How to Design & Deliver High Impact Presentations- Before & After Examples

By Dr. Barrett Mosbacker

February 04, 2012

Leaders make presentations. Transformative leaders deliver inspirational, informative, and persuasive presentations.

Good presentations are hard to design and deliver, which is why we have suffered through so many poorly delivered seminars and workshops. Although I like to think of myself as a decent speaker and presenter, the truth is that I have given my share of poor keynotes and boring seminars.

Fortunately for those who must listen to me and those who attend conferences, graduate classes, and workshops, I am improving. My growth in giving higher-impact presentations is the result of reading articles and books, the critique of others, and trial and error. I offer the following tips with the hope that you can benefit from my reading and experience.

Preparation

The amount of time you spend on a presentation will vary based on the subject and context, but in general a 30–60 minute high-impact presentation will require 36–90 hours of preparation. You read that correctly: a quality one-hour presentation requires 36–90 hours of preparation.

Presentation authority Nancy Duarte, author of Slideology and principal at Duarte Design, puts it this way: “The amount of time required to develop a presentation is directly proportional to how high the stakes are.” Duarte offers this guidance:

• 6–20 hours: Research and collect input from colleagues and the field
• 1 hour: Build an audience-needs map
• 2 hours: Generate ideas
• 1 hour: Organize the ideas
• 1 hour: Have colleagues critique the ideas and their likely impact on the audience
• 2 hours: Sketch a structure or storyboard
• 20–60 hours: Build the slides
• 3 hours: Rehearse

Total Time: 36–90 hours

Is that accurate? Thirty-six to ninety hours for a one-hour presentation, given everything else I have to do? For what it is worth, that has been my experience. It takes a long time to prepare a good presentation. I have spent hours over several weeks preparing and designing individual presentations.

You are a steward not only of your own time but of your audience’s time as well. Do not waste either by giving a poorly designed and delivered presentation.

I recommend scheduling time throughout the week, over several weeks, to prepare your presentation. Working in small, frequent increments over an extended period is more efficient than trying to complete preparation in a single sitting.

Know Your Audience

Your presentation is not about you; it is about your audience and what they need to hear, learn, or do. Your presentation is a service to them.

To serve your audience well, you need to understand both their perceived and real needs. When speaking to an outside group, I make it a habit to ask my host the following questions:

• How many will be in attendance?
• What is the average age?
• What is the average educational level?
• What will be the gender mix: balanced, mostly women, mostly men?
• If this is a school audience, are most attendees teachers, administrators, or board members? If all three, in what proportion?
• What are the primary areas of interest or concern regarding this topic? What questions are likely to arise?

Tailor your presentation to your audience. The stories you tell and the examples you use should match the demographics and needs of those in the room. Otherwise your presentation will be largely irrelevant.

Know the Venue

To prepare properly, you need to know the venue and to request what you may need in advance. I typically ask:

• What type of room or auditorium will I be in?
• What sound and video equipment will be available?
• Will I be controlling my slides, or will an AV technician assist?
• Will there be a podium microphone? May I use a lapel microphone? (I prefer a lapel or headset microphone so that I am not restricted to standing behind a podium.)
• I am using a Mac or Windows PC — can I load my presentation on the local computer, or do I need to bring my own?

Slide Design: Less Is More

Less is much more. This is probably the most important lesson I have learned from my reading and experience. Keep slides simple, clean, and elegant. Remove everything that is not absolutely necessary.

Fewer slides, fewer points, less text, less time. This is harder than it seems. We are inclined to add information, not eliminate it. When designing slides, keep the following in mind:

• You want to talk to your audience and have them listen and watch you. You do not want them reading slides.
• Slides are not a teleprompter. Do not design or use them as an outline of your talk.
• Slides are used to illustrate key points. They should be simple, clear, and uncluttered.
• Eliminate most transition effects — they distract from your presentation.
• Use few or no bullet points.
• Seldom have more than six to eight words on a single slide.
• Use a large, easy-to-read font.
• Use consistent font styles and colors.
• Do not use clip art. It is unprofessional. Use quality photographs or graphics instead.

Avoid template designs for the same reason — they are distracting and generic.

A Word About Charts and Numbers

Charts can be helpful in a presentation, but like your slides they need to be simple, with all distracting and unnecessary elements removed.

Numbers are usually confusing to audiences. Use as few as possible, and allow time for the audience to absorb them. Numbers should never be presented with false precision: “Anticipated revenues of $660,101.83” looks unconvincing. Simply say $660 thousand.

Delivery

Arrive Early and Test Everything

It is stressful and embarrassing to stand up to deliver a presentation only to discover that something is not working. Worse, it is distracting to your audience and immediately reduces your credibility.

You have approximately one minute to make a first impression. Do not spend it troubleshooting your computer or coaxing slides onto the screen.

Plan for Murphy to show up — he always does. What will you do if the computer crashes, the video system fails, or the sound goes out? When you have prepared for the worst, you can proceed without missing a beat.

Rehearse your presentation thoroughly enough that you do not need slides as prompts. You should be able to speak spontaneously. If you cannot, you do not know your subject well enough.

If you must have notes, keep a printed copy readily available. Have an electronic backup of your slides on a thumb drive for use on a local computer if yours fails.

Talk to Your Audience; Do Not Read

Do not look at your slides and read from them. Keep your eyes on your audience. Make eye contact with individual audience members. Slides are there to illustrate key ideas, concepts, trends, and facts — not to serve as a teleprompter.

Presentation Style

Your audience will form a first impression within sixty seconds. Make that first minute count.

• Dress appropriately for your audience. When in doubt, dress up rather than down.
• Tell real-life stories that reinforce your topic.
• Turn off your cell phone.
• Get to the point quickly.
• Deliver your rehearsed opening; do not improvise at the last moment.
• Use the opening to capture interest and attention.
• Briefly state the problem or topic you will address.
• Speak at a natural, moderate pace.
• Project your voice.
• Speak clearly and distinctly.
• Speak with enthusiasm.
• Use appropriate, well-timed humor — but not jokes.
• Pause briefly after each new slide to give your audience time to absorb the content.
• Keep your eyes on the audience.
• Use natural gestures.
• Do not turn your back to the audience.
• Do not hide behind the lectern. Move in front of or to the side of the podium whenever possible.
• Avoid reading from notes. Use them only as reference points to keep you on track.

Length

• To end on time, you must practice.
• Your audience will appreciate you if you finish before your allotted time. Never go over. Remember: less is more.
• As a rule of thumb, plan to use 80% of your allotted time.

Demeanor

Show enthusiasm. No one wants to listen to a dull presentation. On the other hand, do not overdo it. Speak and gesture as you would when explaining an idea to a friend.

Recommended Reading

All truth is God’s truth. We can learn from unbelievers because, by God’s common grace, he reveals truth to believers and unbelievers alike. Although I do not endorse everything in the following books — some contain Buddhist and Zen philosophy — the principles they offer are sound and can help anyone design and deliver better presentations.

• Made to Stick
• Presentation Zen
• Slideology