80. The House That Jack Built: Make All the Parts Fit

This is the house that Jack built.

This is the rat

That ate the malt

That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the cat,

That killed the rat,

That ate the malt

That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the dog,

That worried the cat,

That killed the rat,

That ate the malt

That lay in the house that Jack built.

The repetitive progression structure of this classic Mother Goose nursery rhyme has been applied in many variations with many stories in many cultures. In all its expressions, the progression shows the continuous interrelationship among disparate components. The theme is also applicable to presentations in the interrelationships among the key components of every presentation:

• Content

• Graphics

• Delivery skills

• Q&A

Suppose that a presenter developed a clear, concise, and compelling story. But then suppose that the presenter accompanied that story with graphics designed in the “Death by PowerPoint” manner. The story would fail.

Suppose instead that a presenter developed a clear, concise, and compelling story, and accompanied that story with graphics designed in the Less Is More manner. But then suppose that the presenter stood up in front of the audience and suddenly froze like a deer in the headlights. The story would fail.

Suppose now that a presenter developed a clear, concise, and compelling story; accompanied that story with graphics designed in the Less Is More manner; and then stood up in front of the audience and delivered the presentation with the outstanding oratorical skills of Ronald Reagan or Barack Obama. The combination was so impressive that the audience sat in awed silence for the entire length of the presentation, not uttering a peep. But then suppose that, when the presenter concluded the presentation and opened the floor to questions, the first question was hostile and the presenter reacted defensively. Despite everything that preceded, the entire presentation would fail.

The point here is that, for any presentation to succeed, every presenter must give full attention to every component. More to the point, the presenter must be certain that each component integrates with every other component.

Build your house better than Jack did.