Guide to Presentations Lynn Russell Mary Munter Fourth Edition ISBN 10: 1-292-02154-3 ISBN 13: 978-1-292-02154-6 Pearson Education Limited Edinburgh Gate Harlow Essex CM20 2JE England and Associated Companies throughout the world Visit us on the World Wide Web at: www.pearsoned.co.uk © Pearson Education Limited 2014 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying in the United Kingdom issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. All trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners. The use of any trademark in this text does not vest in the author or publisher any trademark ownership rights in such trademarks, nor does the use of such trademarks imply any affi liation with or endorsement of this book by such owners. ISBN 10: 1-292-02154-3 ISBN 13: 978-1-292-02154-6 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Printed in the United States of America 112368051913731 P E A R S O N C U S T O M L I B R AR Y Table of Contents 1. Analyze the Audience Mary Munter/Lynn Russell 1 2. Identify Your Intent Mary Munter/Lynn Russell 23 3. Craft the Content Mary Munter/Lynn Russell 37 4. Make the Most of the Message Mary Munter/Lynn Russell 63 5. Refine Your Nonverbal Delivery Mary Munter/Lynn Russell 81 6. Design Your Visuals Mary Munter/Lynn Russell 109 Index 151 I This page intentionally left blank Analyze the Audience From Chapter 1 of Guide to Presentations, Fourth Edition. Lynn Russell, Mary Munter. C opyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 1 Chapter Outline I. Who Are They? 1. Start with the primary audience. 2. remember secondary audiences. II. WhAT do They KnoW And expecT? 1. consider what they know. 2. check their expectations. III. WhAT do They Feel? 1. empathize with their emotions and interest. 2. determine their probable bias. IV. WhAT WIll perSuAde Them? 1. Assess various appeals. 2. Build support with benefit statements. 3. consider your credibility. 4. determine how to reach the decision makers. 2 Analyze the Audience A udiences lose interest when you deliver canned comments. They are pleasantly surprised when they find out what you are saying and how you are saying it has been based on them. However, it takes work to understand the people in the room and the o thers who will be affected by your talk. You can’t just rely on assumptions. Instead, you have to pick up your phone, talk to people, check their internet presence, and attempt to get inside the heads and hearts of your audience members. If you do a good job, you will be able to appreciate how it feels to walk in their shoes. This chapter gives you a framework to guide your efforts. It is based on four deceptively simple questions: (1) Who are they? (2) What do they know and expect? (3) What do they feel? and (4) What will persuade them? Intent AIM AUDIENCE Message 3 Analyze the Audience I. Who are They? The first question is the big, broad one. To answer it, collect group data. Then look beyond the categories and focus on the individuals who will be listening to your talk. These listeners are your primary audience. However, they aren’t the only ones to consider. Also think about “secondary” audiences—people who will hear about your presentation, or be affected by it, even if they won’t be visible on the day you present. 1. Start with the primary audience. How you analyze an audience depends on the situation. For e xample, if you are assessing a huge, diverse group, you may want to s egment it, so you can compare the needs and interests of various sub- groups. On the other hand, if your audience will be a close circle of colleagues, you should be able to focus on the needs and interests of everyone in the group. When the audience is unknown, get assistance. Locate people who know many of the audience members and act like a detective. Be persistent as you dig for information. Keep learning new things about your audience up to and even on the day of your talk. • Get inside information. When you are an outsider, talk to people who are part of the group. If someone seems helpful, arrange to follow up so you can clarify vague information and sort out conflicting views. • Collect group data. Find out how many people will be attending your talk. Ask about their age range, their educational backgrounds, and the types of jobs they have. Learn what you can about their gender, race, religion, and culture. Discover how well they know each other and what they have in common. Also check whether they have differ- ent levels of fluency with the language of the presentation. • Segment big audiences. Make large groups easier to assess by break- ing them into subgroups, such as “the researchers,” “the sales group,” and “the executive team.” By thinking about their varying needs and interests, you’ll be able to connect with these groups in different ways. • Ask about preferences and traits. Learn what they have liked and dis- liked about other presentations. Ask for a description of their traits so you will know whether many people in the group tend to be talkative, punctual, informal, and so on. 4 Analyze the Audience • Focus on individuals. Discover who knows the most about your topic and talk to that person before your presentation. Also learn about the decision makers who can say “yes” to your request. • Continue collecting information. You can keep gathering information about the audience even on the day you present. Meet the people who arrive early, watch for reactions to what you say, and listen carefully to the questions people ask. When the audience is familiar, don’t be complacent. It still takes work to analyze people you know. Begin by focusing on group data and traits. Then, take a critical look at your assumptions. Sometimes what people are saying and doing isn’t what they want to be saying or doing. You may need to initiate some conversations or find other ways to uncover their opinions and preferences. • Confirm the group data. If you know the group well, you can figure out most of this information on your own. Nevertheless, gauge the  audience’s size, either by requesting that people confirm their attendance or by asking the person who’s handling logistics about the group’s maximum and minimum size. • Analyze people’s tendencies. Think about what the audience likes and dislikes and how they typically behave. Do they engage in small talk and enjoy humor or do they tend to be all business? Do they like to challenge ideas or do they need to be encouraged to voice their doubts? Will they ask for details or do they dread minutiae? If you don’t know this information, talk to people who do. • Use assessment instruments. If your work group has gone through a training program that used assessment tools—such as the Myers- Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) or Tracom’s Social Styles—keep in mind what you know about people’s preferences or styles, especially if you know this information about the decision makers. • Ask about their needs. Talk to audience members about their current projects. Ask them about the challenges they are facing or issues they would like to see addressed. • Consider using an opinion survey. If you want to learn about their opinions, ask people to fill out a brief questionnaire. Make it anony- mous if you're the boss and you want a true assessment of their opinions rather than their best guess about what you want to hear. 5