INDEX for presentation skills

This is an INDEX for my presentation skills postings. As new items are added I will include them in the list below. I'll make sure that this post stays near the top of my popular list. Remember, presentations are about communication. Communication is about getting people to understand and buy-in to your ideas.

The picture above is from Apple's 1984 Superbowl commercial.

Communication from the pros - This post is based on two articles: How to Wow 'Em Like Steve Jobs (by Carmine Gallo) and Speech Writing Secrets of President Bill Clinton (by Tomas Murrell.) It covers the styles of two of the foremost communicators.

*NEW* Use the right presentation style to convey your message - Depending on the objective of your presentation, it is important to select a template that aligns with your goal. The use of an inappropriate template can render your presentation ineffective.

*NEW* Improving clarity in communications - A short presentation deck providing some tips and common sources of ambiguity. You can find the deck (called Clarity) in my esnips.com folder.

Give each of them something - Some people want to see a plan. Others will listen to you after you've established a relationship with them. Still others will want to know your goals; they'll figure out their own way to get there. This post speaks on how to communicate with these different types of individuals.

Some more presentation tips - General tips for improving your presentations such as stopping side-conversations, using active listening techniques to respond to questions and using physical presentation aids.

Some tips on presentations - This post is one of the more popular ones on my blog. The basic parts are the pre-planning, slide design principles, and other prep activities that will help you make & deliver great presentations.

The soft-side of presentations - This post provides tips on the delivery aspect of a presentation rather than slide design. These tips include how to use gestures, to speak more slowly than conversation speed, and to change the pace of your presentation every 15 minutes or so (the average attention span.) A good PowerPoint deck won't mean anything if you can't sell your ideas.

Other resources & tips for presentations - Online resources for improving your presentation skills.

A walkthrough of the process I followed to make a presentation

• *NEW* Building a presentation - Part 1 - Who is the presentation for? Initial planning...
  
• *NEW* Building a presentation - Part 2 - Do a little digging to find clues that will help you make a more effective presentation.
• *NEW* Building a presentation - Part 3 - Assemble your material and choose an appropriate template to communicate.
• *NEW* Building a presentation - Part 4 - Version 1.0 is ready for a mock-run.
• *NEW* Building a presentation - Part 5 - A short run-through to make sure I'm on track.
• *NEW* Building a presentation - Part 6 - The morning after... Assessing how your presentation went.