Alexei Kapterev's "Presentation Secrets": Chapter 8, Focus in Delivery

Part three begins Kapterev's discussion of delivery, and this chapter is devoted to the feedback cited in a study about presentations. When it comes to delivery, audiences mention clarity, pace, voice, engaging with the audience, addressing questions, eye contact, and humor.

Clarity

The key here is simplicity. Avoid the jargon and "smart-sounding" business speak, or "gobbledygook," as Kapterev calls it. When you look at the best presenters, they sound like real people. They don't try to cover up their lack of knowledge by sounding smart. They speak like themselves in short, simple sentences.

Pace

Kapterev spends some time trying to figure out the optimal speed for presentations, and he says that about 150 words per minute (WPM) seems about right. But variability matters, too. Steve Jobs, he claims, speaks between 50 WPM and 200 WPM. Speaking fast actually makes people tend to agree more. But slow down when you make an important point or affirm the obvious.

When it comes to the time limit, try to stay on target. Me, I think of it as blackjack. Get as close as you can without going over. Kapterev says you should stay within the time limit, but he says that you should concentrate on making your presentation good. If you acknowledge you went over, and your presentation is really good, the audience and organizers will forgive your going over the time limit.

Voice

The main point with the person's voice goes back to clarity: the audience needs to hear you to be able to understand you. Nothing else really matters. Make your matter clear, and you will be fine.

Engaging with the audience

Engagement is about the presenter's relationship with the audience, and Kapterev insists that every presenter must be intently focused on the audience's reaction during the presentation. The presenter can only focus on the audience when they don't have to focus so much on the content, though. Therefore, preparation and knowing the presentation is key. It's hard to improvise when you don't know your material that well.

To be able to improvise according to audience reactions, you have to be able to read the audience. Sure, you can learn the skill of reading facial expressions by going through books on the subject. But you can also just be compassionate and put yourself in the other person's shoes.

If you are worried that you've lost your audience, ask them questions. Ask for content responses. Ask them if they're following. If not, you have to change it up. If they seem sluggish, improvise. Tell a story.

Making eye contact

It's hugely important because eye contact is one of the main ways that presenters connect with audiences. Do NOT look at the screen. Kapterev doesn't spend much time talking about this particular problem; instead, he talks about problems with one's field of vision and asking audiences to move closer and together in a large room.

Addressing questions

First of all, repeat the question so that you understand it and so that everyone else hears it. Try to judge whether anyone wants to know the answer. Watch for their feedback when you repeat the question.

Second, thank the person for the question, but only if you really mean it.

Third direct your answer to the entire audience, not just to the person who asked.

Using humor

Kapterev loves humor, but he says that it isn't important. Audiences can follow messages when the presenter is not funny. And sometimes, humor can actually take away from the message.

Whatever you do, do not try to tell jokes. Audiences resist laughing at them, and it makes the presenter feel rejected. Neither outcome is good.

Instead, let humor come naturally, and laugh at yourself and your mistakes and the situation during the presentation. Audiences will respond to that.

Alexei Kapterev's "Presentation Secrets": Chapter 7, The Slides' Unity

Part one of Chapter 7 in Kapterev's Presentation Secrets is about slide design. If you want to learn about design, keep reading.

Slide Design for Non-Designers

If you don't want to learn about design but still have to give presentations, Kapterev recommends the black and white approach--a white background with black Arial text. No colors. No frills. Easy and clean.

But good design can actually help. The point about slide design is to make the presentation work better. To make it more enjoyable. To make it communicate better.

Slides need focus. They also need contrast. And they don't need fluff. Delete all of the stuff that doesn't fit.

Color

Color can communicate, and a good color design will highlight the message in a presentation. The easiest thing to do is to use your company logo and pick colors from it. Paste the logo into Paint or some other program and see what the color is. Then you can use that specific color in your presentation. Or go to a color website like Adobe Color CC and find your logo color's complementary colors.

Fonts

The type of font you use does say something about you. Yes, it may seem silly, but it communicates.

Kapterev seems to recommend the following serif fonts: Garamond, Bodoni, and Georgia. For sans serif fonts, he like Corbel, Franklin Gothic, and Trebuchet. Just remember: avoid all caps, avoid justified text, and don't mix different fonts together unless they truly go together. And if you want to mix to make something stand out, then use completely different fonts and sizes, etc. Don't use more than one script, though.

And don't ever. Ever. EVER. Use Comic Sans. Universally loathed. It has actually become a joke, like in this Weird Al video at 1:20. Hilarious. Seriously. The world needs more Weird Al. But that's from me, not from Kapterev. :)

Pictures

This is some of the best advice I have seen. It's worth the price of the book right here:

"Suppose you have a lot of text about some topic (say, computers). Why not add a tiny picture of a computer to the side?..such an image introduces a distraction and accomplishes nothing. "

I could not agree more.

Pictures should be big, preferably full-screen. Kapterev says that if they get too pixelated, replace them. Don't be content with pixelated pictures. They're difficult to look at. Instead, use Tin Eye Reverse Image Search to find a larger version of the same image. Or choose something similar.

If you're trying to integrate text on top of a picture, increase the contrast of the text by adding a background around it, possibly semi-transparent. Don't just jump the easy route and make the picture smaller.

Alexei Kapterev's "Presentation Secrets": Chapter 6, The Slides' Contrast

This chapter, like the previous one, is about creating slides. Here, however, the focus is on the type of figures to use in presentations. Kapterev begins the chapter by showing a typical administration diagram showing the hierarchy of a company, and says,

"The probelm with most diagrams shown in presentations is that they could probably work as an analytical tool, but they need too much explanation to be of any use. They are not pictures that are worth a thousand words, they are pictures that require a thousand words to comprehend. But that's not even the worst problem...Although people do need time to digest information, you can set up the animation and show the slide gradually, layer by layer. As long as the whole picture makes sense, it will work. The main issue here is that the picture is senseless and lifeless. The chart lacks drama. It's not going anywhere. It's too static.

"Like a good story, every good diagram needs to some simple contrast, some conflict. It needs a hero and a villain. It needs some action...Where are the challenges? The deadlines? What's important and what's less important? Where's the goal? These are the questions that ultimately make us study and understand things."

Using Comparisons

Scale Slides

Show objects, numbers, weights, anything involving measurements in relation to something else that we all know. Instead of saying that something weighs 6 ounces, show a pack of cards and say that it weighs "6 ounces, the same as a deck of playing cards."

Change Slides

Show the before and after. It helps to see how things change.

Venn Diagrams and Matrix Slides

You probably know what Venn diagrams are, but matrices are like tables, where you can show which items contain different parts. According to Kapterev, both of these are great, but the problem is that they only help to clarify and amplify. Is something is confusing, a Venn diagram can help. But if the point is simple anyway, there's no point in using a diagram. We can often understand without the help of a diagram that's only there to make the simple point seem more important.

As an aside, Kapterev makes the great point that Microsoft SmartArt doesn't really add anything. Either take the time to draw a meaningful, helpful diagram, or just make it a list.

Tables

Kapterev says that tables aren't really that helpful in presentations. They're great in reports, but they generally show too much information and take too long to digest.

However, if a table is absolutely necessary,

• try to group items
• color every other line
• incorporate some pictures into the table
• delete everything that you won't specifically talk about
• use animation to bring up pieces of information

Data Visualization

Analytical and Presentational Charts

Charts (or any kind of figure) can be used for analysis, meaning that it can be studied and interpreted in different ways. But that's different from charts used in presentations. For presentations, charts should be simpler. Instead of making things smaller, those things must be deleted. If your audience does expect to analyze during your presentation, then you do have to have analytical charts, but for the most part, simplify.

Guidelines for Charts (or Graphs)

Remember, for bar charts, column charts, and line charts:

• Make them say something. Instead of a label such as "third quarter results," say what the results tell you. Do the analysis for the audience and give them only that.
• Use comparisons. If the third quarter results are good, then you need to compare them to something else. Make the comparison easy for the audience.
• Delete everything else. If you don't need axis labels, delete them. Delete everything that does not fit what you want the chart to say.
• Avoid 3D. It's junk. And it doesn't help.
• Avoid a bunch of colors. Keep the color scheme simple.

With percentages, try to make it visual. The comparison is already there (25% versus the other 75%), but in a presentation, it should be easy to see. Use a pie chart or if it's 25%, show one out of every four using pictures.

Statistics

In general, use the obvious comparison. Amplifying a message is fine, but making it appear different from reality is lying. If you choose a different way to explain your message, people may notice.

Animation

There's room for animation in presentations, Kapterev insists, but it should be to improve communication, not to make slides appear fancy. Use animation to

• show parts of a sequence
• introduce points one by one
• show transitions from one situation to another

What you don't want to do is put in stuff that hurts rather than helps. In general

• "Avoid complex effects. Use 'Dissolve', rather than 'Spinner' or 'Blinds'."
• "Don't use animation just because you can." Kapterev recommends thinking of slides like real pieces of paper. And you can't, in reality, have 3D text or flying text or anything like that. You can, however, have information appear.
• "Don't make it painfully slow." Use the fast or very fast animation key. 

Alexei Kapterev's "Presentation Secrets": Chapter 5, The Slides' Focus

Chapter 5 of Alexei Kapterev's Presentation Secrets begins part two, which focuses on slides. He assumes that you now have your presentation's story or outline. And now you begin to create your slides.

Slides are important because they

• remind the speaker what to say next
• can impress the audience and make the information more memorable
• can help explain information through diagrams or pictures
• help to prove information by drawing comparisons or presenting data

Kapterev goes through the history of presentations and discusses Garr Reynold's "Zen" approach to slide design, which uses very simple slides with one phrase or picture on each slide. Most corporations, by contrast, call for "Vajrayana" slides, which are much more complex and contain every bit of information. Kapterev shows how the Zen approach can be much more effective.  

The speaker should guide the audience where to look at every second, Kapterev says. It should be clear whether the audience should be looking at the speaker or at the slides.

Designing Zen Slides

Slide Templates

Templates are not inherently bad, but the problem with most templates is that they contain a "slide within a slide." They add something else into the PowerPoint frame, such as a company logo frame at the top or bottom or a title frame at the top. Presenters/designers think variety on slides (colored lines, different fonts, different colors, background images) provide variety and interest, but Kapterev says otherwise:

"If your presentation is boring and you think some fancy background and frames can improve it--think again. This is not a design problem, this is a content problem. When people ask me, "Where do I find a suitable background image for PowerPoint template?", I think they 1) don't need any background at all and 2) most certainly need to work on their structure and not on design...A complicated design wastes not only your time but also the audience's attention."

So how to make a good slide template?

• Clarity: no unnecessary decorations, borders, logos, background. Just go for plain white.
• Contrast: text is clearly visible.
• Consistency: elements on the template all belong together; they fit together.

Text Slides

Warning: DO NOT READ FROM YOUR SLIDES. Audiences hate that.

• Focus your audience on key points. Use short bits of text, not entire sentences.
• Avoid the same headings. They lose the slide's focus. 
• Use bullets for long lists, but with short lists (around four), they are unnecessary. 
• Use a clear order with bullets (hierarchy, time, importance).

Slides with Photos

• Illustration: Photos bring the subject to life and can have a bigger impact. 
• Explanation: Photos help "if you want your audience to understand some complex, abstract idea, concept, or scheme."
• Evidence: You need just the right amount of evidence. Too little, and the audience won't believe you; too much, and they will be overloaded.

"A slide with a large photo and a short statement is an archetypal Zen slide. Photos are very powerful; they are [a] great way to reinforce your point and they don't take much time for the audience to process. There are just two challenges when using photos: finding them and combining them with your text."

How to find photos

Be wary using Google images. They are normally copyrighted, and they're also made for the web, so they aren't good enough for a presentation. The best is to take your own photos.

For free images, visit

• www.freeimages.com
• www.photl.com
• www.morguefile.com

Using Abstract Illustrations

Sometimes you don't want a photo. Instead, you want something more abstract like the outline of a man to represent a workforce. Use icons or pictograms, not clipart. To represent a process within a company, use abstract people, not photographs. To illustrate bulleted lists, use icons.

Slides are important and it's important to design them right. Use illustrations and photographs, but make sure you use them correctly.

Alexei Kapterev's "Presentation Secrets": Chapter 4, The Story's Unity

Chapter 4: The Story's Unity is all about structure. How to create a beginning, middle, and end to your presentation. At this point, you have your conflict mapped out, so you can begin to map out how you will present that conflict.

Basing his structure on the three-act structure used in screenwriting, Kapterev outlines his own four part one:

1. Exposition: Establish context, introduce yourself and the heroes of the story.
2. Problem: Introduce the conflicts, constraints, and challenges. 
3. Solution: The largest part, the meat of the presentation.
4. Conclusion: Summarize, discuss morals, implications, call for action.

Kapterev then analyzes Malcolm Gladwell's famous spaghetti sauce presentation and sees that it follows this structure but with a longer conclusion:

1. Exposition: 2 minutes
2. Problem: 2 minutes
3. Solution: 5 minutes
4. Conclusion: 8 minutes

Having too much or too little of either part is what he calls the problem of balance.

Exposition

• Too much: We wonder what's the point? We want emotion, conflict, and exposition just tells us facts. 
• Too little: The presentation doesn't establish common ground and we have trouble seeing the point again.
• Just right: 

1. Introduce the ground rules. Explain how long the presentation is and whether you would like questions during or at the end.
2. Introduce the hero. Introduce yourself, too, if you are different from the hero. Tell a short story about your qualifications.
3. Introduce the situation. Show statistics. Show how the problem came about and how bad it was.
4. Introduce the story. 

Problem

• Too much: Don't make your presentation into a horror story that is all about the problem. Explaining the problem is important, but you need to get to the solution, too.
• Too little: You need to motivate the audience, and that requires a problem.
• Just right: It serves as an emotional hook that makes the audience want to keep listening for the solution. The difficulty is saying something the audience doesn't know, something they don't already agree with. Show statistics, but provide context for them. We need to know how big of a problem it really is. But remember to be passionate about it. Show emotion.

Solution

• Too much: Goes along with not enough problem. They just list the facts, the solution, the things that they have. The problem is obvious, they claim.
• Too little: They think it's obvious. But if it's obvious, there's no need for the presentation. There's no emotion. Not a good story.
• Just right: After the problem, the audience is ready to listen. 

The solution part is difficult, and Kapterev goes through Richard Wurman's L.A.T.C.H. acronym to show different ways of presenting information, the many unifying metaphors people use. The point here is that presentations need some unifying principle. 

• Location: The chair, the wheel, the house. 
• Alphabet: Use an acronym that people will be able to remember. 
• Time: A sequence or narrative of events or how a process works. 
• Category: Keep it simple, with just several, i.e. three, categories. More than four and people have trouble remembering them.
• Hierarchy: Again, only three or four points here such as company goal, department goal, personal goal.

Conclusion

• Too much: Can come across as moralizing or abstract, without the necessary problem and solution parts. 
• Too little: Leave the audience with something to do. Don't leave them asking, "now what?"
• Just right: 
• Wrap-up--repeat the important points. 
• Call for action--leave them with something to do. 
• The moral--sometimes it doesn't work in business or technical presentations, but when it leads from the problem and solution, it can make everything else stick.

Alexei Kapterev's "Presentation Secrets": Chapter 3, The Story's Contrast

You need conflict

Without conflict, there is no story; every book on story will tell you the same thing. Even postmodern novels have some conflict, even if it's internal. Your presentation is the same way. You need conflict.

The way conflict enters presentations is through problem and solution. It's the problem versus the solution, after all. If there was no problem, then there was no need for your solution. So just think about the goal and why you did what you did. That's a built-in narrative.

Often the conflict comes through competition with another company or product. Compare products. Make yourself the underdog taking on the big, bad competition with all of their market share.

Keeping the tension

The problem is that most people mention the problem at the beginning and then state the solution...at the beginning. So the tension is over.

The key is to string it along. Leave an important question unanswered. State that you solved the problem, sure, but don't state how you did right away. Keep the tension.

Comparisons as conflict

Comparisons need four criteria, Kapterev says:

• Familiarity: The audience knows what you are talking about. Metaphors have to make sense.
• Emotional resonance: People want to know how things feel. Appeal to their frustrations, life goals.
• Avoid avoiding the obvious: Feel free to compare unlike things. 
• Unintended associations: Be careful with comparisons; some can be risky. Talk about sex, death, religion, politics, and people may take it differently.

Heroes and villains

Sometimes the story needs a hero. Well, most of the time, a story needs a hero.

Tell the client's story

This one is perfect. You have a person or a business who does well. But they have a problem that is holding them back. They may not even know it's a problem. But you know it's a problem. And you have the solution. The entire presentation can be centered around this kind of client testimonial. See "Meet Henry" as an example of this kind of presentation.

Tell the company's story

Speak about your company and the trouble it goes through and how it reaches a solution. It's similar to the "Meet Henry" presentation, but it's about the person presenting, the company that he or she works for. Often, the presenter will say "we" because they include themselves as the hero.

Tell your own story

You may be afraid of personal criticism, afraid that people won't listen to you, or afraid that you don't have good stories to tell. But you have to get over it and tell the story that you care about the most: your own. Think of the hero as a persona, though, as the brand, as the person you are acting as, not exactly as the YOU right now.

Alexei Kapterev's "Presentation Secrets": Chapter 2, The Story's Focus

Set a goal

Kapterev is adamant about this part: a presentation should have a single guiding idea or focus. Sure, it's not a fairy tale, he says, but it still needs a moral to the story. Setting the goal may be the most important thing. Kapterev always asks his consultants the question, "What is your goal?"

The answer I typically get is "I want to tell them that..." or "I want to inform them about..." Beep! Wrong answer!

Even experienced executives fall into this trap...The correct answer should sound something like "I want them to give me their business card or "I want them to believe that my plan is going to work." A good goal is phrased as an answer to "What do I want them to do?" or sometimes "What do I want them to remember?"

So to set a manageable goal, ask yourself, "What do you want from your audience?"

Vision and values

If the goal is what you want from the audience, you need to convince them why they should do it. And Kapterev doesn't just mean logic here; he wants values and vision. Appeal to people's vision or idealism, and they will be much more willing to act accordingly. Have a grand vision that guides your presentation, and people may actually respond.

Don't give the audience merely what it wants

The audience isn't always right, according to Kapterev, and sometimes it's best to be controversial. Controversy is inherently interesting, and telling people something they don't already agree with makes them perk up and listen. They will then want to know why their own beliefs are wrong. You don't want to entertain the audience; you want to make them better.

So go for it with a hierarchy of goals:

1. Hear your message
2. Remember your message
3. Do something based on the message
4. Improve themselves--the ultimate goal. Change the audience. Make them better. 

Wait to make your slides

Don't go straight to PowerPoint, though. Go for the outline. Go for sticky notes. Go for anything but slide software. What you want to do now is map out your story. Do some mind-mapping and brain-dumping first. Get all of your concepts out on the table where you can see them. Write down your examples. Write down every point. Only then can you even begin to make them into a coherent story.

Divide. Subdivide. Make a hierarchy. Break them into topics and subtopics.

At the end of this process, you should have two things:

• Your goal.
• A huge amount of points to make.

And that's when you can start to actually craft your story.