decide on the flow?

Brian: I read books about giving speeches including How to Give a TED Talk by Jeremey Donovan, and watched so many TED and TEDx talks. I took notes on what I liked and what worked, and most importantly what didn’t. My speech was structured in a very traditional way, by using story vignettes to support my main points.

JazzFactory: Why did you not use slides?

Brian: The option to use slides was available, but I have never used slides for a presentation. Personally I feel that slides are more often distracting to an audience than they are useful. Most importantly, slides seem to create a barrier between the speaker and the audience. It is crucial to maintain an authentic relationship with the audience, especially in a TED-style talk, and for those reasons I chose not to use slides.

JazzFactory: How did you rehearse your talk?

Brian: After I finished writing the speech word for word and finalizing the draft, I rehearsed by reading it out loud over and over again, and always timed myself. I made notes and adjustments to the script based on those sessions and eventually found myself rehearsing without the need for a script. I would say I rehearsed the speech nearly 150 times by the day of the talk.

JazzFactory: What advice would you give to people who are preparing for their upcoming TEDx talk?

Brian: Watch as many TED and TEDx talks as you can, and take notes while doing so. Study those who have gone before you for what you think works and doesn’t work. Then use that information while crafting your speech. Rehearse until you can do the talk without thinking about it. TEDx is not the time to “wing it” from an outline. It should be polished and near-perfect. Most importantly: speak about something you care about deeply. Audiences respond to passion, and it is infectious. If you’re passionate about your topic, the audience will be inclined to listen.

We thank Brian for taking out time and sharing his secrets with us. If you want to know more about his preparation, check out his blog. Read the post here.

What a Magician taught me about Connecting with the Audience

"The magician is the only person who cannot see his own magic" says magician Brian Miller. Because only he knows how the trick really works and this knowledge goes against him.

If the magician came and did everything on his own, people will be not be too amazed. Contrast this with what magicians actually do. They come, cracks a few jokes, allow us to participate in the magic (let us touch the rope, sometimes invite us on stage and make us do something). When this happens, the audience feels that the magician understands them. When they feel understood, they make a connection. That's when they enjoy the most.

Perspective taking is the ability to see the world from the point of view of another person. How do we do 'perspective taking'? To understand this we need to know the difference between visual perspective and emotional perspective. For a magician, the visual perspective is more important. He needs to know what the trick looks like to the audience. There are many ways to do that. Make a video recording and watch it later. Perform in front of a mirror.

6 Tips to design better slides [Before and after examples]

In my last post I shared experienced investor Vinod Khosla's tips for startup funding. In this post I will share 6 tips which Vinod Khosla has shared in the same talk. These tips are meant for startups (investor presentations) but can be used by every presenter. These are general presentation tips to help you design a better slide.

#1 Reduce clutter
This is a pretty common tip. We all know this, but still we cannot seem to follow this. After you have designed your slide, go back and cut down lots of words. If you are going to present the deck (slides) in person, then you do not need so much text on the slide. One way you can cut down stuff from your slide is by asking "do I really need this?" to everything (and every word) you have put on the slide.

Here is a before and after slide from his talk. The original slide has way too many images, creating clutter.

#2 Five second rule
Khosla talks about the 'five second rule'. If I put up a slide and then remove it after 5 seconds, what will my audience notice? Given this background, our main message has to be in the title of the slide. Write the crux of the slide in the title itself because every member in the audience will first read the title. Our job is to make the life of our audience easier. They need to get the main message quickly and clearly. Read more about this here.

Here is an example of a slide which follows this rule. The one on the left is the original and the one on the right is better.

Within 5 seconds the audience will get the key message (96% lower cost).


#3 Simple fonts
Stylish fonts do not make a presentation beautiful. Stay away from uncommon fonts. Choose simple fonts (Arial, Helvetica) which are very quick to read. There are better things to focus on in life than wasting time over choosing fonts.

#4 One key message
Every slide must have one key message, not two. Everything you put on the slide (charts, text, image) has to support that key message. And where do we put this key message? - right up in the title.

Here is an example from his talk where he showcases how a slide was modified. The slide to the left is the original. The one on the right has just one image (which was there in the original). Plus the title has been modified. 'Glucose Monitors Today' says nothing to the audience. 'No More Finger Sticks' speaks a lot (and that's the key message here).

Here is another superb example. The slide on the left talks about the diabetes problem in the world. What do I as an investor have to do with that? Tell me clearly. The slide on the right talks about the growing problem. It is a big problem and growing fast too. That's what the investor wants to hear; a big and growing market.

#5 Data consistency
The market size on Slide 4 has to be the same as the size on Slide 24. The projected volumes in year 3 have to be the same across. Accept it that all of us make slides in the eleventh hour. Hence we are prone to such mistakes. The slides are made even when the number crunching is still not over. What do you do then? You review your deck and try to find fault with your data. Look for inconsistency. Check every piece of data and remove any inconsistency whatsoever. Else you lose trust.

#6 Avoid superlatives
While making a presentation we use clichés and useless superlatives (read more here) like state-of-the-art product, world class product and best in class team. Which presenter has ever claimed that his/her team is not best in class? Your audience can see through this BS and you need to stop it. Khosla encourages us to show, not tell. Show me how your product is world class and your team best in class.

Want to read more slide design tips, click here. Download my e-book on design tips by clicking here.

How to pitch to investors? Pitch the way Venture Capitalists think

Vinod Khosla, the founder of Khosla Ventures is a seasoned investor and entrepreneur. He has seen hundreds of startup pitches and in this 25 minute video he has shared his wisdom. What mistakes startups make while pitching for seed funding (or early stage funding) and what is the best way to present to investors. I have put together some key takeaways from his valuable talk.

Pitch the way Venture Capitalists think

What is your goal?

The most important goal of your presentation is to engineer an email. Let me explain. Once the presentation is over, the investor will shoot across an email to his partners. The investor (your audience) will write a few sentences to his peers (colleagues at the investment firm). What will the investor write? Your aim is to write the email for him. Plant some key messages during your presentation. What is the company about? Why it is an exciting business? The words and tone of his email determine your fate.

Less is more

The investor presentation is not a place to share everything. You do not need to share 10 reasons why they should invest in you. You do not need to take them through everything. Choose overview over details. If they need details, they will ask and then you can share the same. Take them through the overall story first. Share the most important story which fascinates the investor. 

Reason to invest and NOT invest

There are two major emotions at play in the minds of the investor; fear and greed. Fear that this might be a risky investment and greed that it could be a jackpot for the investor. Address both of them. Give 3-5 reasons to invest and also share the risks facing the business. Then address these risks. Show that you have thought through and know how to minimize the risks of running this business.

Tell me a story

Investor presentation cannot be a boring experience. You have to take care of the emotions of the investor. You have to tell a story with words, pictures and numbers. Do not bore them. They too are human.

How to develop your story? What will you talk about?

Step - 1 Write down all the reasons why the investor should invest in you. Make a really long list. Then choose 3 to 5 key ones. That's it. The investor cannot remember more than 3-5 reasons.

Step - 2 Write down all the reasons why the investor should not invest in you. This is what is going on in his mind at the time of your presentation. Now pick up the top 3 reasons and address them in your presentation. This will show that you have thought through and you have a strategy to minimize the risk facing your business.

Step - 3 Talk about the team, financials (revenue, cash flow, capex, etc.) Do not go beyond 25 slides.

Step - 4 Write down all the questions you think will arise during your presentation. Prepare an answer for each of these and keep them as your backup slides. Show it to them when they ask the question. This will again prove you are a person who is prepared and well organized.

State the problem clearly

Khosla says 80% of the presentations do not make the problem clear till they are about 15 minutes into the presentation. Say this right at the start. Do not make a statement. Tell me the problem you are really solving.

How does a VC decide?

Do you solve a real problem?

What are the reasons to invest?

What are the risks and how will they mitigate the risk?

How good is the team?

How dangerous are the cash flows?

Other tips

• Credibility is important. After the presentation, the investor and his team will discuss "whether they can trust you?". Ensure you do not hide anything from them.
• Use a bottoms up approach to market sizing. That is more credible. Saying that as per Gartner the XYZ market is $2 billion is not good enough.
• The investor does not care about your names. What matters is what makes this team qualify for this job? How will this team mitigate the risks of business.

Watch his talk by clicking here. Take care  of these points when you prepare your pitch presentation. In my next post, I will share the slide design tips which Vinod Khosla has shared in this talk.

David Ogilvy on Presentations

David Ogilvy is considered "The Father of Advertising". His writings on advertising are popular across the world. I came across his short note "10 Tips on Writing by David Ogilvy" today and could not resist sharing it here. His tips on writing can as well be applied to presentations. Just replace the word 'write' with 'present' and 'writing' with 'presenting'.


---
"The better you write, the higher you go in Ogilvy & Mather. People who think well, write well. Woolly minded people write woolly memos, woolly letters and woolly speeches. Good writing is not a natural gift. You have to learn to write well. Here are 10 hints:


1. Read the Roman-Raphaelson book on writing. Read it three times.
2. Write the way you talk. Naturally.
3. Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs.
4. Never use jargon words like reconceptualize, demassification, attitudinally, judgmentally. They are hallmarks of a pretentious ass.
5. Never write more than two pages on any subject.
6. Check your quotations.
7. Never send a letter or a memo on the day you write it. Read it aloud the next morning - and then edit it.
8. If it is something important, get a colleague to improve it.
9. Before you send your letter or your memo, make sure it is crystal clear what you want the recipient to do.
10. If you want ACTION, don't write. Go and tell the guy what you want."


David
---


Check out the Roman-Raphaelson book on Amazon & flipkart.


The lessons I draw as a presenter from these tips are as under. The number before every paragraph relates to that tip by David Ogilvy.


2. Present the way you normally talk. Do not put on an accent. Do not talk fast. Look people into the eye. While you are presenting, you should be your normal self.


3. Use less words on your slides. Speak less but mean more. Do not keep on talking and do not fill your slides with text.


4. Never use jargon in your presentations. You might want to sound 'cool' or like an expert but it does not help. Be clear and simple to your audience.


5. Never make lengthy presentation. Be brief and to the point. The more you say, the less people care and remember.


7. Never be in a hurry to send in (email) your PPT to the recipient. If you have worked late night on the slides, check them again the next morning and edit them. Never go into a presentation without rehearsal.


8. If you are working on an important presentation, take help from colleagues and friends. They will give you feedback which will help you. Let them critique your presentation.


9. You must be very sure what is the objective of your presentation. What do you want the audience to do after the presentation and why? This will bring clarity to your thoughts.


Not to forget, good presentation skill is not a natural gift. You have to learn to present well. Very well said David.


Thanks to my friend Nirav for sharing the link on FB.

7 tips on how to get sponsors for your event

This is a guest post by Abhishek Gupta and a very important one. The most read post on my blog till date has been on making sponsorship proposals. While I have been exposed to sponsorship proposals as a sponsor I had been waiting for an event organiser to share his experience with us. Abhishek has successfully organised IIM Ahmedabad's largest cultural event and raised millions. (IIM Ahmedabad is the best & biggest MBA institute in India).

Although raising sponsorship money seems like any other sales process, there is a huge difference in no existing product or service being there to sell in this case. The similarlities - Buyer is sponsor, Seller is the event organizer and Product/ service is the event. Following are a few tips on how we go about it.


Know your offering

First & foremost, believe in your product/ service! You should be thorough in all aspects about your product/ service. What is the idea? What resources, including people & finances, required? What timelines? Past examples? You got to know all. This might sound cliched but SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats) could be the most handy tool.

Identify your buyer

Although carpet bombing helps but target bombing can't be avoided. Find out the agencies planning to enter into market or launch an IPO, as they would have extra budgets for sponsorship. Large sized agencies or agencies with lion's market share already also could be targeted as they have the moolah. Fit between your product/ service user and the buyer target segment is very important.

Know your buyer

It goes without saying that the buyer is listening to only what he/she wants to. Sell what they buy not what you have. This involves modifying your product/service to suit the requirements or presenting it differently.

Sell & tell something extra to each

Each buyer should feel that something extra, something innovative is being sold to him/ her. This extra/ innovative could be your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) which no one else is offering. Communicate about your effort to do something extra 'Only for You'.

Be persistent

Don't lose hopes if the first response is not encouraging. Ensure that you have talked to senior management before taking a final no. Look out for the right hand person of the decision taker and convince him/ her first. Create levels in your organization, such that to show your seriousness to buyer you takeover from your deputy whenever needed.

Lookout for latecomers

Most of the times, 20-30% of the sponsorship comes in the last few weeks. This is not to advocate wait & watch but just to ensure we don't close putting in our efforts a month or two before.

Leave room for negotiations

Since we approach the buyer and no particular value could be attached to a sponsorship level, buyer would certainly want to bring down your quote. However, convince them on others buying higher and lower level at higher and lower prices respectively. In other words, make a comparative pitch.

A word of caution

Ensure that everything you talk about/ discuss/ agree is in black & white and also look for at least 50% payment in advance.

"Know what you sell and Sell what is bought."


About the author
Abhishek Gupta organized the largest business school cultural fest, IIM Ahmedabad's Chaos in 2006 and almost single handedly took the event to new heights. He is now a Principal Consultant in Government Advisory division at Ernst & Young, Delhi. He has over 7 years experience in the consulting industry. His educational qualifications include PGDM from IIM-A and Chartered Accountancy.

Image Credits: graur codrin

Creating the ‘wow’ factor in presentations (Part 3 of 3)

This is a guest post by Rangarajan V. This is the last and final part of the three part series. This series is especially helpful for consultants.

In Part I we learnt that we can improve as a presenter by paying careful attention to three aspects; thinking, making and delivering. Think about what we have to say and come up with few key messages. In Part II Rangarajan talks about 'making' and covers topics like storyboarding, message, headline. If your presentation passes the 'layman' test then it is going to be a 'wow' presentation. Now we will read the third part of the series.


3. Delivering the presentation

The culmination of days/weeks of hard work is almost here. Today is presentation day. The way you deliver your presentation today will determine whether your audience thinks of your effort as ‘oh-wow!’ or ‘umm-what?’ As a presenter or presenting team, what can you do to ensure that your chances of creating a ‘wow’ impact are increased?

Planning: The first thing to do is to plan the delivery of the presentation thoroughly. The following aspects are very important:

A. Understand the audience:

• Who all are going to be present for the session? What are their backgrounds? What are their personal agendas likely to be?

• Who is the key decision maker in the group?

• Who is the change leader?

• Who is the change resister?

• What are the likely arguments that the change resister can put forth?

You would have probably gleaned most of these bits of information from prior interactions/discussions. Ensure that you discuss these aspects with your team members and prepare lines of attack/defence well before the presentation starts.

B. Understand the presenting team: Most presentations are not one-man shows. There will be a team of people from the presenting side. Even if the final presentation is delivered by one person, the Q&A sessions during and after presentations are usually handled by team effort. Pay attention to small things that go a long way in ensuring a high-impact team performance:

• Demarcation of areas: Clearly assigning certain sections of the presentation to your team members helps ensure more thorough research and preparation of individual sections. For example, team member A is in charge of delivering section 3, team member B is in charge of handling all questions related to area 4 etc.

• Prepping of key messages: Even when there are 4-5 bullet points in a slide, the key message is going to be just one. While this message is likely covered by the headline of the slide, written and spoken language is different. Ensure that the messages sound correct when verbalized in speech.

• Understanding strengths and weaknesses of presenting members: Some people are better at turning around ‘bad situations’ while some people are good ‘front runners’, who make a high impact when the audience is unsure but not hostile. Ensure that the strengths and weaknesses of the presenters are mapped to the sections of the presentations that you assign them with.

• Preparing Plan B: It is important to have a back-up plan in case your presentation does not go well? What do you do if the presentation does not go as well as you had hoped? Can you have some other team member deliver a section? What is your retreat option? Should you weather the storm or go for a counter-attack?

C. Understand the infrastructure: This includes some of the following aspects

• The presentation room: Where are the projectors? Where is the screen? Where will the presenting team sit? Where will the audience sit?

• Presentation materials: Does the audience need printouts? Will you have access to white-boards? Do you need to use laser pointers?

Executing the presentation: This is the final piece of the jigsaw and probably the most important one. What all do you need to do to execute a good presentation? Some of the following will help

• Posture: Adopt an easy posture that you can maintain without much difficulty for the duration of your section/sections of the presentation. Typically, an ‘at-ease’ posture works well, but keep your hands to your side instead of behind your back. Do not pace around too much during the presentation. Keep your head still and upright

• Eye-contact: Maintain eye contact steadily with all sections of your audience. The decision-maker should probably receive slightly longer eye-contact than the rest of the audience, but not much. At the end of the day, the presentation is to the audience.

• Language: Keep your sentences short and simple. Avoid jargon (imagine this coming from a consultant!).

• Speaking style: Do not speak too fast or too slow. No matter what your natural speaking style is, a presentation requires medium-paced delivery and clear enunciation. Ensure that you practice this repeatedly. Occasionally, use silence as a valuable tool to drive home your point.

• Confidence: This is the most important aspect of your delivery. You need to come across as being assured and deliberate. This comes primarily from two things – practice and knowledge. Practice refers not only to the hours put in for the current presentation, but the accumulated hours of practice you might have put in for all presentations in front of various audiences. Knowledge refers to the knowledge of the subject matter, the audience, the team and the infrastructure outlined above.

Concluding thoughts: No matter what you do with respect to thinking, making and delivering the presentation, there are some aspects that will always be beyond your control. You will have good presentations and you will have bad presentations. The important thing is to feel happy about the good ones and more importantly, learn from the bad ones. As with anything else, keep at it to become better at it.

About the Author: Rangarajan has been a consultant for over 4 years with A.T. Kearney, a leading management consultancy firm that advises CXO level executives on matters of strategic and operational importance. Prior to joining A.T. Kearney, he did his post-graduation from IIM Ahmedabad. He has given multiple presentations to the Boards/CEOs/CXOs/Senior management of many leading Indian companies and brings a wealth of practical experience in handling tough presentation situations.

Creating the ‘wow’ factor in presentations (Part 2 of 3)

This is a guest post by Rangarajan V. This is the second part in the three part series.


In the last post we learnt that one can improve as a presenter by paying careful attention to three aspects; thinking, making and delivering. Think about what we have to say and come up with few key messages. Our key messages should cover two things; the necessity for taking action and what is the recommended action?


2. Making the presentation

Once the key messages are clear in your mind, you need to think about the best way to communicate your ideas to your audience. There is no one ‘best way’ of communicating your thoughts. Most people, however, tend to use Microsoft PowerPoint to make presentations these days. Even within PowerPoint, there are infinite ways of communicating the same idea. What is it you can do to ensure that you make a hard-hitting presentation? Keep the following aspects in mind:

• Storyboarding: Build a story or theme around what you want to say. Stories stick in people’s minds for a lot longer and facilitate better recall. Ensure that your story is logical and sticks to the key messages that you want to convey.

• Messaging: Have one key message for each slide. More than one message increases chances of confusion and, more importantly, tangential discussions! Your messages should seamlessly blend into the overall story that you create.

• Headlining: The headline of the slide is the crux of the presentation. If you accumulate all the headlines in your presentation, it should serve as an executive summary of the presentation. Keep the headline crisp and action oriented. The headline should reveal the key message for each slide

• Visualization: You have to convey the message above in an easy-to-grasp manner. Think of the most effective way of representing your facts/data/conclusions. Use charts, graphs and pictures when needed. The graphs should not contain more data than is necessary to make your point. Never use more than 2 graphs/charts per page

• Formatting: Pay attention to the details e.g. alignment of the chart title and the chart, page numbers at the bottom, spellings of words, colors of charts (not too bright!), size of text etc. These small details go a long way towards demonstrating your professionalism at work.

• Revision: No matter how many times you have gone through the presentation, revise it before you send it out to the audience. Check the flow of the story and the key messages once again. Ideally, for important presentations, run the presentation through an unbiased third party (preferably a layman) and seek his/her opinion.

The ‘layman’ test is often the litmus test for the presentation. If it can’t be understood by someone who has no context of your presentation, it may not be understood by your intended audience either (Remember: we often assume that the audience knows a lot about what we are going to speak about. It is surprising how rarely that is actually the case).

Thinking clearly about the messages and making the presentation simple and visual, with attention paid to the small details will ensure ~60-70% of the wow factor is created many days before the actual presentation. But, as in chess, the end-game is where things need to be closed out. If you do not deliver (‘present’) the presentation well, the game is lost!


The third and the final part will come tomorrow.

About the Author: Rangarajan has been a consultant for over 4 years with A.T. Kearney, a leading management consultancy firm that advises CXO level executives on matters of strategic and operational importance. Prior to joining A.T. Kearney, he did his post-graduation from IIM Ahmedabad. He has given multiple presentations to the Boards/CEOs/CXOs/Senior management of many leading Indian companies and brings a wealth of practical experience in handling tough presentation situations.

Creating the ‘wow’ factor in presentations (Part 1 of 3)

This is a guest post by Rangarajan V, a consultant at AT Kearney. This is the first post in a series of 3 posts.

Cheetahs are capable of running at incredible speeds of up to 100 kmph. Why?

Answer: Necessity – Over millions of years, cheetahs have had to become faster and faster to be able to catch increasingly swift prey. When one’s survival is going to depend on a particular skill, one tends to become better at it.

The same is the case with presentations. The more presentations you are required to make, the better you become at it. Ask any consultant and he/she will tell you. Consultants spend most of their waking lives preparing and delivering presentations to varied audiences. Making a presentation to a VP - Product Development head is not the same as making one to a Brand manager or a Sales head or a CEO. But the underlying objective is the same – to impress the audience, to make them say ‘wow’!

Easier said than done.


How does one create the wow factor in a presentation?

It is never easy. Nor is it ever guaranteed that the audience will react the way you want them to. But one can improve one’s chances by paying careful attention to each the following aspects:1. Thinking about what you want to say

Spend a lot of time thinking about what you want to say through the presentation. There may be a lot of thoughts in your mind, but the audience can get confused if you put too many thoughts into one presentation. Hence, simplify your thoughts into a few key messages that you think the audience needs to be left with. In most situations, your key messages would need to cover two things.

• The necessity for taking action
• What is the recommended action

Remember, making a presentation is not an end in itself, but a means to an end. The end almost always is further action, or ‘next steps’ as consultants love to call it! Even if you think that a presentation is just a status report or a routine monthly sales analysis or a project report, remember that managers in today’s world are always interested in the results or the action implications of what you have to say.

These days, the ‘wow factor’ comes increasingly from providing the audience simple and effective thoughts and ‘calls for action’. Thinking about the exact messages that you want to convey is a crucial first step.

About the Author: Rangarajan has been a consultant for over 4 years with A.T. Kearney, a leading management consultancy firm that advises CXO level executives on matters of strategic and operational importance. Prior to joining A.T. Kearney, he did his post-graduation from IIM Ahmedabad. He has worked across engagements spanning strategy development, cost benchmarking, process improvements and financial planning for sectors as diverse as telecom, oil & gas, financial services, petrochemicals, automotives, textiles etc. More relevantly, he has given multiple presentations to the Boards/CEOs/CXOs/Senior management of many leading Indian companies and brings a wealth of practical experience in handling tough presentation situations.

Cheetah Image Source: Bernie Condon

Best Presentation Tip Ever: Really Bad PowerPoint by Seth Godin

What you are going to read now is perhaps the best presentation tip ever written at one go. Seth Godin, famous author and blogger, wrote an e-book in 2003 and then re-wrote a summary of it in 2007. This post of his is one of a kind; so much of 'presentation wisdom' in such a small article. That's why this post is among the best presentation tips ever written. Click here to read the article. Here is a small summary of the same in my words (do read it as well):

1. PowerPoint is inevitable. You have to learn to use it. Whether you in college, in business or in the military.

2. PowerPoint is being misused now-a-days. We don't know how to use it.

3. Communication is the transfer of emotions. If you are only going to present facts and figures then it is better to shun the presentation and send in an excel report.

4. You are presenting in order to convince, because if everyone agreed with you already then why are you presenting in the first place? Realise this fact, make your points with force and sell your ideas to the world.

5. There are four components to a presentation.

(a) Cue cards
(b) Use slides to emotionally reinforce what you are saying (not to repeat what you are saying)
(c) Leave a handout for the audience, and
(d) Create a feedback cycle.

Cue cards are pieces of paper where you write what you came to say. Use it so that you don't forget anything. Don't use your slides as cue cards.

Humans act on emotions. Evoke strong emotions and leave the facts and figures behind. Instead of putting up data, talk it out and put up an image which touches my heart.

Make detailed handouts with all the charts, facts and figures. Give it to the audience at the end but tell them at the start that you will be sharing a handout. This will put their mind to rest and they will focus on your presentation. Use all your rationale and logic in the handout (to prove you have done your hard work) but use PowerPoint Presentation to make an 'emotional sale'.

Close the loop. If you came to get a project approved, then at the end of the presentation give out the approval form and get it signed. Leave no ambiguity behind on what was agreed during the presentation.

6. Use very few words per slide. Do not fill the slide with text.

7. Do not use poor quality images, go in for professional looking images (even if you need to buy them).

8. Do not go in for animations and slide transitions unnecessarily.

9. Do not use sound effects which come with the software. If your bullet comes with the same sound every time then it does nothing but irritate the audience.

10. Do not take prints of the slides and use as hand outs. They make no sense without you. If they did, then why are you needed in the first place?

Interview with Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik, Chief Belief Office, Future Group

Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik is a doctor by education and has worked for 14 years in the Pharma and Healthcare industry. He is passionate about mythology and his columns appear in leading Indian newspapers. Currently he is working as the Chief Belief Office of Future Group (the group which runs Big Bazaar & Pantaloons in India).


I had written about his talk at TED India (held in Mysore last year) earlier in the year. Today, it is my pleasure to interview Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik on All About Presentations.

Vivek: How was your experience of talking at TED?
Dr. Devdutt: It was very exhilarating. Did not know the impact until much later.

Vivek: How did you prepare for the TED talk? How much time was spent in preparing?
Dr. Devdutt: I had many versions of the presentations. There was so much to say and so had to edit it many times. This was version 5.

Vivek: Did you rehearse your talk? If yes, how did you rehearse?
Dr. Devdutt: Normally, I don’t need to prepare. Normally, I don’t have time-bound presentations. This was a strict 18-minute time slot. So had to practice to get all that content within the time. The practice shows, I guess.

Vivek: Why did you start the talk with a story and what went into choosing the story?
Dr. Devdutt: Stories work. Our brains are wired that way. These stories are part of my standard repertoire when I am explaining culture. Ideally this presentation should be for at least 50 minutes as I elaborate on each story. Here I had to just flirt with each one.

Vivek: Were you not a bit afraid of talking to such a large audience? What did you do to reduce your nervousness before the talk?
Dr. Devdutt: I have been a public speaker for a long time. So I am not usually nervous. This was different as I had a bad case of sore throat (first time in my life) for 3 days and it was just not going away. The antibiotics did not work but adrenaline saw me through.

Vivek: Did you plan the ending of your presentation?
Dr. Devdutt: Yes. That’s how I always end. The poem written by me years ago can be found at the start of all my books. It guides my work.

Vivek: What are your learnings from the presentations you have made in your life?
Dr. Devdutt: Be sensitive to what people want to hear or can hear, and not what you want to say….the rest will follow.

If you want to know more about Dr. Devdutt check out his website www.devdutt.com.

TED India Talk: Devdutt Pattanaik - Why is India different from the West?

Devdutt Pattanaik is the Chief Belief Officer with the Future Group (Big Bazaar), India. His talk at TED India which took place in Mysore last year is fascinating and exciting. It also answers what the words 'Chief Belief Officer' mean. You must watch his talk (18 mins) here:

Devdutt's presentation is on an uncommon topic; linking mythology to business. How is India different from the West? How is Indian business style connected to its mythology? Why the clash of civilisations is imminent and what we can do about it?

There is a lot to learn about presentation making from Devdutt's presentation. Here are a few of my observations:

1. Start with a story: Devdutt is well aware that his topic is kind of esoteric. If not made interesting, he will loose his audience half-way. To make the content interesting and understandable he chose to tell us the story of Lord Ganesh and his brother Kartikeya.

You need to appreciate that this story helps Devdutt firmly establish his model of 'The World and My World'. If Devdutt was an average presenter, he would have started with a table like this:

This is the very first point which Devdutt talks about and the entire presentation is based upon the understanding of 'My World and The World'. Using a story to establish this framework has worked well for Devdutt.

Stories also make the message easy to remember. Days after you would have forgotten about what Devdutt exactly said, you'll remember Ganesh & Kartikeya and Alexander & the Gymnosophist. And once you remember them, you'll remember the core message as well. That's the power of stories in action.

2. Passion: You can see his passion for the subject. It is infectious and it is charming. We listen to people who are passionate about their stuff. Devdutt surely is.

3. Minimal Use of Slides: This is perhaps the biggest lesson that we should take from Devdutt. People have come to listen to what Devdutt has to 'say'. He has used slides as an aid, as a support to help him explain his point better. That's it. When he talks about Alexander, he shows you an image. When he talks of Ganesha, he shows you an image.

He does let his slides overtake his presentation. The focus of the talk is Devdutt and he ensures that people look at him and listen to him and ignore the slides. And that's exactly what we do. If there are too many slides and too much text on it or too much happening on the slides then our focus will move from the presenter to the slides. Remember, you are the focal point of the presentation and not your slides. The less they interfere, the better.

Overall, I consider Devdutt as an actor who has given a passionate performance of what he believes in.

Expert's choice survey: What presentation bloggers like...

Two weeks back I conducted a survey among prominent presentation bloggers (most of whom are on my blog roll). I asked them some questions. Questions you face everytime you make a presentation. What background colour should I use? Which font should I use? Should I use transitions and animations in my presentations? Here are the results.

1. Which background colour do you use most often?

Even though blue is the most used background colour in the world, the clear choice between the expert's was 'white'. White is a nice colour for backgrounds and it allows you full freedom in designing your slides. Contrast this to black or other darker backgrounds and you will face issues in placing images and choosing font colours. With a white colour on the back, you have more options to play with.

2. What is your favourite font type?

There was no unanimous answer here. Most liked fonts were (in order of their popularity): Arial, Verdana and Calibri. One thing was however unanimous. Everyone prefers a sans serif font for their presentations because serif fonts look better when you are reading printed text.

3. How many fonts do you use in a presentation?

When it comes to using different fonts in a presentation, the opinion is divided. Half of the experts use only one font and the other half only uses two font types in a presentation. Lessons for all of us: Avoid using many font types in a presentation. Stick to one or at maximum two (possibly, one for the header and one for the body).

4. How often do you use animation?

Between the options Never, Rare, Often and Everytime, most experts went for often. The understanding for all of us is not to shy away from using animations. There is nothing 'childish' or 'casual (as opposed to formal)' in using animations. It all depends on how you use them. Excess is always bad, but totally avoiding it is not prudent either.

5. How often do you use slide transitions?

Between the same options; Never, Rare, Often and Everytime 50% of the experts said they never use transition and the remaining 50% said they use it rarely. That should discourage you from using transitions as well. Slide transitions are better avoided.

This small survey has clearly brought to light some interesting findings. I have summarise them once again for you.

1. Prefer a white background colour for your slides
2. Choose a sans serif font type (Arial, Verdana, Calibri, etc)
3. Do not use more than 2 different font types in one presentation
4. Learn how to use animation to your maximum benefit. Do not shy away from using it
5. Avoid slide transitions unless they really make sense


Image credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Dale Carnegie's Tips on Public Speaking

You know about Dale Carnegie. He is famous for his book How to Win Friends and Influence People. He wrote many books in his lifetime. One such book was The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking. I picked it up from my bookshelf one night. My main interest was to know how relevant is Dale Carnegie in today's PowerPoint age. He taught public speaking way back in 1940s but is he relevant today? What does his book have to offer to you and me?

Well I skimmed through the book and loved what I read. I am going to summarise some things which I liked and I feel will help you become better at presentations and public speaking. This is not a book review but captures some of the learnings from the book.

1. On Getting Audience Attention

Dale Carnegie stresses on the point that you have to 'earn the right to talk'. Hence, you need to know about your subject inside out and be really excited about sharing it with others. If you have earned it, people will listen to you. While preparing for your presentation, he insists to talk about very few things and know everything about it rather than talk on many things and be superficial. A superficial talk cannot hold audience attention.

You can also get audience attention, if you can answer this simple question. "How will your presentation solve your audience's problems?" If your presentation is able to solve their problem then they will listen to you.

2. On How to Give Examples in a Presentation

I liked this part of the book very much. We all know and we all share examples in our presentations. Examples to explain a point we are trying to make. Dale Carnegie tells you how to give an example.

a. Give a real life and not a hypothetical example

b. Be specific and use the 5-W formula. A good example should have all the 5 W's; When, Where, Who, What & Why

c. Use pictures or speak in a vivid manner so that the audience can 'see' what you are talking about. For example, when you talk about global warming put up a picture of a melting iceberg. That will make your audience to really 'see' the problem and appreciate it better.

d. Make it real by using direct speech. While narrating an incident where two people are talking, use dialogs and don't use indirect speech.

3. On How to Share Information in Your Presentation

When you are presenting to inform your audience you need to take special care of the following:

a. Fit in within the time limit

b. Plan out the flow properly

c. Be specific and say "I have 3 things to say..." This will help your audience pay attention and follow you.

d. Use analogy. Compare strange unknown things to familiar things.

e. Help your audience visualize the information by turning a fact into a picture. Instead of saying India's area is XYZ square miles say 'India is equal to the combined area of.... (and say the names of some 5 large countries)'. This will give people a better picture and increase their comprehension.

f. Avoid jargon. Always assume you are talking to school children. Keep it that simple. Aristotle once said, "Think as wise men do, but speak as the common people do."

4. On How to Convince Your Audience

Let's accept it. How much ever you might prepare you will always feel you could have done better. It is like an exam where no amount of time seems sufficient for preparation. Amidst this feeling how do you sound convincing to your audience?

Dale Carnegie tells you what will it take to convince the audience.

a. Your sincerity

b. Your enthusiasm for the subject

c. Your respect for the audience

d. Get some 'yes-es' at the start. Look for common ground where no one disagrees and start your presentation from there. Then slowly move to areas where people might disagree. The initial yes-es will set the momentum in your favour.

I found this book immensely useful and I am sure you will find it useful too. Take out time to read this classic, read it slowly, spend time thinking about each idea and most importantly apply them in the next presentation you make. Test out whatever you learn. That way it will stay with you forever and make you a better presenter. Just reading will do no good.

Teacher & Trainer Special: Interview with Homi Mulla [Part 2 of 2]

Homi Mulla is an OD & HR expert in India. He is known by his flagship Relationship Management Program which he runs for blue chip organizations all the year round. He has worked in the industry for thirteen years and has been training for more than two decades. A musician, a stage actor and a captivating speaker Homi has a lot to teach presenters like you and me. This post will be of special interest to teacher and trainers.

This is the second part of the interview.

Q7. Don’t you get bored teaching the same thing for the past two decades?

Have you ever played Chess? In Chess, no two games are alike. Training for me is like that. Do you think stage actors who do 100 shows of the same play ever get bored. Every show is a new show. I treat myself like a stage actor. My training is like a six-act play. Every time the audience is different and so is the experience. There is no chance of being bored.


Q8. Why do you rebuke when someone comes late? Why do you penalize when someone’s mobile rings while you are talking?

I don’t think you should call it a rebuke. Coming to my workshop on time and ensuring your phone does not ring while I am talking is basic etiquette. I just ensure people behave properly. And I succeed because I lead by example. If a presenter’s mobile is on, can he expect others to keep it silent? No.

Also when people come late, I often ask them whether I can come half an hour late. The unequivocal answer always is a ‘No’. Why should one rule apply to you and a different rule to me?
Q9. You crack a lot of jokes? Do you plan them or they are impromptu?

Humor is an essential part of learning. People remember funny stories and anecdotes for life. I make up jokes and share funny stories on concepts which I feel the participants should never forget. I use humor as a tool to plant the message in the minds of my participants forever. A trainer should never take humor lightly.


Q10. Do you tell stories in your workshop?

Story telling is a powerful way of making your content stay with your audience forever. I choose personal examples (which are even self deprecatory at times) to explain important points. The more realistic stories you choose the more the chances that it will stick. Abstract stories have no place in the real world of training.


Q 11. Do you seek feedback from your participants?

Every teacher should seek feedback from his/her students. I do seek concurrent feedback every morning about what I taught the previous day. At the end of the program I seek a detailed feedback. I give a call to those participants whose feedback I want to understand and discuss.

I go to the extent that I ask the Hotel (where I am conducting the training) to seek feedback from the participants. As a trainer you have to see that your participants are comfortable at the venue. Issues like breakfast did not come on time, the towels were dirty upset the participants. I go out of my way to brief the hotel staff so that they do not goof up. I even put the head of department of the hotel through the workshop because I wanted him to understand the seriousness of my program.
Q12. What would be your final words of advice to all the teachers, trainers and presenters?

I will end with what I said first. Conviction and passion are traits of a good speaker. Add humility to it and the combination becomes deadly. No teacher should think he/she is superior and perfect. You need to be humble, come down to the level of your audience and teach them through real life examples which they relate to. Remember, it is about them and not about you.

Follow these suggestions and audiences will get drawn to every word you speak. Best wishes.

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To know more about Homi, you can visit his website: www.homimulla.com. Tell me how you liked this interview? Does it help you become better at public speaking and presenting?