Presenting with Impact

GEST-D-311 – Techniques de communication

Prof. Philippe Emplit

Olivier Hamoir

2010

Presenting with Impact

1

Objectives and format of the course

What?

� Introducing some basic principles

� Allowing you to practice in a low-

risk environment

� Giving you feedback on your

performance

How?

▪ Help you to design and deliver impactful presentations

2

For the purpose of this course, we make a clear-cut distinction between « presentations » and « expositions »

Objective

Style

Structure

▪ To get the audience to act a

certain way (e.g., buy a

product, change habits, take

a decision)

▪ Goal-oriented

▪ Persuasive

▪ Argumentative

▪ Top-down

▪ « Pyramidal »

Presentation

▪ To explore the different sides

of a problem or situation

▪ Neutral

▪ Purely informative

▪ Modular

▪ Covering every relevant

aspect of the chosen

topic and with an open-

ended conclusion

Exposition

≠

3

Presentations have many uses and can take many forms

Convention speech on the importance of recycling waste

Political speech justifying a declaration of war

Stand-up intervention during a board meetingon the need to cut down on overhead costs

Corporate strategy announcement

Public defense of a scientific thesis

4

Agenda for this session

The pyramid principle

From pyramid to presentation pack

Designing charts

Expectations and tips for the coaching sessions

5

A way of organizing your ideas

A means to structure your documents and presentations

A tool for testing your logic

Structure your message before you start writing using …

The Pyramid principle

6

A pyramid of ideas consists of at least 3 layers

Governing Thought

▪ Main idea that you want to express

▪ Not just the topic of your communication!

▪ Topic plus what you want to say about it

Key Line

▪ Main supporting points

▪ Answers either the question why? or how?

Supporting Analyses

▪ Basic evidence supporting the key line

▪ Answers either the question why or how?

The Pyramid principle

Syn

the

sis

7

We should install the new

"Accounting 2008" IT system

Here is an example

It is relatively cheapIt will provide us with all

the information we needIt will save us time

"Accounting

2008" allows

us to add

specific func-

tions our cur-

rent

database is

unable to

perform

"Accounting

2008" is very

intuitive and

easier to use

than our cur-

rent system

"Accounting

2008" elimi-

nates the

need to run

a quarterly

system

check-up

"Accounting

2008" is

cheaper than

most other

available

systems

"Accounting

2008" comes

with an extra

discount if we

act fast

"Accounting

2008" allows

us to keep

track of all

the expendi-

ture and

income data

we currently

monitor

Why?

Why? Why? Why?

8

The relationship between the inferior and the superior layers of the pyramid is one of synthesis, not summary

To gain market share, you

should offer special deals

to first-time buyers,

introduce volume discounts

for institutional customers,

and allow limited

reductions for customers

willing to pay in cash

Summary – condensed restatement of the facts

Push to ahigher levelof abstraction

Synthesis – overarching idea, expressed concisely (So what?)

9

The relationship between the inferior and the superior layers of the pyramid is one of synthesis, not summary

To gain market share, you

should offer special deals

to first-time buyers,

introduce volume discounts

for institutional customers,

and allow limited

reductions for customers

willing to pay in cash

Summary – condensed restatement of the facts

Push to ahigher levelof abstraction

Synthesis – overarching idea, expressed concisely (So what?)

To gain market share, you should adopt a differentiated pricing policy

10

Statements at the same level of the pyramid should be MECE

Collectively Exhaustive

Taken together, the arguments provide a

complete answer to the basic question

Mutually Exclusive

No overlapping parts

11

We should install the new

"Accounting 2008" IT system

With this in mind, let’s go back to our example

It is relatively cheapIt will provide us with all

the information we needIt will save us time

"Accounting

2008" allows

us to add

specific func-

tions our cur-

rent

database is

unable to

perform

"Accounting

2008" is very

intuitive and

easier to use

than our cur-

rent system

"Accounting

2008" elimi-

nates the

need to run

a quarterly

system

check-up

"Accounting

2008" is

cheaper than

most other

available

systems

"Accounting

2008" comes

with an extra

discount if we

act fast

"Accounting

2008" allows

us to keep

track of all

the expendi-

ture and

income data

we currently

monitor

So What? So What? So What?

Syn

the

sis

Syn

the

sis

Syn

the

sis

So What? Syn

thes

is

Mutually Exclusive & Collectively Exhaustive

12

The pyramid principleEssential checklist

��

▪ One statement in one full sentence in each box

▪ Each statement triggers a question (why? or how?).

The arguments immediately below answer that question only

▪ Each statement is a synthesis (rather than a summary) of the

arguments immediately below it

▪ The arguments within each grouping

– Are at the same level of abstraction

– Are MECE (Mutually Exclusive, Collectively

Exhaustive)

– Add up to the synthesis above

13

Exercise – building a solid pyramid

Regroup by 6

Build a solid pyramid using the decks of cards

Objective

Guidelines

▪ Read the messages on the cards

▪ Determine which message is at the highest level of

abstraction – this is your Governing Thought

▪ Arrange the remaining cards in a pyramid that supports the

Governing Thought (each pyramid has 3 levels maximum)

▪ Use the blank card to synthesize 2 or 3 supporting analyses

into one key line argument and integrate it into your pyramid

▪ Draw your pyramid on a slide

▪ Check against the criteria for good pyramids

▪ You have 15 minutes

14

Quality newspapers cost more than they used to (higher news-stand prices, higher sub-scription fees)

Quality newspapers cost more than accessing news websites on-line

Reading quality newspapers takes time (lots of pages, lots of long articles)

Reading quality newspapers takes concen-tration (limited opportunities to multi-task)

Quality newspapers don't offer multimedia-enhanced delivery of the news

Quality newspapers don't offer round-the-clock updates of the news

People increasingly find quality newspapers

technologically limited

People increasingly find quality newspapers a poor fit

with their very busy lives


expensive

Readership of quality newspapers is declining

Cards exercise – possible solution 1

Why?

15

Quality newspapers cost more than they used to (higher news-stand prices, higher sub-scription fees)

Quality newspapers cost more than accessing news websites on-line

Reading quality newspapers takes time (lots of pages, lots of long articles)

Reading quality newspapers takes concen-tration (limited opportunities to multi-task)

Quality newspapers don't offer multimedia-enhanced delivery of the news

Quality newspapers don't offer round-the-clock updates of the news

People increasingly prefer online media to quality

newspapers

People increasingly find quality newspapers a poor fit

with their very busy lives


expensive

Readership of quality newspapers is declining

Cards exercise – possible solution 2

Why?

16




Designing charts


17

The pyramid defines what story we want to share, but not how we will deliver it

▪ Time constraints

▪ Audience size

▪ Physical setting

▪ Desire for conversation

▪ Meeting objective

Typical selection factors

▪ Desired tone (formal vs. informal)

▪ Audience communication

preferences

▪ Team's presentation style

Many possible deliverables

THE CLIENT RANKS WITHIN THE NATIONAL GROCERY MARKET

THE CLIENT RANKS WITHIN THE NATIONAL GROCERY MARKET•Lkjlj;ljl;jk;klj

•Kj;lnlknlnkln•J;ln;lnljj•J;lkjljkljj;lj;kj

;kjkjlkj;lj;ljkj;j•KJ;lnlkj;ljiujjklj;lj•Kjlkj;lj;ljj;kl;lj

Discussion outline

(storyline + 2-3 charts)

One-page memo

delivered as preread

Horizontal deck

Flipcharts

To: ClientFrom: McK

Right here is where we put the content for our memo.

Today's topic – Finance

▪ Kjlkj▪ Kj;kj;l▪ Kj;kj;kj

Single storyline

18


Before you start…

▪ Get the audience’s attention

▪ Set the stage▪ Explain the procedure 1

Governing thought

▪ A

▪ B

▪ C2

A

▪ 1

▪ 2

3 5

2. So what/message1. So what/message

4

B

▪ 3

▪ 4

6

…

7

Conclusion/next

steps

8

19

There are many ways to get the audience’s attention

An eye-opening story A cultural analogy

An object or a propA startling fact

Queen Elisabeth II benefits the most from

the European CAP

20

Fully articulated message titles are often preferable to polyinterpretabletopical titles

Topical titles Potential message title

▪ Profitability over time ▪ Profitability has been eroding over the past

3 years

▪ Estimated costs ▪ The new IT-infrastructure will cost

approximately € 3 MM

▪ Relation between

education level and yearly

income at 40

▪ On average, people with university degrees

gain 27% more at the age of 40 than people

with no higher education

▪ Project phases ▪ Careful execution during each of the three

phases is crucial to the success of the

project

▪ Governance structure ▪ A streamlined governance structure allows

to avoid the mistakes of the past

▪ Range of services ▪ Our service portfolio includes (almost) all

services offered by the competition

21



Designing charts



22

There are 2 "families" of charts

Quantitative

Bar

Column

Line

Dot

Pie

Non-quantitative

Text table

Text visual

Map

Action plan

Interrelation-ship

Structure

Flow

Quantitative

Focus of

this session

23

Creating quantitative charts is a 3-step process

Determine

message

Identify comparison

Choose charttype

Data

Chart

24

Step 1 – determine the message

Determine message

Identify

comparison

Choose chart

type

Data

Chart

Bear in mind

▪ The data is not the message

▪ You decide how to interpret your

findings…

▪ …but your message should be

consistent with the overall storyline

25

Do not just dump the data, but extract a clearmessage, fitting your overall story

10

45

22

23

22

27

26

25

North

South

East

West

Widget Inc. Gadget Inc.

Sales per region, percentages (2010)

Total € 500 € 505

Potential messages

▪ Widget stands strongest in the Southern Region

▪ Widget and Gadget

have a different regional

sales mix

▪ Widget sells more than

Gadget in the Southern

region, but less in all other territories

▪ Widget’s sales per

region vary more than

Gadget’s

Potential messages

26

Step 2 – identify the comparison underlying your message

Determine message

Identify

comparison

Choose chart

type

Data

Chart

Comparison

Item ranking

Component

Time series

Frequencydistribution

Correlation

▪ Ranking of items (equal, more/less than other)

▪ Size of each part as a percentage of the total

▪ Changes over time (trends in weeks, months, years;

increase, decrease, constant)

▪ Number of items within a progressive numerical range

▪ Relationship between two variables

27

Different comparisons establish different relationships among data points

Item ranking

Time series

Correlation

Frequency

distribution

Shows how specific items score

relatively to one another in

function of a predefined criterion

Shows how relationships

change over time

Shows how many items fall into a

series of numerical ranges

Shows whether the relationship

between two variables follows an

expected pattern

What it does Trigger words you can recognize it by

better/worse, equal to, fluctuating,

larger than, rank, same size, smaller

than, win/loss, worse

change, decline, decrease, fluctuate,

grow, increase, progression, recession,

rise, stagnant, timeline

band, concentration, distribution,

frequency, groups, scope, series,

spectrum, time

change with, correlation, decrease with,

direction, increase with, points, range,

related, trend, vary with

Component

comparison

Shows the size of each part

as a percentage of the total

accounts for, breakdown, component,

part, percentage, piece, segment,

share, whole

28

Step 3 – choose the chart type

Determine message

Identify

comparison

Choose chart

type

Data

Chart

Pie Bar Line Column

Expected

Scatter dot

29

The comparison type determines the chart form

Pie

Bar

Column

Line

Dot

Chartform

Itemranking

Com-ponent

Time series

Frequency distribution

Corre-lation

Comparison

30

Let’s get back to our example

10

45

22

23

22

27

26

25

North

South

East

West


Sales per region, percentages (2010)

Total € 500 € 505

Potential messages

▪ Widget stands strongest in the Southern Region

▪ Widget and Gadget

have a different regional sales mix

▪ Widget sells more than

Gadget in the Southern

region, but less in all

other territories

▪ Widget’s sales per

region vary more than

Gadget’s

31

Widget stands strongest in the Southern RegionSales per region, percentages of total revenue (2010)

10

22

23

North

East

West

South45

32

Widget and Gadget have a different regional sales mixSales per region, percentages of total revenue (2010)

22.026.0

23.0 25.0

North

South

East

West

22.0

27.0

10.0

45.0


33

Widget’s sales per region vary more than Gadget’s Sales per region, percentages of total revenue (2010)


23

22

45

10

West

East

South

North

25

26

27

22

34

Widget sells more than Gadget in the Southern region, but less in all other territoriesSales per region, percentages of total revenue (2010)

Widget

Gadget

23.0

10.0

22.0

45.0

25.0

22.0

26.0

27.0

West

East

South

North

35

Checklist – designing best practice slides

��

� Include a cover slide, mentioning the specifics of the presentation

� Include one clearly articulated message at the top of each slide

(avoid topical titles whenever possible and be explicit about what you

want to say)

� Don't overload the slide ("Less is more")

� Use a simple format

� Use the same font for all text, except for titles and footnotes (minimum

font size: 16 for on-screen presentations and 10 for discussion packs)

� Limit the number of different font types (preferably sans-serif), colors…

� Avoid unnecessary animations (and make sure you know which

slides are animated

� Use one language per slide

� When appropriate, mention the source(s) and unit(s) of measure

� Number all your slides

36

Exercise – designing high-quality charts

Regroup by 6

Design 3 high-quality charts using the data provided

Objective

Guidelines

▪ Analyze the data provided in light of the following themes:

– The evolution of your client’s market share

– Your client’s relative performance vs. the competition in terms of

revenue growth

– The correlation between the birth rate and the sales of teddy bears

in Europe

▪ Write down a full-sentence message at the top of your transparency

▪ Identify the type of comparison implied by your message

▪ Choose the appropriate chart form

▪ Sketch the entire slide (incl. legends, unit of measure, etc.) on the

transparency you were given

▪ You have 20 minutes

37

Chart design exercise

Analyze the data provided in light of the following themes:

▪The evolution of your client’s market share

▪Your client’s relative performance vs. the competition in

terms of revenue growth

▪The correlation between the birth rate and the sales of

teddy bears in Europe

Data ChartDetermine

Message

Identify

Comparison

Choose chart

type

38

Our client’s market share has severely declined

Market share evolution, 1999–2009, percentages

28 2517

837572

1999 2004 2009

Others

Client

39

291

179

176

175

143

35

29

Competitor 2

Compared to competition, we rank 7th in terms of revenue growth

Revenue growth 1999–2009, percentages

Competitor 3

Competitor 4

Competitor 6

Competitor 5

Competitor 1

Our client

14.6

10.8

10.7

10.7

9.3

3.0

2.5

CAGR

40

0.0

0.1

0.1

0.2

0.2

0.3

0.3

0.4

4.20 4.40 4.60 4.80 5.00 5.20

Sales

€ millions

Number of

births (millions)

There is no clear-cut correlation between the European birth rate and the sales of teddy bears in the continent

41

0

50

100

150

200

250

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

There is no clear-cut correlation between the European birth rate and the sales of teddy bears in the continentIndex = 100

Sales

Birth rate

42



From pyramid to storyline


Designing charts

43

What do we expect from you during the coaching sessions?

▪ Form a group of 3 to 4 students

▪ Decide on a topic you would like to present about, related to one of these

courses

– Contrôle de gestion

– Théorie et pratique des ressources humaines

– Theory of innovation and entrepreneurship

– Séminaire pluridisciplinaire de sciences et technologies

▪ Prepare a collective presentation of 5 min (max 3 slides/person)

▪ Bring PowerPoint presentation on USB stick (avoid 2007 edition)

▪ Bring 1 back-up slide representing the pyramidal argumentative structure underlying your message

▪ Guidelines for presentation

– Presentation should be complete and structured (including an introduction,

logical argumentation and recommendation)

– Governing thought should be supported by key arguments

– Presentation should include at least 2 to 3 quantitative slides

– Presentation should respect checklists as provided during this session

– Each group member should present for approximately the same amount of time

▪ Be prepared as of 27/11 because every group can be asked to present during the first session!

44

Typical mistakes and how to avoid them

Common mistakes Tips

▪ Your « Presentation » turns out to be a mere « Exposition »

▪ Pick a suitable topic

▪ Do not limit yourself to exposing the

problem but formulate a possible solution

▪ Think about what you want the audience

to do as a result of your presentation

▪ Your presentation lacks a clear argumentative structure

▪ Your slide titles do not contain clear messages but merely reflect

the topics you address

▪ Write full sentences instead of nominal

groups

▪ Check the coherence of your story by

reading just the titles of your slides

▪ Your charts lack sources, legends, scales or page numbers

▪ Check every single slide for all 4 items

before coming to the session

▪ Apply the pyramid principle.

▪ Draw a one-page pyramid on a slide

▪ Write down a single sentence in each of the

boxes and bring your pyramid to the class!

Most important tip: prepare, prepare, prepare!

Practice in front of a mirror if necessary

45

Class overview

▪ Presence is mandatory

▪ You will participate in small

groups of 3 to 4 students

▪ Half of the groups will attend the

10 to 12h sessions. The other

half will attend the 12 to 14h

sessions

DescriptionDate Class

Sat, Nov 27

10-12,12-14

▪ Coaching session 1

Sat, Dec 410-12,12-14


Sat, Dec 11

10-12,12-14


Sign up for one of the 6 groups at

the end of the plenary session

46

Grading system will reflect your participation

Yes

Did you attend

each session?

ABS

Did you partici-pate actively and follow

guidelines?Year average

-1 or -4 points

Year average

+ impact on other classes

Yes

No

Example

No

▪ Personal year average is

14/20

▪ "I made better presenta-

tions and got my year

average on the course"

▪ "I didn't follow guidelines

and lost 2 points. My

grade is 12/20"

▪ "I didn't attend and my

grade for both the June

and September exam

sessions is ABS –

equivalent to a no show to

an exam"

47

END

48

Sales, € million

The teddy bear industry in Europe 1999–2009

1

2

3

4

5

6

Teddy bearmanufacturer

Your client

Total

Number of birthsMillion

232.6

134.1

61.0

59.3

394.8

128.3

400.3

1999

1409.4

4.87

256.6

142.0

65.6

64.5

404.9

134.7

386.3

2000

1454.6

4.92

292.6

163.6

69.0

71.4

430.1

144.1

393.6

2001

1564.7

4.98

269.4

151.0

61.6

52.0

399.5

130.0

357.4

2002

1420.5

4.31

252.2

204.6

82.5

89.3

510.4

176.1

466.6

2003

1781.7

4.42

248.7

241.3

89.7

97.1

536.5

194.0

477.3

2004

1884.6

4.75

247.0

270.4

93.2

108.7

589.6

209.6

493.4

2005

2012.1

4.90

204.2

342.3

105.5

114.8

607.9

212.2

472.9

2006

2059.5

4.52

242.8

422.8

137.1

146.2

761.2

254.9

521.9

2007

2586.9

4.72

278.4

468.7

167.1

158.3

879.9

281.6

517.7

2008

2751.7

4.97

312.7

524.8

170.2

163.9

957.5

353.4

514.9

2009

2997.4

5.00

Presenting with Impact

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