An Approach, Not a Method

Presentation Zen is an approach, not a method. Method implies a step-by-step, systematic, planned, and linear process. Method suggests a definite and proven procedure that you can pick off a shelf and follow from A to Z in a logical, orderly fashion. As an approach, Presentation Zen suggests a road, a direction, a frame of mind—perhaps even a philosophy—but not a formula of proven rules to be followed by all in the same way. There are no panaceas for improving your presentations, and I offer no prescriptions for success. Success depends on you and your own unique situation. However, I do offer guidelines and some things to think about that may run contrary to conventional wisdom on how to make live presentations with multimedia.

Zen itself is an approach to life and a way of being rather than a set of rules or dogma to be followed by all in the same way. Indeed, there are many paths to enlightenment. At the heart of Zen is the need for personal awareness and the ability to see and discover. Zen is practical. It’s concerned with the here and now. And the practical and the here and now are also our concerns with presentations. The aim of this book is to help professionals free themselves from the pain of creating and delivering presentations by helping them see presentations in a way that is different, simpler, more visual, more natural, and ultimately far more meaningful.

Each Case Is Different

Not all presentation situations are appropriate for using multimedia (projected slides). For example, if you have a small audience and data-intensive materials to discuss, a handout of the materials with a give-and-take discussion is usually more appropriate. In many situations, a whiteboard, flipcharts, or a paper with detailed figures would make for better support. Each case is different. The discussions in this book largely center on those presentations for which multimedia is a good fit for your unique situation, but many of the principles can be applied to your situation whether you use technology or not.

This book is not directly about software tools. Yet, by keeping principles such as restraint and simplicity in mind, you can use the lessons here to help you design better visuals that are appropriate to a given situation. When it comes to software functions, I don’t think the challenge is to learn more, but rather to ignore more so that you can focus on the principles and the few techniques that are important. Software techniques are simply not our chief concern.

Characterizing master swordsman Odagiri Ichiun’s ideas on technique, Zen scholar Daisetz T. Suzuki says, “The first principle of the art is not to rely on tricks of technique. Most swordsmen make too much of technique, sometimes making it their chief concern.” Many presenters, however, make the software their chief concern in the preparation process and delivery. This often produces cluttered visuals and talks that are neither engaging nor memorable.

Yes, the basics of software are important to know. Delivery techniques and “do’s and dont’s” are useful to understand. But it’s not about technique alone. The art of presentation transcends technique and enables an individual to remove walls and connect with an audience—to inform or persuade in a very meaningful, unique moment in time.

Still a Long Way to Go

While presentation technology has evolved over the years, the presentations themselves have not necessarily evolved. Today, millions of presentations are given every day with the aid of such applications as PowerPoint, Keynote (from Apple Inc.), or one of the host of good cloud-based applications. Yet, most presentations remain mind-numbingly dull, something to be endured by both presenter and audience alike, or heavily decorated and animated affairs with excessive motion that distracts from even well-researched content. Presentations are still generally ineffective, not because presenters lack intelligence or creativity, but because they have learned bad habits and they lack awareness and knowledge about what makes for a great presentation.

Although presentation techniques have changed as digital technology has progressed, the fundamentals of what makes an effective presentation today are essentially the same as they ever were. The principles of restraint, simplicity, and naturalness are still key, regardless of what software you use—and even if you use no digital tools at all. And no matter how much we use software in a live presentation, as much as possible the tools and techniques must be used only to clarify, simplify, and support the personal connection that develops between an audience and a speaker. The latest tools and technology can be great enablers and amplifiers of our messages, but they must be used wisely and with restraint in a way that feels natural and real, otherwise they become barriers to communication.

No matter how impressive technology becomes in the future, no matter how many features and effects are added, the technology of the soul has not changed. Technologies are only useful to the degree that they make things clearer and more memorable, and strengthen the human-to-human connection that is the basis of communication. Used well, multimedia has the power to do this.

Raising the Bar and Making a Difference

Organizations such as TED (for “Technology, Entertainment, Design”), as well as the independent TEDx events, have proven that well-crafted and engaging presentations can teach, persuade, and inspire. Progress is being made on the presentation front. However, on the whole, the majority of presentations in business and academia are still tedious affairs that fail to engage audiences, even though the content may be important and useful.

The bar is still relatively low when it comes to the quality of presentations, especially those given with the aid of multimedia. But this is not necessarily bad news—in fact, it is an opportunity. It’s an opportunity for you to be different. You have important ideas that are worth sharing, so now is not the time to hesitate. If you look at the really successful and innovative companies and organizations around the world today, they are often the ones that celebrate individual and creative contributions. In that spirit, presenting your work and your great ideas is no time to be timid. Life is too short. If you want to change things—including the arc of your own career—then how you present yourself and your ideas matters a great deal. Why not be different?

Design

To many business people, design is something you spread on the surface, like icing on a cake. It’s nice, but not mission critical. This is not design to me—it’s decoration. Decoration, for better or worse, is noticeable. It is sometimes enjoyable and sometimes irritating, and it is unmistakably there. The best designs, however, are so well done that the observer never even consciously notices them. Think about the design of a book or the signage in an airport. We take note of the messages that the design helped make utterly clear, but not the color palette, typography, concept, etc.

Design starts at the beginning, not at the end—it’s not an afterthought. If you use slideware in your presentation, the design of the visuals needs to begin in the preparation stage, before you even turn on your computer. During the preparation stage, you slow down and “stop your busy mind” so you can consider your topic, objectives, key messages, and audience. Only then will you begin to sketch out ideas that will appear in some digital visual form.

Story

Facts, information, data. Most of it is available online or can be sent to people via e-mail, PDF, or hard copy through snail mail. Data and facts have never been more widely available. Cognitive scientist Mark Turner calls storytelling “narrative imagining,” something that is a key instrument of thought. We are wired to tell and receive stories. We are all born storytellers (and “storylisteners”). As kids, we looked forward to show-and-tell, and we gathered with our friends at recess and lunchtime to tell stories about real things and real events that mattered, at least to us.

But somewhere along the line, “story” became synonymous with fiction or even falsehood. So story and storytelling have been marginalized in business and academia as something serious people do not engage in. But, from what college students tell me, I’ve concluded that the best and most effective professors are the ones who tell true stories and give real examples. From my students’ point of view, the best professors don’t just go through the material in a book. They put their own personality, character, and experiences into the material in the form of a narrative, which is illuminating, engaging, and memorable. Stories can be used for good—for teaching, sharing, illuminating, and, of course, honest persuasion.

Symphony

Focus, specialization, and analysis have been important in the Information Age, but in the Conceptual Age, the ability to synthesize seemingly unrelated pieces to form and articulate the big picture is crucial—even a differentiator. Pink calls this aptitude “symphony.”

The best presenters can illuminate relationships we may not have seen before. They can see the relationships between relationships. Symphony requires that we become better at seeing—truly seeing—in a new way. Anyone can deliver chunks of information and repeat findings that are represented visually by bullet points on screen. What we need are people who can recognize the patterns and are skilled at seeing the nuances and simplicity that may exist in a complex problem. Symphony in the world of presentation does not mean dumbing down information into the sound bites and talking points so popular in the mass media. Symphony is about applying our whole mind—logic, analysis, synthesis, intuition—to make sense of our world (that is, our topic), find the big picture, and determine what is important and what is not before the day of a talk. It’s also about deciding what matters and letting go of the rest.

Empathy

Empathy is about putting yourself in the position of others. It involves an understanding of the importance of others’ nonverbal cues and being aware of your own. Good designers, for example, have the ability to put themselves in the position of the user, customer, or audience member. This is a talent, perhaps, more than a skill that can be taught—but everyone can get better at it. Empathy allows a presenter, even without thinking about it, to notice when the audience is “getting it” and when they are not. The empathetic presenter can make adjustments based on his or her reading of a particular audience.

Play

In the Conceptual Age, says Pink, work is not just about seriousness, but about play as well. While each presentation situation is different, in many public speaking situations playfulness and humor can go a long way toward making a presentation palatable. Humor, in this sense, does not imply joking or clownlike informality, but rather, good, old-fashioned humor that leads to laughter. In Pink’s book, Indian physician Madan Kataria points out that many think serious people are the best suited for business—that serious people are more responsible: “[But] that’s not true. That’s yesterday’s news. Laughing people are more creative people. They are more productive people.”

Somewhere along the line, we were sold the idea that a real business presentation or academic talk must be dull and devoid of humor—something to be endured, not enjoyed. And if you use multimedia tools, the more complicated, detailed, and difficult to see, the better. This approach is still alive and well today, but we can hope in the future that this, too, will become “yesterday’s news.”

Meaning

Making a presentation is an opportunity to make a small difference in the world, whether it’s in your community, company, or school. A presentation that goes badly may have a devastating impact on your spirit (and on your career). But a presentation that goes well can be fulfilling for both you and the audience, and it might even help your career. Some say that we “are born for meaning.” We live for self-expression and an opportunity to share what we believe is important. If you are lucky, you’re in a job that you feel passionate about. If so, then it’s with excitement that you look forward to the possibility of sharing your expertise—your story—with others. Few things can be more rewarding than connecting with someone by teaching something new or sharing something you believe is very important with others.

Audiences are so used to so-called death-by-PowerPoint that they’ve seemingly learned to see it as normal, even if not ideal. However, if you are different—if you exceed expectations, show the audience that you’ve thought about them, done your homework, know your material, and demonstrated through your actions how much you appreciate being there—chances are you’ll make an impact and a difference, even if it’s just in the smallest of ways. There can be great meaning in even these small connections.

Design. Story. Symphony. Empathy. Play. Meaning. Dan Pink’s A Whole New Mind gives us the context of the new world we’re living in and explains why “high-touch” talents—which include exceptional presentation skills—are so important today. Professionals around the globe need to understand how and why the right-brain aptitudes of design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning are more important than ever. The best presentations of our generation will be created by professionals—engineers as well as CEOs and creative types—who have strong “whole mind” aptitudes and talents. These are not the only aptitudes needed by the modern presenter, but mastering these talents along with other important abilities (such as strong analytical skills) will take you far as a communicator in the Conceptual Age.

Seth Godin

Speaker, blogger, and author of This is Marketing
www.sethgodin.com

Marketing guru and presenter extraordinaire Seth Godin says presentation is about the transfer of emotion.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re trying to champion at a church or a school or a Fortune 100 company, you’re probably going to use PowerPoint. PowerPoint was developed by engineers as a tool to help them communicate with the marketing department—and vice versa. It’s a remarkable tool because it allows very dense verbal communication. Yes, you could send a memo, but no one reads anymore. As our compnies are getting faster and faster, we need a way to communicate ideas from one group to another. Enter PowerPoint.

PowerPoint could be the most powerful tool on your computer. But it’s not. Countless innovations fail because their champions use PowerPoint the way Microsoft wants them to, rather than the right way.

Communication is about getting others to adopt your point of view, to help them understand why you’re excited (or sad, or optimistic, or whatever else you are). If all you want to do is create a file of facts and figures, then cancel the meeting and send in a report.

Our brains have two sides. The right side is emotional, musical, and moody, whereas the left side is focused on dexterity, facts, and hard data. When you show up to give a presentation, people want to use both parts of their brains. So they use the right side to judge the way you talk, the way you dress, and your body language. Often, people come to a conclusion about your presentation by the time you’re on the second slide. After that, it’s often too late for your bullet points to do you much good. You can wreck a communication process with lousy logic or unsupported facts, but you can’t complete it without emotion. Logic is not enough. Communication is the transfer of emotion.

Champions must sell—to internal audiences and to the outside world. If everyone in the room agreed with you, you wouldn’t need to do a presentation, would you? You could save a lot of time by printing out a one-page project report and delivering it to each person. No, the reason we do presentations is to make a point, to sell one or more ideas.

If you believe in your idea, sell it. Make your point as hard as you can and get what you came for. Your audience will thank you for it, because deep down, we all want to be sold.

How to Improve Immediately

First, make slides that reinforce your words, not repeat them. Create slides that demonstrate, with emotional proof, that what you’re saying is true, not just accurate. No more than six words on a slide. EVER. There is no presentation so complex that this rule needs to be broken.

Second, don’t use cheesy images. Use professional stock photo images. Talking about pollution in Houston? Instead of giving me four bullet points of EPA data, why not read me the stats but show me a photo of a bunch of dead birds, some smog, and even a diseased lung? This is cheating! It’s unfair! It works.

Third, no dissolves, spins, or other transitions. Keep it simple.

Fourth, create a written document. A leave-behind. Put in as many footnotes or details as you like. Then, when you start your presentation, tell the audience that you’re going to give them all the details of your presentation after it’s over, and they don’t have to write down everything you say. Remember, the presentation is to make an emotional sale. The document is the proof that helps the intellectuals in your audience accept the idea that you’ve sold them on emotionally.

Don’t hand out printouts of your slides. They don’t work without you there.

The home run is easy to describe: You put up a slide. It triggers an emotional reaction in the audience. They sit up and want to know what you’re going to say that fits in with that image. Then, if you do it right, every time they think of what you said, they’ll see the image (and vice versa). Sure, this is different from the way everyone else does it. But everyone else is busy defending the status quo (which is easy) and you’re busy championing brave new innovations, which is difficult.

Lyza Danger Gardner

Sample Slides

A New Era Requires New Thinking

The skills necessary to be an effective communicator today are different than in the past. Today, literacy is not only about reading and writing—which are necessary—but also about understanding visual communication. Today, we need a higher degree of visual literacy and an understanding of the great power that imagery has for conveying important messages.

People who design visuals for live presentations typically regard PowerPoint, for example, as a kind of document-creation tool. Their principles and techniques seem to be largely influenced by the conventional wisdom regarding the proper creation of business documents, such as letters, reports, spreadsheets, and so on. Many businesspeople and students approach multimedia slides as if they were nothing more than glorified overhead transparencies that contain boxes for text, bullets, and clip art.

If you want to learn how to become a better presenter, then look beyond the advice given in books about how to use slide software and books on presentation skills (including this one). These books have their place, but you should be looking to other forms of proven visual storytelling as well. Documentary films, for example, tell nonfiction stories that incorporate narration, interviews, audio, powerful video and still images, and at times, on-screen text. These elements can be incorporated into live oral presentations as well. Cinema and presentations are different, but not as different as you may think. I have learned much about the use of imagery in storytelling from watching virtually every documentary Ken Burns ever produced. And there are useful lessons in storytelling and visual communication found in great films, such as Citizen Kane, Casablanca, Akira Kurosawa’s Ikiru, and even Star Wars.

The art of comics is another place to look for knowledge and inspiration. Comics, for example, are amazingly effective at partnering text and images to form a powerful narrative that is engaging and memorable.

Comics and film are two major ways of telling stories through imagery. The principles and techniques for creating a presentation for a conference or a keynote address have more in common with the principles and techniques behind the creation of a good documentary film or a good comic book than the creation of a conventional static business document with bullet points.

Letting Go

Part of the Presentation Zen approach to presenting well is learning to give up what you’ve learned about making presentations in the slide deck era with its cookie-cutter method of design and delivery. The first step is to stop allowing our history and conditioning about what we know—or thought we knew—to keep us from being open to other ways of presentation. Seven sentences per slide? Some clip art thrown in for good measure? No one ever got fired for that, right? But if we remain attached to the past, we cannot learn anything new. We must open our minds so that we can see the world for what it is with a fresh new perspective. As the great Master Yoda once suggested (in a galaxy far, far away), we must unlearn what we have learned.