Presentation Skills

for Managers

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Contents
1. Developing Great CONTENT
2. Preparing Great DESIGN

3. Conducting Great DELIVERY

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Three Elements of Great Presentation

Content

Design

Great
Presentation !

Delivery

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Developing Great CONTENT

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Steps in Preparing Content

Analyzing
Your Audience

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Gathering
Relevant Data &
Information

Converting
Your Data into
an Outline

Analyzing Your Audience

Needs

Knowledge level

Attitude how do they feel about the topic?

Demographic Information this may include the

age, gender, culture, and language of the audience
members

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Gathering Relevant Data & Information

Before you start your research to gather relevant

information, there are three questions should be
considered :

What do I want my audience to gain?

What might they already know about my topic?

What is the objective of the presentation?

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Converting Your Information into an Outline

There are three steps to creating an outline :

1. Determine the outline style
2. Group your raw data

3. Arrange into outline format

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Outline Style
Chronological

Shows events in order as they occurred

Narrative

Takes the audience on a journey through a

flowing presentation

Problem/
Solution

States the problem, the whys, your

solution, and a summary

Cause/ Effect

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States the cause and explains the effect(s)

Outline Style
Topical

Journalistic
Questions

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Divides the general topic into several

subtopics
Uses some or all of the what, who, where,
when, why, and how questions

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Outline Format

Introduction

Outline
Format

Body

Conclusion

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Outline Format

Introductions

Should include an agenda and clarify the goals and

objectives of your presentation.

Can include an overview of a situation, a statement

of the current situation of the organization, or a recap
of history.

Can use the strategies that help an introduction get

attention: a quote, a question, humor, a creative
image, an anecdote, or a sharing of emotions.

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Outline Format

Body

Chronological

Narrative

Problem/Solution

Cause/Effect

Topical

Journalistic Question

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Outline Format

Conclusion

Summarize the main points of your presentation

Provide closure, and leave an impression

Can consist of recommendations, future directions,

next steps to take, and so forth

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Building Great DESIGN

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Presentation Design
Key Rules when Creating Bulleted Text:
Use one concept per slide
Use key words and phrases

Make your bullet points consistent in structure

Capitalize properly capitalize the first letter of

the first word only

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Three Keys of Great Design

1. Layout
2. Consistency
3. Color

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Great Slide
Presentation
Design

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Layout
1. Layout

Consider your layout to be like the skeleton of your

presentation.Just as our skeleton support our
bodies, your layout should support your message and
provide structure.

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Consistency
2. Consistency
You must be consistent in the following design elements:
Your placement of text and images

Your fonts style and sizes

Your background
The sytle and treatment of your imagery
Your charts

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Color
3. Color
Use high contrast to increase legibility (e.g., black text
on clear and yellow on dark blue)
Colors should not clash they should have a high
degree of harmony
Avoid clutter by using no more than four colors

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Consistent Fonts
The two main classifications of fonts are serif and sans serif
fonts
Serif fonts have small flourishes extending from the main
strokes of each letter (examples : Times New Roman, Book
Antiqua, Bookman Olds Style, Garamond). Sans serif
dont; they are straight and clean (examples : Arial,
Verdana, Helvetica)
Sans serif fonts are best suited for electronic
presentations

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Tips for Planning Great Slides

Use slides sparingly. Avoid the overuse of slides or
unnecessary slides.
Make slide pictorial. Graphs, flowcharts, etc., all give the
viewer an insight that would otherwise require many words.
Make text and numbers legible. Minimum font size for most
room set-ups is 20 pt.
Make pictures and diagrams easy to see.

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Design Guidelines

Avoid this

This is better

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Effective Charts and Graphs

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Avoid slide like this one

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Conducting Great DELIVERY

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Delivering Your Presentation

Voice
Language Usage
Movement

Great
Delivery

Body Language

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Managing Your Voice

Try to sound natural, so your rhythm and tone is

appropriate to the message you are delivering

Develop three important qualities:

Volume

Intonation

Pacing

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Managing Your Voice

Volume

Speak loudly enough to reach all the

members audience without overpowering
those closest to you.

Intonation

Avoid to speak in monotone. Put more

feeling into your voice and make it livelier by
changes in your intonation.

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Managing Your Voice

Pacing

For most of us, this is natural except when

we are nervous or excited. Practice, and you
can figure out what sounds natural and
appropriate for the points you are making.

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Language Usage

When you speak, convey confidence and show interest in

what youre presenting. Speak with feeling.

Use short sentences and short, simple words.

Speak slowly and clearly enough that everyone in your

audience can understand every word.

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Movement

If possible, work the room and work the audience

Move appropriately and with purpose dont move

simply because youre nervous

Your movements should be natural and support your

words and the rest of your presentation

Dont move constantly. Pause for effect. Stand still to

make an important point

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Body Language

Stand straight, but not stiff. You should radiate energy

Be relaxed, be casual, but dont be lazy

Use your hands, arms and gestures. Just let your body

react to how you feel

Make good eye contact the rule of thumb for eye

contact is three to five seconds per person

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Body Language

Do not keep hands in your pockets

Do not keep hands handcuffed behind your back

Do not keep your arms crossed

Do not put hands in fig leaf position

Do not wring your hands nervously

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In advance of your presentation

Practice a lot. Dont just think your presentation through :
act it out, in front of friends, or family. Time each section of

your presentation and develop a schedule.

Memorize the first two minutes of your presentation, so
you breeze on through the time when the butterflies are

most active.

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In the hours before presentation

Think positive thought : visualize yourself feeling at ease
with the audience
Use affirmation (e.g., I can do this. I am prepared. It will
go well)
Make sure all the equipment is working properly
Remember that the people in your audience are human too,

just like you. They want you to succeed !

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When you enter the room:

Focus on making your movements fluid and confident,
neither too slow nor too fast

Find a few friendly faces in the audience, for reassurance

Smile. Show that you want to be there
Be yourself

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How to Handle Tough Situations

Problem :

Know-it-all A participant who feels like more of an expert than

you.
Solution :

Dont fight it. Involve know-it-alls in your presentation.

They may have some great information to contribute. Allowing
them to participate and share their thoughts will not only show
how confident you are, but also help them get more out of your
presentation.

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How to Handle Tough Situations

Problem :

Unprepared participants Those who havent prepared for the

presentation as you requested.
Solution :

Be flexible. Take something out of your agenda to allow the group

time to get up to speed.
Keep in mind your overall objective of the presentations.

Dont force your agenda; modify it to meet your objective.

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How to Handle Tough Situations

Problem :

After-lunch nap time One of the toughest times to keep people

engaged.
Solution :

If you have anything to do with planning the lunch selections, go

light and no heavy desserts.
If you really need to get everyone going again, get out those
icebreakers.

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How to Handle Tough Situations

Problem :

Non-stop talker A participant who carries on conversations

during the presentation.
Solution :

Take a few moments to share what you talked about. This usually
makes the talker feel more involved and want to stay engaged and
participate with you instead of others.

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Planning for the Questions

Anticipate the questions that might come up
Listen carefully to the questioner
Repeat or rephrase the question
Answer clearly and concisely
Go to the next question

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Dealing with Disasters

You find out that the time allotted has been reduced. At the
very worse, you can make your points, support the with the
essentials, ask and answer the most likely questions on your list.
The slide equipment fails. You know then saying, The show
must go on. Apologize to the audience and then add something
like Now return with me to a distant past, before Powerpoint,
when all we had for presentations was our notes and perhaps a
blackboard or flipcharts. Then, make the most of your primitive
tools.

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Dealing with Disasters

You tell a joke that falls flat. Ouch! Just shrug your shoulders
and apologize: I am sorry. I got that joke at a Henry Youngman
clearance sale. (You can choose your own comedian).
You get nervous and flustered and lose track of where you
are. Figure out where you are from your slides and notes. If you
cant, just be honest : My brain has derailed. Who can back me
up so I can the on the track again?

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Recommended Further Readings:

1.

Jennifer Rotondo and Mike Rotondo, Presentation Skills for Managers,

McGraw Hill

2.

David A. Whetten and Kim S. Cameron, Developing Management Skills,

Harpers Collins Publisher.

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End of Material

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