Comments on: Death By PowerPoint http://devinetics.com/2009/09/29/death-by-powerpoint/ Thoughts on Leadership, Management, and Career Growth in Silicon Valley Mon, 09 Apr 2012 04:22:49 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Kim Ringeisen http://devinetics.com/2009/09/29/death-by-powerpoint/comment-page-1/#comment-2371 Kim Ringeisen Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:42:27 +0000 http://devinetics.com/?p=150#comment-2371 When defining the audience, you need to determine if your presentation will use inductive reasoning or deductive. With executives, a good approach is the inductive format, since you will highlight your thesis and lead the audience as to why it is needed or is of value. You should also limit your presentation to 10 slides, if you need more then more then likely you are giving a training versus a presentation Yes, there will be the engineering slides or the project commits, that will go on for 30 slides, but these are more reviews and not presentations - let's not confuse them as they are different. By keeping your slides to 10, front-loading your proposal and closing with your ask, your audience will first appreciate that you considered their time and you have provided them with enough facts to come to a decision on if they will meet your ask or if it warrants additional analysis. Last thing, keep it simple - just because powerpoint has transitions, bells and whistles, they are a distraction from your content so save them a class reunion presentation... When defining the audience, you need to determine if your presentation will use inductive reasoning or deductive. With executives, a good approach is the inductive format, since you will highlight your thesis and lead the audience as to why it is needed or is of value. You should also limit your presentation to 10 slides, if you need more then more then likely you are giving a training versus a presentation Yes, there will be the engineering slides or the project commits, that will go on for 30 slides, but these are more reviews and not presentations – let’s not confuse them as they are different.

By keeping your slides to 10, front-loading your proposal and closing with your ask, your audience will first appreciate that you considered their time and you have provided them with enough facts to come to a decision on if they will meet your ask or if it warrants additional analysis.

Last thing, keep it simple – just because powerpoint has transitions, bells and whistles, they are a distraction from your content so save them a class reunion presentation…

]]> By: Bob http://devinetics.com/2009/09/29/death-by-powerpoint/comment-page-1/#comment-2369 Bob Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:11:17 +0000 http://devinetics.com/?p=150#comment-2369 I've had this problem in all of the companies that I've worked. One effective way to focus groups is to ensure that there is an agenda and to manage the time for each item closely. One company that I worked at insisted that there was an agenda for every meeting, there was no more than 15 minutes per subject. All subjects required action items. this was a great way to ensure that meetings are productive and that they move the business forward. I've found that presentations often become a crutch to avoid real work. I’ve had this problem in all of the companies that I’ve worked. One effective way to focus groups is to ensure that there is an agenda and to manage the time for each item closely. One company that I worked at insisted that there was an agenda for every meeting, there was no more than 15 minutes per subject. All subjects required action items. this was a great way to ensure that meetings are productive and that they move the business forward. I’ve found that presentations often become a crutch to avoid real work.

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