Gerry Sandusky's Blog, page 5
April 19, 2018
Use Black Slides Not Blank Slides
The more I see presentations, keynote speeches, and TED Talks, the more I am convinced of one thing: less is more.
Too many presenters and speakers use too many slides because they overlook a fundamental principle:
Every thing you say does not need the support of a slide.
Here is a second principle that will dramatically improve your effectiveness in the front of the room:
Slides serve the presenter. The presenter doesn’t serve the slides.
Don’t get me wrong, slides matter. But audiences need a break from slides and black slides give the audience that break. Black slides, not blank slides.
The Magic of Black Slides
Black slides essentially turn the projection screen blank. Blank slides will just show your template and look like you made a mistake.
Black slides are the visual version of a palette cleanser for the audience.
By inserting a black slide into your deck in a part that doesn’t need visual support, your presentation or talk becomes more visually interesting.
When the projection screen goes blank, the audience automatically turns its attention back to the speaker. The audience doesn’t need any direction. They make the move naturally and automatically.
Avoid Splitting the Audience
Notice in this example how audience members have their attention split. Some are looking at the speaker, some are looking at the screen.
A black slide unifies the audience because everyone turns his or her attention back to the speaker when the screen goes blank.
In this example, the presenter told a funny story about her mom sending her flowers and her cat eating the arrangement. The audience loved it. The slide is brilliant.
Then when the laughter subsided, the speaker went on to tell a deeply personal and moving story about suicide. But she still had the funny photo of the cat and the flowers on the screen after she had shifted the presentation to a very different direction.
A black slide while she was talking about a topic that was not humorous would have given the presenter the perfect transition from humor to despair.
Another way to turn the screen blank
Most remotes have a button that will turn the projection off and any laptop will turn the projection screen blank if you press the “B” key while the PowerPoint or Keynote are in presenter mode.
The only downside with this technique is when you bring the screen back you are still on the same slide. So instead of moving the presentation forward you temporarily go back. Depending on the topic, this can have a jolting effect on the audience.
When to use a black slide
There are a few places where a black slide, or a blank projection screen work well:
When you want the audience’s full attention on you
When what your talking about doesn’t need visual support
When you are demonstrating something like how to use a piece of equipment
When you want to give the audience a visual break from watching a series of slides
When you want to shift the tempo or mood of the presentation
Your Slides + Black slides = Great Impact.
Use them both in your presentation or talk and you’ll help your audience to stay engaged, to follow you more easily, and to avoid projection screen fatigue.
Try it in your next presentation. Put a black slide in your deck. When you see the impact it has on your audience you’ll see first hand the power that black slides have and you’re audience won’t think you made a mistake the way it will if you just use a blank slide.
The post Use Black Slides Not Blank Slides appeared first on Presentation Skills Training | Gerry Sandusky.
Black Slides Matter
The more I see presentations, keynote speeches, and TED Talks, the more I am convinced of one thing: black slides matter.
Too many presenters and speakers use too many slides because they overlook a fundamental principle:
Every thing you say does not need the support of a slide.
Here is a second principle that will dramatically improve your effectiveness in the front of the room:
Slides serve the presenter. The presenter doesn’t serve the slides.
Don’t get me wrong, slides matter. But black slides matter too.
The Magic of Black Slides
Black slides essentially turn the projection screen blank.
It’s the visual version of a palette cleanser for the audience.
By inserting a black slide into your deck in a part that doesn’t need visual support, your presentation or talk becomes more visually interesting.
When the projection screen goes blank, the audience automatically turns its attention back to the speaker. The audience doesn’t need any direction. They make the move naturally and automatically.
Avoid Splitting the Audience
Notice in this example how audience members have their attention split. Some are looking at the speaker, some are looking at the screen.
A black slide unifies the audience because everyone turns his or her attention back to the speaker when the screen goes blank.
In this example, the presenter told a funny story about her mom sending her flowers and her cat eating the arrangement. The audience loved it. The slide is brilliant.
Then when the laughter subsided, the speaker went on to tell a deeply personal and moving story about suicide. But she still had the funny photo of the cat and the flowers on the screen after she had shifted the presentation to a very different direction.
A black slide while she was talking about a topic that was not humorous would have given the presenter the perfect transition from humor to despair.
Another way to turn the screen blank
Most remotes have a button that will turn the projection off and any laptop will turn the projection screen blank if you press the “B” key while the PowerPoint or Keynote are in presenter mode.
The only downside with this technique is when you bring the screen back you are still on the same slide. So instead of moving the presentation forward you temporarily go back. Depending on the topic, this can have a jolting effect on the audience.
When to use a black slide
There are a few places where a black slide, or a blank projection screen work well:
When you want the audience’s full attention on you
When what your talking about doesn’t need visual support
When you are demonstrating something like how to use a piece of equipment
When you want to give the audience a visual break from watching a series of slides
When you want to shift the tempo or mood of the presentation
Slides matter. Black slides matter too.
Use them both in your presentation or talk and you’ll help your audience to stay engaged, to follow you more easily, and to avoid projection screen fatigue.
Try it in your next presentation. Put a black slide in your deck. When you see the impact it has on your audience you’ll see first hand that black slides matter.
The post Black Slides Matter appeared first on Presentation Skills Training | Gerry Sandusky.
April 4, 2018
The Tools I Like to Use
Before I jump into to sharing the tools that I use in presentations, I want to underscore that the tools don’t make a presentation great. Good tools and great tools enhance great ideas, but they can’t prop up shallow, vacuous, or meaningless ideas and poor presentation of those ideas.
Tools can have a powerful, positive impact on the overall impact of your presentation but they can’t save a bad presentation.
Okay, disclaimer out of the way, let’s jump in.
I’m frequently asked which presentation software, tools, etc. I use when conducting my seminars, giving talks, or coaching.
I’ll touch on several of the tools I use. Here comes disclaimer number two: I don’t get paid to use any of these products or to endorse these products. I just use them because I like them.
Of course, if one of these companies wants to pay me, I’m happy to rewrite this section! But for now, it stands as is.
Presentation Software
I use Keynote. It’s a Mac product and comes with the Mac Book. I’m surprised that so many people—even those who have Macs don’t either know about or use Keynote.
I like it for three major reasons:
It’s easy to use.
It integrates with other Mac products like photos, Pages, and Numbers but also non-Mac products too. Drop and drag. Easy.
It creates the look of motion without being quite as full on motion as Prezi. Here’s an example below of some of the things you can do with Keynote’s Magic Move feature.
Presentation Remote
This is crucial. I use a Kensington Ultimate Presenter with Virtual Pointer. I like it because it has a curved shape that fits your hand perfectly. Last week I talked about a technique to put a remote in your hand so your hands looked more natural in a presentation. If you didn’t see that video, click here to see it.
It’s easy to keep this or any Kensington remote in your briefcase or bag. I can’t stress this enough: use your own presentation remote. I see too many presenters struggle in the front of the room trying to use someone else’s remote that they aren’t familiar with, hit all the wrong buttons, and spend too much time apologizing to the audience.
You can get a really good remote for under $60. They last forever. And showing up with your own remote is one of the signs of a pro.
If you’re just starting out using a remote, I recommend the Kensington Presenter Expert. I used one for years before I upgraded to the Ultimate Presenter. I have literally traveled around the country with my Kensington remotes and they have never once failed me. Never once.
Here’s the link to the Kensington remotes:
https://www.kensington.com/us/us/4492...
Editing Software
Every other week I put out a new video for my Rules of Engagement series. I edit all of those using a program called ScreenFlow.
ScreenFlow lets you edit video even more easily than Mac’s iMovie with many of the features of more advanced programs like Adobe Premier (with a much shorter learning curve). It also lets you record what is on your screen so you create demo videos. Here’s an example below:
Here’s the link to the ScreenFlow software:
Graphics
I use three different tools to create graphics for videos, blogs, and my seminars:
Keynote
Canva
Easil
Yes, Keynote, the presentation program. If you want to create a simple JPEG, you can create it as a screen in Keynote and then export it as JPEG. Simple.
Canva (canva.com) is a free service that is easy to use to create free graphics. You have more options with Canva then with Keynote. I consider it my medium option.
Easil (easil.com) is my go-to for creating graphics for my programs and my online courses. I use the paid service. It’s $9 bucks a month and for that fee they give you thousands of pre-created graphics, looks, designs that you can easily modify, resize, and adjust the colors to suit your look and your need.
I use Easil to create the thumbnail graphics I use for Rules of Engagement videos. Here’s an example below:
Adapters:
Because I use a mac and most businesses conference rooms, corporate classrooms, and
amphitheaters are designed around PC’s, I carry a MAC VGA Adapter and a 10-foot HDMI cable. Those two tools turn my laptop into projector compatible no matter where I’m presenting.
Don’t show up and presume every place will have these for you to use. As a rule of thumb, the more you need something, the less likely the place where you present will have it.
Program Outline
I like to use Numbers, another Mac program. It’s a spreadsheet program, but much more flexible than Excel.
You can also use Word or Page or any word processing program.
The key isn’t which program you use to create your program outline. The key is making it big, bold, with white space.
Here’s an example of what my outlines look like. Remember, the outline is just for you, as the presenter, to see. It’s your guide for the flow of the program. At a glance you want to see two things:
Where you are right now
Where you’re going next
Other Things to Have or Have Access to
Dry erase markers. I keep a few in my bag. A whiteboard is only as good as th
e markers you use onit. Showing up and having to use dried out, faded markers takes away from your presentation. Have a few fresh ones handy. I use Expo markers. They seem to last forever.
Same with Flipchart markers. I keep a couple wide, chisel tipped
Sharpies with me when I present. I like to have a black, a blue, and a red. Color cont
rast comes in handy when you’re
writing on a flipchart and you want to highlight something.
Final Thoughts
My preference in tools has evolved over years to what feels best, works best, and looks best when it’s go time and show time. Please don’t think you can just copy this tools list, not practice your presentation and think the tools will bail you out and save the day. Won’t happen!
But if you handle the heavy lifting of figuring out your big idea, crafting an excellent program, and practicing your performance, then I promise you good tools will make you better and will help you shine in front of the room.
What are Your Favorites?
I showed you mine. Now you show me yours. What are your favorite presentation and video tools and software? Leave me a comment below. I love learning about what others are using.
The post The Tools I Like to Use appeared first on Presentation Skills Training | Gerry Sandusky.
March 26, 2018
Perfect is the Wrong Target for Your Presentation
Business writer Patrick Lencioni says, “Trying to design the perfect plan is the perfect recipe for disappointment.” He’s on to something. Lencioni has sold more than five million books.
The same holds for presentations. Perfection doesn’t work there either.
No one ever walked out of a business presentation and said to a colleague, “Wow, that was a perfect PowerPoint.” Never.
No, you don’t want to come across as sloppy, unprepared, or unprofessional. That’s common sense. But stop short of aiming for flawless. Pursuit of perfection has ruined many a presentation.
Don’t Aim for What isn’t Possible
Too often presenters think if they have the perfect PowerPoint, graphics, and pictures and they give a perfect performance, they are sure to achieve their goals.
Then they hit a pot hole driving to the presentation and dump coffee on their perfectly pressed shirt.
S&^%!
Life is filled with pot holes. So are presentations. Learning how to navigate around them and surviving the ones you hit anyway goes a lot farther than the mythical pursuit of perfection.
What Audiences Really Want
Audiences—no matter how demanding—don’t want flawless. They want a presenter who is comfortable, approachable, and believable. They want a person they can relate to, not a robot they can’t connect with.
Here’s the other reason perfection doesn’t work: It has the wrong focus. A great presenter is focused on his or her audience and their needs, not his or her need to be perfect. The presenter who puts her entire focus on the audience instead of her need to be flawless is far more powerful and effective.
The Ironic Effect
If someone looked perfect, sounded spot on, had the greatest PowerPoint, and used Academy Award caliber body language, most people in the audience would hate that presenter. It would freak out the audience.
In this video, I’ll show you why aiming for perfect is the wrong target for your presentation and what you should aim for instead. Enjoy.
The post Perfect is the Wrong Target for Your Presentation appeared first on Presentation Skills Training | Gerry Sandusky.
March 17, 2018
How a Comedian Can Help You Improve Your Next Presentation
On a recent trip to Las Vegas, I took my son and his friends (all over 21 years old) to a comedy club where I saw a comedian use a seamless technique to get the audience involved his routine. Any business presenter can use the same technique–without having to be funny.
It comes down to this: ask leading questions—all while the audience thinks you are just having a conversation.
How the Leading Question Technique Works
Step 1: Etablish the topic.
The comedian at one point in his routine took a pause, a sip of water—giving a natural break to the flow of his delivery—and then mentioned casually that he had been on a cruise recently.
Step 2: Ask a leading question.
Before he delved into the topic, he asked the audience, “Who here has ever been on a cruise?”
Hands up everywhere.
“What cruise line?”
People shouted out a few names of cruise lines, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Viking. The comedian made short comments on each.
“Oh, Mr. Fancy.”
“Never been to Norway. Never going either.”
“I’m more of a Packers fan myself.”
Step 3: Use a specific answer to bridge to your topic.
Someone in the audience mentioned Carnival Cruise lines. And the comedian dove in. “And do you know why they call it Carnival? Because it is a $%#&ing carnival…” And off he went on a five minute bit about his cruise on a Carnival Cruise line.
He made the entire exchange seem random, but there was nothing random about it.
His bit was about Carnival Cruise Lines. He could have just jumped in and done the bit. Instead, he made it seem like it flowed out of a casual conversation with the audience.
Every business presenter can do the same thing. The technique turns a presentation into a conversation without the presenter losing control.
Three Parts of the Leading Question Technique
A target topic
A leading question
A specific answer that would lead him into his target topic–I call this the trigger answer
How to Use the Leading Question Technique in a Business Presentation
Establish the topic
Ask a leading question
Use the specific answer, the trigger answer, to flow into the target material.
Instead of just launching into the topic or into a topic within your presentation, set it up with a leading question. Here is an example:
The target topic: evaluating employees.
Trigger answer to flow into target material: A waste of time.
Leading question: What are the biggest frustrations you run into when you do your employee evaluations?
Rather than just open the presentation, or that portion of the presentation, by diving into what you want to say about employee evaluations, you open with the leading question:
“How many of you have found yourself confused over which of your employees is bringing real value to your business?”
After a show of hands, ask, “How many of you feel even more frustrated after doing employee evaluations?”
More hands go up.
“What are some of the frustrations you feel?”
As the answers come, you comment briefly.
Audience member: “Employees usually over estimate themselves.”
You: “So true.”
Audience member: “The questions seem forced.”
You: “Kind of like being on a first date.”
Audience member: “It’s one more thing to do that I don’t have time for.” Ding, ding, ding, ding. That’s the trigger answer! You take that answer and segue right into what you intended to talk about in the first place.
You: “And that’s the biggest underlying problem with employee evaluations. They waste time we don’t have…” And off you go diving into the topic.
The Payoff
That entire exchange takes only a minute or two but it does a few valuable things:
It creates audience involvement.
It transforms a presentation into a conversation.
It makes it seem like the audience played an important role instead of a passive role in revealing your content.
Give it a Try
Pick a main topic of your next presentation.
Ask a leading question to your audience that leads in the general direction of that content.
Comment briefly on the answers the audience gives.
Use the trigger answer to flow into your content.
You will get to the same destination using the leading question technique, but by including them, the audience members will feel like you shared an experience with them instead of just talking at them.
Okay, your turn. Leave me a comment with a topic and a leading question and the trigger answer you’re looking for. And unless you’re a professional comedian, don’t even get started with the jokes!
The post How a Comedian Can Help You Improve Your Next Presentation appeared first on Presentation Skills Training | Gerry Sandusky.
March 14, 2018
A Simple Way to Share Complicated Material in a Presentation
The only thing harder than getting an audience’s attention is getting it back after you’ve lost it. Once they’re gone, they’re usually gone for good. Oh, you might still see people sitting in front of you, but they’ve checked out.
And nothing gets people to check out faster in a presentation than confusing them with complicated information.
That said, there are plenty of times we have to present complicated, intricate, or complex information.
Do it in a way that makes the audience feel inadequate and the audience checks out.
Do it in a way that makes the audience feel like you’re showing off and the audience checks out.
The Tricky Proposition
It’s a tricky proposition. You have to share complicated material, but in a way that doesn’t overwhelm or lose the audience.
You can’t afford to let the audience check out because once they’re gone…they’re gone.
The Key to Complicated Material
The key to presenting complicated material isn’t to start with the material.
The key is to start with the audience.
Start with where the audience is coming from and build a bridge to where you want to take them.
In this video, I’ll show you how to use a simple technique that will make even the most complicated material accessible to your audience, and I’ll show you how to do it in a way that keeps your audience from checking out.
Let Me Know What You Think
And after you watch this video, leave me a message down below and tell me if you don’t think quantum entanglement is mind-blowing!
The post A Simple Way to Share Complicated Material in a Presentation appeared first on Presentation Skills Training | Gerry Sandusky.
March 6, 2018
What Country Music Singers Can Teach You About Business Presentations
My wife and I spent last weekend in Nashville where our son lives. We had a Sunday Fun-Day, hitting different bars and restaurants around town listening to music.
After seeing six or seven different performers and duos a couple of parallels emerged between performers and business presenters.
When the spotlight shines on you, you have to be ready to shine too.
Just get going!
The Spotlight:
They use a spotlight for a reason. It shows people where to look. Audiences don’t want to look at someone who looks uncomfortable. The more comfortable you look in the spotlight, the more comfortable the audience feels. And the more comfortable the audience feels, the more enjoyment everyone gets out of the experience.
How to Look More Comfortable
Here’s a trick I learned years ago as an intern at a TV station in Miami. I knew TV anchors looked comfortable sitting under the lights and I knew I didn’t. So After the 11 pm news every night—for months—I would have my friend who was the floor director, turn on the studio lights and I would sit on the anchor desk and practice reading the scripts in an empty studio in front of cameras that weren’t on.
By the time I anchored my first sportscast, I still felt plenty nervous but I looked fairly comfortable because I had spent hours in that environment.
Too many presenters see the front of the room for the first time when their presentation begins. Big mistake.
Practice In Front of the Room
Put some time in front of an empty room—ideally the room where you’ll give the presentation. Practice while standing in front of the room.
Get used to what the room looks like from that perspective. You’ll still feel a level of anxiety before your presentation, but you won’t look as uncomfortable as people who are seeing the front of the room for the first time.
Here’s an axiom I believe in. The easier something looks, the harder someone has worked on it.
Country music singers look so comfortable sitting in the spotlight playing and singing because they do it over and over and over. Sometimes they do it in front of fairly empty rooms. But the more empty rooms you play too, the more comfortable you will look in front of a packed house.
Just Get Going
I enjoyed watching new acts come up to the various stages. I noticed some performers hemmed and hawed and struggled to get going. They talked at length—rambled is more like it. And the longer they talked about what they were going to play or why they like a particular song, the antsier the audience got.
The better performers just got in front of the spotlight and started playing. Then after three or four songs, they might begin to talk to the audience.
The better performers understood why the audience came in the first place—to hear music, not a monologue.
And once those performers could show how well they could play, then the audience was more open to listening to anything they had to say.
Lose the Preamble
Too many business presenters start with a long pre-amble: “Hi, it’s great to be with you all today. Thanks so much for inviting me here to present to you on the blah, blah, blah.”
Get rid of the preamble.
Just get going.
Audiences connect more to performers and presenters who just get going. Don’t tell me what you’re going to do or going to say or a funny story you want to tell me. Just tell me.
Just get going.
If you do those two things:
Just get going
Look comfortable when the spotlight is on you
Then your next presentation may not win you a Grammy, but it will likely win over your audience and isn’t that why you walked to the front of the room in the first place?
The post What Country Music Singers Can Teach You About Business Presentations appeared first on Presentation Skills Training | Gerry Sandusky.
February 22, 2018
How to Use Stories Unrelated to Your Presentation Topic to Improve Your Presentation
A few years ago I heard Colin Powell speak at a conference.
He spoke for about an hour and he touched on the many highlights of his career: four-star general, National Security Advisor, Head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Secretary of State. Heady stuff.
What Audiences Remember
But after the audience left Powell’s presentation, I noticed what audience members talked about in the lobby. They talked about stories Powell shared, especially a fun story he shared about his favorite hot dog vendor who always remembered to put onions but not relish on his hot dog—not because Powell was Secretary of State, but because the hot dog vendor understood the value of knowing who the customer is and what the customer wants.
What Stands Out
That’s what stood out with the audience. Not the parts about speaking at the UN, negotiating in the White House, or spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to upgrade computers at the State Department.
The Trick To Using an “Unrelated” Story
Here’s the trick. Powell’s presentation was about getting big organizations to focus on people, not titles. The hot dog story conveyed his entire message—without appearing to have anything to do with the topic.
In this video, I’ll show you the power of using stories that seem unrelated to the topic of your presentation. It might not make you Secretary of State, but it will improve your next presentation.
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February 14, 2018
How to Give a Speech or Presentation Like a Hall of Famer
Can you imagine the thrill of getting inducted into a hall of fame and joining a list of immortals? What would you say at your induction speech? The answer to that second question has led to talks that range from good to great to awful.
The Path of Greatness
It takes consistent greatness in your sport to make it to the hall of fame. Once you get there, it takes adherence to a proven set of principles to ensure your speech deserves same stellar reputation your career had.
Fortunately, you don’t have to earn a bust in a sports Hall of Fame to speak or present like a hall of fame athlete. You can borrow from the principles that separate the great speeches from all the others.
Three Principles
In this edition of The Rules of Engagement, I’ll share with you three principles. They lie behind a great speech on Induction Day.
I’ll also show you how you can use those same principles to elevate your speeches, presentations, and meetings.
Fame or Shame?
I can’t promise you a place in your profession’s Hall of Fame.
I can promise to show you how to give a speech, presentation, or run a meeting like a hall of famer.
The post How to Give a Speech or Presentation Like a Hall of Famer appeared first on Presentation Skills Training | Gerry Sandusky.
February 5, 2018
Easy Fixes to Common Writing Errors
If, like a lot of us, you have ever written your when you intended to tell someone that you are special to me, or if you wrote bear bones when you wanted to express a lack of resources instead of the skeletal structure of a large mammal then you know small mistakes in word choice can lead to sizable misunderstandings.
Words Matter
Whether you communicate in front of the room, in front of the media, or in writing, we can all use a handy shortcut guide to turn to for those words and expressions.
It’s handy to have a resource for those moments when you can’t remember if you should use affect or effect, i.e. or e.g., your or you’re.
Infographic to the Rescue
I found this infographic from my friends at Walkerstone.com, an English company that knows a little something about speaking–and writing–the Queen’s English.
The link to infographic is below. It’s worth putting in your bookmarks for that next time you are wondering if your writing problems are affecting or effecting your career.
8 Common Writing Errors That Make You Look Unprofessional (Infographic)
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