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Blighter
11-08-2009, 23:57
I need some :shocked:

I've been invited up to Blacks' Head Office to do a presentation in front of the big guys on how I feel the company is being run (get me :cool:)

Apart from saying a four letter word that resembles excrement, what things should I/shouldn't I be doing?

Should I include humour and sarcasm, or not? etc

I've never done anything like this before :'(

divine
11-08-2009, 23:59
Charts.

Pie charts, bar charts, flow charts, you name, you use it.

They'll love it.

Mark
12-08-2009, 00:04
Humour if you can do it - most think they can and actually can't (goes down like a lead balloon). Sarcasm would be a bad idea.

Here's some bullet points for you:

Know what you're talking about (well duh!) :)
Present the information in an interesting way (keep the audience engaged). Charts. ;)
Don't make it too long (consider the average human attention span - if they're falling asleep, it's too long :p).
Don't just recite any presentation slides (you could just as well have emailed them).
Good luck. Would scare me ****less. Presenting my uni dissertation nearly left me a nervous wreck and I've avoided at all cost since then. Some might say I'm still a nervous wreck. ;D

Matblack
12-08-2009, 07:41
Steer away from sarcasm and keep humour subtle unless its highly relevant, if they have asked you for opinion then you don't need to produce meaningless flowcharts and pie charts just for the sake of it but powerpoint slides will help maintain focus. Keep bullet points of what you want to say (use the slides to trigger your memory) but don't script it. Remain calm.

MB

Burble
12-08-2009, 08:59
Avoid humour and sarcasm completely - you run the risk of coming over as a jumped up little know it all.

Try to make the presentation pretty much speak for itself - I hate seeing graphs and crap that require a 10 minute explanation. Ultimately they bring nothing to the party.

It's a pet hate of mine when people do a presentation where the text slides in, shimmers in and the like, it stinks of someone padding out their presentation. They're interested in what you've got to say, not much much fancy crap you can put into Powerpoint.

Keep it relatively short, make eye contact, don't speak too fast and try to relax.

Pheebs
12-08-2009, 09:48
One widgy tip from me...

Smile :)

Works wonders on calming you down and relaxing everyone else :)

Fayshun
12-08-2009, 11:03
One widgy tip from me...

Smile :)

Works wonders on calming you down and relaxing everyone else :)
And if you're nervous, imagine the front row naked ;)

Kreeeee
12-08-2009, 11:59
I'm great at giving presentations, and I've got to do one in my upcoming job interview.

It's all about confidence. If you can talk in a confident and engaging manner (lots of practice presentations to friends and family will help if you're not naturally confident) then you're 90% of the way there. The other 10% is knowing what you're talking about.

Pheebs
12-08-2009, 15:08
And if you're nervous, imagine the front row naked ;)

Hahahahaha!

I never do that! I just suddenly remember that men have dingalings!

Matblack
12-08-2009, 15:09
Groups always react well to naked speakers, if things seem to be going badly ....... strip

MB

Will
12-08-2009, 15:17
No humour or sarcasm, but use some ad-hoc/ad-lib humour if the mood works for it.

Prepare relevant details in a visual format. I repeat RELEVANT to the presentation.

Keep data and data representation clear and simple to read - and again, relevant! However visual representation is VERY important. Figures in black and white have less impact than graphs and data/statistic tools.

Keep presentation bullet pointed and to the point. They are there to prompt you. LEARN YOUR SUBJECT.

Be honest and provide the info you have been asked for.

You can add a little bit of flare to the presentation if it helps highlight certain aspects of the presentation - it's great for learning/teaching presentations.

For factual presentations however, impact and clear and neat presentation is easier.

PRACTICE your speech/presentation - time it and prepare for Q&As!!!! Have some answers ready and if you don't know, DON'T BULL****. There are ways of structuring the replies other than saying I don't know, but don't comit to answers you cannot back up.

Depending on how formal it is will also depend on whether they interact with you during the presentation - personally I ask (no matter what level and I mean BIG wigs) to leave questions until the end as further slides may answer the questions they have - secondly and personally I think it's rude to interupt a presentation unless you specifically ask if anyone has questions.

If you're prepared it's easy as you're the boss, you're the one that knows it all and you're the one that is in charge so you set the pace.

Good luck. I've given lots of presentations, to our CEO, to Lords, MPs and the Governor of the BoE... every time I've shat myself before it, but once I start I take control and realise that it's all easy as I know what I'm talking about and I'm the one in charge.

Try and have fun. :)

Blighter
12-08-2009, 19:18
Thanks for all the advice :) a lot of it is very helpful and never even thought of! :)
I'll work on it a bit and might post it here once done... I'm bound to make some fatal mistake or percentages that add up to 132% ;D

AboveTheSalt
12-08-2009, 22:27
As said above - at all costs, avoid sarcasm.

Humour is harder than it seems and is often a distraction; for the most part, only use humour if it illustrates a point you want to make.

Live by the simple basic rules: tell 'em what you are going to tell 'em give them the speil tel l'em what you have just told 'em they may remember the first and last facts you mentioned, they will likely forget the rest a picture is worth a thousand words

Keep it simple and on topic and be ready to elaborate and justify but not get distracted at Question Time.

Good luck :thumbsup:

Mark
19-08-2009, 14:00
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8207849.stm :)

semi-pro waster
19-08-2009, 18:37
I'm going to run counter to most of the advice and say look at Fidel Castro & Hugo Chavez - they give speeches that run for hours and they were/are leaders of countries, aspire to greatness. ;)

More seriously you've been given a lot of good advice - another issue to consider as AboveTheSalt highlights is that people tend to remember the start and end of presentations most easily so have something interesting to engage them initially and then have a brief conclusion with the most important points you want to make.

Will
19-08-2009, 22:36
Basic psychology of a "****" sandwich. Start on a positive, present all the "****", then end on a positive. :D

Blighter
23-09-2009, 21:51
Well no more head office speech - instead the directors are coming to meet me for lunch at Bluewater o_0

*sh**s bricks*

iCraig
23-09-2009, 21:58
In that case, make sure you get a round in.