Ms Office Tune Up

After you’ve homed in on one or more needs and hot buttons for your audience, you should have a good idea of where the presentation is going. But there is still the small matter of putting the concepts down on paper and then actually creating the slides that will help you deliver your message.

You may be inclined to say, “Okay, I’ve identified some important items that matter to the audience why don’t I just put together a bunch of slides with information relevant to those issues?”

In going down this path, you would presumably create slide after slide of titles and bullets, intersperse a few more creative slides with photos, diagrams, and perhaps video, and come out at the end with the feeling of “Whew, I’m done.”

At this point, it’s probably a good idea to think about your objectives for the presentation.

Another point to consider is whether you are creating this presentation for yourself (as the speaker) or whether you are creating a slide show to be presented by someone else (a busy executive or colleague).

If you are the presenter, you have an advantage: You should have a clear idea of what should occur when the last slide has been shown and the lights go up (if you’ve done the preliminary work of figuring out how the lights work or getting someone else to handle them). Here are some objectives you might anticipate:

• In a sales presentation, you will have gotten the sale, closed the deal, or at a minimum gotten a clear indication of what the next step in the process will be and that it will happen.
• In a training event, you will have seen some “light bulbs go off” as those present have seen the value of whatever you are delivering and have shown excitement and enthusiasm about applying it in their own endeavors. Attendees will come up at the end while you’re trying to gather your materials and ask you more questions and want your business card.
• For a motivational speech or sermon, this level of enthusiasm will be even more pervasive and obvious, perhaps you will even receive a nice round of applause.

So in continuing to structure your presentation, the next question you need to ask is: What do I need to do to accomplish this objective?

In sales, this will be a call to action; in other circumstances, it may be a subtler message, perhaps summarizing the main ideas or concepts that you want to be sure that the audience takes away.

But in any case, clearly spelling out for yourself (or your speaker) what the final objective will be can put together what an attorney would call a closing argument but what the presenter might consider simply the last slide.

Many presenters make the last slide an information slide about themselves (website and phone number) and then simply conclude with “Any questions?”

This is almost a capitulation at the end of an event that you consider an ordeal. The audience will surely pick up on your lack of energy, and even if the presentation has been a success to that point, you may not achieve your objective.
If you use your own imagination to create uplifting PowerPoint presentations instead of bludgeoning your audience with deadly bullets, you should eagerly look forward to presenting and at the end have a surge of energy that will move the audience to see your point of view and either buy your product or service or do things the way you’ve suggested and taught.

In any event, leave your “information slide” for Q&A or pass out a business card. But end your speech on a high note by asking for the order or otherwise emphasizing your main message in a positive and compelling way.

Now that you’ve committed yourself to that, you have your ending!

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