Just want to make a quick note to remind myself that indeed working the corporate life is an art.
Presenting in the title also covers reporting.
Presenting skill is one key component in higher level work. To convince others of an idea, the presentation must also be backed up with confident communication skill. Pretty much a good salesman skill.
Most juniors give facts. If we're lucky, the facts will be organized in some sort of manner. Reader (audience) needs to digest, separating the important information, making the head and the tail of it.
However, from the seniors we can expect a performance. Sit back, listen and see. You will know the essence precisely how s/he wants it. If the presenter communicate well, there's even a chance that you'll believe the content, and act on the message. A good presentation is halfway done.
Below are a few pointers that I've gathered over the years:
1. Understand what you need to present. This is absolutely necessary. By knowing your content well, not only you'll gain the confidence to talk about it, but most importantly you will be able to do the below next steps well.
2. Confirm what is the aim. Consider your audience. Be as specific and you can. For example, to highlight point x, downplay point y, so that they will decide towards point z, ....
3. Sketch the big picture. Device a strategy of the presentation flow. Jot down the important point of every slide or section.
4. Develop each slide, choose your content carefully. The more is not the merrier. Not all little details need to be in. Put what's necessary. For this I like to use graphical rather than points. Takes a long time to do up, but it can be easily understood, even across culture/language. This is to ensure decision is made based on correct facts. You don't want people to come back thinking you have twisted the facts.
5. From each slide, highlight a few points that are the key. This can be done by many ways: bold bigger text, boxed up, utilize the space, etc.
6. Beautify the package. As much as we value products that are packaged beautifully, a good looking presentation will appeal more. Audience tends to be happier in listening/reading. It's not a waste of time when done cleverly. Some basic:
* Use a professional font throughout. Most of the time, you have many source. By copying from left to right, it'll looks messy and doesn't reflect well on you.
* Pay attention to font/figure size and spacing. Important content should be easier to spot. When space is limited, do not size the font such that it becomes very small and illegible. People feels uneasy with fine prints.
* Choose a color theme and stick to it. Manage the colors to emphasize, downplay, or to guide the attention in the flow.
* Outlines are not necessarily be black. Black, dark outline for many figures cramped into a slide will make the slide looks tangled. Try using a more subtle color, trying out the line weights.
* Choose a gender neutral color scheme. Equality aside, you want to attract everyone.
7. Review, and review, and review, ...
Well, this is a skill that gets honed with experience. Practice makes perfect. I myself am newbie here. Drop any comments if you have tips to share.
Happy painting :)
